It’s been a crazy offseason for the city of Los Angeles. The best basketball player in this era, Lebron James signed with the Lakers followed by Rajon Rondo, and JaVale McGee. Rumors are even flowing about Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard wanting to join the Lakers after the 2018-19 season. While the Lakers are making moves to improve the team, another team who plays in the same arena as the Lakers, the Clippers are once again back to being LA’s B team. When Kobe Bryant retired, the Clippers traded for Chris Paul, drafting Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
Even though they made the playoffs, it still didn’t help the Clippers establish themselves as LA’s main basketball team. This has been going on since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984. The Clippers have previously played in Buffalo and San Diego before relocating to Los Angeles. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had previously said “the Clippers aren’t going anywhere” but would he entertain the idea of moving the team to Las Vegas.
Vegas previously has been home to teams in the AFL, ECHL, XFL, and CFL until last year when the NHL placed a franchise in Las Vegas, the team would be known as the Vegas Golden Knights. Not long after that, the Oakland Raiders announced they too would be moving to Las Vegas in 2019, 2020 the latest. The Golden Knights quickly gained a huge fan base with their pregame ceremonies along with establishing a rivalry with the Los Angeles Kings and winning the Western Conference Finals before losing the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals to the Washington Capitals. So far, things are looking good between the NHL and the city of Las Vegas.
Imagine if the Clippers did move to Las Vegas, then they wouldn’t be overshadowed by the Lakers anymore. This would be not just another win for Las Vegas, but the NBA as well. Las Vegas is quickly becoming a destination for professional sports leagues. The city built an arena called the T-Mobile Arena that opened in 2016. The same arena that the Vegas Golden Knights currently play in could also be the new home for the Los Angeles Clippers.
It’s time for Steve Ballmer to consider relocating the Clippers to Las Vegas instead of the new proposed arena in Inglewood, CA. Even if the team did move to Inglewood, they still would have a hard time drawing attendance as Los Angeles main basketball team is and will always be the Lakers. A move to Las Vegas would be huge for Steve Ballmer and the NBA.
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