[h1]
Forget all other scenarios, LeBron James is fit for the Clippers[/h1]I'm listening to
Colin Cowherd's radio show Tuesday morning, and he's talking with someone about
LeBron James maybe ending up in New York or New Jersey, and I keep waiting for Cowherd to say something brilliant.
He usually does, but he's off his game, and so now I'm the one who will have to make the argument that there's an excellent chance James will be playing for the Clippers next season.
Right now there are seven teams in salary-cap range to make a run at James. Among them, the Clippers offer the most attractive supporting cast to a guy who is probably pretty intent on winning a championship.
He can stay in Cleveland and make more money than anywhere else, but how much would they have to pay you to live in Cleveland?
Throw out Minneapolis and Oklahoma City, too, because no one wants to live there. The Knicks are loaded with stiffs, making it impossible to win any time soon and he will be halfway through his contract before New Jersey is playing in something other than a dump.
That leaves, Miami, Chicago and the worst sports franchise known to mankind.
Does James want to play with another megastar like
Dwyane Wade? Doubt it.
Hard to argue with Chicago right now, but for someone like James, who has already shown a keen interest in Hollywood, why not the entertainment capital?
The Clippers have seven players under contract for next season, potential young stars in
Blake Griffin and
Eric Gordon to go along with
Baron Davis,
Chris Kaman and
Al Thornton.
If the Clippers still have to drop someone to clear more salary room for James, that's easy -- bye Al.
In a recent interview,
Donald Sterling was talking about having a ton of money and wanting to spend it on a superstar. He thought he had a deal with
Kobe Bryant. Why shouldn't he think there's a chance to land James?
If James leaves Cleveland, he will get about $16.5 million next season, no matter who signs him. That's the way the NBA works.
Talk about a basketball legacy for the ages -- how would you like to be known as the only player in NBA history to make the Clippers a winner? At the same time you get to square off with Bryant for basketball supremacy, up close and personal.
Now there's a Nike commercial for the game's top two competitors with Staples Center as the backdrop.
If LeBron turned around the Clippers, that would be the single greatest feat in sports history
.