LeBron James has supposedly tipped his hand to the Cleveland Cavaliers, with reports surfacing last week that the superstar is definitely taking his talents elsewhere after this season. This had led to Kyrie Irving, his embattled Cavs No. 2, asking for a trade to a different team and Cleveland's front office seeing the team's fortunes dip with tip-off about two months away. There is, however, one NBA celebrity who thinks that James' plane ticket isn't necessarily going to be punched to Los Angeles when it's all said and done.
Enter Blake Griffin, the man leading the charge for L.A.'s other basketball franchise, the Clippers. He recently agreed to a new $173 million contract extension with the Clips and, if LeBron were to make a much-anticipated move to the Lakers, they two would be crosstown rivals. With all that in mind, Blake doesn't sound sure that James will end up in the purple and gold.
LeBron James’ current team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, has found itself in an odd place. Kyrie Irving, the team’s second-best player—and presumably the cornerstone of its future—has requested a trade.
Even before it was made public that Kyrie wanted out of town, the basketball world had been murmuring that LeBron’s days in Cleveland were numbered. James has a player option in his contract after this coming season, so he can opt out in June 2018, and reporters have widely speculated that LBJ dreams of moving to Los Angeles and joining one of the two L.A. franchises.
The star of one of those teams, however, doesn’t see it in the cards. During an appearance on the Skar brothers’ podcast, View From The Cheap Seats, Clippers forward Blake Griffin said he didn’t think James would join the Clippers.
"Honestly, I don't see him coming to L.A. period," Griffin told the Sklar Brothers in the latest episode of their podcast, View from the Cheap Seats. "Listen, again, I have no idea [laughs]. I think something is brewing with him and his group of guys. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I think something’s brewing and they’re going to try to make that work." When Griffin refers to the :group of guys," he's talking about the "Banana Boat" crew that includes Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade. It's an interesting take that leaves one question: where will LeBron go instead?
"I could see him going to New York before L.A.," Blake said. "I still think, when you go to the Garden, it’s a completely different feeling. The energy, there seems like there’s just a consistent buzz the entire game…even last year when you go play them, it’s still there." Only time will tell if Griffin is on to something, but after this crazy NBA offseason, it's safe to say that anything is possible.