Quote: Drew Gooden can't read. So glad when we got rid of him. Guy has no heart of intensity.
i always liked him. i knew 4 or 5 guys that had run-ins with him in the past and they all said he was a really really nice dude.
with that said, his game isn't very good, and i'm glad he's playing for someone else. i was at the mavs/cavs game back in november and it was funny how many people still did the drewwwwwwwwwwwww when he was announced.
Quote: the guy is all business. he's one of the few wizards i respected through our years of beating the crap out of them. he's a solid player, he doesn't bring attention to himself, he pretty much lets his game do the talking, he's a pro's pro.
Completely agree ... hated all of the other Wizards, but completely respected Jamison through all those "heated rival" years. Wish we could of had him 5 years ago and saved him the misery of being on those crappy teams.
Quote: the guy is all business. he's one of the few wizards i respected through our years of beating the crap out of them. he's a solid player, he doesn't bring attention to himself, he pretty much lets his game do the talking, he's a pro's pro.
Completely agree ... hated all of the other Wizards, but completely respected Jamison through all those "heated rival" years. Wish we could of had him 5 years ago and saved him the misery of being on those crappy teams.
ditto
I thought I was wrong once....but I was mistaken...
What's the use of wearing your lucky rocketship underpants if nobody wants to see them????
Z's contract has been bought out. - ESPN mocking the league rule. - I wonder if they mock every team that takes advantage of the rule?
Why don't they just come out and say it, it's better for their business if LBJ signs with the Knicks. - It's not better for LBJ, it's not better for the NBA, it's not better for fan support across the country, but it's better for ESPN.
for one, i think it's stupid. teams giving up key pieces to get under the cap.
i don't know if there was an arrangement. there won't be any proof. i do think there is a chance that danny ferry did this knowing there was a chance maybe they didn't get him back. i tend to think they are all in on this, gilbert, ferry, lebron, and z, they were all on board. they knew washington was in a position where they'd have no use in keeping z and would save money by buying him out. but there is no proof nor will there ever be. we're too good
i'm also on board with people thinking how funny it is that at one moment, the "experts" at bspn rip the cavs for supposedly not having a supporting cast and that he needs to go to a bigger market, and on the other hand, make a huge deal out of the cavs allegedly getting back a very good player in z. (a guy who comes off the bench, by the way)
The main problem Brown has now (and certainly even more so when Z comes back) is trying to set a rotation.
Realistically speaking, only 8 (maybe 9) guys can get consistent minutes. When you look at the roster, there are some pretty good players that are going to be left out of meaningful post season PT.
Starters:
Mo AP LeBron Jamison Shaq
Locked in reserves:
Andy Delonte Z (barring an unforeseen move elswhere)
Out of the rotation / possibly 1 open spot to fill:
Hickson Moon Williams Powe Gibson
If we're going 8 deep and Z returns, that essentially cuts out any minutes that would have gone to Jawad, Moon, Boobie, JJ or Powe. If we go 9 deep, which in some cases we will, there will be 10-12 minutes for someone out of that bottom group.
I would think that IF Powe is healthy, he'll atleast play in spot duty but sheesh, where are the minutes going to come from? Cleveland easily has the most crowded lineup in the NBA. Certainly not a bad problem to have but some guys who probably deserve to play aren't going to get off the bench.
it just takes 1 injury to make that bench depth needed.
very glad that Gibson proved he could come off the bench after weeks of not getting game-time play and be successful.
hopefully either Powe or Hickson can do the same (they will be battling each other the rest of the season for the 10-15 minutes of playoff time that are probably available without injury, which should be entertaining as well)
Quote: That is SICK depth! No other team can even come close to that.
I for one, would like to see Moon playing in every game. Moon is a guy that brings a different aspect (crazy athleticism) to the game than we have seen in recent years with the Cavs..
He is kinda sneaky on the defensive boards as well..
Quote: That is SICK depth! No other team can even come close to that.
I for one, would like to see Moon playing in every game. Moon is a guy that brings a different aspect (crazy athleticism) to the game than we have seen in recent years with the Cavs..
He is kinda sneaky on the defensive boards as well..
as long as he rarely shoots 3's, i'm good with him on the floor. when lebron finds him for the alley oop that seems to deflate the other team. it's bad enough when lbj gets one, but when other guys are doing it, it burns.
Wizards reach buyout deal with Zydrunas Ilgauskas UPDATED AT 10:48 p.m.
The Wizards have reached a buyout agreement with center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations. The 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas is expected to pay back between $1 million and $1.5 million of his $11.5 million contract, the person said. Ilgauskas agreed to the terms late Wednesday night. A formal announcement will likely come on Thursday.
