The Cavs today traded SG Delonte West, PG Sebastian Telfair to the Minnesota Timberwolves for PG Ramon Sessions, C Ryan Hollins, and a 2nd round pick in 2013. Here are my thoughts:
-I think this is a very good move for the Cavs. We have a PG in Sessions who can run the offense, distribute (had 24 assists in a game once), and get to the free throw line. He will fit well with the up-tempo offense the Cavs will run this year. He is 24 years old and has 3 more years left on his deal, for $4 million a deal. He has a very cap friendly contract.
-C Ryan Hollins is an unknown to most, but he is another young C who probably won't develop into much more than a big man off the bench. He is 7 feet and very athletic, thats it. He is a good finesse defender but doesn't do well against aggressive post players. He is 25 years old and has 2 years left on his contract at $2 million a year. He will throw down some nasty dunks and that is how he will get most of his points. He doesn't have a lot of skills in the post. He will serve as a solid backup to Andy and JJ.
-Seeing Delonte go is somewhat sad, but it had to happen. His off the court issues really hurt the team as the organizaiton could not depend on him on a daily basis. His play really fell off this year and he could never get it together. He was one of our most important players in 2008 and 2009, but he just didn't seem to have it this year. His contract will save the Wolves about $4 million in cap space because he can be bought out for $500K. He was one of my favorite players due to the grit and determination he showed on the court. I remember during game 6 versus the Magic in 2009, he was the only Cavs player hustling on the court at the end of the game. He is a fearless player who was a solid player when healthy.
-PG Sebastian Telfair was a throw in as his contract is an expiring one as well. Not much to miss here.
-This deal shows you how incompetent Wolves GM David Kahn is. He drafts point guards Ricky Rubio, and Johnny Flynn, signs Ramon Sessions, and then signs PG Luke Ridnour the next year. He had to give away Sessions for free, along with a draft pick. Flynn is now hurt and out for 3-4 months. This was the same guy who gave C Darko Milicic $20 million. As Bill Simmons calls him "KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHN!"
-The main reasons I like this deal for the Cavs are the fact that we got a young, cheap PG who can continue to improve, and we added an asset in the 2nd round pick. Most people will say the 2nd round pick is worthless, but in 2013 it will still probably be a high 2nd rounder. You can always find solid talent in the 2nd round. The Cavs are now asset collectors, which is good for a rebuilding team. This squad is going to be painful to watch for a couple years, but as long as we continue to add draft picks, we can build a young roster. We have 4 draft picks coming from the Heat in the next 6 years, and another 2nd rounder here. I hope we can add a couple more picks in the next few years.
-A stark departure from the LeBron era can be seen here. Most of the time we were trading draft picks for longer, more expensive contracts. Now we are adding cheap young talent, with shorter contracts and draft picks. Tear the team down, gather draft picks, and save cap space. If we draft well, this team could see a quicker turn around. Lets hope we don't rebuild on the fly.
-The Cavs signing PF Samardo Samuels was a move to add depth to the team. He played well for the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Summer League. He is small at 6'8 and not overly athletic, but he has great skills around the basket. If he can improve upon his athleticism, and work hard, he will have a place on this team.
-Bringing Christian Eyenga over here was also a solid move. He will probably spend some time in the D-League where he can continue to develop. He is going to wow some fans with his athleticism. I hope he gets some minutes here and there because he has the tools to thrive in Byron Scott's uptempo system. If he can continue to improve his overall feel for the game, then he can become a Mickael Pietrus type of player. I see him as a solid wing defender who can score in spurts in a up tempo offense.
I think that just about does it. Thanks for reading guys, go Cleveland!
-Raz
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
I Knew It Was You Fredo
Well folks, I am sure we all know what happend with LeBron and the Cavs. I am not going to add any facts to the story, we are all seeing it come out now. Here are some thoughts:
-Seeing LeBron in a Heat uniform just sucks. Never could I imagine him anywhere else. I can see why he would want to go win a championship ring, but the best players who have won rings did it with one team and didn't go chasing. Its obvious LeBron understands he can't do it himself and needs to go elsewhere. Guys like Magic, Larry, Kobe, Michael, Duncan all did it with the teams that drafted them. I know one day LeBron is going to regret what he did. He failed here, plain and simple.
