Actually, if LeBron wants to play in L.A., joining the Clippers, with Baron Davis, Blake Griffin, Chris Kaman, etc., and with cap room next summer to make a major league offer, would make a lot more sense.
NBA.com: LeBron keeps teams on edge as he ponders future
David Aldridge, speculating on where LeBron James might end up.
10 months ago
Steve Perrin
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Dare to dream
It’s a great dream, and certainly a target worth pursuing if you’re the Clips.
I will say this though, if I’m Lebron, no way I even consider the Clips. I wouldn’t trust Sterling at all with my career. He needs to go to a franchise with a great owner who is committed to doing anything and everything to win. While Sterling has been much better of late, I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him.
It would certainly make his legacy bulletproof if he made the Clippers a championship team. That might be the one way he can surpass even MJ’s legacy without having to win as many chips. I’d say one championship with the Clippers is worth like 8 with a normal team.
I agree
I wouldn’t trust DTS to spend the money to build a team around me (or in this case retain them). Its possible he signs a shorter deal (4 year deal with player option for the 4th) to keep DTS honest. That said even DTS has to realize how much the value of the franchise increases with a star the magnitude of LBJ. Further they will sell out every night, charge higher prices, more apparel sales, more concession stand sales and the extra revenue a long playoff run earns.
At some point the Clips should pass the Lakers in the standings as we have a much younger team. BUT if I were in Lebron’s shoes I’d be very concerned that Sterling would screw me over by not paying for the necessary pieces.
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Nov 9, 2009 11:14 AM PST up reply actions
I understand your point
but Lebrons going to be playing with Gordon, Baron, Blake, and Kaman. When Baron’s on the decline, Lebron can handle the ball and dish it out to one of the other four offensive options. From the look of it Gordon and Blake does not need the ball to score. Adding Lebron could potentially be a Garnett to Celtics deal, leading to our championship (finally!) With Eric Gordon, Lebron, Kaman, and Blake, it could match Laker’s Kobe, Gasol, Odom, and Bynum combination. It’d be a battle of the young vs the olds (excluding Bynum.)
Make 30 million less to play for a crazy owner and a team who has never won a championship?
I would love for it to happen, but doubt it will.
A lot of people misunderstand that part of the contract.
It’s not 30 million yes, it’s just one less year on the deal: 5 as opposed to six. Not a big deal anyway seeing how LeBron only signed a 3 year extension where Melo signed for 5. That extra year will be made up in LeBron’s next next contract, and I’d have to assume he wouldn’t want to be locked in ANYWHERE for six years.
by Gordon for President on Nov 9, 2009 1:27 PM PST up reply actions
If you can get more or equal with the next CBA it makes sense, although most are reporting that major concessions will need to be made by the Players Union.
I am interested to see what Kobe does, he has a maximum extension but seems to be waiting for something. If Kobe does ETO I would assume that the Lakers would have to make a run at LeBron.
Kobe isn’t leaving. He’s going to opt out, then sign a max contract the next day. If they try to get Lebron while Kobe has opted out, that would be an easy to NOT get kobe or lebron because the Lakers would still be over the cap.
They would
have to renounce Kobe’s contract to free up the contract space to sign Lebron. This would give up Kobe’s Bird Rights and therefore the Lakers wouldn’t be able to go over the salary cap to resign him. It’s all moot anyways as the Lakers are over the salary cap even if Kobe left (they are at about 60 million not counting Kobe’s next deal). The only way LBJ could sign with the Lakers is if he signed for the MLE. I can think of about 75 million reasons why that won’t happen.
FA in 2010.
The Sterling problem is overrated.
Yes he’s crazy. Yes he has a horrible reputation. Yes he has to go. But above all else, Sterling is motivated by dollar signs. He’s been spending continuously ever since 04-05 and 05-06 when we were actually better than the Lakers. I am convinced he will break the bank if he has a legitimate shot at his own version of Kobe Bryant. If he thinks he’s been making a killing off a bad Clipper team. he’d stand to make even vaster sums of money when the team is actually good/popular.
On a second note, a lot of analysts seem to miss the part that we can’t get LeBron without giving up either Kaman or Baron. I still believe our best shot would be a sign and trade with Cleveland featuring either BD or Kaman, Al Thornton, some picks, and whatever other minor throw-ins. At this point, I’d rather see BD go, but CLE will need a Big Z/Shaq replacement, and honestly if dumping Kaman 3.0 meant a shot at the King, we would have to take it.
by Gordon for President on Nov 9, 2009 11:35 AM PST reply actions
For a shot?