Ilgauskas's agent, Herb Rudoy, said the sides are "very close" and he expects to have the paperwork completed "in the morning."
Ilgauskas was acquired from Cleveland in the three-team trade that sent Antawn Jamison to the Cavaliers on Feb. 17. He received a trade kicker worth about $600,000 for being part of the deal. Ilgauskas only spent a few hours in Washington on Friday, when he came for a physical and quickly returned home to Cleveland.
After the Wizards waive him, Ilgauskas is expected to draw interest from Dallas, Denver, Atlanta and Utah. If he returns to the Cavaliers, Ilguaskas would have to wait 30 days to sign back with them, on March 21.
"I expect him to decide by the end of the weekend," Rudoy wrote in a text message.
Ted Nugent said,"that Davy Crockett shooting at Santa Anna's Army was the right thing to do, he just wouldn't get the Hispanic vote today".
I think they've lost all reasons to hate them now.
They fired Eddie Jordan, so we don't get to see him crying about every non-call on the sidelines. They traded DePawn Stevenson and Heywood to the Mavs, so now they're the ones with the The Thug and Mr. Invisible. Gilbert Arenas is suspended for the year, and hasn't exactly played meaningful basketball in about 2 seasons. Who's left to hate?
Quote: I think they've lost all reasons to hate them now.
They fired Eddie Jordan, so we don't get to see him crying about every non-call on the sidelines. They traded DePawn Stevenson and Heywood to the Mavs, so now they're the ones with the The Thug and Mr. Invisible. Gilbert Arenas is suspended for the year, and hasn't exactly played meaningful basketball in about 2 seasons. Who's left to hate?
considering there aren't any of their whiny fans in the building, nobody.
Quote: There isnt a solid fan base here because no one is actually from DC, we're all from somewhere else. The joke around town is that 1 in 10 are natives.
While there may be some truth to that... the biggest reason is because the Wizards have a long history of being not very good... yea, they've had a couple playoff runs but in general, it's not like anybody expected to do much... I mean the Redskins are in DC too and they have a very large, very loyal, and very vocal fan base... of course maybe it's just the difference between basketball and football, look at the Browns they are bad vs the Cavs when they are bad... what was attendance at Cavs games pre-LeBron?
Quote: what was attendance at Cavs games pre-LeBron?
not good, but factor in that cleveland is a small town, and small towns aren't gonna draw when bball is bad. a lot of people joined up with the cavs when they drafted lebron, and a few more when they finally made the playoffs, but i will fully admit i didn't watch every game of the cavs before lebron, i still kept up with the team and watched all the games against the better teams.
nba is an expensive ticket too. 41 games at a high price vs 8 games.
that's why i don't like when other people crack on the cavs for having bandwagon fans.
Season before LBJ, we were lucky to get 7k fans a game. Buddy of mine and I used to get tickets in the last row and be sitting down in the lower section almost every game we went to. Usually never had to spend more than $10 for a ticket.
"The medium for the bad news was ESPN, which figured. The network represents much of what is loud, obnoxious and empty in sports today."
Blueprint for an NBA dynastyCrazy? Sure. But think of all the possibilities in a LeBron/D-Wade/Bosh combo.Email Print Comments 1770Share retweet 2,642 By Gene Wojciechowski ESPN.com Archive How rich is LeBron James? Put it this way: When God needs some walking-around money, he borrows it from LBJ.
Dwyane Wade isn't exactly slumming, himself. Some people donate to a church; Wade bought a church for his minister mom.
[+] EnlargeAP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek Knicks fans are ready. As of Nov. 6, the clock was running on LeBron's availability. And although Chris Bosh isn't in the same endorsement orbit as King James and D-Wade, he's still pushing $60 million in career salary earnings. So it's not as if Bosh is ordering the 89-cent, five-layer burrito from Denise.
LeBron, Wade and Bosh have money, lots of it. What they don't have is an NBA jewelry collection. Of their combined 30 fingers, only one has actually had an NBA championship ring wrapped around it.
Wade won his title in 2006, but the Miami Heat haven't sniffed a playoff-series win since then. James' Cleveland Cavaliers reached the Finals in 2007 -- and got swept. Bosh's Toronto Raptors have been to the postseason twice but haven't made it out of the first round.
All that could change if James, Wade and Bosh decide to put dynasties over dollars, basketball legacies over bank accounts. They just need a dotted line and some stones as big as the ones in Olympic curling.
As ridiculous as it sounds, there exists a scenario in which these three guys could play on the same team and win championships happily ever after starting next season. For once, someone could say, "It's not about the money," and actually mean it.
