Sports: 2009/10 NBA & NCAA Basketball Season

[Chalupa]

Biggest loser - Cleveland, the Knicks, or the NBA?? My gut says Cleveland but the Knicks traded away half their team to clear cap space for LeBron and all they have to show for it is a center w/ bad knees who can't create his own shot. Then there is the NBA. You just know that Stern wanted LeBron in NYC badly. There's a school of thinking that says for the NBA to be successful they need to have their biggest stars in their biggest markets. That would be Kobe in LA and LeBron in either NYC or Chicago but not in south Florida. That didn't happen. But maybe they can still generate enough buzz by having the new Big Three in Miami that they can woo back the fans? Hmm... I don't know about that. Another question - is the Heat's fan base in Miami big enough/wealthy enough to sell out every game to pay these guys?

[Patrick]

Don't worry, Cleveland will "get over itself" (WTF!!!). The best athlete in town since Jim Brown (if not better), a local product, a kid who grew up in very challenging situation who as far as I know hasn't gotten into legal trouble [not raping women in Colorado, not getting into bar fights, not promoting anti-police videos, no drugs, gangs, gambling etc., ...seems like a refreshing change] And a damn good team basketball player. A bit of sadness/angst/frustration is reasonable.

Thanks LeBron for the 7 exciting seasons in Cleveland. You've rarely been revolting, until this post-season (apparent lack of effort against the ancient Celtics) and this offseason. This ESPN infomercial was pretty damn crass. Could you have thought a bit about what you would say to your fellow NE Ohioans? Apparently not. Congrats on the big contract (although you could have made more at home). Wish you would have bothered to sign one long term one in Cleveland. But you didn't. At least the Cavs owner went for it, going over the salary cap rather than wasting a season or two of DWade's career dumping salary. Ultimately the stars did not align (as they do for all champs to a certain degree), so you've moved on. Superman, but not super enough to deliver another free agent (like Bosh) or a championship. Cleveland will get over it.

So Byron Scott will get to coach a team built around Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams. It could be worse. Probably still more entertaining than the local baseball or football squads.

Thank got NBA free agency is basically over. David Stern is still smiling ear to ear...

[Noj]

The NBA, where guilty until proven innocent happens. So awesome how accepting a cash payoff to STFU rather than actually seeking justice is taken as a sign of credibility--as opposed to getting what she actually was after [$$$].

Never mind though, back to how great LeBron is despite the fact that he totally tanked it in the playoffs, just threw his hometown under the bus, and speaks of himself in the third person.

Edited July 9, 2010 by Noj

[papsrus]

Don't worry, Cleveland will "get over itself" (WTF!!!). The best athlete in town since Jim Brown (if not better), a local product ... Wish you would have bothered to sign one long term one in Cleveland. But you didn't. ...

I see you're in Fairfax, Va. ... But a Cleveland native? ... WTF!!!

I love all these talking heads on TV yammering on about how James owed it to Cleveland to stay out of a sense of loyalty, his roots, and on and on. Meanwhile, I don't see any of them doing the local sportscast in their hometowns. So what gives? It's OK for everyone else in the world to split but LeBron James somehow owes Cleveland more than 7 years of his professional career?

No sale.

[Patrick]

Yes, referring to himself in the third person is extremely tiresome.

And he has every right to move on to another team, even if it has a certain bus tossing element. Just done in such a crass manner.

Kobe did similar crap with demanding to be traded, meeting with the Clippers (if I recall correctly), etc, didn't he? Fortunately his people didn't turn it into an hour long infomercial. For this we can all be thankful.

Kudos to Kevin Durant for signing a long term deal with a small market team on the rise, and not making a big production out of it. I'm a fan.

[Aggie87]

Kudos to Kevin Durant for signing a long term deal with a small market team on the rise, and not making a big production out of it. I'm a fan.

+1

He's my type of player (despite him briefly being a Longhorn), in the mold of Tim Duncan/David Robinson.

[papsrus]

Yes, referring to himself in the third person is extremely tiresome.

And he has every right to move on to another team, even if it has a certain bus tossing element. Just done in such a crass manner.

I agree with you there. But he did raise a bunch of cash for the Boys & Girls Club as well with a chunk of the advertising proceeds from his show.

[Jim Alfredson]

The definition of overrated.

[Quincy]

Another question - is the Heat's fan base in Miami big enough/wealthy enough to sell out every game to pay these guys?

I think they already have.

I thought LeBron's show was crass, but Cleveland's owner sure makes LeBron's move easier after his open letter. Sometimes it's better to sleep on it rather than hit send.

