LeBron James LA Clippers trade claim
LeBron James joining the Los Angeles Lakers is a GOOD thing for the LA Clippers.
That’s according to Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, who claims both the Clippers and Lakers benefit from James being in Los Angeles.
The Lakers may have garnered most of the attention this season due to signing James in free agency this past offseason, but it is the Clippers who currently lead the way in the Western Conference.
Despite the Clippers’ brilliant form, it is the Lakers who have attracted most of the attention with James now on board.
And Rivers insists the Clippers will profit from James’ trade.
“I think the Lakers are the Lakers with or without LeBron,” Rivers said on Skip and Shannon Undefeated.
“But now LeBron comes to the Lakers and the Laker fans, they talk more.
“That’s good. When basketball is spoken about in L.A. it helps both teams at the end of the day.”
Kevin Durant LA Lakers snub
Kevin Durant has has been challenged to become the alpha male of a team and join the New York Knicks over the Los Angeles Lakers next summer.
Durant’s impending free agency in 2019 has been a hot topic in and around the NBA for the majority of this season so far and is expected to rumble on until he makes an announcement.
He is widely expected to opt out of the final year of his contract to become a free agent and seek a max contract.
Joining the Lakers would see Durant team up with LeBron James, immediately making them title contenders.
But ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith believes the 30-year-old needs to make the step up and take on his own team by joining New York.
“If you are ready to be that player that we’ve seen over the last two games,” he said on his podcast.
“That player that hasn’t given a damn; that player that shot the ball 26 times against Sacramento; that shot the ball 33 times last night.
“If you’re ready to be that dude on a night-in night-out basis, I want Kevin Durant in New York because it would be special.”
Kawhi Leonard slammed
Kawhi Leonard was called out by his former president, Gregg Popovich, for not being enough of a leader at the San Antonio Spurs, though one pundit has slammed the comments as ‘spiteful’.
The Toronto Raptors star joined the franchise in the summer from the Spurs.
Speaking to reporters in the US, Popovich said that Leonard was “never a leader” for the Spurs.
However, Tas Melas of The Starters podcast insisted that Popovich was still angry about Leonard leaving the team.
“This his Greg Popovic being a little spiteful, to me,” he said.
“He’s being a little vengeful.”