The Miami Heat's "Big Three" era is nearing its end as recent reports indicated that LeBron James and Chris Bosh could sign elsewhere in the offseason.
James could opt out of his contract and test free agency in the offseason. This early, several teams are already expressing interest in making a strong push to sign the Heat superstar this summer, including the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But aside from the Lakers and the Cavaliers, ESPN reported that the Los Angeles Clippers are now in play for James with sources saying that the team will push hard to acquire the reigning Most Valuable Player in the offseason.
However, unlike the Lakers and the Cavaliers, the Clippers will not have cap space to sign James as a free agent, which means that the only way for them to acquire the 29-year-old superstar is through a sign-and-trade deal.
A sign-and-trade deal is easier said than done since the Heat should be amenable to such move in order to make the deal work. Sources said that the Heat might cooperate with the Clippers if Blake Griffin will be involved in the deal.
"If the results of this season ended up with James looking at the Clippers and the Heat were eventually forced to cooperate, league executives believe Miami would ask for Blake Griffin," ESPN noted.
Sources said that the Clippers will have no choice but to trade away the high-flying forward since it will be their best way to create cap space for James in the summer. Chris Paul is understandably untradeable since he could be the reason why James will be interested in moving to the Clippers.
"Under any scenario, the Clippers would have to make another maneuver to make a sign-and-trade work, primarily to shed some salary to get under the luxury tax. But it is not that complicated. The bottom line is this: If the Clippers were interested and James got interested, there's a deal that could be done whether it involves Griffin or another package of players," ESPN noted.
No deal is imminent as of the moment, but NBA analyst believe that the Heat and the Clippers will strongly consider a possible James-for-Griffin trade this summer especially if none of the two championship-contender teams win a title this season.