Edited July 9, 2010 by Quincy

[Patrick]

Agreed. Gilbert letter definitely cringe-inducing.

But enough about sports. Time for music. Cue the orchestra!

[Chalupa]

Wow. Some serious invective being thrown at LeBron right now. WTF? So he decided to leave town. He doesn't owe anyone any thing. Gilbert needs to issue an apology. Stat.

[papsrus]

Wow. Some serious invective being thrown at LeBron right now. WTF? So he decided to leave town. He doesn't owe anyone any thing. Gilbert needs to issue an apology. Stat.

+1

[Noj]

Well, if I were a Cleveland fan I'd be most pissed that LeBron didn't negotiate a sign-and-trade to bring some sort of replacement(s) to the Cavs. Instead he left them hanging, until all the free agents and possible trades were out of reach, then kicked them off the cliff to complete irrelevance.

[Chalupa]

Well, if I were a Cleveland fan I'd be most pissed that LeBron didn't negotiate a sign-and-trade to bring some sort of replacement(s) to the Cavs. Instead he left them hanging, until all the free agents and possible trades were out of reach, then kicked them off the cliff to complete irrelevance.

Noj - I'm not just calling you out on this because I've read/heard other people say the same thing RE:Why no sign/trade w/ the Heat? Well that's probably because the Heat only have 2 players(actually now it's 1 because they are trading Beasley away) under contract. Do you want Mario Chalmers?? Cause that's all the Heat can send in a sign/trade deal. But I guess that's LeBron's fault too???

[Noj]

He didn't have to go to Miami, or it could have involved several teams...or something. I'm just saying it's a dick move to leave Cleveland in shambles. They'll go from the best regular season record in the NBA to one of the worst, guaranteed.

[Chalupa]

So LeBron should limit which team he should sign with by what he kind of sign/trade deal he can get for his old team?? Is that the standard by how we judge all FA signings now or just LeBron? I'm sorry but I seriously disagree w/ that.

For the record he didn't leave Cleveland in shambles. They're still better than the Sixers. Besides, it's not like they didn't have ample warning that he might bolt this summer. The franchise should have had a backup plan (or 3) just in case this went down. If you want to blame someone for what happened take a good look at the owners. Why didn't they try to get him another marquee player during the 7 years he was a Cavalier?? Maybe if they had got another star he wouldn't have left.

edit: for clarity.

Edited July 9, 2010 by J.H. Deeley

[Noj]

LeBron shouldn't necessarily do anything to help the Cavs, and he didn't. It just would have been the "cool" thing to do. But, it's a business, and LeBron only needs to look out for his own best interests.

[Chalupa]

Henry Abbott's take...

What is James' crime, exactly? I have been hashing out this issue with e-mailers over the last few hours. Most accept that he had the right to choose whatever team he wanted. Most accept that Cleveland was not the best team. Most accept that he played hard for the Cavaliers and -- this year's playoff disappointment notwithstanding -- got better results than could have been expected.

Pretty much it boils down to the fact that he put himself on TV to make this decision, which sends the twin messages that he has an overblown view of his own role in the world, and that he's insensitive to how the whole thing would play in Ohio.

And OK, fair enough. Quibble with his media philosophies if you'd like.

But realize, if you're bitter, you're bitter about the format of his expression. Not the contents of his soul. And absent evidence he has done something actually wretched, it's a little extreme to call him nasty names on the Internet, isn't it?

In this world of ours, you will find some truly terrible people. There are murderers. There are rapists. There are abusers, bullies, polluters, dictators and everything else.

And this is the guy you need to single out?

Even in the NBA's own pantheon, you will find Magic Johnson who once got a coach fired, Kobe Bryant who stood in a parking lot on hidden camera cursing his own team and coaches, Michael Jordan who fought with and bullied teammates. The list goes on and on. The point is, if you're in the mood to be charitable, you can love just about anybody. If you're in the mood to hate, you can hate just about anybody.

Why is it that so many are in the mood to hate LeBron James?

A theory: It's because he stepped out of place. Players play. That's how it was. They are quiet and sweaty craftsmen who ought not to be heard from except to call out plays and say "yessir" to the coach. The way sports used to be, owners did things like make billion-dollar decisions and general managers and agents did things like agonize over personnel.

But that was always a myth. The owners, GMs and agents may have seemed like they held all the cards, but that's only because players weren't great at wielding the power they had. The players always drove the value, because they are what motivated the fans who paid for everything. It has taken decades, but eventually a player -- this player -- figured out how to really put himself in the driver's seat, with billionaire owners lining up, one by one, attempting to earn his valuable affections.

