As the clock expired Saturday night on the Clippers’ dramatic 102-101 loss to Cleveland, LeBron James was gracefully playing the role of NBA statesman. After he embraced teammate Mo Williams in victory, he strolled over to a disappointed Eric Gordon.
“[James] told me to keep on playing hard,” Gordon said. “He said I’m getting better and better each year he sees me play and just keep it up.”
Earlier in the evening, James offered Blake Griffin some “words of encouragement,” according to the Clippers’ rookie.
I make it a matter of personal policy not to speculate on James’ whereabouts post-June 2010. His circle of confidantes is notoriously small and most of the guesswork at this point amounts to nothing more than a high-grade parlor game.
This much we know: If the Clippers take on no major salary commitments between now and summer, they will have the cap space to compete with the teams you hear most frequently mentioned as potential suitors for James’ services. Whether or not James would consider the Clippers is another matter, but J.A. Adande thinks he should:
The Clippers are committed to $39 million in salary for next season, and would be willing to clear up a little more room under the salary cap to offer James a contract worth about $100 million over five years. That’s about the same amount he could get with any of the other cap-space-clearing teams such as New York, Miami and Chicago.
What none of them could provide is as talented and deep a surrounding lineup as the Clippers, who could send out Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon and Griffin for the opening tip alongside LeBron. There would be All-Stars, former All-Stars or potential All-Stars at every position…
The bottom line is James will get paid a lot of money to play basketball no matter where he does it. The true variables are talent and market, and L.A. offers as good as he can hope for in both cases…
It could be an easy fit.
James has been enjoying the L.A. scene since he was hanging at the ESPY Awards the summer he graduated from high school. This city already loves him. He pulled more than 19,000 fans into Staples Center on Saturday night, a number only Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade have been able to match this season. There were all varieties of LeBron James jerseys (the Cavaliers have more outfits than Lady Gaga) in the stands.
James has the showmanship Los Angeles craves. He was flipping shots in over his head in pregame warm-ups; he’s ready to break out that huge grin at a moment’s notice, or scowl for effect after a fear-inducing dunk…
LRMR, the talent agency that represents James’ corporate profile, has defined as its mission to make the superstar a “global icon.” On the website, the company’s logo reads, “LRMR: Innovative Marketing & Branding.”
It strikes me that signing with the Clippers would present James with one of the great rebranding challenges in the history of pro sports, if not the broader landscape of corporate imaging. Fair or not, the Clipper brand doesn’t command much respect in the marketplace — though it’s important to note the Clips are a healthy franchise financially. Adding James could make the Clippers one of the most potentially sophisticated rebranding stories since Tylenol, nuclear energy and John Mayer.
I’m not naive enough to believe that rebranding challenge is anywhere near the top of the list of criteria when James ultimately chooses his next home. But if he wants to truly gauge the impact of his personal brand in the consumer marketplace, signing with the Clips would be the utmost test.
16 Responses
Jesus, my mind nearly exploded when trying to imagine LBJ as a Clipper. With our luck though, the world would end in 2012 before we could ever experience a championship, Finals appearance, WC finals, etc…
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Posted on January 17th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Yeah. Not happening.
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Jclipper Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
We’ll see
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Posted on January 17th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
No. Just no. It wont happen, dont need the smoke blowing up our ass. Hell will freeze over before LeBron even considers us. If you were LeBron would you want to share the stage with Kobe on a team thats never been to the Finals and never won a championship that has no legacy and a cheap owner known for cutting corners?
Its NY or Cleveland. Those are the places he wants to go. Its either stay home or play in the worlds largest market.
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Posted on January 17th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
If Jerry Buss wants to save his lucrative franchise, he’d trade KOBE to Cavaliers for LEBRON right now.
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Posted on January 18th, 2010 at 12:23 am
Don’t tease me Kevin I don’t think my Clipper heart can take any more extreme hype ups and let downs. On a serious note, Ramona Shelburne wrote a similar article to that of Adande.
http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/columns/story?id=4831897
It’ll be interesting to see what happens this summer.
