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THAT RAT ....


http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2010/07/inside_the_decision_miamis_cou.html

Inside 'The Decision': Miami's coup was a 'surprise' built on long-coveted goal of James, Wade and Bosh
Published: Saturday, July 10, 2010, 7:02 PM Updated: Saturday, July 10, 2010, 7:35 PM
Brian Windhorst, The Plain Dealer
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UPDATED: 7:35 p.m.

Al Diaz / Miami Herald
With multiple sources now willing to fill in the blanks, it becomes more and more clear how much advance work and planning was put in by (from left) Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James -- as well as Miami Heat President Pat Riley -- to bring the NBA's three biggest free agents to South Florida. It was anything but a last-minute decision by James.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- During a rally for Miami Heat fans Friday night, Chris Bosh said he'd been talking with new teammates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade about the moment for months.
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It was a slip, which some -- including Bosh -- quickly noticed. Bosh's statement hinted there was a long-standing plan in place to gather in Miami. That potentially would not only be against NBA rules, but also poor taste -- considering Bosh and James were supposedly completely focused on the task at hand with teams in Toronto and Cleveland.
Bosh quickly revised the statement and said they'd been talking about it for "days." But it was hardly correct. The truth is James, Bosh and Wade had been plotting this for years.
That won't be comforting for Cavaliers fans who are still reeling from what many considered James' stunning departure. For those deep in the process, however, it was hardly stunning. It was part of a complex master plan that was never guaranteed, but the trio's heartfelt desire for much of the past four years.
Now that the move has been made, the veil of secrecy is being lifted to a degree as people begin to talk. Or, in some cases, brag. The Plain Dealer talked to numerous sources to piece together a picture of how James ended up in Miami.
It is still a somewhat fuzzy image; James and his close friends and business associates may never tell the whole story. But here are the broad strokes:
The seeds of the massive move were planted back the summer of 2006 after Bosh, James and Wade finished up their third seasons. Established all-stars and clearly the future of the league, the three were part of a bonding effort led by USA Basketball to revamp and re-energize the national team after the disappointing 2004 bronze medal.
The three played together for the first time that summer at the World Championships. For the first week they were sequestered without family or friends in Sapporo, Japan, in an attempt to build chemistry. But it wasn't just the players -- working as an intern for Team USA and getting to know the players was Nick Arison, the son of Heat billionaire owner Micky Arison.
Now, not ironically, Nick Arison is a rising executive with the Heat. He was part of the team that recruited all three players this summer.
Already close as members of the same draft class, the Team USA experience strengthened the relationship. Even before the team gathered in Las Vegas to prepare for the World Championships that summer, the three had talked at length about playing for that team. After a poor experience at the Olympics in 2004, they had to recruit each other to get the top players to try the process again.
That same July, the co-op took on another role when all three decided to extend their contracts with their teams. They couldn't all become unrestricted free agents until 2007 anyway under the rules, so the smart play was for them to extend with the Raptors, Cavs and Heat respectively.
But with some of the league's high-profile older stars perceived as stuck in long-term contracts with struggling teams -- Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett eventually demanded trades out of unhappy situations around that time -- the three decided to go for a shorter contract.

Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press
By the time Team USA was preparing for the 2008 Olympics, sources say Chris Bosh and LeBron James had frequently shared their common desire to play together with Dwyane Wade for an NBA franchise. There were already several teams -- most notably the New York Knicks but including the Miami Heat -- gutting their rosters in order to free up salary cap money for the summer of 2010.
After talking amongst themselves, James, Bosh and Wade decided to accept three-year extensions. It would make them all unrestricted free agents at the same time in 2010. For players on maximum contracts, becoming an unrestricted free agent after just seven years in the NBA is rare. But it would put them all in position to potentially team up that year, a fact that was not lost on them.
In the ensuing years, four important events happened that were major contributors leading to their union in 2010.
One was a very positive and emotional summer in 2008 in China, where the trio were part of the gold medal-winning Team USA. They proved they could play effectively together. For the most part, they checked their egos, with Wade even deciding to come off the bench.
Second, Los Angeles-based management company Creative Artists Agency decided to get into the basketball agent business. Seeing how influential they could be in the summer of 2010, CAA bought the agencies that represented James, Bosh and Wade. Bringing them all under one roof gave CAA huge control of the market and took down any barriers the three would have with negotiations.
Third, the recession hit and NBA owners started tightening their spending, a trend that would last for two years. The result was a bubble of salary cap space that would eventually result in giving numerous teams large blocks of cash in 2010.
Fourth, the struggling New York Knicks launched a plan in the fall of 2008 to clear off enough cap space to sign two maximum level free agents in an effort to recruit James to New York. Though he never said so directly, James began openly flirting with the thought. Other teams, many of whom where struggling, saw the opening and hatched the same plan.
That included the Heat, who were in the midst of a large-scale rebuilding process after a 15-win season. They had won the title in 2006, but made several trades that eventually caught up with them. With Wade already on the team, team president Pat Riley decided to begin his own cap manipulation, even if it limited what the Heat could do with Wade during two of his prime years.
The Knicks got most of the attention for positioning themselves for James, especially when they traded away their best players for pennies on the dollar in an effort to clear the books. But Riley was just as passively aggressive in not spending, at one point last summer getting into a public battle with Wade, who was frustrated at the lack of roster additions.
It was a risk to mess with Wade as he headed for his own free agency, but Riley had been watching and doing background research. He knew the three wanted to play together and he knew he had a glamour destination to offer, a history of success and Wade already on the team. He crunched the numbers over and over and thought he could get close to clearing three maximum salary spots -- or at least get close.
He didn't quite get there, but close enough to pull off the major score. In addition to the weather and the city's attractions for young rich athletes, Riley knew the lack of a state income tax in Florida could help him sell it.