-What disgusts me the most is that it seems that he planned this for a long time. The writing was on the wall the whole time and I just didn't want to believe it. He never recruited free agents, didn't commit when Trevor Ariza and Ron Artest came for their visits last year, and didn't speak with Tom Izzo. I think after the Orlando series in 2009, LeBron knew he was going to leave for sure. I say this because he played amazingly in the 2007 playoffs and he gave it his all versus Boston in 2008. I think him, Wade, and Bosh thought of the idea in the Olympics in 2008, then when LeBron saw he couldn't get help here, he punched his ticket out of Cleveland.
-Notice how no one is talking about his elbow "injury". I wouldn't be shocked if LeBron decided to just float throughout the series. He obviously quit in game 5, and he didn't do well in game 2 and game 4. LeBron knew if he played to his abilities, the Cavs would have won that series, and I think he just got tired of his situation here in Cleveland. The way he ripped off his Cavs jersey after the loss gave me some shivers, but again I didn't want to believe he was going to leave.
-People cannot blame Dan Gilbert and Danny Ferry for this. Maybe Gilbert gave LeBron some special privileges here and there, but they spend tons and tons of money on the team. Whether it was new jerseys, stadium upgrades, a new practice facility, or added payroll, the Cavs did it. Any trade the Cavs made during Ferry's tenure, we took on more money. We had one of the highest payrolls in the NBA and the Cavs tried their best to get a #2 guy. They made offers for Jason Kidd, Amare, Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett, and Chris Paul. I honestly believe the team the Cavs had this past year could have won it all, but the guy who was supposed to take us there failed.
-Dan Gilbert's letter, no matter how crazy and unrealistic it was, was pretty awesome. We know we aren't going to win a ring before LeBron does, but seeing an owner speak the words every Cavs fan was thinking is refreshing. Seeing how passionate Gilbert was in that letter was great, and he did not hold anything back. Clevelanders really needed to hear that letter.
-The way in which LeBron did what he did was horrible. Going on national television, saying your going to call it "The Decision", then leaving is sad. This is after LeBron said he understood the Drive, the Fumble, and the Shot. LeBron never respected Cleveland and never showed the love that we showed him. Wearing Yankees and Cowboys gear was just sad. I feel that LeBron just didn't have any good advice in this situation, he needed a male adult figure to sit him down and be stern with him. LeBron lives in his own little world and he thinks he is invincible from criticism at times. He is a very selfish person who did not think about the repercussions of his actions. Not once did he even mention the Cleveland fans who supported his every move here. For someone who always spoke of loyalty and family, LeBron left both of those behind to go to Miami. I guess he fooled us all.
-Where do the Cavs go from here? I say blow up the team up. Trade any old players (Parker/Jamison), long contracts (Jamison/Andy) for young players and draft picks. Clear cap space, not to sign big name free agents (they won't come here), but to use it in trades. We can use our salary cap space to take on big contracts for some players. The Cavs got 4 draft picks for LeBron, and I hope the Cavs continue to stockpile picks. Take the Oklahoma City Thunder route, load up on draft picks, and use your salary cap space to collect more assets. I am fine with the Cavs being bad for a year or two, but with solid drafting and some luck, you will see a good basketball team in Cleveland. There is no reason to try to re-tool this team, so forget guys like Monta Ellis and Andre Igoudala. Think guys like DJ Augistin, and Kyle Lowry.
-This has got to be one of the worst moments in Cleveland sports history. We always thought we could have a savior for this town with the Browns and Indians struggling. We were always scared we couldn't pay our superstars money (Manny, Thome, CC, Cliff Lee), but we could offer the most to LeBron and the saddest thing is, he is actually from this area. Since it is hard to attract free agents to Cleveland, we all thought if we could get a homegrown talent to play for us, he would never leave. Akron was so important to LeBron and he always spoke about how he wanted to put it on the map. Well he did just that, but for all the wrong reasons. LeBron can never show his face in Akron, Cleveland, let alone Ohio ever again. Its sad that we had our native son turn his back on us. I guess we just have to re-group and keep our heads up. As Terry Fox once said "Somewhere, the hurting must stop".