Has to be more than a shot in the dark if we are giving up a talented center in his prime.
We can clear more cap room if we trade Al and Telfair for expiring deals and letting Camby’s expiring deal run out. That would leave us 16.5 million under the cap which should be enough for the max. We still have the trade exception from the ZBo trade so we could pick up bench players with expiring deals for free from teams looking to save money (ie Earl Watson from OKC) to fill out the void of losing 2 of our top bench players.
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Nov 9, 2009 12:13 PM PST up reply actions
Im not sure why you say we must give up either Kaman or Baron to get LBJ
Is it because of the salary cap? Why wouldnt the clips go over the cap? It seems like its not an issue at all since we would make up the money in jerseys, ticket sales, extended revenue in playoffs, etc. Hell, if Portland or Utah can go over the cap, surely the Clips can as well
You can't go over the cap to sign someone else's FAs
so the most we would be able to offer (if the cap drops to 50 mil a year as currently projected) would be 11 million (we currently have 39 mil on the books assuming Telfair does not opt out). You can go over the cap (like the Lakers for instance) only if you are resigning your own FAs or if you use your exceptions (like the mid level or biannual ones).
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Nov 9, 2009 12:19 PM PST up reply actions
ahh, it makes more sense now. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
So when the Lakers signed Artest, was it because they lost Ariza? Im pretty sure they were already over the cap once they signed him. Anyhow, if Lebron is true to his word, couldn’t we just sign him at our bi-annual exception. Then we can offer Camby our full midlevel exception. Then we could go after whomever to fill in the holes.
The bi-annual exception would be no more than 2 million dollars...
I know LeBron said he’d take less money to win, but still…
by Gordon for President on Nov 9, 2009 1:01 PM PST up reply actions
You know I was being sarcastic, right?
by Gordon for President on Nov 9, 2009 1:28 PM PST up reply actions
I was just listing the two exceptions to signing FA when over the cap
And its those 2 exceptions. The Lakers lost Ariza to the Rockets who were also over the salary cap but used their MLE (Mid Level Exception) to sign him. The Lakers then used their MLE (since they are also over the cap) to sign Artest.
FA in 2010.
STERLING LOVES $$$$$$
He might be a bad owner but he’s not stupid. If the king were to sign with the clippers
he would be selling out the arena a lot more times than now. That gentlemen means
more cash in sterling’s pocket. I personally agree with David that lebron would have
a better core players than any of those other teams. This would make us an instant
championship contender and give the other la team a run for their money. So dream
on my friends
Still believe it to be true - choice of coach
The Clippers can also offer Lebron his choice of coaches. He can pick CMDSr, almost certainly John Lucas, or anyone else. GMDSr gets to slide up to the front office and deliver upon the NBA and his haters the double birds? Oh yes, he would take that.
As for the financials, no the Clippers can’t make a max offer right now, but part of this latest round of pointless speculation is that he said he would take less to play where he would win. OF COURSE he is going to say it, but that doesn’t make it true.
Lebron and DTS
It’s interesting that in the same (lengthy) column—didn’t realize Aldridge had such an exhaustive format—where he speculates that the Clips might make a fine destination for LBJ, DA wonders whether DTS should get some sort of suspension from Stern. Good, thoughtful stuff.
But I wonder if DA understands the situation in its depths, and what kind of deal the Clips could make if they keep both Kaman and Baron, with Griffin, Gordon, and DJordan all on the roster. Hard to pay full price for LBJ and keep both Kaman and BDavis on the roster.
Not going to happen. I can see the Clippers going after a free agent, but...
it won’t be LBJ. Lebron will make so much money next year. I see him in either Chicago or New York. He might even stay in Cleveland. The Clippers should consider Amare or Bosh. Or they could go after Joe Johnson or D-Wade.
There is a maximum player salary too
He almost certainly will make less salary if he changes teams, even if it to one of the teams with jumbo cap room. Even if they are $25M under, they can’t give it to Lebron. In fact, the maximum player salary actually FELL this year since the salary cap fell. It will likely fall next year too, though how much is unclear.
The questions are only if Lebron is sincere about taking less to play under the conditions he wants (dubious) and how much less he would take. If the salary cap calculation is catastrophic, the max salary could in fact fall to as low as like $14M.
why should the Clippers consider either of the available PFs available?
Blake is our future at that position. I think we should pry Rudy from Memphis if LBJ doesnt like are biannual exception!