Alexia Fodere / Miami Herald
According to sources, Heat President Pat Riley made sure to reassure James that his close friends would be taken care of by the franchise, in much the same manner the Cavaliers had accomodated them for the last seven years. It might have been the final factor that convinced James to leave Cleveland.
Riley really put the plan into action last November. During a Cavs visit to Miami, Riley arranged a get together with Michael Jordan and James. Jordan, who was in town to do some Nike work with Wade, at the time did not own a majority of the Bobcats.
During the meeting, Riley talked to James about how more modern players should pay homage to Jordan. Riley had always led this effort, retiring Jordan's No. 23 in the rafters at AmericanAirlines Arena even though Jordan -- of course -- never played in Miami.
The Cavs knew about it and while it seemed like it could be classic tampering, they decided not to make an issue of it. The meeting -- technically -- wasn't about free agency. Only, of course it was.
That night James and Wade staged an another strong individual battle. But the Cavs won when the Heat didn't have enough down the stretch, a common problem with Miami's roster last season. After the game, and after seeing Jordan and Riley sitting together courtside, James made an emotional statement right on the court that he was going to ditch jersey No. 23 out of respect to Jordan. In fact, he felt all players should stop wearing No. 23.
It was controversial and got headlines. Riley didn't care so much about the statement but how his conversation obviously influenced James. Without much doubt, it gave Riley confidence that he could win James over by playing to his emotions when it came time for free agency. Riley became more dedicated than ever before to trying his grand plan of getting all three stars to South Florida with the poaching of James being the grand prize.
That was why he was so amped up before his presentation to James in Cleveland a week ago. He packed up his seven championship rings, had his salary cap specialists create displays to show how Florida taxes could save James money and brought along Alonzo Mourning to make an emotional pitch about how the team backed him up as he recovered from a kidney transplant.
It was also made known to James that the Heat would take care of his friends much in the same way as the Cavs. There would be special treatment at the arena, changing practice and travel schedules to allow for moneymaking late-night parties in various cities and perhaps even hiring a James associate for a high-paying position in the organization.
This was nothing knew for Riley, he made the same accommodations for Shaquille O'Neal and, to a lesser extent, Wade in recent years.
Riley was so focused that he paced the halls outside James' offices while waiting for James to arrive for the meeting. The meeting went so well and so long that the Heat took up some of the Los Angeles Clippers' scheduled time with James.
But Riley may not have even needed to slam dunk the presentation. He already had a huge advantage working long before he even got to Cleveland.
As was their plan four years earlier and was discussed more deeply in 2008, Bosh, Wade and James had been talking. Unlike Bosh or James, Wade took the step of actually recruiting free agents to his team. Riley's efforts were more successful than the Knicks, and Miami had the most salary cap space.
Getting all three together was only really possible in Miami. Wade pushed the topic. Despite being discouraged by Commissioner David Stern and perhaps breaking tampering rules again, Wade flew with Bosh to Akron to meet at James' house in the last week of June. Still under contract with the Heat, Wade got the other two to the brink of a deal to join up.
All the players still met with teams just to make sure they wanted Miami. Both Wade and James were interested also in Chicago, where there was a chance two of them could match up and play with rising star Derrick Rose. But Wade stayed strong to Riley's plan and kept tugging on James and Bosh.
Though many thought James would seriously consider Knicks and Nets, part-owned by friend Jay-Z, they were never in his top two. The way it looks now, the Cavs may not have been in the top two for much of the process. James did talk with Bosh about the chance of playing in Cleveland, but Bosh resisted and James was intrigued by teaming up with his friends even more than he was attracted to staying home.
The Bulls' chances for James were diminished for two central reasons. One was that Wade wasn't willing to go to his own hometown. The other was the Bulls made it clear that James' friends would not be given the privileges they were given in Cleveland, or the high-paying jobs.
Chicago didn't give Jordan special treatment when he was leading them to six titles, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf wasn't about to give it to James. In addition, Rose -- who often talked to the media about his respect for James -- did not openly welcome his arrival and instead campaigned for other free agents, especially Joe Johnson. Soon, the Bulls were out.
With the weather, his friends and South Florida's glamour pulling him to Miami and Cleveland offering just his hometown and hope for that much-coveted title, James was gone.
Despite his comments that he went back-and-forth on the decision, it appears the Heat were always the leaders in his mind. That's what he chose, after four years of buildup, breaking Cavs fans' hearts.

i saw it. and i saw the press conference last night. he definitely let the cat out of the bag. i bet lebron and wade were slapping him around when they went out of that presser.