Thanks for reading, go Cleveland.
-Raz
-Seeing LeBron in a Heat uniform just sucks. Never could I imagine him anywhere else. I can see why he would want to go win a championship ring, but the best players who have won rings did it with one team and didn't go chasing. Its obvious LeBron understands he can't do it himself and needs to go elsewhere. Guys like Magic, Larry, Kobe, Michael, Duncan all did it with the teams that drafted them. I know one day LeBron is going to regret what he did. He failed here, plain and simple.
-What disgusts me the most is that it seems that he planned this for a long time. The writing was on the wall the whole time and I just didn't want to believe it. He never recruited free agents, didn't commit when Trevor Ariza and Ron Artest came for their visits last year, and didn't speak with Tom Izzo. I think after the Orlando series in 2009, LeBron knew he was going to leave for sure. I say this because he played amazingly in the 2007 playoffs and he gave it his all versus Boston in 2008. I think him, Wade, and Bosh thought of the idea in the Olympics in 2008, then when LeBron saw he couldn't get help here, he punched his ticket out of Cleveland.
-Notice how no one is talking about his elbow "injury". I wouldn't be shocked if LeBron decided to just float throughout the series. He obviously quit in game 5, and he didn't do well in game 2 and game 4. LeBron knew if he played to his abilities, the Cavs would have won that series, and I think he just got tired of his situation here in Cleveland. The way he ripped off his Cavs jersey after the loss gave me some shivers, but again I didn't want to believe he was going to leave.
-People cannot blame Dan Gilbert and Danny Ferry for this. Maybe Gilbert gave LeBron some special privileges here and there, but they spend tons and tons of money on the team. Whether it was new jerseys, stadium upgrades, a new practice facility, or added payroll, the Cavs did it. Any trade the Cavs made during Ferry's tenure, we took on more money. We had one of the highest payrolls in the NBA and the Cavs tried their best to get a #2 guy. They made offers for Jason Kidd, Amare, Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett, and Chris Paul. I honestly believe the team the Cavs had this past year could have won it all, but the guy who was supposed to take us there failed.
-Dan Gilbert's letter, no matter how crazy and unrealistic it was, was pretty awesome. We know we aren't going to win a ring before LeBron does, but seeing an owner speak the words every Cavs fan was thinking is refreshing. Seeing how passionate Gilbert was in that letter was great, and he did not hold anything back. Clevelanders really needed to hear that letter.
-The way in which LeBron did what he did was horrible. Going on national television, saying your going to call it "The Decision", then leaving is sad. This is after LeBron said he understood the Drive, the Fumble, and the Shot. LeBron never respected Cleveland and never showed the love that we showed him. Wearing Yankees and Cowboys gear was just sad. I feel that LeBron just didn't have any good advice in this situation, he needed a male adult figure to sit him down and be stern with him. LeBron lives in his own little world and he thinks he is invincible from criticism at times. He is a very selfish person who did not think about the repercussions of his actions. Not once did he even mention the Cleveland fans who supported his every move here. For someone who always spoke of loyalty and family, LeBron left both of those behind to go to Miami. I guess he fooled us all.
-Where do the Cavs go from here? I say blow up the team up. Trade any old players (Parker/Jamison), long contracts (Jamison/Andy) for young players and draft picks. Clear cap space, not to sign big name free agents (they won't come here), but to use it in trades. We can use our salary cap space to take on big contracts for some players. The Cavs got 4 draft picks for LeBron, and I hope the Cavs continue to stockpile picks. Take the Oklahoma City Thunder route, load up on draft picks, and use your salary cap space to collect more assets. I am fine with the Cavs being bad for a year or two, but with solid drafting and some luck, you will see a good basketball team in Cleveland. There is no reason to try to re-tool this team, so forget guys like Monta Ellis and Andre Igoudala. Think guys like DJ Augistin, and Kyle Lowry.
