And there's lots going on right now.
I don't love the NBA. I love basketball. I love college basketball. But when it comes to sports in general, I enjoy the competition aspect of it the most. I enjoy watching the best go out and battle for supremacy. I'm not going to watch high school sports of any kind. But I will watch Nordic Combined at the Winter Olympics. Why? Because it's the best competing against the best.
So, that's why I don't love the NBA. Not because it doesn't feature the best players, but because the competition often comes secondary to personal glory. You can watch five minutes of a game and realize that. But that's OK, because it's still pretty entertaining. And once you hit the latter points of the playoffs, the game does change some, and you generally see better competition.
With that said, here's why LeBron should go to the Clippers. Or at least why the Clippers are better than every other option.
Cleveland: Been there, done that. I recognize that it's his hometown, but he can make it his hometown for the 40 years of retirement that will come after his playing career is over. He can move into the fucking Rock and Roll Hall of Fame if he wants to. But as for a playing situation, it's the same this year as it was last year. Not enough help. A bunch of sub-par supporting actors in a mediocre play. He may love the script, but this is like casting Tom Hanks in a movie with Brendan Frasier and Paul Blart. Yeah, they may be kind of big names, in that everyone knows who they are, but are you really expecting Hanks to put out an Oscar-winning performance with those guys out there with him? Cleveland is the worst situation for him, and the management there has made no indication that they have the competence to turn it around.
Chicago: Derrick Rose wanted Joe Johnson over LeBron? That's clearly just Rose taking a shot at LeBron. "Fuck that" - LeBron James on the Derrick Rose situation. Or at least that's what it should be. If Dwayne Wade can go out and recruit LeBron and Bosh, why can't Rose? Because he's got a bad fucking attitude. True, Rose can be great. But he will never come close to LeBron, and should realize that just maybe he could benefit from having the best player in the league on his team.
Miami: Well, c'mon now. Not only does that make the East boring (either the Heat win the conference and no one cares, or the Heat lose the conference and everyone becomes convinced that the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the league are now playing for the title), but it also diminishes LeBron's legacy. LeBron is uniquely positioned to be considered one of the BEST ever. Not just a great player. Not just a HOFer. But one of the best ever. When it's all said and done, you may be able to argue over Jordan or LeBron for best individual player of all time. But not if LeBron pulls this and goes to Miami. Not at 25. Sure, Malone and Payton did it in LA, but that was at the end of their careers. Garnett and Allen did it, too, but they were both older as well and in very different situations. No, LeBron needs his own team if he truly wants to reach that elite pantheon - to be that one guy for your generation who stands above the rest.
NY Knicks: Attractive, but I don't like it. LeBron needs competitors on his team, because LeBron enjoys himself too much sometimes. His enjoyment ultimately takes away from his team's ability to compete at the highest level. He needs guys who are going to be motivated on their own. And needless to say, that is not Amar'e Stoudemire.
NY/NJ Nets: Attractive. For sure. I mean, once you cut Devin Harris out of the picture, they're possibly a perimeter shooter away from being a really good team. You have a Lopez down low, you have a young, athletic PF in Favors, and you'd have LeBron. Plug in someone who can shoot, and I could play "PG" on that team, and we would win 60 games. But still, it's not the best situation of all.
Where is that, you may ask? In LA. With the Clippers. Why?
(1) Best supporting cast for LeBron. The Clippers dump old-ass Baron Davis, and plug LeBron in to essentially run the point. Besides, who else do you want with the ball in their hands? You have a solid big man in Kaman, down low. You have Blake Griffen at PF, who (I think) would be perfect - plays good defense, hustles ALL the time, legit post player, but also athletic enough to run with LeBron. You have a couple of GREAT rookies coming in, with Bledsoe and Aminu. And you have Eric Gordon, a guy who can shoot from anywhere, and is happy being that kick-out option.
And it's a true supporting cast. Everyone there is talented, but no one is bigger than LeBron.
(2) Sets up a natural rivalry with the only other guy who you could argue is better than LeBron, Kobe Bryant.
(3) It's a team with no history (like the Bulls circa 1984). It's LeBron's team to put his name on. Sure, they may never be the Lakers. But it's still LA, and in a city of 4 million, there's a new generation being born every day.
Miami: Well, c'mon now. Not only does that make the East boring (either the Heat win the conference and no one cares, or the Heat lose the conference and everyone becomes convinced that the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the league are now playing for the title), but it also diminishes LeBron's legacy. LeBron is uniquely positioned to be considered one of the BEST ever. Not just a great player. Not just a HOFer. But one of the best ever. When it's all said and done, you may be able to argue over Jordan or LeBron for best individual player of all time. But not if LeBron pulls this and goes to Miami. Not at 25. Sure, Malone and Payton did it in LA, but that was at the end of their careers. Garnett and Allen did it, too, but they were both older as well and in very different situations. No, LeBron needs his own team if he truly wants to reach that elite pantheon - to be that one guy for your generation who stands above the rest.
NY Knicks: Attractive, but I don't like it. LeBron needs competitors on his team, because LeBron enjoys himself too much sometimes. His enjoyment ultimately takes away from his team's ability to compete at the highest level. He needs guys who are going to be motivated on their own. And needless to say, that is not Amar'e Stoudemire.
NY/NJ Nets: Attractive. For sure. I mean, once you cut Devin Harris out of the picture, they're possibly a perimeter shooter away from being a really good team. You have a Lopez down low, you have a young, athletic PF in Favors, and you'd have LeBron. Plug in someone who can shoot, and I could play "PG" on that team, and we would win 60 games. But still, it's not the best situation of all.
Where is that, you may ask? In LA. With the Clippers. Why?
(1) Best supporting cast for LeBron. The Clippers dump old-ass Baron Davis, and plug LeBron in to essentially run the point. Besides, who else do you want with the ball in their hands? You have a solid big man in Kaman, down low. You have Blake Griffen at PF, who (I think) would be perfect - plays good defense, hustles ALL the time, legit post player, but also athletic enough to run with LeBron. You have a couple of GREAT rookies coming in, with Bledsoe and Aminu. And you have Eric Gordon, a guy who can shoot from anywhere, and is happy being that kick-out option.
And it's a true supporting cast. Everyone there is talented, but no one is bigger than LeBron.
(2) Sets up a natural rivalry with the only other guy who you could argue is better than LeBron, Kobe Bryant.
(3) It's a team with no history (like the Bulls circa 1984). It's LeBron's team to put his name on. Sure, they may never be the Lakers. But it's still LA, and in a city of 4 million, there's a new generation being born every day.
Now, he won't sign there because of Donald Sterling. From what I've heard, Sterling deserves to lose out like this. But if he could put all that aside, I think the Clippers become title conteders overnight, and have the basic parts in place to give LeBron multiple rings.
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