He took the power of free agency and instead of just quietly using it to slip out the back door, he milked it. He played it out. He built his own roster. He played kingmaker.

He went beyond exercising his rights. He demonstrated his might in the worlds of business, team management and media.

It's not a role we're used to seeing athletes in, and it startled many. But I'm certain it's a role athletes belong in. People have analyzed how much a superstar like James is worth to a team. It's many times what he is paid every year, and has been throughout his career. It rivals what the whole team is worth. He has been paying the bills, in no small way, for the Cavaliers for years. That might not be appealing to think about, but it's true. James knows that, and -- even though it's not in the playbook of how athletes typically speak to the public -- he acted like it.

Full article here

[paul secor]

After all the hype and dashed hopes, it comes down to next season - if three stars can play together, if Erik Spoelstra can get them to play team ball, if Miami can sign decent role players to fill out a starting lineup and a bench, if Miami can get players who will do the dirty work while the three stars get the glory - a lot of ifs there. We shall see next season.

[Aggie87]

Pretty much it boils down to the fact that he put himself on TV to make this decision, which sends the twin messages that he has an overblown view of his own role in the world, and that he's insensitive to how the whole thing would play in Ohio.

And OK, fair enough. Quibble with his media philosophies if you'd like.

I think for the Cleveland folks, that's not a "quibbling" point but a major point of discontent. Abbott's trivializing how they feel about this by calling it quibbling. In Clevelander's eyes James betrayed them - they wanted him to be their Larry Bird, their Magic Johnson, their Tim Duncan - a star that is forever associated with one team.

I think they also feel that their team did try to give him what it took to win it all, and he tanked it in the playoffs against the Celtics. HIM, not the team. Then for him to say something to the effect that there wasn't a possibility to win in Cleveland so he had to move on, when it was his failing that caused that, probably had to hurt.

Especially in a city like Cleveland.

Edited July 10, 2010 by Aggie87

[Chalupa]

Pretty much it boils down to the fact that he put himself on TV to make this decision, which sends the twin messages that he has an overblown view of his own role in the world, and that he's insensitive to how the whole thing would play in Ohio.

And OK, fair enough. Quibble with his media philosophies if you'd like.

I think for the Cleveland folks, that's not a "quibbling" point but a major point of discontent. Abbott's trivializing how they feel about this by calling it quibbling. In Clevelander's eyes James betrayed them - they wanted him to be their Larry Bird, their Magic Johnson, their Tim Duncan - a star that is forever associated with one team.

I think they also feel that their team did try to give him what it took to win it all, and he tanked it in the playoffs against the Celtics. HIM, not the team. Then for him to say something to the effect that there wasn't a possibility to win in Cleveland so he had to move on, when it was his failing that caused that, probably had to hurt.

Especially in a city like Cleveland.

I don't understand. How exactly did he betray the city of Cleveland?? Did he sleep w/ the Mayor's wife?? Did he steal from the city's payroll?? No, he gave 7 years of his basketball career to a team that never gave him the supporting cast that Bird, Magic, & Duncan had. Never. In the process he made the Cavaliers millions of dollars and made Cleveland matter again in the sports world. LeBron didn't screw them; the Cavaliers' owners did.

[Aggie87]

Pretty much it boils down to the fact that he put himself on TV to make this decision, which sends the twin messages that he has an overblown view of his own role in the world, and that he's insensitive to how the whole thing would play in Ohio.

And OK, fair enough. Quibble with his media philosophies if you'd like.

I think for the Cleveland folks, that's not a "quibbling" point but a major point of discontent. Abbott's trivializing how they feel about this by calling it quibbling. In Clevelander's eyes James betrayed them - they wanted him to be their Larry Bird, their Magic Johnson, their Tim Duncan - a star that is forever associated with one team.

I think they also feel that their team did try to give him what it took to win it all, and he tanked it in the playoffs against the Celtics. HIM, not the team. Then for him to say something to the effect that there wasn't a possibility to win in Cleveland so he had to move on, when it was his failing that caused that, probably had to hurt.

Especially in a city like Cleveland.

I don't understand. How exactly did he betray the city of Cleveland?? Did he sleep w/ the Mayor's wife?? Did he steal from the city's payroll?? No, he gave 7 years of his basketball career to a team that never gave him the supporting cast that Bird, Magic, & Duncan had. Never. In the process he made the Cavaliers millions of dollars and made Cleveland matter again in the sports world. LeBron didn't screw them; the Cavaliers' owners did.

