Wiedmer: LA's Staples Center should be center of NBA universe next season

Los Angeles Lakers guard Jaron Johnson, left, goes to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Brandon Sampson, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball summer league game in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, July 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Jaron Johnson, left, goes to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Brandon Sampson, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball summer league game in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, July 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
photo Los Angeles Laker players LeBron James, center, and Anthony Davis, right, take in an NBA summer league basketball game between the New York Knicks and the New Orleans Pelicans, Friday, July 5, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)

Break up the Lakers?

Break up the Clippers?

Throw a pity party for New York Knicks fans?

As the results of free agency and deal-making become clearer in one of the wildest NBA offseasons in recent memory, there are clear winners, possible winners and the Knicks, who once again appear to have positioned themselves for another season devoid of the playoffs.

To better understand the embarrassment that the Knicks have become, they've missed the playoffs each of the past six seasons and 12 of the past 15. Once a playoff regular with two NBA titles and eight Finals appearances, the Knicks - despite playing their home games in Madison Square Garden, which is assuredly one of the country's three or four most famous sports arenas and is in America's most famous city - haven't been able to land anyone bigger than forward Julius Randle, the former Kentucky star, early in this offseason.

Randle's not a bad player. He averaged more than 20 points a game last season for talent-challenged New Orleans, but he's hardly a game-changer. If he's your third best player, you've got a dangerous roster. If he's your top dog - and he just might be for the Knicks - you're in trouble.

Who's not in trouble are both the Los Angeles Lakers and the L.A. Clippers, who are not only the two best teams to share the same arena - the Staples Center - but quite possibly the league's two best teams, period.

It's not just that the Lakers have added Anthony Davis, Danny Green, Avery Bradley, sharpshooter Troy Daniels and Boogie Cousins to a roster that already included LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo and the former Georgia Bulldog Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, making them an offensive monster if they can find a bit stronger 3-point shooting.

The addition of Cousins, if he can return to the level that made him a four-time All-Star, could be enough to deliver the Lakers their 17th NBA title, but first since 2010.

Unless, of course, the Clippers beat them to it.

That other L.A. team not only has never won an NBA crown, it's never even played for one. But all that could change with the arrivals over the past weekend of 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard from Toronto and Paul George from Oklahoma City. Both are Southern California natives and both are among the best two-way players (offense and defense) in the league. Throw in guard Patrick Beverly and no team in the NBA will have the defensive prowess in the backcourt that the Clippers will.

As one ESPN talking head said of Leonard and George on Monday: "We haven't seen a pair of wings this good on the same team since the days of (Michael) Jordan and (Scottie) Pippen with the (Chicago) Bulls."

Indeed, attempting to score on the Clips will be a chore, as will attempting to defend George and Leonard.

CBS Sports HQ analyst Raja Bell also said of the potential of more star players wishing to play for the Clippers in the future: "People want to play for Doc (Rivers)."

Considering how no one seemed to want to play for the Clippers a few years ago in the wake of the Donald Sterling fiasco over racist remarks that cost the longtime owner his franchise, that statement can't be too strongly embraced regarding the respect that Rivers, the former Atlanta Hawks point guard, has earned as a coach over the years.

And while the Clippers lineup looks strong now - they're already the 3-1 favorites in Las Vegas to win it all next spring - the additions of George and Leonard may even encourage another player or two to join them before the season begins.

Even without that, the Clippers already have the rebounding monster Montrezl Harrell, the best backcourt reserve in the game in sweet-shooting Lou Williams and one of the most promising young guards anywhere in Landry Shamet to keep opposing coaches up at night.

But while saying the West is best on paper, the team that should keep every franchise east of the Mississippi up at night is Philadelphia.

photo Mark Wiedmer

Yes, the 76ers lost Jimmy Butler to Miami, but they picked up Al Horford and former Tennessee Vol Josh Richardson to join fellow former Vol Tobias Harris and the enigmatic post talent Joel Embiid to form one of the more impressive front courts in the league.

Is it enough for Philly to overtake Milwaukee in the East and all those contenders in the West? Possibly not. But barring injuries, it would be a shock for anyone in the East to follow Toronto in winning the next NBA title.

The biggest shock of the first week of free agency centered on the team Leonard chose as opposed to the one he was supposed to select.

CBS's Bell said of the team the Lakers were supposed to assemble for next season, "I thought with LeBron, Kawhi and AD, I thought that was a guaranteed championship."

But then Leonard went to the Clippers, George joined him and nothing is guaranteed except the fact that the toughest sports ticket in L.A. next winter will be each time the Lakers face the Clippers in the Staples Center.

Yet however much all eyes will look West in 2019-20, come 2020-21 Kevin Durant should have recovered enough from his torn Achilles' tendon to join Kyrie Irving on the Brooklyn Nets. Once that happens, we could have the best East-West rivalry since Larry Bird was a Celtic and Magic Johnson a Laker.

Until then, the safest bet for the coming season is this: The next NBA champ will call the Staples Center home.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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