-This has got to be one of the worst moments in Cleveland sports history. We always thought we could have a savior for this town with the Browns and Indians struggling. We were always scared we couldn't pay our superstars money (Manny, Thome, CC, Cliff Lee), but we could offer the most to LeBron and the saddest thing is, he is actually from this area. Since it is hard to attract free agents to Cleveland, we all thought if we could get a homegrown talent to play for us, he would never leave. Akron was so important to LeBron and he always spoke about how he wanted to put it on the map. Well he did just that, but for all the wrong reasons. LeBron can never show his face in Akron, Cleveland, let alone Ohio ever again. Its sad that we had our native son turn his back on us. I guess we just have to re-group and keep our heads up. As Terry Fox once said "Somewhere, the hurting must stop".
Thanks for reading, go Cleveland.
-Raz
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Bosher-Nation
Resident insider on RealCavsFans.com (great forum) W&G has informed us that the Cavs and Raptors have been discussing a sign and trade for F Chris Bosh. Here is what he said exactly:
"Can't really say this is a source that is totally in the know on this subject, but he tells me that in talking to a guy within the Raptors org., that they are disgusted with Bosh. He wants hius cake and wants to eat it too. He wants to dictate everything, but the fact is they are trying to force his hand and accept the trade to CLE. Lebron should talk to Bosh, basically ..and get this deal done. But., my guess from trying to piece the puzzle together ...a good chance exists that when Lebron decides and makes his announcement, it could be coupled with Bosh ending up alongside him here in CLE. If not, then Bosh can accept far less, and go elsewhere. We'll see how it ultimately plays out."
He also noted this:
"From what I gather, his stance is he'll play anywhere with Lebron BUT Cleveland. Toronto prefers the CLE offer to all others. They are now telling him, if he doesn't accept the CLE trade, then he can just cut another deal with another team and make far less cash. What happens now, I presume, is either some other team (Bulls, Heat) somehow come up with a trade that better satisfies TOR, and he joins either Wade at either, or James in Chicago,... or eventually accepts coming to CLE with Lebron in a S/T."
Reports that the Raptors will not help Bosh in a sign and trade probably aren't true. The Raps are probably trying to force Bosh's hand into taking a sign and trade deal. He hasn't talked with the Raptors brass and they want answers soon. It seems as if LeBron will have some major recruiting to do with Bosh. I am hoping that if LeBron commits, he will tell Bosh "Listen, come play with me in Cleveland. We will get national media attention all the time, and we will win a ring. You can't pass up $30 million by playing elsewhere." If LeBron re-signs in Cleveland, Bosh will have to ask himself, would I rather have a chance to play with LeBron, increase my chances of winning a ring, and make $30 million more or go elsewhere with maybe D-Wade, and make less money. Again, the Heat can only offer Beasley, Chalmers, and Anthony for Bosh. That offer doesn't come close to the Andy, JJ, West offer the Cavs could give the Raptors. Besides the Rockets (Scola, Battier, Brooks), I think the Cavs have one of the most competitive offers for Bosh. We offer talent, young players, and salary cap relief for the Raptors. As I said earlier, the Cavs held onto all of their assets after the NBA Draft and into free agency. I think there was a reason for that. The Cavs brass has to know that they had a legit shot at Bosh or they would've moved their attention elsewhere. The Raptors and Cavs have to work together to force Bosh to come to Cleveland because its what the Cavs, Raptors, and hopefully LeBron want.
For those of you who don't know who Wine and Gold is from RCF, he is a reliable source who gives great bits of info. on the website. He used to work for the Cavs and he still has some connections to the team. He informed us that Joe Smith was re-signing with the Cavs hours before it happend, the Shaq trade hours before it happend, the fact that the Cavs were close to getting Amare (Windhorst echoed the same things he said 30 min. after W&G posted), and the Mo Williams trade the weekend before it happend. He is a great source of information and I wouldn't post his thoughts unless I thought they were legitimate.
As developments continue to come in, I will update the blog. Thanks for reading, and go Cleveland!
