Keep in mind that Simmons, a Clippers season ticket holder, made a similar case last year that LeBron should come to L.A. and look how that turned out.

Anyway, here’s his case:

Griffin is the most meaningful in-the-air player since Shawn Kemp. Throw in his competitive streak and he did the impossible — he made Baron Davis care about basketball again. As my friend Tollin said last week, “It’s amazing; it’s like Baron has a purpose again.” He’s Blake’s dunk muse. Now the Clips have the foundation of something special: Griffin, Davis, Eric Gordon (a future All-Star) and enough left to make a legitimate offer for Denver: lottery pick Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman, expiring contracts and the rights to Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 pick (nearly as valuable a trade chip as Favors) for Carmelo and Al Harrington’s horrendous contract that’s the Carmelo Trade Tax. Mrs. Anthony could live in Hollywood and make her next unwatchable reality show. And her husband could play with Griffin, Gordon, Davis, Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan … a situation that’s between five and 20 times more appealing than New Jersey. Even when you include Donald Sterling.

From a basketball/quality of living standpoint, you couldn’t do much better than the situation with the Clippers. Anthony-Griffin-Gordon would make an excellent trio to build around and I’ll agree that the building blocks the Clippers could offer (Aminu, Kaman and Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 pick) are almost as good as what the Nets can offer.

But there’s one thing that stands in the way: Donald Sterling. The Nets’ owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, a.k.a. the Russian Mark Cuban, is infinitely more impressive and Simmons notes that LeBron thought that the Nets meeting was right up there with the Heat’s last summer.

It will be nice for Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton land in New Jersey with Melo, but only for a year or two, as both players are past their respective primes. It’s really about Brook Lopez and Mikhail Prokhorov versus Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and Donald Sterling.

Per ESPN…

As of late Sunday night, sources said, New Jersey was poised to receive [Carmelo] Anthony, [Chauncey] Billups and [Rip] Hamilton, with Denver landing two future first-round picks and six players. The Nuggets’ haul would feature Nets rookie Derrick Favors, former All-Star guard Devin Harris and Nets sharpshooter Anthony Morrow. In addition, the Nuggets would bring in the New Jersey threesome of Quinton Ross, Ben Uzoh and Stephen Graham included for salary-cap purposes.

Detroit, meanwhile, was to receive Nets big man Johan Petro and the expiring contract of Nets forward Troy Murphy, with the Pistons motivated to join in by the $17-plus million in long-term savings they’d earn by shedding Hamilton’s contract.

Denver threw a wrench into the works by choosing to play Anthony and Billups in Sunday night’s game against New Orleans. Generally, if a player is about to be traded, the team sits him down until the deal is consummated to avoid a deal-killing injury. The Nuggets’ move indicates that the trade is not as close to the finish line as some would like to believe.

If this deal does go through, it looks fairly equitable from all sides. The Nets get their man, and they also upgrade (in the short term) at point guard. Billups is getting on in years so one wonders if the inclusion of Harris was at the Nuggets’ request. Denver would get a young prospect at power forward (Favors) and a proven guard (Harris) whom they can plug in at the point or move to another team for another piece to the rebuilding puzzle. I suspect that Ty Lawson is the future at point guard in Denver, and Harris could potentially bring in more talent later. After what happened to the Raptors and Cavs this summer, getting Favors and Harris for Anthony and Billups isn’t a bad haul. I’m sure there will be a first round draft pick or two included as well.

If anyone is wondering why Carmelo has apparently become agreeable to signing an extension with the Nets, it’s probably due to the Knicks’ inability to offer the Nuggets something equitable. If Melo finishes the season as a Nugget, the uncertainty of the next collective bargaining agreement could mean that Anthony would leave a lot of money on the table by passing on the Nuggets’ extension offer. In other words, he’d like to lock up his contract now, and since the Nets and Nuggets have worked out a deal in principle, Carmelo can start counting his money. Certainly the prospect of continuing his career with Billups in New Jersey/Brooklyn also has to help.

If this deal does go through as described, the Nets could have a starting lineup of Billups, Hamilton, Anthony, Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez. That might be enough to turn the Nets into a playoff team despite the 10-27 start. After all, they’re only five games out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the East.

Mikhail Prokhorov has made clear his intention to change the name of the New Jersey Nets, the New York Daily News reports:

Prokhorov’s camp confirmed this morning that they’ve sent a request to the league to change the team’s name.

What does this mean? Maybe nothing.

Changing a team’s nickname, uniform or city name is a long process requiring that the owner gives the NBA notice 25 months in advance. This is to allow time for the creative process and the time it requires to make and market new uniforms. There doesn’t have to be a plan with the proposal, just a desire. It’s basically like putting the NBA on notice for a potential identity change.

