There’s an NBA rumor picking up steam that LeBron James will ditch the Cleveland Cavaliers to play in Los Angeles in 2017.
That rumor still is alive — but it appears we can narrow it down to one L.A. team. During an appearance on the “Freddie and Fitz” podcast Friday, The Undefeated’s Mike Wise — a veteran NBA reporter whose previous stops include the Washington Post and New York Times — stated pretty definitively that James never will play for the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I got from a very good authority, a very good authority, that LeBron James will never be a Clipper,” Wise said on the podcast, via ESPN.com. “I can’t tell you who, but I’m going to tell you it’s somebody that knows, and LeBron James will never be a Clipper.”
Normally we wouldn’t blink at James blacklisting another team, as the list of clubs he’d actually leave Cleveland for is very small. But what makes this interesting is that the Clippers just may have been on that list. They just signed legendary NBA executive Jerry West, in theory, to pursue elite talent like James, and also employ one of James’ close friends, Chris Paul, who is entering free agency but likely would re-sign with L.A. in a heartbeat if he knew LeBron was coming to town.
Alas, Wise seems pretty adamant that the “Banana Boat” reunion party isn’t happening in Tinseltown — on the Clippers, anyway.
“I don’t know if that’s because he remembers what the Clippers used to be, or he just doesn’t want to put his lot in there, or he thinks (Clippers owner) Steve Ballmer is just too animated on the sideline,” Wise added.
“But he’s never going to be a Clipper.”
H/t to SLAM Online
Thumbnail photo via Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports Images