-Raz
"Can't really say this is a source that is totally in the know on this subject, but he tells me that in talking to a guy within the Raptors org., that they are disgusted with Bosh. He wants hius cake and wants to eat it too. He wants to dictate everything, but the fact is they are trying to force his hand and accept the trade to CLE. Lebron should talk to Bosh, basically ..and get this deal done. But., my guess from trying to piece the puzzle together ...a good chance exists that when Lebron decides and makes his announcement, it could be coupled with Bosh ending up alongside him here in CLE. If not, then Bosh can accept far less, and go elsewhere. We'll see how it ultimately plays out."
He also noted this:
"From what I gather, his stance is he'll play anywhere with Lebron BUT Cleveland. Toronto prefers the CLE offer to all others. They are now telling him, if he doesn't accept the CLE trade, then he can just cut another deal with another team and make far less cash. What happens now, I presume, is either some other team (Bulls, Heat) somehow come up with a trade that better satisfies TOR, and he joins either Wade at either, or James in Chicago,... or eventually accepts coming to CLE with Lebron in a S/T."
Reports that the Raptors will not help Bosh in a sign and trade probably aren't true. The Raps are probably trying to force Bosh's hand into taking a sign and trade deal. He hasn't talked with the Raptors brass and they want answers soon. It seems as if LeBron will have some major recruiting to do with Bosh. I am hoping that if LeBron commits, he will tell Bosh "Listen, come play with me in Cleveland. We will get national media attention all the time, and we will win a ring. You can't pass up $30 million by playing elsewhere." If LeBron re-signs in Cleveland, Bosh will have to ask himself, would I rather have a chance to play with LeBron, increase my chances of winning a ring, and make $30 million more or go elsewhere with maybe D-Wade, and make less money. Again, the Heat can only offer Beasley, Chalmers, and Anthony for Bosh. That offer doesn't come close to the Andy, JJ, West offer the Cavs could give the Raptors. Besides the Rockets (Scola, Battier, Brooks), I think the Cavs have one of the most competitive offers for Bosh. We offer talent, young players, and salary cap relief for the Raptors. As I said earlier, the Cavs held onto all of their assets after the NBA Draft and into free agency. I think there was a reason for that. The Cavs brass has to know that they had a legit shot at Bosh or they would've moved their attention elsewhere. The Raptors and Cavs have to work together to force Bosh to come to Cleveland because its what the Cavs, Raptors, and hopefully LeBron want.
For those of you who don't know who Wine and Gold is from RCF, he is a reliable source who gives great bits of info. on the website. He used to work for the Cavs and he still has some connections to the team. He informed us that Joe Smith was re-signing with the Cavs hours before it happend, the Shaq trade hours before it happend, the fact that the Cavs were close to getting Amare (Windhorst echoed the same things he said 30 min. after W&G posted), and the Mo Williams trade the weekend before it happend. He is a great source of information and I wouldn't post his thoughts unless I thought they were legitimate.
As developments continue to come in, I will update the blog. Thanks for reading, and go Cleveland!
-Raz
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Great Scott
Well its been a pretty wild couple days in the NBA. The Cavs hired their head coach in Byron Scott. I am not a huge fan of Scott as he is known as someone who doesn't game plan that well, stick to his lineups to closely, loses his team after 2-3 years, and runs a slow paced Princeton offense (in 2008-2009 the Hornets were 28th in offensive pace). I did enjoy the fact that he said he wanted to run more with LeBron. The difference between Scott and Mike Brown is that Scott has had previous head coaching experience before taking this job, played in the NBA, won NBA championships as a player, and seems to be able to rebuild teams. I think LeBron will respect a guy like Scott much more than he did MB because of Scott's previous experience in the NBA, both as a player and a coach (went to the Finals twice). I am not in love with this hire, but I don't hate it either. I just feel that its very telling that Scott lost both his teams after 2 years. Maybe he worked them too hard? Maybe he couldn't motivate his players after they overachieved? He sounds too similar to Mike Brown for me to like the hire a lot (slow offense, not a good game planner, bad in game adjustments).