So if Prokhorov wanted to change the team’s name for the 2012-13 season (even the city name to Brooklyn), he would have had to submit his notice by Oct. 1. If he submits a proposal, it would have to be approved by the Board of Governors.

There’s no news on what he’s going to change it to, and it could be a simple change to the ‘Brooklyn Nets,’ but the outspoken owner has joked about the ‘Nets’ moniker in the past, so a new nickname is likely.

On “Pardon the Interruption,” Tony Riali suggested the ‘Brooklyn Deckers‘ which didn’t make any sense to me until I did a Google search.

I kind of like ‘Brooklyn Nets.’ The Nets nickname has a lot of history to it and it sounds cool. I’ve also seen the ‘Brooklyn Bears’ and the ‘Brooklyn Dodgers’ mentioned. Or he could go with the New York Nets.

What do you think would be the best new nickname for the team?

Ken Berger of CBS Sports writes that the main reason Carmelo Anthony hasn’t signed a three-year extension with the Nuggets is because he has a burning desire to play in New York.

Anthony, an ideal fit for the Knicks, already has told confidants this summer that he’s eager to explore playing in New York. His dilemma is whether to turn down a three-year, $65 million extension offer from the Nuggets with only 10 months left in the current collective bargaining agreement. The new deal is expected to be much less lucrative for players. Sources say owners who were rattled by this summer’s free-agent frenzy — orchestrated by CAA, which represented James, Wade and Chris Bosh — are determined to clamp down not only on player salaries in the new agreement, but also player movement.

Anthony’s desire to play in New York is so strong, sources say, that those close to the three-time All-Star have scoffed at the efforts of executives touting themselves as being able to deliver him.

“Carmelo already wants to play in New York,” one person with knowledge of his plans told CBSSports.com. “He doesn’t need anybody to bring him there. He’s a gunslinger. That situation is perfect for him.”

The new CBA is the wild card. Anthony may be leaving a lot of money on the table by turning down that extension, but playing in one of the world’s biggest markets would no doubt enhance his Q Rating and his ability to make money via sponsorships.

Fit-wise, the Knicks need a player like Anthony to build around. He and Amare Stoudemire would make a formidable 1-2 punch, and his ability to make jumpshots would be ideal for Mike D’Antoni’s offensive attack.

As it stands, the Knicks have plenty of cap space to sign Anthony outright if does indeed become a free agent next summer. The other team to watch in the race for his services is the New Jersey Nets, who project to have comparable cap space and a good young nucleus in Brook Lopez, Devin Harris and Derrick Favors. Next summer, the Nets might only be one year away from a move to Brooklyn, so if Favors shows star potential, Anthony could view the franchise as the best fit for his game.

As for the Nuggets — well, it looks like their run might be over. Chauncey Billups is 33, and other than Ty Lawson, there aren’t enough promising young players to convince Melo to stay put.

(Click on the chart for a bigger version.)

It seems our readers believe that the Bulls are the odds on favorites to sign LeBron, with the Cavs close behind. The Knicks finished third by a pretty wide margin, with the Heat, “other” and the Nets getting a decent amount of the vote. The Clippers appear to be the biggest longshot of this group.

World Sports Exchange has set up a long-term market so that gamblers can buy and sell shares in certain teams. Here is a snapshot of the market as of 5/31/10:

A share in the team that signs LeBron is worth $100, while all other shares aren’t worth anything. So someone can buy a share of the Cavs for $33 and if Cleveland signs LeBron, the buyer would make $67 on the transaction. This market essentially says that the Cavs are a 2:1 favorite to sign LeBron, the Bulls are 7:3, the Knicks are 3:1 and the Heat are 8:1.

What’s not clear is what happens if Cleveland executes a sign-and-trade with LeBron. In that scenario, the Cavs would technically “sign” him, but his rights would be traded to his new team. The site should make the market more clear by saying “Who will LeBron play for next season?” instead of “Who will sign LeBron?”

Regardless, this market is something to keep your eye on because it quantifies the pulse of the public’s opinion of the LeBron courtship. Also, be sure to check out my attempt to handicap the major players in the LeBron sweepstakes.

Anyone outside of his entourage who claims to know what LeBron is going to do is being disingenuous. He loves the fact that he’s the center of attention even though the playoffs are still in full swing. He often speaks of July 1 in grandiose terms and that’s because, like most superstars, he has a very high opinion of himself.

That said, I found myself rooting for the Celtics in their series with the Cavs because as a writer, Cleveland’s early exit throws LeBron’s future to the wind. He could land any number of places.

Though the LeBron Tracker makes me a little nauseous, I thought I’d take a stab at handicapping where King James might end up. I’ll include the six teams that ESPN deemed worthy of making the top banner and add the Mavs for good measure. For each team, I’ll outline why he’d sign and why he wouldn’t. I’ll also rank (on a scale of 1-10) how he fits from a personnel standpoint.

