The King James era is set to begin in Miami and LeBron has some friends in Dwayne Wade (who's staying) and Chris Bosh (who's joining the fray.)
Bosh and Wade were a given and served as old news (and a major indicator that the Cavs were losing their native son.) For the past couple of years, sports fans have heard that this was the free agent class to look out for - with some big market teams having some deep pockets to spend on some of the cream of the NBA's crop.
Add in some static with players opting out (Pierce and Nowitzki) and players re-upping (Durant) and it made for an interesting week. A week that ended with the most amazing sports spectacle I can recall. The Decision was aired for the world to see as LeBron set up shop in CT and was peppered with some soft questions that basically asked which toothpaste he used? Boxers or briefs? Grimace or the Hamburgler? And to confirm if he's truly a never nude?
The reaction generated, both before, during, and after the saga that was the decision was the perfect recipe for sites like Facebook and Twitter as a stream of LeBron based messages littered the boards - even if the message was sent by someone claiming the didn't care, it was evidence that they cared, at least a little.
The decision to join his pals Wade and Bosh in Miami, soon to be coached by the iconic Pat Riley, was surely a difficult one for LeBron. For starters, he was leaving home (which if you ask me is easy, stay in the dump that is Cleveland or relocate to South Beach? Hmmm, gimme about a minute to torch my mansion and we're on our way south.) Next, Bron Bron was leaving $30 mil on the table. That may seem like chump change to some but I'm sure he'll feel that somewhere along the line.
In reality, James is not a sellout. He is an athlete that wants to win. In sports, all athletes are judged as winners or losers and winning is the only vindication for one's career - ask A-Rod and then ask Jim Kelly. The big stats for James are back-burnered (fastest to scoring title, MVP, 15k points) until he wins. Leading his teams to the best record in the East, the playoffs, and the Finals are not enough. Nothing will ever be enough until he wins.
Kobe did not get vetted until the Lakers won without Shaq. Pippen never could get vetted because the Bulls didn't make it happen without Jordan. Patrick Ewing is vilified for never bringing the Knicks to a title. Charles Barkley. Karl Malone. And the list goes on and on. Putting yourself in a position to win is nothing new. Veteran players do it all the time, this time, the veteran is LeBron and he's taking less money and a more attractive situation to give it a go in Miami. We don't know the details of the deal yet but here's my guess, it's got an escape clause after a year or two so that he can jump ship if need be to a team that can truly win...If the Heat win it all, LeBron loses. If they don't win, he loses.
I guess the salary cap watch for 2012-13 should start now...
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Nets Should be Outlawed
New owner! New arena! New coach! New big money contract for a not-so-talented basketball player! That's me paraphrasing the new marketing campaign for the once proud (maybe to their mama?) New Jersey, soon to be Brooklyn Nets.
To the tune of $35 mil over 5 years, the Nets got what's behind door #3 in the name of Travis Outlaw. Who? Right. Travis Outlaw. A forward that has seven years of experience (Portland wasted a first round pick (#23) on him in 2003. He has averaged 9.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 22 minutes/game. If that wasn't enough to convince you that he's worth his weight in Blintzes, he has shot .441 from the field and .363 from beyond the arc. His best season was in 2007-08, when he averaged 13.3 points and 4.6 rebounds so I guess his average numbers can improve slightly provided he plays more than 34 games like he did in 2009-10?
Let the consolation prizes start rolling in but you can't blame the Nyets, it's not like they could have signed Wade, Bosh, and LeBron. Oh wait...
To the tune of $35 mil over 5 years, the Nets got what's behind door #3 in the name of Travis Outlaw. Who? Right. Travis Outlaw. A forward that has seven years of experience (Portland wasted a first round pick (#23) on him in 2003. He has averaged 9.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 22 minutes/game. If that wasn't enough to convince you that he's worth his weight in Blintzes, he has shot .441 from the field and .363 from beyond the arc. His best season was in 2007-08, when he averaged 13.3 points and 4.6 rebounds so I guess his average numbers can improve slightly provided he plays more than 34 games like he did in 2009-10?
Let the consolation prizes start rolling in but you can't blame the Nyets, it's not like they could have signed Wade, Bosh, and LeBron. Oh wait...
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Free Agency - Part 1
While LJW (LeBron James Watch) is fully underway, I am not diverting any attention to the most overhyped basketball story of the new millennium. Ditto for D. Wade. And really, when did C. Bosh get that good?
Week 1 of Free Agency is nearing a close and there have been a handful of moves to date. For starters, let's look at the knee-jerk reactions by teams that "needed" to re-sign their own.
