10 Sports Stars Who Are Absolutely Going to Leave Soon
Not every sports star can be Kobe Bryant.
Bryant stood tall with the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years, a borderline dream for fans of a franchise, one the kind folks in Oklahoma City have many mixed emotions about.
But it's a simple fact of the sporting world that some stars, no matter what, will pack up their bags and leave town when contractual obligations are fulfilled—maybe sooner, should things get toxic.
Leading players will leave teams sooner or later. A list such as this a few years ago would have featured a guy by the name of LeBron James. It came true, with James ditching the Cleveland Cavaliers. Like Kobe, he's a rather unique case because there's no guarantee any of the following guys ever make a return, much less a triumphant one.
The following players will leave their teams soon, whether because it's a poor fit, the contractual side not working out or some other reason. With many, the writing has been on the wall for a while. With others, it's simple logic.
Blake Griffin, PF, Los Angeles Clippers
1 of 10
It seems a matter of time before the Los Angeles Clippers and Blake Griffin go their separate ways.
A fun ride it was, Griffin joining the Clippers at No. 1 in the 2009 NBA draft and over six years posting career averages of 21.5 points and 9.6 rebounds.
There were highs and lows. The highs were the dunks, including one over a Kia. A notable off-court high was Griffin's public stance against Donald Sterling.
But the relationship seemed to fall apart last year, with Griffin getting into an altercation with a member of the staff and breaking his hand while throwing a punch. Now he's 27 years old and hasn't played in a full season since his rookie campaign. The pairing with Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan has grossly fallen short.
Griffin is gone as soon as the Clippers want to pull the trigger. The Western Conference has passed the team by, at least for now, and plenty of teams wouldn't mind adding Griffin, even if his athleticism-reliant game continues to barrel toward the age of 30.
Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta Braves
2 of 10
Sooner rather than later, Freddie Freeman's patience with the Atlanta Braves has to run out.
Freeman is only 26 years old and has remained quite loyal to the Braves, but it's beginning to look like the partial rebuild in Atlanta could take much longer than once expected.
Atlanta landed at 67-95 last year, good for fourth place in the National League East. As of Tuesday, the Braves sat in fifth place at a miserable 49-83.
Yet through that record, Freeman has hit .290 with 27 homers and 65 RBI. He's a monster at the plate, if not the best first baseman in the league. The situation begs for another team to come in with a major offer and steal him away.
After all, Freeman is only 26. And before everything went kaput, signed the longest deal in team history, one keeping him under contract through 2021. A guy with that kind of contract who plays a position as important as first won't stick with a floundering franchise much longer.
Ryan Braun, LF, Milwaukee Brewers
3 of 10
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has come up in plenty of conversations over the past few years when it comes to the trade market.
Why not? At 32 years old, Braun isn't getting any younger. The going was great after he joined the Brewers in 2007, but the team hit its peak in 2011, when it won the NL Central and won its first playoff series since 1982.
The Brewers haven't finished better than third in the division since and don't figure to this year, not in the neighborhood of 28 games out of first place. August passed and the team still hadn't hit the 60-win mark.
Braun has cleared waivers, per Connor Byrne of MLBTradeRumors.com (h/t CBSSports.com), and he is still eligible for a trade, meaning something could happen well before next season. It should, with the Brewers in a full-blown rebuild and Braun looking to end his career on a positive note while maybe competing for a title.
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Alshon Jeffery, WR, Chicago Bears
4 of 10
One can almost feel the split coming between the Chicago Bears and Alshon Jeffery like an earthquake.
Chicago refused to give Jeffery elite wideout money over the offseason, instead hitting him with the franchise tag. After he played in only nine games last year, it made plenty of sense from a team-based perspective, something only reinforced this summer as he's battled nagging issues.
Conditioning aside, though, Jeffery is a 26-year-old wide receiver who has 3,728 yards and 24 touchdowns with a per-catch career average of 14.8 yards. He's one of the best in the league at what he does and the reason why the Bears weren't afraid to let go of Brandon Marshall.
But for Jeffery, Chicago might not be the most attractive place to be, offseason impasse or not. The Bears have finished last in the NFC North two years running and haven't sniffed the playoffs since 2010. His quarterback, Jay Cutler, is 33 years old, and the Bears have moved forward with a rebuild, letting notable names such as Matt Forte go.
Expect Jeffery to go next.
Aaron Donald, DT, Los Angeles Rams
5 of 10
After just two seasons, it's abundantly clear Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is one of the most disruptive forces in the NFL.
The 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year easily sits next to the Cincinnati Bengals' Geno Atkins on the two-man mountain of best 4-3 tackle pass-rushers in the NFL.
What's interesting is not only how long Donald wants to put up with the Rams but if Los Angeles wants to keep him around. That last part sounds funny, but the Rams have a ton of cash invested in the defensive line already, with Robert Quinn on a $57 million deal, while William Hayes gets $17.5 million. Eugene Sims has $10 million and Michael Brockers is at $9.5 million, all per Spotrac.