Now, onto this whole free agency issue. The Nets, Knicks, Heat, and Clippers have all made their pitches to LeBron. I think the only real threats to getting LeBron are the Knicks and Bulls. I think the Cavs are the frontrunners, with the Bulls and Knicks being right behind. I think he will stay because he can make more money here in Cleveland ($30 million over 6 years, he gets a 2% higher raise per year), the Cavs were still one of the best teams in the NBA the past 2 years (won over 60 games past two years), the Cavs can still improve their roster through trades and the MLE (West expiring, Hickson, Andy), the Cavs have one of the best owners in the NBA in Dan Gilbert, and lastly this is his home. I'll go through each reason more in depth:
Money- We all know LeBron can make more money here in Cleveland than any other team can offer him due to the fact that the Cavs own his Bird-Rights. The reason why the free agent class this year features so many great players is because all these players want to get as much money as they can before the CBA expires next year. The CBA in 2011 is expected to be much more strict than the current one set in place. The hype surrounding this class has been crazy and media outlets made it seem like every free agent was going to change teams. Have you noticed that Rudy Gay is staying in Memphis? Joe Johnson is close to staying with the Hawks (every ESPN analyst was asked to predict where Johnson would go and none of them said the Hawks). Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki are both expected to stay with their respective teams.
Can you name me 2 or 3 superstars who have taken less money in the prime of their careers to play with other players? I didn't think so. People have to understand these superstars have huge egos and they won't take less money to be on another team. Passing up $30 million would be really hard for LeBron to do. Some have thrown the idea that LeBron will make more in endorsements by going to a larger market, but the amount of money made from endorsements is not as high as people think. With the way the economy has been the past 2 years many companies have been scaling back their marketing efforts. Money always talks, remember that.
Cavs Roster/Moves- The Cavs have won 127 games the past two years, the most of any team in the NBA. Yes, we failed in the playoffs but this past year I attribute the collapse to Mike Brown's inability to make adjustments and LeBron's elbow injury. The Cavs were the number 1 seed in the NBA playoffs for 2 years in a row. Everyone makes it seem like our roster is horrible, but we have Mo Williams, Andy, Jamison, and Hickson already. I don't think you can have a bad roster and win 127 games in 2 seasons.
The Cavs have flexibility to make moves. Just because we don't have cap space does not mean we cannot make moves. Again we have the $4.5 million super expiring of Delonte West, along with $7 million of other expirings. JJ Hickson is a very attractive commodity, and Andy is a coveted big man for many teams. Did you notice the Cavs haven't made any moves yet on any trades? I think they are saving all their assets to attempt to make a sign and trade for Chris Bosh. The Cavs sales pitch tomorrow will be, if you re-sign with the Cavs, we can get you Bosh if you convince him to come. Brian Windhorst of the PD stated that his sources said that the Raptors were interested in the assets the Cavs have in a potential sign and trade. Think about this, Chris Bosh wants to get the maximum deal (the one LeBron will get if he signs with the Cavs), and in order to do this you must sign and trade him. The Cavs can offer the package of Delonte (immediate cap relief), Andy (great defender, something the Raps needs), JJ Hickson (promising big man), Jamario Moon ($3 million expiring), and the rights to Christian Eyenga (the Raps were interested in him in 2009). Now what deal sounds better, the one I outlined above, or trading Bosh to the Heat for Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, and Joel Anthony? In addition to having attractive assets, the Cavs could take on a bad deal that the Raps have, something the Bulls and Heat cannot do (will ruin their cap space). This means a guy like Hedo Turkoglu, or Jose Calderon could be traded as well. The national media hasn't really covered this, but if LeBron can convince Bosh to come here, I could definitely see this happening. Also, I have to appreciate the patient approach the Cavs have taken this offseason. They haven't rushed into a trade and I have to think LeBron might have given them some sort of indication that he would stay, or else I think the Cavs would've made a move by now. Theres too much risk and uncertainty involved in keeping all your assets in an attempt to sign and trade for Chris Bosh.
Ownership- Dan Gilbert is not going to go down without a fight. He has been putting up signs all over downtown Cleveland that say "Home" on them. Everyone seems to discount the Cavs and assume that LeBron is gone, but Gilbert will pull out all the stops for LeBron. He has always been willing and able to make any move to improve the Cavs roster. The Cavs took on the deals of Jamison, Mo, and Shaq, along with re-signing Andy and Boobie. Never has Gilbert vetoed a deal due to money considerations and he is willing to do anything to improve the roster. We have had one of the highest payrolls in the NBA for the past two years, and we had the 3rd highest last year. It was noted that LeBron wanted a coach who had played in the NBA previously and he got just that in Byron Scott. Gilbert even signed up LeBron to go to a workshop for billionaire businessmen. Anything LeBron has ever wanted, Gilbert has given him and will continue to give him.
