LA Clippers shouldn’t rule out a relocation opportunity
By Keith Rivas
It doesn’t look like a stay in Los Angeles is working out anymore for the LA Clippers.
What will it take for them to do something different?
They refuse to trade DeAndre Jordan, move on from Doc Rivers, or figure out a better go-to option than Blake Griffin. So clearly nothing that should make them change course can convince them do so, or they would have already done it by now.
Well, here’s a crazy idea – how about relocating?
Team owner Steve Ballmer said as recently as July, per a report from Business Insider, that he’s not going to be moving the team away from Los Angeles, particularly to the Seattle market. But that might be something worth re-thinking if the ship continues to sink and they do nothing about it.
However, that doesn’t immediately mean the NBA would be getting a team back in Seattle.
Other viable options such as Louisville, Mexico City, and even Anaheim would at least the Clippers further from the Lakers shadow in addition to their own dysfunction. They need a change of scenery; that much is obvious.
Here’s an interesting excerpt from the Business Insider story mentioned a minute ago.
"Ballmer had heard it all before, but the idea of relocating gained new steam after Bill Simmons published an “11-Step Guide to Saving the Clippers” commenting on what the Clippers needed to do after losing one of the faces of the franchise in Paul.Simmons made a pretty solid argument for Seattle being a better choice for the team, saying it “could be the Pacific Northwest’s version of how Silicon Valley embraced the Warriors.”"
Obviously the Clippers are not going to have the kind of success that the Warriors are having right away. However, the need for a move has never been more obvious, in my opinion.
If they don’t change anything whatsoever, including where they play, we could see this dysfunction continue for the next generation of Clippers basketball. Nobody wants that.