In terms of fit, I look to the last few premier wings who have broken through and won at least one title as the best player on their team. I’m talking about Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Dwyane Wade and Michael Jordan. What do they have in common? Kobe, Pierce and Wade all played with top notch big men — Gasol, Garnett and Shaq, respectively — while Jordan had Scottie Pippen. In other words, they all got to play with another All-NBA (Top 15) caliber player when they won their title.

They also enjoyed good coaching. Jordan and Kobe had Phil Jackson, Wade had Pat Riley and Doc Rivers did a great job of coaching the ’08 Celtics. They were also all surrounded by good shooters who could make teams pay for double-teaming their respective superstar.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the major players in line for LeBron’s services and try to handicap their chances of signing the league’s most valuable player.

CAVS (25%)
Why he’ll sign: Loyalty, comfort, familiarity. He’s from the area and he doesn’t want to leave town after an early postseason exit, as it would effectively destroy basketball in the city of Cleveland. Shaq will be gone and there’s an opportunity for an upgrade at head coach.
Why he won’t sign: Too much baggage. The franchise has had seven years to build around him and they’ve made just one Finals appearance. Suspect flexibility with the roster.
Fit: 5/10 The Cavs have a pretty good shooter at power forward (Antawn Jamison) and a good shooter at point guard (Mo Williams), but neither player is even average on defense. There are a lot of solid-to-good players on the roster, but no one approaches the Top 15 sidekick that helped the aforementioned wings win their titles. It’s tough to find that kind of player via trade, but that’s how Gasol, Garnett and Shaq came to play for the Lakers, Celtics and Heat. Cap-wise, if they re-sign LeBron, they won’t have any cap space to speak of until the summer of 2012 when Jamison’s salary is off the books.

KNICKS (25%)
Why he’ll sign: There’s enough cap space to sign Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade, so the chance to play with another superstar. The Big Apple. Madison Square Garden. The opportunity to resurrect basketball in one of the world’s greatest cities. The chance to play for Mike D’Antoni, whom he knows through Team USA. LeBron’s ego is built for the Big Apple.
Why he won’t sign: The supporting cast isn’t good enough. D’Antoni doesn’t care enough about defense. The internet makes playing in a big market not as significant as in years past.
Fit: 8/10 A potential pairing with Chris Bosh (or Dirk Nowitzki) would be ideal. Dwyane Wade might work too, since Wade is a deadly crunch time scorer and there are plenty of shots to go around in D’Antoni’s up-tempo system. James Dolan isn’t afraid to spend, so the Knicks would be able to add title-hungry vets left and right. The Knicks are the one team that truly has the opportunity to build a roster around LeBron, and that might appeal to him.

BULLS (25%)
Why he’ll sign: A very nice supporting cast consisting of future Top 15er Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah. It’s a chance to play for the team that MJ played for. There’s an opening at coach, so there’s flexibility there. The Bulls could potentially move Luol Deng and/or Kirk Hinrich in a sign-and-trade to bring another big name (Bosh?) to join the party.
Why he won’t sign: The Bulls will always be Jordan’s team. It could be tough to play with a ball-dominating guard like Rose. The Bulls are not known for acquiescing to their stars, and LeBron is used to having a big say in personnel decisions after seven years with the Cavs.
Fit: 7/10 There’s a lot of talent in Chicago, but it’s a questionable fit. Deng is a bit undersized to play the four, and the Bulls don’t have a lot of solid shooting at the complimentary positions. Rose could be the Top 15 sidekick LeBron needs, but since they both handle the ball so much, offensive flow is a concern. If the Bulls can swing a trade for a top-notch power forward, the fit becomes an 8/10 or 9/10.

HEAT (13%)
Why he’ll sign: Dwyane Wade. Dwyane Wade. Dwyane Wade. And if the Heat can give Michael Beasley away, they’d have enough cap space to sign a top-notch big man like Bosh, Nowitzki, Stoudemire or Boozer as well. Also, Pat Riley said that he could return to the bench if need be, which would give LeBron the experienced coach that he craves. Oh, and the weather’s nice, too.
Why he won’t sign: Miami is Wade’s town and they have a recent title, so LeBron’s arrival wouldn’t mean as much as it would elsewhere. Plus, Heat fans don’t seem terribly loyal; there were usually plenty of good seats still available this season, and the Heat made the playoffs.
Fit: 7/10 It’s not clear how a LeBron/Wade dynamic would work, especially in crunch time. Does LeBron play off of Wade, or vice versa? Still, you’d think that with two Top 5 players, they’d find a way to make it work. Again, if the Heat are able to move Beasley and sign a star big man, the fit rises to 8/10.

