LeBron James’ Surprising Suitors Revealed: Clippers’ $20 Million Offer and Celtics Expressing Interest

During this offseason, it was clear that five playoff contenders were interested in signing free agent superstar LeBron James. He made it clear that he wanted to win championships, which is why many other possibilities were out of the picture.

The Golden State Warriors, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Philadelphia 76ers were the five who made the cut, with the latter three as the final options.

Eventually, the King decided to take his talents to Philadelphia, acknowledging that the team’s roster construct and the top brass gave him the best chance of adding more rings to his collection.

He signed a two-year, $8 million deal that was by far the lowest any team was offering. This brought up some conspiracy theories considering that the Heat offered twice as much. But there were bigger offers on the table.

The LA Clippers even discussed a lucrative one-season contract north of $20 million that would allow him to stay at his Brentwood, California, home, sources said.

Dave McMenamin revealed

This means that the four-time champion did get a chance to remain with his family in his mansion in Los Angeles. However, it is not wild to think that LeBron James would sign with the city’s ‘other’ franchise, after spending eight years with the Lakers.

That would have annihilated his legacy for good, even if he managed to lead the Clippers to their first-ever NBA championship. Many Los Angeles basketball fans may have shifted to the Intuit Dome. But most of them still proudly wear purple and gold on their chests, and would not allow this supposed ‘betrayal’ to die down.

LeBron James rejected the Celtics probably due to the same reasons

Joining the Los Angeles Clippers might be a wild idea for anyone who played a significant role on the Los Angeles Lakers. Role players can move about, but still manage to get some flak.

Marcus Smart mentioned that he would not be surprised if Boston Celtics fans booed him for wearing the purple and gold last season. It is also probably why the winningest franchise in the league was out of the LeBron James sweepstakes.

The Boston Celtics, James’ consistent nemesis through the years, expressed interest, sources told ESPN.

Dave McMenamin revealed

The ESPN journalist used the term ‘consistent nemesis’ in his article. That alone should be enough to give an indication of how the 22-time All-Star may have felt when their interest came to his knowledge.

It is no secret that the mid-2000s Celtics’ dominance was the reason James decided to leave his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat. Therefore, that, along with his Lakers history, made it an absolute no-go.

Lakers great Shaquille O’Neal also joined the Celtics. But that was in the final year of his career, when he was nothing more than a shell of his former dominant self. LeBron James is still playing at an elite level, which is why this interest did not materialize.

27 teams inquired about LeBron James

Throughout the free agency process, many detractors dismissed all the interest in LeBron James. They claimed that his agent, Rich Paul, was just throwing out names intentionally to generate possibilities. But it seems the Klutch Sports CEO did not name all the franchises that gave him a call.

WHAT STARTED WITH James’ longtime friend and agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, having conversations with 27 teams, as he told ESPN, and then whittling them to a final five.

McMenamin revealed

Many may still dismiss this claim, citing a lack of proof, as just an effort to show that teams wanted the four-time league MVP. But if this were true, it continues to prove that the oldest player in the league draws more interest than anyone else.

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• Stephen Curry Has Honest Reaction to LeBron James Joining 76ers: “Don’t Envision Anything Until it Happens”