They could play center
Especially if we countinue to run. Amare is playing center right now and the suns are rolling. Of course this is just speculation. It’s unfortunate that there are so few big SF free agents. I Doubt pierce will leave Boston and he’s old anyways. Do you really see joe Johnson starting at the 3?
by AtotheZ on Nov 9, 2009 1:53 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Joe can play SF
He played SF for the Suns a few years back and he’s certainly big enough. He plays SG on the Hawks primarily because he’s the best shooter out of a group of tweeners (Marvin Williams and Josh Smith are probably undersized 4s).
For those who doubt whether JJ can play SF, he’s 6 ft 7in and weighs 240 pounds.
FA in 2010.
sigh..
i know he CAN play the three. and i know his height and weight. I’m just saying he is primarily a 2guard and i’m not sure how he can adjust to the playing the 3. Who knows? He could be great, but there are no great starting SF (other than LBJ) in this free agent class i can see coming to the clips
I'm not sure I see too much of an adjustment for him
SG and SF are fairly interchangeable except for defensive assignments. He’s a terrific shooter, good passer and solid rebounder who fits exactly into what we need. He’s also in his prime and would give us one of the best starting fives in the league.
FA in 2010.
T-Mac?
Ah, I don’t think we should go after LBJ, and I don’t think we’d get him anyway. Our team is set up well and we just need a couple players that fit well and some time. EJ and Griffin will be demanding big money when the time comes, and we should be prepared to keep them. I don’t see our guys shifting easily into mere role players behind some big free agent.
If a player won't allow themselves to play second fiddle to Lebron
Then send them away. Simple as that. This includes any and all of the kids.
LOL
Yes, alright, LBJ would be it’s own thing. I’m really thinking about other big names. I’d rather get a strong, upstanding vet for not so great a price.
Makes no sense.
To go after Amare or Bosh, we already have a little guy named Blake Griffin. Wade is never leaving MIA, and Joe Johnson would be a stretch at the 3, although I do see him as the most likely of the bunch.
I also wish people would stop considering Chicago for LeBron. It’s the same reason he’d never go to the Lakers, he won’t be playing in someone else’s shadow (MJ), and he he won’t reduce himself to being Kobe or Wade’s sidekick.
by Gordon for President on Nov 9, 2009 12:35 PM PST reply actions
Wade and MIA
from Jay-Z’s song Empire State of Mind
“If Jesus payin’ LeBron, I’m paying Dwayne Wade.”
not sure who Jesus is….
but Jay-Z is a part owner of the NJ Nets….
who are big players in the big Free Agency…
who Dwayne Wade could be a part of…
its just a song….haha
In Neeeeewwwwwww Yoooooork
These streets will make you feel brand new, blah blah blah inspire you… lol thats all i know
by ItwillbeFATAL on Nov 9, 2009 6:56 PM PST up reply actions
Jay-Z "owns" a tiny percentage of the team with absolutely no decision making authority.
Dwayne Wade has the Heat in his pocket. I see Bosh heading to South Beach. No way Wade leaves the fourth most desirable market in the league behind LA, CHI, and NY.
by Gordon for President on Nov 9, 2009 1:03 PM PST reply actions
why wouldn't you leave the 4th for the 1st ?
Imagine the hype behind a Kobe vs. Lebron or Wade city playoff series.
Not sure the Nets make as much sense for Wade and vice versa
For starters the Nets won’t move to Brooklyn for a couple of years I believe, Wade turns 28 this year so he might be a little past his prime by the time the new stadium opens. LBJ is about to turn 25 so he fits into the long term plans better.
Not sure what you meant by 4th for 1st, NYC is a much bigger market than LA, the Knicks are even worth more than the Lakers despite not having won a championship in 36 years and counting.
FA in 2010.
I'm going to buy the Jerome James jersey
Will save myself the trouble of customizing a jersey and I get it months before anyone else!
FA in 2010.
david becham?
We can set Lebron up with David Becham type of deal take a deal that is smaller some yet make up a great deal by outside contracts with wink deals similar to David Beckham just following the similar scheme to a degree. That’s how the LA Galaxy were able to get megastar will still being limited in their spending.
by Takebb909 on Nov 9, 2009 7:50 PM PST via mobile reply actions
The NBA would never let that happen
Unless it was to get him to the Lakers of course.
But seriously, they wouldn’t let that happen. The Clippers wouldn’t get Lebron and they might not get a first round pick for a decade.
how could the nba not let it
It would be out of their control. VP Andy Roeser talks to coke and nike and tells them " hey, encourage lebron to come to LA, you can see how that will be in your best interest". What in the world can Stern say about that?
by Takebb909 on Nov 10, 2009 9:43 PM PST via mobile reply actions
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