Posts Tagged ‘LeBron James’

The big free agency period that anyone who has even a slight interest in basketball is finally here. Why should we wait any long? Honestly, this wait is pissing me off. I want LeBron James to finally commit to a team, whether that is his hometown Cavs or any other suitor out there. Just sign already!

I do realize that this is easier said than done, for LeBron that is. Other top free agents should sign with a team and force James’ hand. Maybe this would make the decision making process easier for LeBron.

Let’s say that Chris Bosh signs with the Nets (obviously I want him to sign with the Nets because there is no way he is remaining with the Raptors), wouldn’t Bosh’s decision incline James to sign, even a tiny bit, with the Nets? Same goes if Bosh signs with the Knicks.

If Dwyane Wade wants to sign with the Heat, he should get that over with and in the same manner as Bosh force James to decided if he wants to play alongside him.

It’s becoming abundantly clear that the chances of James, Bosh and Wade signing on to play on the same team are almost down to zero. It’s wishful thinking, but the reality is that none of them would take a pay cut and be the defacto 2nd or 3rd option to James.

Most ironic would be the pairing of Wade and Bosh, leaving James alone to go back to Ohio or to sign with the Knicks just for the money. But that won’t happen, will it?

As NBA teams wait until July 8^th so they can start signing free agents, all that is left is hopeful pondering. Yes, even I wonder if James will sign with the Nets, enticed by Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-Z. Still, I hope!

What does every NBA fan have to look forward to until July 8th? Speculation, speculation and more speculation. This might be the most exciting free agency time ever in the history of basketball. As well as the the time when the most nonsense and the least amount of facts are being discussed by the guru’s of basketball.

What else is there to talk about?

However, don’t sleep on the overlooked free agents such as David Lee. He, and other like him, could become an important part on an already strong team and prove to be the missing piece of a championship contender. Would LeBron’s wait have been worth then?

Seriously, LeBron has to keep in mind the implications of signing to a team with a max salary free agent and how the salaries would impact the teams ability to fill out the rest of the roster. How good can a team be if it has two great players but the rest wish much to be desired.

Eastern Conference

(1) Cleveland vs (8) Chicago
It’s simply hard to imagine Chicago Bulls, who barely scraped by the Toronto Raptors into the playoff, beating the LeBrons. Bulls simply don’t have anyone who can guard LeBron James. Cavaliers are too tough inside: Brad Miller and Joakim Noah versus Shaquille O’Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Verejao.

Have we forgotten Antawn Jamison? Wouldn’t he be excited to get into the playoffs with a title contender?

Bulls are nowhere nearly the team that last year nearly upset the Boston Celtics. They might win one close game at home, but look for Cavs to finish this one early.

(2) Orlando vs (7) Charlotte
Can we expect a franchise in its inaugural playoff series to throw of a team that has been arguably the best in the league since the All-Star break? Bobcats might take one game as they did in the season series with the Magic, but nothing beyond that.

(3) Atlanta vs (6) Milwaukee
Milwaukee Bucks were a team that no one wanted to play, but as Andrew Bogut hit the floor and injured his hand, so did the chances of Milwaukee progressing past the first found of playoffs. Look to the last meeting between these two teams and how the Bogutless Bucks handled the Hawks to show how the series will progress. And imagine how scary Bucks would have been with healthy Bogut and Michael Redd.

(4) Celtics vs (5) Miami Heat
Old legs of the Boston Celtics are on the verge of breaking from the surmounting pressures of the NBA grind. This series reminds me of 80’s Bulls/Pistons battles, Heat have their Michael Jordan in Dwayne Wade going against Pistons who are the Celtics, but with a lot more mileage on their feet.

Sure would be nice for the C’s to win another title and built somehow on the resurgence of the Celtics lore. But, the pieces of the puzzle were put together just a tad bit late.

The longer the series goes, more chances for the Heat to pull off an upset.

It would be AWESOME if the New Jersey Nets are able to land Chris Bosh by the trading deadline and if they are able to land him earlier then it would be so much more AWESOME. They might even make the playoffs. Well, I don’t know about that.

Still, getting Chris Bosh would not only transform Nets this season, but it will also set them up for next season…yep, LeBron sweepstakes!

Although I doubt that Nets will be able to get Bosh on the cheap (look so far that only Brook Lopez is the only untradeable player on the team), acquiring the unhappy Raptor is likely to convince LeBron if he ever chose not to resign with Cleveland.

Considering that Bosh wants to play for a contender, what are the chances that Bosh would want to come over to a team that so far only won only three games this season?

(I really, really, really hope that he does)

I just hope that Nets can lure Bosh with the promise of getting better as a team and that playing in New York (soon the Nets are going to move to Brooklyn…finally) is a better payoff than playing anywhere else (Knicks better not swoop in on Bosh).

Something is rotten in the state of Cleveland, and that something is the play of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Six games into the season there is talk already of how their offseason moves are not having the desired effect…make LeBron James want to stay in Cleveland.

Already it looks like the signing of Shaq isn’t working out. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is off to a horrific start in his new role the back-up center.  Role players aren’t performing how they did last year…oh yeah, Delonte West is trouble with the law!

What else can go wrong for a team that was supposed to tear through this season just as a puppy goes through a kid homework?!?

Probably things can get worse for Cleveland if King James declares that he is no longer interested in playing for the Cavs.

What will happen then? What ensues could be the biggest sports story ever…ever. Imagine Michael Jordan declaring that he no longer to play for the Chicago Bulls after they were unable to get past the Detroit Pistons in the late 80’s.

Many people think that LeBron is ready to bolt for New York if things don’t change soon. Well, they could be at least partially right. The chances are slim that LeBron will want to go to a team that is horridly incapable of getting its act together. There must be much better suitors for the King.

If LeBron wants to play for a major market team, New Jersey Nets are positioned more favorably to lure him out of Ohio. Primed to move to Brooklyn (New York), Nets are partially owned by James’ buddy Jay-Z and that can only boost Nets odds. Besides, if LeBron is intent on becoming a serious businessman, then there is nothing better than learning from a really rich guy, Russian steel magnate Mikhail Prokhorov.

What do Cavs do if they want to keep James in town? Well…there is nothing that they can really do. James’ departure would lend itself perfectly to the case of Kevin Garnett wanting out of Minnesota, so that he can have a real chance to win.

As much as athletes like to tout their horn about being loyal to their teams (and in the end their never do), reality is that some teams are naturally predisposed to winning, while others are just trying to emulate them.

Signing Shaq didn’t help the Phoenix Suns. Why should it work any differently for Cavs? Isn’t it obvious that Shaq is no longer the dominant force of old? He had it in him to bring the Miami Heat to the pinnacle of the NBA. No such luck in Phoenix. And as much as I would have loved for Suns to have won one with Shaq on their side, the chances of that happening in Cleveland are slim to none.

Not many people seem to learn from history. Wilt Chamberlain’s tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers did bring success, but that success wasn’t achieved by Chamberlain alone. And in as much as LeBron might believe that Shaq will be that missing piece of a championship puzzle, reality is sure to prove otherwise. I will then have the last laugh when LeBron gets fed up with Cleveland and bolts for New York…but not the Knicks, but my New Jersey Nets.