# Why LeBron Should Be A Clipper



## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

> There's one thing and one thing only that must happen this year in the NBA. The Cavaliers need to win the championship, so LeBron James can hang a "Mission Accomplished" banner in downtown Cleveland and leave with a clear conscience to start the ultimate reclamation project with the Los Angeles Clippers.
> 
> Before James came along, Cleveland was typified by this guy and its recent sports history consisted of always being on the wrong side of the capitalized moments such as The Drive and The Shot and The Fumble. Even with James in town the best viral thing to come out of Cleveland has been this self-deprecating video.
> 
> ...


http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/columns/story?id=4833489


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## Floods (Oct 25, 2005)

-3 championships is 3 championships. 2 championships is 2 championships.
-If winning is top priority for LeBron, he has no reason to leave Cleveland.
-If money/marketing is top priority for LeBron, why exactly would he go to Los Angeles, where he would have to compete with Kobe Bryant for the spotlight?
-Cleveland, New York, Miami, probably NJ will all be able to give him more money.
-Him 'salvaging' the Clippers wouldn't be some mystical accomplishment. He 'salvaged' the Cavs already, and they really were no different from the Clippers (o but teh curses!!1!)

This isn't even taking into account the fact that the Clippers' owner is completely clueless on how to run a professional sports team, and would have to sell the franchise in order for them to have any hope. THAT's what has to happen, not some fake upper power deciding that the Clippers have suffered long enough.

J.A. Adande = moron.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

Floods: Actually, if winning is Lebron's top priority, the Clippers make possibly the most sense of all. Baron, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin, and Kaman plus whatever bench guys is probably the best supporting cast that any franchise in the league can put around him, barring Lebron signing for the mid-level on Orlando or L.A. or Boston or some such. Lebron won't go to the Clippers, but to act like it isn't one of the most reasonable free agent destinations for him is simply foolish.


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## Floods (Oct 25, 2005)

Plenty of other teams have more money, Cleveland is contending for championships right now with LeBron (and if they played their cards right, could sign another good player before signing LeBron via bird rights), Miami and New York's rosters will be almost completely empty this summer, allowing them to virtually brand new teams around LeBron (or Wade), a la the Celtics in 2007.

Cleveland and New Jersey (Brook Lopez, Yi, plenty of decent but undeveloped talent) definitely make more sense than LA from a basketball standpoint, and there are several better options out there marketing-wise.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

Floods said:


> Plenty of other teams have more money, Cleveland is contending for championships right now with LeBron (and if they played their cards right, could sign another good player before signing LeBron via bird rights), Miami and New York's rosters will be almost completely empty this summer, allowing them to virtually brand new teams around LeBron (or Wade), a la the Celtics in 2007.
> 
> Cleveland and New Jersey (Brook Lopez, Yi, plenty of decent but undeveloped talent) definitely make more sense than LA from a basketball standpoint, and there are several better options out there marketing-wise.


Cleveland is contending for championships right now _because_ of Lebron, not simply with him. That roster would have trouble making the playoffs, even in the East, without Lebron. No other contender is as dependent on one player as Cleveland is. If Miami can put together Wade and Lebron with a decent supporting cast they'd make basketball sense also, but New York isn't going to have the cap space to sign two max contracts, meaning he'd have a fairly weak supporting cast there too unless another top guy took a pay cut. New Jersey has Lopez, maybe Harris, and that's it as far attractive talent goes. Yi is padding his stats against second stringers and disinterested starters this year, I've seen enough of what he's done this year to know he's nothing special, and New Jersey won't have the cap space for two max players either.

The Clippers can put a very attractive roster, featuring a mix of established veterans and some top young talent, around Lebron. I don't know why you're denying this so vehemently, but the only possible starting five that Lebron could have next year better than Davis-Gordon-James-Griffin-Kaman would be if Miami could somehow acquire Lebron AND Bosh while retaining Wade(technically possible). No other destination makes as much basketball sense. However, this being the Clippers, the universe will not allow it.


