NBA Rumors: Top Options if LeBron James Leaves Cleveland

1. Los Angeles Clippers

If any team both makes sense and provides structurally plausible return, it’s the Los Angeles Clippers. LeBron James has a close friend on the roster, and Los Angeles has a star for whom he can be signed-and-traded—the most rewarding way for James to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Clippers have been somewhere between dormant and illegitimate throughout the history of the organization, and James could achieve a legendary feat by hanging a first ever championship banner.

James and Chris Paul are close friends who have played on Team USA together and developed a tight off-the-court bond. That alone would create the possibility for a union in Los Angeles, with DeAndre Jordan serving as the defensive anchor and Doc Rivers the long-awaited great head coach.

James may never reach Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan’s respective levels, but he’s certainly never played for a coach the caliber of Phil Jackson or, to a lesser degree, Rivers.

The key to this move is Blake Griffin, for whom James could be swapped in a sign-and-trade. Griffin, a five-time All-Star at 26 years old, would help Cleveland maintain a high level of play as he and Kyrie Irving develop into the star tandem of the immediate future.

That may call Kevin Love’s future into question, but it’d help both organizations and give James a chance to play with a friend in a major market under a borderline great head coach.

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That’s the perfect situation for James to enter, and it’d be an excellent way for him to help the organization he’d be leaving.