Reports came down this morning that LeBron did decide to opt-out of his deal with Miami this summer, which is a development that wasn't entirely unexpected. Opting-out would allow James to sign a lengthier, more lucrative deal with Miami, if he so chooses. However, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports had a few interesting tidbits regarding LeBron's decision.
The most intriguing move on the mind of James and his camp, sources told Yahoo Sports, would be a sign-and-trade scenario with the Los Angeles Clippers in which James could play with close friend Chris Paul and under president-coach Doc Rivers.See? Interesting! It's no secret that players love to play for Rivers, and James' history of friendship with Paul is well documented. But there are a few snags to this scenario.
As for sign-and-trade scenarios, in which Riley would have to assist James in getting his maximum financial payout with a new team, the organization has been privately adamant that they'd never do it, league sources said. If James wanted to force his way to the Clippers, he'd have to create the fear within Miami that it could lose him for nothing to a team with the salary cap space to sign him.The Heat can say all they want that they don't have interest in helping facilitate a move for LeBron, but if push came to shove would they really stick to that? I suppose it would depend on what they would be getting back from another team, but losing him for nothing doesn't seem like the greatest outcome for them if he does decide to sign elsewhere.
If the Heat are serious about not helping out with a sign-and-trade and LeBron still wanted to join the Clippers, the team would just have to make separate moves in order to create the space necessary. As of today, the Clippers have about $76 million in contract commitments for next season, but that number will drop to about $71 million once Danny Granger, Glen Davis and Darren Collison officially opt-out of their respective deals, as expected.
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The Clippers would also likely have to find new homes for some combination of Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes and Jared Dudley. Crawford is the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, while Barnes still certainly has a role somewhere. Dudley is coming off a down year, but he's still a solid shooter.
There have been whispers regarding the possibility that James could take less money to allow his team to build a better group around him, as well, so perhaps the Clippers wouldn't even need to dump as much salary as it initially appears. Obviously Paul and Blake Griffin aren't going anywhere, but anyone else on the roster can be had.
It's also important that the Clippers don't jump the gun here and move all their pieces prior to getting a commitment from James, if possible. Dismantling the team and then having LeBron sign elsewhere would obviously be quite the nightmarish scenario.
If LeBron is seriously considering bolting from South Beach, then there'll surely be no shortage of suitors out there making themselves available to him, as was the case four years ago. The Clippers, remember, got a face-to-face meeting with LeBron during his free agency tour that year, but a big part of the reason he wasn't truly serious about L.A. as an option was because of the presence of one Donald T. Sterling.
Sterling's situation will play no small part in the team's pursuit of LeBron, as he's been adamant that he thinks Sterling need no longer be a part of the NBA. The NBA is certainly doing its best to make sure the pending sale of the team to Steve Ballmer can be completed as soon as possible, though Sterling is trying to drag things out.
The addition of LeBron James would surely make the Clippers the odds-on favorites to topple the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference, but he'll also be receiving interest from the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns and, of course, the Heat.