If you read the Cav's owner's statement, he certainly feels betrayed - even uses that word in his statement. I would imagine his words echo the feelings of a number of Cavaliers fans.

From Ian Thomsen's editorial on si.com (here):

...this threatens to go down as a case of What You Say vs. How You Say It. How he said it drowned out the meaning of his words. If he was going to divorce himself from the fans who viewed him as one of their own, as a savior to their depressed region, then wasn't there a less painful way to do so? His former fans will make the argument that James was so concerned with the pursuit of his celebrity that he ran them over with this self-empowering TV special. A lot of people will be cheering against him now.

A simple news conference to announce his decision, along with a heartfelt thank you to the the Cavs and their fans would have been alot more appropriate. I think they have a right to feel somewhat betrayed by the local guy who made it big and then wasn't willing to make his career with the Cavs.

[papsrus]

If you read the Cav's owner's statement, he certainly feels betrayed - even uses that word in his statement. I would imagine his words echo the feelings of a number of Cavaliers fans.

No doubt. Question is, what is the basis for this sense of betrayal?

Putting aside the spectacle of the way he did it, is James' decision itself really this deep betrayal Cleveland fans see? I don't think so. Lots of people leave their roots to seek success elsewhere -- including NBA free agents of all stripes every off-season. It's as American as Apple Pie.

Why does Cleveland hate America?

[Patrick]

Couple of comments.

1. Looks like they will do a sign and trade. LeBron will get the 6th year and max cash, Cavs will get two first round draft picks, two second round draft picks, and a $16M trade exception that they can try to parlay into other players. I think they also get the right to swap first round picks with Miami next year (...just in case Cavs have a better season...). I'm not so confident that they will be able to land something useful with the trade exception and it expires in a year, but we shall see. They certainly are motivated. Also not sure what they will accomplish with the last pick (or nearby) in the first round. Recent experience not so inspiring. But they can be used in trades.

2. Management certainly was not successful in landing another top tier player during the LeBron era. Plenty of blame to go around on that one. Gilbert/Ferry certainly tried, and while it is fashionable to bash Ferry as a GM, I think he made a number of good acquisitions. Face it, free agents have to be paid a premium to play in Cleveland due to the size of the market and the weather. [see Ray Allen going to the Sonics, and Larry Hughes' contract.] Having LeBron on the team made it feasible to contemplate signing top FAs, but they didn't come. I don't think this was because mgmt was unwilling. LeBron has superhuman powers, but apparently not any to convince big time guys to join him in CLE. My recent delusions included the possibility that Bosh would come in a sign-and-trade this year (despite public announcements by Bosh against going to CLE, LeBron would convince him), or that LeBron would sign a 6 yr deal, everyone would relax, and his buddy Chris Paul would arrive in two years when his deal was up (taking Jamison's salary slot).

3. LeBron could have signed longer term deals with the Cavs. He chose not to, primarily to maintain his options and keep mgmt "motivated". What happened? Gilbert/Ferry went all in signing/trading for players with a constant "win now" mentality. Turns out, in this case, that that was not so useful for "winning now". The displayed impatience is also sad. Jordan didn't win a title until his 7th season. LeBron just completed his 7th season. Nice to see that Durant, only 2 yrs in the association, has signed a long term deal. Bodes well for OKC.

4. I'm not into conspiracy theories, but I currently think the formation of the "Justice League of America" (several heroes with super human powers that somehow can't get much done on their own) was pretty much pre-ordained. Just needed to have a team or two in the position that they could sign all three. Thank goodness it was somewhere warm! LeBron's post-season this year raised questions. I put most of it on the elbow, but in retrospect...

5. Cleveland will get over it. The bond with the home grown product was especially close, so it may take awhile. Cavs will go all out this year, probably make the playoffs as a 6-8th seed. Byron Scott will bring a refreshing uptempo style. Not sure if the highly competitive owner will ever be willing to go into full rebuild mode, but that will be necessary in a market like Cleveland.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

paps - wipe off your glasses - unfortunately it IS the spectacle.

Aggie87 - to all!

it's evident now that ModelleBron had this cooked since the summer of '08 Olympics.

then he handed it to Orlando, sneaking off court in his unsportsmanlike show.

he walked this year against the Celts and played kissyface apres lethargy.

the Cleveland fans should have seen it coming but like the ugly girlfriend they are ... (best fans in the world IMO next to the Packer faithful)

further proof of today's sport - Tiger ain't no Jack and James ain't no Jordan.

just wait till Tony Montana spikes his pre-game talc!

Edited July 10, 2010 by Man with the Golden Arm