NBA Rumors: Free Agents Should Choose Clippers Over Lakers When In Hollywood

In the eyes of some critics, the Los Angeles Lakers are the place to go for any NBA cager if they are looking for greatness and a promising future. While that has produced several legends the past years, some may find it better to join the Clippers instead.

Throughout this NBA season, the Clippers have curiously become the ideal place for up and coming free agents such as Kawhi Leonard. The obvious reason is that Kawhi or any other NBA superstar can easily become the face of the franchise. However, the way the Clips are being managed could be another, The Athletic reported.

One can only look at how things turned out after the February NBA trade deadline. The Clippers seemed to have waived the white flag when they shipped Tobias Harris to the Philadelphia 76ers. Instead, Los Angeles found a way to advance to the next round despite having less-popular players in two, Fansided reported. In fact, they finished seventh in the Western Conference although they have their hands full against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

Regardless, the point here is that the Clippers were able to do something that the Lakers were unable to do – make the playoffs. Looking ahead, and with the right personnel, the Clippers could be in for a better showing come the 2019-20 NBA season. And if the way things were handled holds up, such could be a good bargaining chip for free agents – not limited to just Leonard.

As for the Lakers, it remains that pundits believe that rising NBA stars are still hesitant because of LeBron James. Most prefer to be the star of the show rather than being the King’s sidekick. Nevertheless, this is not expected to stop general manager Rob Pelinka from pitching to top free agents. Among the names likely to be pursued are Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving.

The Clippers do have a fine mix of young stars in the mix. This includes the likes of Landry Shamet and Shai Gilgeouos-Alexander. Adding Leonard and perhaps at least one more star could do wonder for Doc Rivers and his wards. Right now, the Clippers are focusing on the playoffs with key moves likely to be revealed thereafter.

For the Lakers, adding more talent to help James, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Brandon Ingram is a need. But before all that, the purple and gold need to figure out who their next head coach will be and pick up from there.