It could come down to control. Technically, the Rams can't offer Donald an extension until after this season. But the team could also bank on the fifth-year option and then slap him with a franchise tag, keeping him waiting on a big deal until 2019.
Will Donald want to put up with the Rams that long? That's doubtful considering the franchise hasn't made the playoffs since 2004 and hasn't finished better than 8-8 since 2003. Meanwhile, guys such as the Philadelphia Eagles' Fletcher Cox earn a cool $63 million. Donald shouldn't want to wait, not with the injury risk involved.
Jahlil Okafor, F, Philadelphia 76ers
6 of 10
This had to be one of the most obvious players to make the list.
Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers has been one of the biggest names making the rounds when it comes to trade speculation since he joined the team via the third pick of the 2015 draft.
Why? It's the 76ers—the team still has Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, not to mention Ben Simmons. If a team in need of a forward were to peruse the market, Philadelphia is the first place it would look. And said team would want the guy with NBA experience under his belt sans injury issues.
Okafor had a great rookie campaign, rumors or otherwise. He posted averages of 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 50.8 percent from the floor. Now 20 years old, he's the type of player any franchise would surrender a solid amount of assets to acquire.
Everyone seems to know the 76ers need to make a deal. When the front office pulls the trigger, expect to see Okafor's name on the transaction page.
Kevin Love, F, Cleveland Cavaliers
7 of 10
Be honest: The Cleveland Cavaliers-Kevin Love pairing has an expiration date.
The union hasn't soured yet because, well, Cleveland won the title in 2016. But imagine if the team hadn't—all of a sudden, that guy who was just a guy during the NBA Finals by way of 7.3 points and 5.9 rebounds would be the biggest scapegoat of them all.
Love still might find himself in such a situation. He's been a dud with the Cavaliers, an odd fit who has never averaged better than 16.4 points or even hit an average of 10.0 rebounds over his two seasons in Ohio.
Cleveland doesn't seem like a team wanting to move Love, but it's a stance sure to change in a hurry if the right offer comes along or the Cavaliers come out of the gates and face-plant through the first half of the season.
Love is still only 28 years old and is under contract through the 2019-20 season. A team in need only has to recall his dominant days with the Minnesota Timberwovles to want to pull the trigger. Expect that to happen within the next year or so.
Sam Bradford, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
8 of 10
Sam Bradford is quite the interesting character.
The guy made $78 million on his rookie contract despite his extensive injury history. Nobody is blaming the guy for getting hurt, but he then turned around and got upset with his deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.
ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan broke it down in late July:
"It's hard to find disgruntled players in the wake of the Eagles' $280-million offseason contract binge. Bradford, who made $78 million on his six-year rookie contract, signed a new two-year deal worth $35 million. Within months, Bradford left OTAs in protest. The short term of the contract, combined with the Eagles' drafting of Carson Wentz with the No. 2 pick, leave Bradford as a lame duck just when he should be asserting himself as the Eagles' leader.
"
Bradford is back with the team and figures to act as the starter in 2016, but he shouldn't fret too much—there's zero chance he's with the team beyond that.
Why? Per Spotrac, Bradford represents a $22.5 million cap hit in 2017. He's not getting that sort of money, not after he mentors Wentz for a year before the younger player can take over.
Josh Gordon, WR, Cleveland Browns
9 of 10
This probably isn't what fans of the Cleveland Browns want to hear, but the coaching staff isn't going to have much in the way of patience with wide receiver Josh Gordon.
Gordon looks amazing on the field, having caught two passes for 87 yards and a score in a preseason contest. But he's on a four-game ban to start the season and is one gaffe away from an indefinite ban.
Cleveland isn't going to get much in return for Gordon on the trade market regardless, but head coach Hue Jackson isn't known for putting up with characters. If things sour, he and the new regime might find it best to pull the trigger on a move.
That said, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, head of football operations Sashi Brown recently said: "We're not looking to trade Josh."
But that's quite different to "we won't trade Josh."
Either way, Gordon is a restricted free agent in 2017. By then, if he posts a monster season and a huge offer comes along, Cleveland might have a hard time splurging on him and not using the cash at multiple other spots.
Expect Gordon to be wearing different colors within the next year or two.
DeMarcus Cousins, C, Sacramento Kings
10 of 10
DeMarcus Cousins will be the next major name to leave the NBA team that drafted him.
The Sacramento Kings had big dreams when the front office took Cousins at No. 5 in the 2010 draft. Since then, the team decided to pair him with odd coaching fits such as George Karl and odd roster fits such as Rajon Rondo and Rudy Gay.
Even worse, it's almost like the Kings have publicly admitted Cousins will leave. Despite his presence on the roster, Sacramento drafted Willie Cauley-Stein at No. 6 in 2015 and Georgios Papagiannis at No. 13 in 2016.
Cousins is a superstar, a guy who wants to be the highlight of the show in a major market while playing for titles. It won't happen in Sacramento. The Kings haven't won a divisional crown since 2002-03 or made the playoffs since 2005-06.
With two years left on his deal, it's only a matter of time before he hits the open market or forces his way out of town via trade.
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