oops. Most of my friends are already resigned to the idea of a LeBron-less future. They tried to avoid any and all news about his impending free agency initially, but have grown more and more apathetic as of late. I sincerely hope he re-signs there because that city will be dead without him. He truly IS a large part of the economy that drives the city.
If that were true, I think Bosh would be a Blazer. Because I would think the Blazers have already suggested such a deal. And I have little doubt that deal is a hell of a lot better than the Beasley one. So if the Blazers like it and the Raptors probably like it, who is left to nix it? I think it's Bosh. It'd seem to me he either doesn't want to play in the rainy northwest, or he doesn't like the idea of sticking a friend of his (Aldridge) in the exact same position he's trying to extricate himself from, or both.
No, they would have been RFA's this summer, much like Rudy Gay (from the same draft class) is now. However, we would have had salary cap holds for each equal to 300% of their previous year's salary, which would have prevented us from having enough space for a top tier FA, so the point is moot.
ha, so I was right? Damn, a core of LBJ-Roy-Aldridge-Oden would win title after title. Hell even adding a guy like Joe Johnson would have been awesome.
I don't see Lebron meshing well with Wade . . . so if Bosh is off to Miami, I don't see Lebron following. Colin predicts Lebron will stay in Clev and trying to bring Joe Johnson to with him.
One thing I haven't seen commented upon is the influence of Pat Riley. He is the biggest hardass in the League this side of Jerry Sloan. What would happen the first time James' entourage tried to get special treatment? I think they'd be glued to a wall with Riley's hair gel and slapped around.
That is the one thing that the NBA isn't figuring out. If other teams don't start getting A share of the pie, the fans will lose interest. Why should I watch the NBA if my team is never going to have a chance. If it is just some bullshit dog and pony show where a couple of guys determine who is going to win, just hand them the title and get it over with. The NFL has it right. The competition is fierce, the league is balanced, and most teams only stay on top for a couple of years at a time.
Repped. That's why the NFL has surpassed MLB as the most popular sport. The NBA is choosing the MLB model.
LeBron isn't going to Miami, Bosh basically alluded to it in the Miami Herald. The guy that reported the summit was interviewed last night on NBAtv (Ira Winderman I believe). He said the trio was supposed to meet at a charity Golf event but LeBron and Wade couldn't make it. If I've looked at this correctly, the Raptors will basically have max contract cap space next off-season if Chris walks. They can get a much better sign and trade or just let Chris leave. But they're sacrificing all that for a quick sign and trade for Beasley (who nobody seems to want)? Doesn't make sense to me. I'd like see someone other than a Heat homer report the details. These off-season updates have been confusing.
I hope NY gets shut out completely. The attitude of 'we can get anybody because we're New York' is annoying. I hope LBJ stays in Cleveland or goes to Chicago. Miami with Bosh/Wade is interesting. However, they'll have three fringe starters and a bench of D-League call-up's.
The problem I have with sign and trades is that a lot of the time, the teams do not have a choice to what is coming back. They basically have to take another teams salary dump. Fuck that. Why would any team want to help another team by letting them dump salary? If they are going to include good players in the sign and trade that is one thing. But we all know that isn't the case. It always ends up the player is leaving, and you can take this in return for him to get paid what he wants, or you can let him walk. IMO most of the time, it is well worth letting the player walk. You don't want the players they are sending in return. You don't want their salary on your team. On top of it, why would you want to help the guy who is leaving your team? Hell look at Cleveland. If Lebron leaves, with the salary albatross they have on their team, they aren't going to want some more role players in return. Fuck that. If Lebron left, I would say "adios, your not getting paid as much there, and we aren't going to help you get paid more, and we aren't going to help your team have salary available to pick up more players to help you out on your quest to a title."
I tweeted this to Bucher and haven't gotten a response... Since Wade'll get 10.5% max, and Bosh's S&T will be 10.5% max, who does MIA have left to send to CLE in an S&T. Normally you could just do a 2nd-round draft pick, but suppose CLE said something like "Eff You, LeBron...you get your 30M less and like it?" Could LBJ handle being the 3rd-highest-paid player on a team?
Interesting article by Woj on free agency. His sources are usually solid. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AkA49VnuoCUyHYp32yEJE9q8vLYF?slug=aw-lebronnets063010