Anyone else weirded out by the fact that the trade deadline for this year hasn’t hit, yet there’s so much speculation and anticipation for next season?
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Posted on January 18th, 2010 at 12:40 am
Unfortunately Bill Plasche threw the Clippers under the bus in his article and that’s the one in the LA Times. I hope LaBron left town before he had a chance to read it!
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FireDunleavy .com Reply:
January 18th, 2010 at 9:06 am
Wow, I can’t believe Phil Jackson said that about Sterling.
(Bill Plasche article) http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke17-2010jan17,0,3710153.column
Lebron coming to the Clippers depends a lot on Nike and how much they’ll give him to play for the Clippers. He’ll get the most if he plays for the Knicks.
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Posted on January 18th, 2010 at 1:52 am
I don’t either. Maybe he is thinking in a political career soon. Critizing Sterling or making a joke about the Clippers is a very easy to add some points.
Regarding LB and the Nicks, I agree with you with the Nicks, It will be a bigger challenge for him to come here to LA. ESPN and TNT would like to have him in the Gardens.
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Posted on January 18th, 2010 at 9:50 am
I believe it’s a very real possibility. This article spells it out very clearly, no other team can offer the talent and the market LAC can. If the best argument against it is “They’re the Clippers”, it’s a possibility.
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Posted on January 18th, 2010 at 11:04 am
Total non-sequitor, but does anybody know what the odds are of Kaman playing tonight is?
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Posted on January 18th, 2010 at 11:20 am
I posted a comment about LeBron joining the Clippers and revitalizing the franchise in a blog post way back, but it’s just as much a pipe dream now as it is then. I don’t ever expect it to happen, but if it does next season will be very, very interesting.
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Posted on January 18th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
As nice a dream as that maybe, it’s highly unlikely that Lebron will leave Cleveland as long as they’re one of the top teams in the East. Lebron is a local kid, he grew up in Akron and saw the economic devastation of the rustbelt firsthand. Cleveland is in better shape than Detroit, Flint, Gary, and Youngstown, but a sense of unease pervades the town, as the ruins of once great manufacturing cities smolder just outside their doorstep. Lebron is one of the few bright spot the city has left, as a local comedian pointed out.
As a youth, Lebron took alot of flack from his hometown fans for abandoning a mainly black local high school to enter Oak Hill Academy. He ruminates on that decision and its doubtful that he will turn his back on Cleveland now. If he did so, it will probably mean that he can never go back to Akron again, as it will be a public repudiation of his roots. He would also be abandoning a region deep in throes of a twenty year depression (they never recovered from the late 80s recession) for the brighter lights of NYC or LA, which would be an unforgivable sin.
It might make competitive, financial, and logical sense for Lebron to come to the Clippers, all things being equal. But emotionally, it doesn’t jive with who he is. Of course, he might have made a secret deal with Wade and Bosch to all flee to New York together, as some have speculated, and you can never underestimate the greed and selfishness of modern athletes (Elton Brand). But I would be very surprised if he turns his back on Cleveland and abandon his roots.
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Posted on January 18th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Yes we are the clippers fun and LA Clippers will sign James this Summer 2010 and look what the clippers do when they have 2 or 3 supper stars like lakers
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Posted on January 19th, 2010 at 11:14 am
[...] for Nate Robinson. – A Stern Warning – All about big, tall men who drain deep, long balls. – Clipper Blog – LeBron James as a Clipper? Hey, you never know (and it’s okay to dream). – It’s [...]
Posted on January 20th, 2010 at 1:30 am
Food for thought:
Trade Baron and sign D Wade. Baron has A basketball talent and D+ basketball IQ. Shoots at the wrong times, turns the ball over, always injured, doesn’t hit the clutch shots.
Imagine the lineup:
D. Wade
E. Gordon
LEBRON JAMES
B. Griffin
C. Kaman
THAT IS a championship team.
Just a suggestion.
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Posted on February 21st, 2010 at 12:02 pm
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