This week in the NBA

[naiwf 0]

The Cavaliers have already made a finals appearance with him, and they could afford to pay him a huge deal. What's stopping them from doing what the Knicks are doing, if they have to? And the Cavaliers DRAFTED HIM and all. They will do whatever it takes to keep him. He's the most marketable player the franchise has ever had by far. They will spend. We'll see if it is enough.

 

The fact that Cleveland is a pimple on the ass of NY in terms of marketing and advertising possibilities. LeBron leading the Knicks to a title after a decade of futility makes him a legend because the media will make it happen. Doing the same thing in Cleveland makes him a hero in the state of Ohio. The Knicks aren't as relevant as they once were, but I think that's what makes playing for them and succeeding there more intriguing to someone with an ego as large as his.

 

[Guest Czecherbear]

You know, though it's certainly not an alpha-world-class city, you're talking about Cleveland like it's Sioux City, Iowa. LeBron's not scratching and clawing for endorsements playing for the Cavaliers.

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

In teh age to the internet and instant global communications and w/e it doesn't really matter where Lebron plays, he's going to be a worldwide icon no matter what. Chinese people don't care about relative market size.

[Matt Young 0]

Am I an awful guy for not particularly wanting any success to come Mike D'Antoni's way? The empty promise of the Phoenix Suns annoyed the shit out of me for the last few years, and now he's coaching the Knicks. To hell with him.

 

Are you still kind of irked by him not going to Chicago? Because I am.

[Guest Czecherbear]

What would he have done with this year's Bulls other than build on his legacy of teams that lose?

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

Wasn't that all Reinsdorf's fault, anyway? I thought D'Antoni was more than willing to go to the Bulls but Jerry didn't want to spend the money so they wound up with a cardboard cut-out instead.

[naiwf 0]

You know, though it's certainly not an alpha-world-class city, you're talking about Cleveland like it's Sioux City, Iowa. LeBron's not scratching and clawing for endorsements playing for the Cavaliers.

 

If you have the choice of being paid equally and being a champion in Cleveland or NY, I think at least 90% of athletes would choose to win in NY because of the relentless media exposure. Now, if you're going to be a middle of the road team and paid the same you'll choose Cleveland because of the lack of relentless media exposure. There's a reason Kobe always wanted to play for the Lakers and it had nothing to do with "tradition". Bringing a title to the Cavs gets him on the same level as a guy like Wade. Bringing a title to the Knicks for the first time in about 40 years ensures that everyone who wasn't sick of the Jordan comparisons will be. We're talking Michael Phelps in Beijing level slurping for the rest of his career.

 

[Guest Czecherbear]

Wasn't that all Reinsdorf's fault, anyway? I thought D'Antoni was more than willing to go to the Bulls but Jerry didn't want to spend the money so they wound up with a cardboard cut-out instead.

Yeah, Reinsdorf didn't want to spend money on a coach, and he tried telling him how to coach, so that fell through. Then there was the whole Doug Collins thing before we ended up with Amazingly Coach-Like. It's all patently ridiculous and he should be tarred and feathered for his clumsy meddling with the Bulls (to say nothing of his meddling with the Cubs), but remember that Jay Mariotti is history's greatest monster because he tells Tim Cowlishaw to shut up on a semi-popular ESPN program. It's a damn good thing that Derrick Rose is really really good at basketball or this would be one of the worst teams ever assembled: try-hard guys that don't try hard, "pure athletes" with no basketball IQ, and Larry Hughes lobbing the ball at people in the crowd who could possibly be mistaken for orange plastic circles, all coached by a guy who has never done this in his life. One day, when Derrick Rose leads this team to a championship, we'll look back and laugh at these ridiculous faces and names. "Man, remember the slugs from his rookie year? Aaron Gray? And that guy with the hair?"

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

The Cavaliers went to the Finals and got creamed. That's what it'll be every year they make the Finals with the team that's set up currently. If the Cavaliers somehow win a title BY 2010, then I can see him sticking around. If not, he's gone, regardless of what Cleveland promises him. Also Brooklyn Zoo informed me the other day that Lebron James gets 100 million dollars extra for signing with either the Knicks or the Lakers (well for signing with Los Angeles or New York, to be specific) from Nike. Think Lebron's turning that down?

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

The Cavaliers went to the Finals and got creamed. That's what it'll be every year they make the Finals with the team that's set up currently.

 

Except they're in a position to be set up entirely differently come 2010. All the awful contracts that have been weighing them down (first Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden, now Ben Wallace and Wally World) will be gone and they'll be in a position to build around 'bron/Williams/West/Gibson/Varejao(?)

 

Lebron James gets 100 million dollars extra for signing with either the Knicks or the Lakers (well for signing with Los Angeles or New York, to be specific) from Nike.

 

No he doesn't

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

You're right. Serves me right to use an unverified source without researching myself. And still, no, Cleveland COULD do what you said, but WILL they? No. They would likely sign guys that come a bit cheaper than what New York would be able/willing to do for Lebron. The Cavaliers would break the bank for Lebron and him alone. New York would break the bank for him, someone else, and maybe a third guy if they can get more takers for their current overpaid "talent". And the Knicks are setting up a decent core of their own as well. I'm not against Cleveland by any means, but come on, anyone can see that going to New York would make more sense for the guy.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

You're right. Serves me right to use an unverified source without researching myself. And still, no, Cleveland COULD do what you said, but WILL they? No. They would likely sign guys that come a bit cheaper than what New York would be able/willing to do for Lebron. The Cavaliers would break the bank for Lebron and him alone. New York would break the bank for him, someone else, and maybe a third guy if they can get more takers for their current overpaid "talent". And the Knicks are setting up a decent core of their own as well. I'm not against Cleveland by any means, but come on, anyone can see that going to New York would make more sense for the guy.

This isn't exactly true: the Cavaliers don't have to re-sign LeBron before they sign somebody else. They can easily put themselves in position to sign Bosh and then, because they hold James' Bird rights, go over the cap to give him the max.

 

As to the whole endorsement thing, I'm not buying it, either. We're not talking about Wally Szczerbiak, we're talking about LeBron F. James. That sumbitch could be playing in Diego Garcia, and make a hundred million in endorsements.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

That's my point. I don't really see Cleveland going over the cap. Not in today's economy. But you know what? It's way fucking early to be predicting anything. So I'll shut my mouth about this until 2010. July 1 will be a big day.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Finally I can show my face here again

 

Clippers beat the Heat 97-96

 

Zach Randolph with 27 and 14 in his first start.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Z-Bo is a black hole. Enjoy it while you can, Clip fans. He'll get a double double every night while your team will end up losing continuously.

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

I actually went to the Clippers game tonight with a couple of friends. Had great seats, near the foul line.Pretty good game, but the Clippers have no flow on offense at all. Of course I was there like many others to see D Wade. Too bad he had off night by his standards, because if he was on, the Clippers would have no chance. Michael Beasley had a sick game tonight. Zach Randolph never met a shot he didn't like to take, and I'm pretty sure Baron Davis is going to beat the shit of Mike Dunleavy one day.

[Damaramu 0]

Holy shit, the Thunder won a game. Shocking.