NETS (5%)
Why he’ll sign: Brook Lopez is a future All-Star and, despite his lackluster season, Devin Harris is a nice point guard. The Nets have the #3 pick, which could turn into Evan Turner or Derrick Favors. New owner Mikhail Prokorov has money coming out of his ears and would likely spend whatever’s necessary to surround LeBron with the best supporting cast possible. The pending move to Brooklyn would put LeBron in NYC.
Why he won’t sign: This was the worst team in the league last season and it could take a while before the supporting cast is championship-ready. The move to Brooklyn is nice, but it’s still at least two years off — does LeBron want to play in Newark for two years in his prime? Doubtful.
Fit: 7/10 It’s the same issue as in Chicago and Miami — can LeBron play with a ball-dominating guard? But Harris would gladly defer while Rose and Wade may not. The Nets have a great young big man in Lopez, something that the Heat and Bulls can’t offer right now. However, he’s not a court-spacer like Bosh or Nowitzki are.

MAVS (5%)
Why he’ll sign: He and Dirk would create a terrific pick-and-pop combination. Mark Cuban has proven that he’s willing to spend in order to build a winner. There are several good players already in place.
Why he won’t sign: The Mavs and Cavs may not be able to work out a deal. In the West, the Lakers still rule and would make a Finals appearance that much tougher.
Fit: 7/10 Jason Kidd is a sharpshooter now, and with Jason Terry at the other guard spot, LeBron would be surrounded by shooters. However, the Mavs are getting older so the championship window seems smaller than some of his other options. The presence of the Lakers makes this move quite risky.

CLIPPERS (2%)
Why he’ll sign: The Clippers need a small forward and LeBron would have a chance to play with a good, relatively young supporting cast. It’s Los Angeles and he can battle with Kobe for the key to the city.
Why he won’t sign: It’s the Clippers. They’re cursed. Why does he want to share a city with Kobe? Baron Davis is a ball-dominating guard. Moving to the West means that he’ll have to deal with the Lakers in the postseason.
Fit: 6/10 LeBron and Blake Griffin could make a nasty one-two punch. Eric Gordon is an up-and-coming two guard and Davis can still make plays at the point. Chris Kaman is an All-Star center. Davis would have to defer and it’s not clear how he and Gordon would perform as spot-up shooters.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

I missed this column over the weekend, but it’s a pretty good read for those interested in the Nets’ new owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. Here is Simmons’ prediction for Prokhorov’s first offseason:

Still, allow me two making-a-splash predictions for this summer. The first: MRMC pounces on Phil Jackson with an absolutely unfathomable offer. How unfathomable? Five years, $85 million. Yeah. That’s what I mean. Prokhorov is already on record as saying that he wants an NBA coach. Why not overpay to get one of the greatest ever? How could the Lakers possibly come close to matching that commitment? And why would Jackson say no to finishing his career in the New York area for the most lucrative coaching deal ever, BY FAR? I say the Godfather offer gets made, and I say Jackson takes it.

Second, instead of chewing up Jersey’s cap space with overpaid free agents, I bet Prokhorov trades for Andrei Kirilenko — his former CSKA star, as well as an expiring 2011 contract of $17.82 million — in a deal that won’t cost Jersey anything because Utah (struggling to find money for Carlos Boozer) could easily replace Kirilenko with its lottery pick (No. 8 overall) and a second trade. For the Nets, even if they just rented Kirilenko and picked Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors (the draft’s best power forward) at No. 3, that’s an intriguing short-term front line (Favors, Kirilenko and Brook Lopez) and they’d maintain flexibility for a run at Carmelo in 2011 and/or have Kirilenko’s expiring deal to shop this February. And it would go over big back home for Prokhorov. Win, win and win.

That is a lot of money, but would Jackson agree to coach the Nets? I guess it would depend on how quickly they can turn the roster around. I’d say this is a long shot. But still, with Jerry Buss asking Jackson to take a pay cut, it would make a potentially huge raise pretty intriguing.

The Nets missed out on the chance to draft John Wall, but they will have a shot at either Evan Turner or Derrick Favors at #3, or even DeMarcus Cousins if they decide that he’s not crazy enough to pass up. Cousins is more of a center, while I could easily see the developing Favors playing alongside Lopez. If Philly takes Favors #2, Turner would be a nice consolation prize, and he can play shooting guard if the Nets have their eye on Carmelo Anthony next summer.

Regardless, the Nets are going to be an attracting landing spot for free agents over the next few years, especially when the move to Brooklyn finally happens. Players like to play for owners who are willing to spend to win, and there’s a great chance that the Nets will have one of the biggest payrolls within five years.


Photo from fOTOGLIF