DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavs Offseason (cont'd)

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/07/01/at-negotiating-table-grizzlies-opt-for-quick-defeat/

$81mil/5years for Rudy Gay to stay a Grizz.

Guess that's one less SF for NYC/Chicago/Miami/LAC

also, Chad Ford is spewing, but it let's us play a game of "top this trade"

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop

Quote:

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According to the source, the Blazers got close to a deal with the Hornets last week that would’ve sent Andre Miller, Joel Przybilla, Nicolas Batum, Jerryd Bayless and the 22nd pick to New Orelans for Paul and Emeka Okafor before Hornets GM Jeff Bower pulled out of the deal claiming that their owner wasn’t ready to trade Paul

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Batum, Bayless, and Elliot Williams are the prime pieces for NO in this deal. Batum a defender, Bayless a scorer. Combined they would be a young star.

JJ is on par with Batum and possibly higher, but can we sell NO on Mo being a SG w/ Collison at PG?

You know, we have another tradeable asset in Telfair, assuming we don't want to keep him. Does anyone know if/when he picked up his option? How much is it worth?

Everybody's thoughts on the fact that he wore sweatpants and a t-shirt to his first round of fa meetings?

I mean, Lebron likes to look sharp in public - dude's been in GQ. There were some very, very, high profile people who flew in to see him today. - And he shows up in his pajamas.

This has gotta mean something... no?

I'm sure it was a nice t-shirt and sweatpants.

Nah I bet it looked like this:

i listened to knr yesterday with roda and reghi, they had windy on for the entire show, and he mentioned something similiar about lebron the day of game 5. just seemed depressed. didn't dress up like he normally does. just kinda said something seemed to be bothering him.

i am absolutely not a buyer of the delonte west thing, but i think something was up.

as far as wearing sweats and a tee when these teams come to visit you? hilarious.

i'm a guy who throws on sweat pants (love my hollister sweat pants, best pants ever) as soon as i get home from work, so if i was in his position, i'd do the same thing.

I agree ... don't buy that Delonte story one bit ... yet you have to think something that crazy almost had to of happened to him for him to look THAT out of it.

I was thinking to myself about an hour ago about game 5 and today. - Weird we came to the same reference point. I was thinking to myself that there is a distinct possibility that something happened and he just doesn't give a xxxx anymore. Think about it. - He is lights out for game 3, plays decent in game 4, then we come back home and something must have happened. - Because he hasn't been the same since.

- He showed up to the "Lebron Appreciation Day" late and looking like he just got out of bed.

- He calls off the recruiting trips that were originally planned. - The lavish dinner in New York, the trip to Miami, the summit with other free agents.- All called off out of the blue.

- Then today, he shows up wearing pajamas while the top brass in the NBA flies all the way out here to see him. - They weren't dressed casually.

- Jay Z spent some alone time with LBJ after the meeting? Could he have been trying to figure out what is wrong with his buddy? Could he have been asking him questions like "You are not yourself right now, what the heck is going on?"

Something isn't right here.

Maybe all of the pressure is getting to this kid's head? Maybe he's depressed? Maybe he just doesn't want to play anymore? - Not a far-fetched thought. The pressure got to Michael Jordan and he took some time off, Kobe Bryant went through his ordeal, so did Tiger Woods, so did A- Rod. - All of these guys were trying to make up for something.

LBJ may be burnt out folks.

I think you're reading too much into something that's not there.

When you're Lebron James you could wear whatever you please. These teams are the ones that are trying to ace the interview to get their man. Lebron doesn't need the knicks, or nets, as much as they need him. You could say that about the cavs. When you have that much power, I would be pretty blase myself.

How the hell did joe johnson get a max contract.? the hawks will be regretting that choice. that is good news for the cavs. I seen dark got another contract.

looks like hakim warrick is going to sign with phoenix which means amare may be on the way out. i think he's a possibility for the cavs.

I think the deal the suns offered stat is a fair one. THe last thing you want is a guy getting the max contract, and having to dress in street clothes becuase of injury. Look what happened to mike redd. Not saying it will happen to amare, but with his medical history, the odds are higher than other players.

not huge on amare, the injuries scare me, his lack of defense/rebounding for a guy his size is kind of a downer.

but man, lbj/amare might be the best pick and roll combo ever.

yea, I've always been a fan of his, and would definitely want him on the cavs if we had the chance to get him.

Or if he learned how to play defense/go after a rebound.

maybe he wants them both there so he can get 17 rebounds a night and average a trip-dub for the season

looks like he may be going to the knicks, as soon as tomorrow.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-stoudemireknicks070210

Alex Kennedy tweeted that the Bulls want LeBron to make a decision now. Team is threatening to pull their offer if they don't get an answer by Saturday, says source.

