Our new expert on where LeBron won't go (the one with the beard)
A new article from the NY Daily News’ Mitch Lawrence gives reasons that the Nets, Clippers, and Heat are out of this summer’s LeBron lottery. He also goes on to explain what teams still have a shot at LeBron. Any surprise that he thinks the Knicks have one of the best situations for attracting LeBron?
Lawrence reasons that LeBron would not want to play second fiddle in Kobe’s town so the Clippers are out of the running. Next he shoots down the Nets dreams because they will most likely be playing in Newark for somewhere between 2 and 4 years while the Atlantic Yards project is set into motion. Finally the Heat won’t be getting LeBron because both Wade and James need to dominate the ball. These thoughts all seem reasonable, besides the fact that Wade and James would probably love to be on the same team and LeBron is a very unselfish player. Something tells me they could make it work…
On to the teams that Lawrence believes might still have a chance at LeBron. First up the Chicago Bulls freed up some cap space for LeBron and possibly Bosh this summer. They have a solid core and the big city lights of Chicago fits LeBron’s rumored need for a bigger market. Lawrence then directs his attention to the Knicks who gambled everything on the LeBron lottery. He claims that they are the only team with a chance to get LeBron and Bosh, although I’ve heard Miami and Chicago could sign more than one free agent.
Lawrence strenghtens his argument with a quote from LeBron about playing with Bosh. During All-Star Weekend LeBron had this to say, “Being around him last summer (in the Olympics), I got to see how smart he is. His basketball I.Q. is unbelievable. He’s a very, very good player. Sometimes you look at him and you say, “He’s not that strong or he’s not the fastest guy out there.’ But the way he approaches the game … his mindset really helps him dominate a basketball game.”
In the end we’ll see where LeBron goes, but it’s funny that the Knicks have started to rule out other teams from the LeBron sweepstakes. While the Knicks cleared a ton of cap space they gave away a lot of talent to do so. Until LeBron signs a new contract with the Cavs I’ll be thinking NoYork!!!
The Cavs are considering a number of different players right now, but I’m hoping that we focus less on one in particular. His name is Troy Murphy and his problem is that he’s not our solution. Despite the Cavs being the hottest team in basketball right now, we are looking to make improvements in order to build a champion. I can’t fault the Cavs for this, on the contrary I’m happy that we’re exploring all the available options.
However, Troy Murphy is not our answer now and he’s definitely not the answer in the future. Our goal for making a trade before Thursday has to look into the future, and I’m not talking June. If we win a title in June we could still lose LeBron in July.
JJ Hickson is a potential all star in this league. He’s shown improvement on both ends of the floor and it’s obvious that he’s still very young and very raw. I can’t stand the thought of losing JJ for Troy Murphy, only to watch JJ mature into an all star caliber player who could be teaming up with LeBron in the not so distant future.
I’m okay with Jamison, Maggette, or Stoudemire for Hickson, but Troy Murphy seems like a Cleveland sized mistake. A plea to the Cavs front office: Please do not trade for Troy Murphy unless we get him for a draft pick ONLY! He’s not worth the risk that comes with trading JJ and you guys have to see that.
In Bill Simmons’ podcast “The B.S. Report” there are many topics. When you tune in you could hear anything from sports to reality TV talk. Lately Simmons has been talking about LeBron’s future a lot. In my opinion Simmons is a hilarious Sports Guy with a lot of insight on the NBA, so give his thoughts a listen and see what you think.
He asked David Stern where he thought LeBron would go in 2010. Stern’s answer, “There’s a lot of interest, whatever he does, whether he stays or goes…I grew up in this league, valuing no contraction and players staying with their existing team.” Once again, the NBA’s commissioner hopes that LeBron stays in Cleveland. We’ll see if he has any pull!
In an earlier talk with JA Adande Simmons shared a couple of his own theories. Here’s one that involves the dreaded Wizards, “Washington somehow avoids Arenas’ contract, they trade Butler, they trade Jamison, they have all this cap room all of a sudden. They lure LeBron, last week of October Sports Illustrated comes out LeBron/Obama on the cover…The King and The Prez.”
After that ridiculous thought he said that he thought LeBron to the Wizards was in his top five LeBron possibilities. Simmons went on to predict that Bosh and LeBron would end up in Chicago. Adande said that he believes it will be Miami or Cleveland.
While all of the theories are very interesting, I’m hoping that LeBron will stay in Cleveland and we’ll find a way to sign another free agent in 2011. Only time will tell, but the media will continue to dissect all the possibilities. If you haven’t had the chance to check out The B.S. Report go to iTunes and download a podcast (it’s FREE!)
