As the brutal winter ensues and the calendar soon flips to February, there are plenty of milestones quickly approaching in the NBA season.
Some of these include the trade deadline Feb. 7, All-Star weekend Feb. 15 to Feb. 17, playoffs, the draft lottery, the actual draft and, of course, free agency.
This free agency class is one of the most highly anticipated in recent league history. Headlining names include Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving.
Money will be spent wildly and superstar pairings are to be expected. Rumors of a Irving-LeBron James reunion have swirled for the last couple of weeks. Leonard moving on to the Los Angeles Clippers is another top rumor as well.
For whatever reason, all the top targets are expected to land in Los Angeles.
If that is to be the case, then there has to be an argument that one team is better than the other. In this case, it's the Clippers.
The Clippers are far from the sexy team that the Los Angeles Lakers are. They do not have a rich history of winning as their crosstown rivals do. Star celebrities don't flock to Staples Center to nearly the same degree as they do for a Lakers game. And they do not have James.
But that may not be the worst thing. Like the Lakers, the Clippers have young, cheap talent and plenty of money to spend this summer.
The Lakers currently are sitting outside of the playoffs, while the Clippers are just hanging on to a bottom spot. But therein lies why they are a more interesting team than the Lakers.
Without James, the Lakers are getting exposed, whereas the Clippers have no real star player, but still find themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt.
Ever since James injured his groin in a Christmas Day showdown versus the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers have not looked the same. They have played 16 games after that one and have only won six.
In that same stretch, the Clippers have won nine games, including one against the Lakers. For these soon-to-be free agents, this is something to take note of.
As James continues to age, the risk of injury only grows. He is closer to retirement than he is his prime.
One team has young stars that find a way to win without any superstars yet, whereas the other has yet to pop. Even more so, anyone that goes to the Lakers would have to play under the shadow of James for as long as he is there, while that would be far from the truth with the Clippers.
There is still a ways to go until decision time, but for any free agent that wants to play in LA, the Clippers are the better choice.