Oh no!! Where will he possibly get another max offer from!?!?

I have heard from several places though that Lebron plans to make a decision on July 5th.

there have been some media personalities around here that are starting to come around and think lbj is staying, i wonder if there has been some pressure on the bulls to maybe start thinking about elsewhere.

knowing reinsdorf and his history, i wouldn't put this past him to do this. although i want to see if it's true, i tweeted to windy to see if he had any kind of take.

if they really did that, i can't see how they are still in this thing.

sam smith, a very reputable, and respected nba writer in chicago said last night on espn 1000 that he thinks bosh ends up in chicago and lbj stays home, and they could possibly see chris paul there maybe not now but next season, maybe next offseason.

Hey LJ can you PM windys twitter?

I 'm not a big fan of the behavior, but the players run the league. When is Reinsdorf ever going to get that?? He's the same guy that ran mike jordan out of town. He needs to leave his ego at the door, and come to grip with reality if he wants to better his franchise. Gilbert gets it, clowns like reisndorf don't.

I just read this on another site that doesn't have anything to do with the Cavs but it's interesting:

Agent Marc Cornstein got 58 mil for Darko over his career combined with the 32 mil he got Beno Udrih and the 65 mil he got Samuel Dalembert

Not that anyone cares but if LeBron resigns I'll get rid of my sig.

However if he leaves it might stay for a long time.

i'm set to change my screen name if he leaves. i might do it anyway. he changes his number, i change my dawgtalkers handle.

Aurora native weighs in on free-agent frenzy
Radio voice of Cavs believEs LeBron will stay in Cleveland
Comments

July 2, 2010
By RICK ARMSTRONG rarmstrong@stmedianetwork.com

Will he stay or will he go?

Welcome to the NBA free agency feeding frenzy focused mainly on Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron "King" James. Media speculation over the 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward's future is reaching its expected fevered pitch.
» Click to enlarge image
Joe Tait

So, I figured, why not fan the flames, spiced up with a little local flavor?

Who we gonna call? Aurora's own, Joe Tait.

He's the only person on my cell phone contact list who could be considered an "NBA Insider." Fortunately, he's got the Cleveland connection, too.

A 1955 West High graduate, the 73-year-old Tait is revered in northeast Ohio as the radio voice of the Cavaliers. He's done their games for 38 of their 40 seasons.

That includes all seven seasons LeBron has played, including his 548 regular-season games and all 71 of his playoff games.

Tait has had audiences with the King, interviewed the King and traveled with the King.

"We have a professional friendship," the broadcaster conceded, speaking from his farm, 45 miles southwest of Cleveland.

"He doesn't come out here to fish in the pond and I don't go over to his house to barbecue, but I'd say we have a professional relationship."

Tait claims he hasn't "seen a soul" connected with the Cavs since they were ousted from the playoffs by Boston.

"I follow the Jim Durham philosophy in the offseason," he said. "When the season is over, (Durham) goes out to his ranch and he vegetates."

Tait, who will hang up his mike and retire after next season, is doing the same.

"I'm practicing for retirement and I highly recommend it," he said.

It doesn't mean, however, he's out of the loop. He may not own a computer, but as the sharks continue to circle, he's well aware the LeBron buzz continues to grow like those damn horns in South Africa.

"It's like having another toilet in your house that constantly backs up," he says of the dreaded Internet.

"It's so obvious in all of the stuff being spewed out by the media, be it print, electronic, whatever. They're making it up as they go along. Everybody has to have an insider."

Exactly. So will you be ours?

"Sure," he said, cheerfully, "but the difference is, you can quote me. Of course, I have nothing to back it up. It's just how I feel."

Hey works for me, chomp, chomp.

So, what do you think?

"What I've said from the get-go," Tait said, pausing for dramatic effect. "He's staying here. I firmly believe it."

Because it's home?

"That's a lot of it," Tait continued. "He's got a comfort zone here that he has nowhere else in the country. He has a fan base, that at times is crazy, but unlike anywhere else.

"And, he has not accomplished what he said he wanted to do and that's win a championship for northeast Ohio."

He doesn't think the coaching change in Cleveland will be a big deal to the superstar and he thinks the team next year will still "be in the hunt," especially if they can add a veteran free agent themselves.

And if he's wrong about LeBron?

"I will retire at the end of the coming year, with or without LeBron and with or without a championship," said Tait.

"My favorite baseball player, Ernie Banks, never got to play in the World Series and he didn't seem to suffer too much."

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