Once upon a time there was a Cavs fan. He was a regular guy just like me and you. One day he happened upon a blog that he thought was cool. He decided to buy a t shirt from that cool blog. The shirt was shipped promptly and when he received the shirt, he thought “cool.”
The shirt had arrived just in time for the New York game. The man set out for the Q and all the stop lights were green. Once he arrived at the arena he watched as other fans slipped on ice while walking. He did not slip when he walked. The man looked down at his shirt approvingly and knew there was a reason he had above average traction.
Once inside the arena complete strangers looked at his shirt and he could tell they were thinking, “That’s a cool shirt.” He was very happy with himself and the shirt. As he walked towards his seat he glanced to his right and saw two Cavalier girls. He could tell they were looking at his shirt, so he made eye contact. They quickly waved him over and asked him if they could take a picture. A friend of one of the Cavalier girls took the picture at the top of this post and quickly posted it to every social media site on the internet.
After a Cavs victory the man returned to his home. He had a microwave dinner and reflected on his night. He decided that the shirt he bought was cool and that he had made a good decision.
"Championship first, then I'll talk about next year"
Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote an article recently about the odds of LeBron leaving Cleveland. He writes about an encounter with a Cavs fan who thinks that a Cleveland championship in 2010 means LeBron is more likely to leave. This is an interesting issue that I think we should expand on…
There seems to be two distinct camps on this one. Either you think a championship seals the deal and keeps LeBron in Cleveland, or you think it means mission accomplished and freedom to skip town. I can see the logic in both viewpoints.
On one hand, if this Cavs team wins a championship LeBron knows they are capable of being a contender for years to come. On the other hand if he brings Cleveland the trophy that has eluded them for so long, he may feel like he’s done enough for his hometown and he’s free to pursue greener pastures.
I think a championship is very significant, but LeBron will be looking further into the future than June. His decision will depend on the development of JJ Hickson, the durability of Shaq and Z, and the cap situation for the Cavs. If these issues are in place, LeBron will stay in Cleveland win or lose come playoff time…at least I think he’ll stay, don’t you?
We’ll be selling NoYork T’s tonight outside the Q. We’ll be selling from 6pm to tipoff (7:30). Location is TBD but you can check our Twitter link to the right for exact updates.
Props to these people for rocking the NoYork tees to the Heat game tonight. I’ve never seen this many NoYork shirts together on actual humans (there are tons at my house waiting to be shipped). Thanks to everyone for supporting the NoYork movement.
Thanks to Rob Matheson and Ben Suitt for supporting NoYork at the Heat game. Both of these guys with terrific taste in tees are from Columbus and both are lifetime Cavs fans. We appreciate all your support!
"Cut Andy, c'mon I'm about to travel here, ANDY CUT!!!!"
So the Cavs are down a couple guards and they’re depending on Boobie Gibson, who is arguably not one of the top five ball handlers on this own team, to bring the ball down the court. You’re a bit worried, but you have faith in the Cavs as a team. Then you start to be honest with yourself, you have LeBron James on your team so you have no worries.
In my mind LeBron has always been more like Magic Johnson than Michael Jordan. Tonight against the Grizzlies some Magic showed through as LeBron had 15 assists. No the Cavs aren’t the Showtime Lakers, but they are a team with plenty of talented players supporting LeBron.
The King has a knack for finding open teammates and adjusting his own game to make them more successful. Soon we’ll have Delonte back and then Mo will return, enabling LeBron to move back into his usual role on the team. For now, he’ll play point forward and dish out dimes to open teammates. If you’re a Cavs fan you have to love the versatility and willingness of our superstar. The only question is, God forbid Shaq goes down, will LeBron play the 5 for us?
Something you don't see everyday, Coby with the ball in his hands IN THE GAME!
I know many of you were bummed when Coby Karl was released by the Cavs. You were thinking something like, “Could we have somehow kept this guy and just let him fly under the radar? Would the NBA really notice if we just kept an extra guy and paid him under the table?” Unfortunately we didn’t want to jeopardize the season for Coby Karl, I just don’t get it.
But don’t worry Coby has landed on his feet in Golden State. He signed a ten day contract with the Warriors after balling out in the D League. After leaving Cleveland, The White Mamba averaged 27.2 points, 7.8 boards, and 4.2 dimes for the Idaho Stampede. Anyone who thought Coby was only good for exchanging awkward high fives with fellow Cavs was wrong indeed!
Coby had six points and six assists in his first game with the Warriors. He clocked 24 minutes in the game, which is great considering he was getting 1.7 minutes a game as a Cavalier. Although it hurts to say goodbye, I’m happy to see Coby getting it done on the court.
You know what’s coming tomorrow right? Yep, Coby Karl awkward high five and general I look out of place reel!