As you probably noticed, the recent NBA trade deadline isn't just about trading players. It's usually about trading contracts, preferably the expiring kind. It's white-flag economics, where teams essentially admit Steven Seagal has a better chance of winning an Oscar than they do of competing for a championship. So they start dumping salaries into the league's Port-o-Potty.
[+] EnlargeGregory Shamus/NBAE/Getty Images D-Wade and the others would give up some salary; but in the right market, that wouldn't matter. Four teams did a lot of flushing in recent weeks: the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers. (What? Donald Sterling? Go cheap?) And three other franchises also can stretch their legs when it comes to salary-cap space: the Heat, New Jersey Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Without going all capology on you, it looks as though next season's projected salary cap will be between $50.4 million and $53.6 million. Now compare that to the financial wiggle room those seven teams have in 2010-11.
Right now, the Knicks are on the hook for only $18.6 million in contracts next season. The Nets are committed to just $26.6 million worth of deals, while the Heat are at $30.7 million, the Bulls at $31.9 million, the Clippers at $33.5 million, the Kings at $33.9 million and the T-Wolves at $35.2 million.
The numbers could change by July, but at least this gives you an idea of who has the most money to make a run at one of the great unrestricted free-agent classes in NBA history.
From a pure salary standpoint, there's no reason James, Wade and Bosh should bolt. If they max out with their teams, they'll get six-year deals with 10.5 percent annual salary increases. If they move, they'll get only five-year deals at a lower annual increase rate of 8 percent. LeBron could leave $30 million on the table if he ditches the Cavs.
I'd ditch them. If you're really serious about creating a brand and a basketball legacy, do something that's never been done before. Don't max out; min out.
Depending on the final salary-cap numbers, the Knicks could have about $33 million to spend on free agents in the summer. Under normal circumstances, that's enough to offer, say, James a max deal and then fill in the roster holes with whatever is left over.
But if James, Wade and Bosh truly want to make history, they could do the unthinkable and split the Knicks' $33 million three ways. It would cost them salary money, but can you imagine how much they'd make on the back end if they started reeling in NBA titles? In New York?
Whatever they'd lose on their paycheck stubs, they'd make up in endorsements. And it's not as if they're filing simple federal tax returns these days. According to a 2009 Forbes analysis, LeBron earned about $42.4 million in salary and endorsements -- more than Britney Spears, Jay-Z or Tom Cruise and almost as much as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie combined.
[+] EnlargeGlenn James/NBAE/Getty Images Chris Bosh, teamed with LeBron and D-Wade? NBA titles would be a slam dunk. Wade was No. 12 on Sports Illustrated's 2009 Fortunate 50, earning $26.4 million in salary and endorsements. Bosh didn't make the top 50, but he is making $15.7 million from the Raptors this season.
Anyway, they all can afford to do something daring. Just think: James, Wade and Bosh at Madison Square Garden.
Seriously, who would touch them? Wade at guard. LeBron at point forward. Bosh in the post or on the wing. Three good guys who could handle the New York media. Three seven-year veterans who understand you get only so many chances to hug the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Three singular players who know careers are defined by championships, not just checkbooks.
Dream Team Jr. could get by on about $11 million each, couldn't it? Yeah, they'd take a cut in pay, but they'd get a raise in title runs.
Don't say no just yet, fellas. And whatever you do, don't tell your agents. (They'll melt like the gestapo guy in "Raiders of the Lost Ark.")
Instead, close your eyes and think about ticker-tape parades, victory cigars and championship rings the size of clementines. Now try to put a price tag on it.
i don't know about you guys, but i don't even watch sportscenter anymore, the only espn i have watched in the last 6 months has been college football and monday night football.
when i want my hockey highlights (which espn doesn't even regard hockey as a sport even though it's more of a sport than baseball) i watch nhl network, when i want nba stuff, i have nba tv.
it's awesome. i don't have to listen to these idiots rant on about how lbj is already gone or how the yankees did this and the red sox did that and the cowboys did this and only the big east matters in college hoops, etc...
i don't know about you guys, but i don't even watch sportscenter anymore, the only espn i have watched in the last 6 months has been college football and monday night football.
Amen man, I don't watch it unless the Buckeyes are on. They even make the basketball games hard to watch sometimes
Oh well time to plays celtics tonight. So I figure it's appropriate to show this:
ok, obviously MLB players make less in endorsement $$, but it sure doesn't seem like Kobe is raking in extra $$$ by being in LA compared to LeBron, Wade, Shaq, and Dwight who are all in supposedly small markets.
And where is David Lee on this list if NYC is an immediate boon to your endorsement $$, then wouldn't that help propel him into the $13mil/year range of salary + endorsements needed for this list?
the only player that looks like he might get more endorsement from being in NYC is Eli Manning. And he is a Manning brother who piggybacks on a lot of Peyton's deals.
