We're just a few weeks from the onset of the NBA's free agency period, where most thought the top prize would be New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony. Anthony is expected to opt-out of his deal with the Knicks and become an unrestricted free agent, and the wind seems to be blowing in the direction of Melo taking his talents elsewhere.
The L.A. Clippers haven't really been mentioned among the teams interested in pursuing Anthony once he does come free, but there have been reports in the past regarding their fondness of the All-Star forward.
Just a couple of weeks ago, few imagined a scenario that would cause Miami Heat forward LeBron James to consider taking his talents away from South Beach any time soon. James has the ability to opt-out of his contract this summer, but why would he leave a place in which he's had such great success? Since joining the Heat in 2010, James has won three league MVP awards and has led the Heat to a pair of NBA championships.
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| Photo Credit - Keith Allison/Flickr |
And make no mistake. This was an absolute demolition. The Heat looked as though they were of the Spurs' caliber through the first two games when the series was evened up at one game apiece, but the tide turned incredibly quickly. San Antonio won the subsequent three games by a combined 57 points to claim the franchise's fifth NBA title.
The Heat looked completely inept in those last three games, too. Dwyane Wade was playing like he was 200-years-old. Chris Bosh completely disappeared. Mario Chalmers continued to be Mario Chalmers. Essentially, the series became LeBron against the Spurs, with results one would expect.
Suddenly, there's major uncertainty regarding the future of the Heat. James, Bosh and Wade each have player options for next season that will pay them about $20 million apiece, and there's no telling whether or not those will be exercised. Most originally figured that if any of them would be opting-out, they would just renegotiate another long-term deal to stay in Miami. Now, though, LeBron may be feeling that itch again.
He left Cleveland in 2010 because the Cavaliers were unable to build a strong enough team around him. He gave them ample opportunities and they failed. So he left for greener pastures, which worked out incredibly well. James has won two titles with the Heat and has also taken home three league MVP awards. He'll turn 30 this December, though, meaning if he has any real aspirations of matching the likes of Jordan and Kobe as far as championships go, he's going to have to do a lot of winning fairly soon.
LeBron must've been having flashbacks to his Cleveland days during these Finals, as he appeared to be the only capable player on his own team. And the Heat aren't getting any younger. Of the 15 players currently on Miami's roster, eight of them are over 30, and Chalmers, Norris Cole and James were the only players under 30 that did much playing for them. The championship window with the current group may already be shut.
Know where the championship window isn't shut, LeBron? That's right...Los Angeles! No, not with the Lakers. Their window shut four years ago. Talking about the Clippers here.
The Clippers don't currently have the cap space available to offer LeBron the kind of contract he'd command on the open market, but as ESPN's Bill Simmons notes, they can do so without a whole lot of trouble.
FYI: it's easy for Clips to make a LeBron run. Trade Deandre + Jamal to teams with cap space (easy), then use 1st rounder to dump Dudley $
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) June 18, 2014
Trading DeAndre Jordan would be a tough pill to swallow, but if it means you wind up getting LeBron James, it's a pill you can't help but take. Not only would a "Big Three" of LeBron, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul be the league's best triumvirate instantly, it would probably be a better trio than the one the Heat were able to amass when LeBron came aboard in 2010.We know well by now that LeBron is interested in maximizing his brand, so what better place to do so than L.A.? He and CP3 have a notoriously friendly relationship, and there are few coaches in the league more well-respected than Doc Rivers.
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| Photo Credit - Verse Photography/Wikimedia Commons |
The Clippers have had their issues in the postseason in each of the last three years, but obviously the acquisition of a player of James' caliber would help put an end to that. He would take a lot of pressure off of Paul as a ball-handler, and would also help fortify a perimeter defense that was rather leaky last season.
L.A. will have a few unrestricted free agents of their own this offseason, but the roster they have in place is already significantly deeper than the one LeBron was playing with in Miami. The allure of joining a team on which he'd not have to shoulder such a massive load would be appealing for James, you'd think.
If LeBron were to come free, he'll obviously have no shortage of suitors. You can expect teams like Chicago, Houston and Cleveland to all make their respective pitches.
For the record, I don't think LeBron James will leave Miami this summer. He has the aforementioned player option for next season, as well as another one following next season. One interesting thing will be if he decides to opt-in instead of opting-out just to negotiate a long-term deal with the Heat. If he decides to opt-in, it'll be a rather telling sign that he's not convinced enough about Miami's long-term future to decide to stay for the long haul.
But if James decides to opt-out and make himself available to other teams, you can be the Los Angeles Clippers will be very much in-the-mix.
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