EDIT: additionally, Cleveland will not be able to sign a free agent with a large salary before signing Lebron. Free agents whose Bird rights still belong to a team continue to have their salaries count against the team's salary cap until the team renounces their Bird rights. Essentially, in order to pursue someone like Joe Johnson or Bosh, Cleveland would have to renounce their rights to exceed the salary cap to re-sign Lebron, which simply isn't happening.


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## Dynasty Raider (Nov 15, 2002)

OWNER: Donald Sterling

COACH: Mike Dunleavy

MEDICAL DIRECTOR: Jason Powell

Has LeBron done anything to date to lead anyone to believe that he is 1) Money hungry; it is not what drives him. Even though he has said he wants to be the first Billionaire athlete, do you believe he would go to a team solely for the money; 2) stupid, honestly with the Clippers’ history, there is not enough sun in LA for any FA to come to the Clippers unless there’s no other alternative for them to stay in the league; and 3) desperate, he has time to get his first ring … wasn’t Jordan 27 when he got his?

BOTTOMLINE: Not gonna happen … not now, maybe when/if he becomes unwanted in the NBA and needs a job he’ll come to the Clippers.


Oh … and as for Kobe being close to becoming a Clipper as I read somewhere … Kobe used us to get what he wanted from the Lakers. We couldn’t even see it coming.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

I'm not saying that he will, just that they could put one of the best supporting casts around him.


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## Luke (Dec 7, 2008)

It would probably be a better career move then staying in Cleavland, honestly. I still think that LeBron to NJ (or Brooklyn, whatever) would be the best decision for him though. Especially if they can trade Devin Harris and land John Wall, that team would be scary.


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## urwhatueati8god (May 27, 2003)

Floods said:


> Plenty of other teams have more money, Cleveland is contending for championships right now with LeBron (and if they played their cards right, could sign another good player before signing LeBron via bird rights), Miami and New York's rosters will be almost completely empty this summer, allowing them to virtually brand new teams around LeBron (or Wade), a la the Celtics in 2007.
> 
> Cleveland and New Jersey (Brook Lopez, Yi, plenty of decent but undeveloped talent) definitely make more sense than LA from a basketball standpoint, and there are several better options out there marketing-wise.


1) Bird Rights contracts still count toward the salary cap, so no they couldn't sign anybody next season with the exception of the M.L.E. They could sign one guy to anywhere from 5-7 million and have their M.L.E. left over. The M.L.E. cannot be combined with cap space for one super contract.
2) James contends for a championship year in and year out in spite of the Cavaliers' roster, not because of it. To state otherwise is asinine. The Knicks roster without David Lee has a higher mean P.E.R. than the Cavaliers roster without James; that's how bad Cleveland's roster really is.


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## Futurama_Fanatic (Jul 21, 2005)

no superstar wants to play for sterling

EDIT: at least not an amount that doesnt surpass the max contract


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

Lebron going to Clipperland would be like Jay Leno moving to 10:00. He'll fail when he moves there and by the time he gets out he'll be much worse than before the move. Ferry to Sterling is like going from a retard to a cheapskate. There no winner either side.


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## Showtime87 (Jun 27, 2005)

It's commentary folks, lighten up. LeBron signing with the Clippers, assuming all the key components remain in place, catapults them into serious contention for a title. Is there really any question about that? Sure, it's a long shot that he even comes close to signing here, but it certainly would make for a very interesting case study: LeBron's magic touch meets the Clippers historic ineptitude. One thing is for sure though, the Clippers didn't jettison Z-Bo and clear up all that cap space simply to stand-pat and fill out the roster with bunch of mid-level contracts. They're going to make a run at some of the top FA's this offseason, whether or not LeBron is obtainable however remains questionable, if not doubtful. He's not going to Jersey/Brooklyn and the Knicks are an even bigger mess than the Clippers right now. So, that does narrow it down a bit.


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## bootstrenf (May 24, 2006)

bootstrend beeen sayin this for the longest.


lebron vs. kobe

LA vs.LA

they'd bee going at it for at least the next 5 years(until kobe burns out)


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## Free Arsenal (Nov 8, 2004)

I would rather have Corey Maggette.

lol


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