1. Joe Johnson (SG, Hawks) - Oh Atlanta! Just when you had hoop-heads convinced that you were turning a corner as a laughing stock franchise, you go out and give JJ a max deal? Really? Him. The pros and cons are fairly straight forward. Pro - solid scorer that is the team's leader. Con - 6 years and too much $ for a 29 year old guard that plays spotty D (at best.)
2. Rudy Gay (SG, Grizzlies) - Oh Memphis! (I really like that intro...) You'll never get it right, similar to the story of your franchise - basketball in Vancouver? Huh? Oh, that won't work but Memphis will! Huh? Where to from here? Wherever it is, I guarantee you'll be shackled w/Gay, the top scorer from a year ago that plays no D and GOT A MAX DEAL!?!?!
Two signings in and I'm seeing a trend. Push the panic button for the only player that can consistently drop points and hopefully fill some seats in the process. YIKES! Questionable business acumen by these two front offices.
3. Amar'e Stoudamire (PF, Knicks) - When a team signs a guy with bad knees and a bad eye, that's Amar'e! Plan A - Get LeBron (could still happen, but doubtful.) Plan B - Get D. Wade (could still happen, but more doubtful.) Plan C - Get C. Bosh (less likely w/Amar'e in the fold.) Plan Q - GET AMAR'E - nobody will notice that we're this far down on the checklist. Why Amar'e? He's a name that can generate some interest. Why not Amar'e? His injury history translates to a contract that can't be insured so the Knickerbockers are on the hook for all $100 mil that is due Mr. Stoudamire over the next five years. A dubious move from the "genius" that is Donnie Walsh, even worse when you combine that w/the fact that he and Knicks' coach Mike D'Antoni are not exactly BFF...At Coach D's pace, he'll be fired by season's end (at the latest.)
4. Dirk Nowitzki (PF, Mavericks) - the face of the franchise is back after dipping his toe in the free agent waters for about 4 minutes. When the terms are disclosed, we'll figure out if this move made sense.
5. Paul Pierce (SF, Celtics) - the face of the C's comes back w/a restructured deal (opting out of $21+ for next year and signing for $61 for the next 4. Sure it's a net positive for the Truth but it frees up significant money for the C's to retain players and retool an otherwise aging roster that has 7 free agents.
Week 1 of Free Agency is nearing a close and there have been a handful of moves to date. For starters, let's look at the knee-jerk reactions by teams that "needed" to re-sign their own.
1. Joe Johnson (SG, Hawks) - Oh Atlanta! Just when you had hoop-heads convinced that you were turning a corner as a laughing stock franchise, you go out and give JJ a max deal? Really? Him. The pros and cons are fairly straight forward. Pro - solid scorer that is the team's leader. Con - 6 years and too much $ for a 29 year old guard that plays spotty D (at best.)
2. Rudy Gay (SG, Grizzlies) - Oh Memphis! (I really like that intro...) You'll never get it right, similar to the story of your franchise - basketball in Vancouver? Huh? Oh, that won't work but Memphis will! Huh? Where to from here? Wherever it is, I guarantee you'll be shackled w/Gay, the top scorer from a year ago that plays no D and GOT A MAX DEAL!?!?!
Two signings in and I'm seeing a trend. Push the panic button for the only player that can consistently drop points and hopefully fill some seats in the process. YIKES! Questionable business acumen by these two front offices.
3. Amar'e Stoudamire (PF, Knicks) - When a team signs a guy with bad knees and a bad eye, that's Amar'e! Plan A - Get LeBron (could still happen, but doubtful.) Plan B - Get D. Wade (could still happen, but more doubtful.) Plan C - Get C. Bosh (less likely w/Amar'e in the fold.) Plan Q - GET AMAR'E - nobody will notice that we're this far down on the checklist. Why Amar'e? He's a name that can generate some interest. Why not Amar'e? His injury history translates to a contract that can't be insured so the Knickerbockers are on the hook for all $100 mil that is due Mr. Stoudamire over the next five years. A dubious move from the "genius" that is Donnie Walsh, even worse when you combine that w/the fact that he and Knicks' coach Mike D'Antoni are not exactly BFF...At Coach D's pace, he'll be fired by season's end (at the latest.)
4. Dirk Nowitzki (PF, Mavericks) - the face of the franchise is back after dipping his toe in the free agent waters for about 4 minutes. When the terms are disclosed, we'll figure out if this move made sense.
5. Paul Pierce (SF, Celtics) - the face of the C's comes back w/a restructured deal (opting out of $21+ for next year and signing for $61 for the next 4. Sure it's a net positive for the Truth but it frees up significant money for the C's to retain players and retool an otherwise aging roster that has 7 free agents.
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