One of the concerns LeBron might have with the Bulls is that their owner Jerry Reinsdorf is known for being cheap and not paying the luxury tax. If the Bulls bring in two big players, LeBron has to wonder if the Bulls will pay Derek Rose or Joakim Noah when they become free agents in a couple years. Also, Reinsdorf and then GM Jerry Krause were known for never giving into any demand Michael Jordan had, and we all know LeBron likes to have some sort of say in personel moves. I think LeBron is very comfortable with Dan Gilbert going forward because Gilbert and Co. have always supported LeBron, and will continue to do everything to make the team better.
Home- I will never forget seeing a poster for his high school documentary "More Than A Game" which featured LeBron and the rest of the SVSM starters along with coach Dru Joyce. Right under it, it said "Loyalty Never Dies". LeBron has always talked about how loyalty is so important to him, and that he loves Akron so much. When he accepted his MVP awards, he did so in Akron. His brand is predicated on being the local hometown guy, and being loyal. Leaving Cleveland (which is right near Akron), would go against everything LeBron has said in the past 7 years. He would be at the level of Art Modell is he left, and I don't think he could ever come back. Cleveland fans have suffered so much already and LeBron is seen as our beaming light of hope. If he left it would hurt our sports scene greatly, and even downtown Cleveland. Imagine not having any of those bars in downtown Cleveland packed if the Cavs stopped making the playoffs. Cleveland fans have fiercely defended LeBron in everything he has done (not shaking hands in the Orlando series, poor performance in NBA finals, constantly talking about free agency), and I do believe that no set of fans will ever LeBron as much we as do. We have never had a superstar of this caliber in our own backyard, and we will do anything to keep him. I just hope LeBron's loyalty to Cleveland and Akron, will never die.....
Well, I know this has been a lot, but I think in the end LeBron stays. When you add it all up the Cavs can get better, pay LeBron more, he can stay home with a great owner and organization. I just don't see LeBron passing up money to play elsewhere.
When looking at the Bulls and Knicks, here is what I think. The Bulls have a great player in Derek Rose and a solid player in Joakim Noah. Luol Deng is a good starter, and thats it. As I outlined above, they have a cheap owner who does not yield power to superstars. The Bulls can trade Deng and a couple other pieces to the Raptors in a sign and trade but he will offer no salary cap relief (3 years left at $12 mil a year). Plus, I think people overrate Joakim Noah as he averaged 11 pts 11 reb. a game this past year. He had one good playoff series and everyone believes he is an amazing player. Also, Rose is a PG who needs the ball in his hands to be successful, and we know how much LeBron loves having the ball in his hand. Rose and LeBron are both drive and kick players, and they don't have any shooters on the team now. The Knicks roster is Danilo Galinari, Toney Douglas, and Wilson Chandler. Even if you added 2 max players, the team wouldn't be as good as the Lakers. There would be no depth, and I don't think LeBron and Bosh would play for less than full max. money. Their owner James Dolan was the man who hired Isiah Thomas as GM and coach, enough said.....
I think by next week we might know what LeBron will do, but who knows how long he will drag this out. What will everyone else do? I think Amare will go to the Knicks, Wade will stay in Miami, and Bosh to me is the wildcard. Bosh will either go to the Bulls or Cavs depending on what LeBron does. If LeBron stays I think it enhances our chances to get Bosh because he wants a 6 year max deal and we can give him that in a sign and trade. I can see Carlos Boozer and David Lee going to the Nets, Bulls, and Heat if they strikeout on LeBron and Bosh. It's going to be a pretty wild weekend, we're going to hear a lot of speculation going forward. Remember, its always more news worthy to report that LeBron might leave and is leaning towards somewhere else, than if he stayed in Cleveland. Lets just hope LeBron stays at home.
Thanks for reading guys, go Cleveland!
-Raz
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