I thought this what was going on during that game down here. Something seemed off about it. This has been in the works for awhile and LeQuit was acting the whole time. He is soooooo full of it in so many ways!

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Riley really put the plan into action last November. During a Cavs visit to Miami, Riley arranged a get together with Michael Jordan and James. Jordan, who was in town to do some Nike work with Wade, at the time did not own a majority of the Bobcats.
During the meeting, Riley talked to James about how more modern players should pay homage to Jordan. Riley had always led this effort, retiring Jordan's No. 23 in the rafters at AmericanAirlines Arena even though Jordan -- of course -- never played in Miami.

The Cavs knew about it and while it seemed like it could be classic tampering, they decided not to make an issue of it. The meeting -- technically -- wasn't about free agency. Only, of course it was.

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Geesh,, to be honest, I'd like to see James, Bosh, Wade and Riley suspended from the league for 1 year for this... Have them each pay a 10 million dollar fine then force the Heat to trade each of them to different teams.

Yeah, I know, it's a pipe dream.. Three of the biggest names in the NBA.. they'll just buckle under to them cause they haven't got the stones to stand up to them and get these deals killed..

I don't want James back, but I want him to pay...

after reading this, and putting the pieces together, because it pretty much makes sense now. i wouldn't want the guy back if he came to dan gilbert, got on his knees and begged.

we found out who he really is.

all i want now is to get rid of everyone on that team except jj and some of the younger guys, and start getting lotto picks in here.

either that or send the team somewhere else and get an nhl squad in there.

Man I read that whole thing again and I gotta say, it really sounds like Riley, the Heat owners son, Wade, Bosh and James all combined to defraud the league..

I'm no lawyer, didn't stay at a holiday inn express last night and I don't play a lawyer on TV.., but damn, this sounds extremely shady to me..

Does anyone think that the League has the stones to investigate?

I know nothing will ever come of it, but we have Bosh saying they've been talking about it for months, Alonzo Mourning saying the Heat knew for a while that it was going to happen. You can't just have players tanking it on their teams because they've already determined that next year they want to play with someone else. It looks horrible for the NBA, and Stern won't do a thing about it because he's more concerned about the attention its going to bring to his league, even if that attention is largely negative.

Just remember, "a LeBron James team never quits".

If the league doesn't do something about it, the NBA will be a laughing stock with zero credibility.

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by the way things were going i don't think those guys are gonna be on team usa, they didn't commit to be there this summer with the national team. i'm pretty sure durant is gonna lead the charge.

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Good news, thanks.

I'd say trade for Carmelo... But he wants to go to NY after this year anyways....

How great would it be to beat Miami with the OTHER guy they were drafted with...

My gawd, that's MAJOR collusion. Unfortunatly, you just KNOW that Stern and the League will do nothing about it. I'm not sure we can really do anything outside of the League through the court room because I'm not sure there is enough evidence to win a lawsuit.

I feel dirty after reading that.

The funny thing is that it makes the league look bad and really damages it's integrity...but most likely will never be addressed. Taking a page out of the FIFA book...

They all need to get suspended. I hope Gilbert pursues this. He should be calling Stern's office until he gets an answer.

We the fans should be screaming at the top of our lungs.

I made the mistake of thinking/hoping he was one of us, he never was. He talks all kind of yang about Akron, and being loyal.

He was/became a fraud all along, he cares about himself. Its about me and what I need to get done.

While everyone talks about him taking a step back, giving up money and numbers on the court. He sold out the same home he speaks so dearly of.

Enjoy the weather, enjoy the rings, you sold out Akron and Ohio for your own good.

oh yeah, nicely done Dan Gilbert, way to run your mouth only to have the media trash us the next day

you didnt help the situation

I haven't seen/read anybody bring this up regarding Dan Gilbert's rant yet...so I'll just throw these points out there.

1) Dan Gilbert and the Cavs, after spending the last 7 years with LBJ and his "posse" knew better than anyone how big of a narcissistic egomaniac the kid is. They couldn't SAY it to anyone but inside they all knew.

2) After the nation got to watch LeBronapalooza 2010 unfold in tabloid rumor fashion all summer followed by that embarrassing "decision" on national television, everyone else got to realize just how big of an arrogant sob LBJ really was, and how deep is his desire to always be the headline. (Again nothing new to Gilbert)

3) Dan Gilbert honestly thought he had a shot to re-sign LBJ mostly because LBJ kept him entirely in the dark through this whole process and in what minimal contact he had (as it turns out) basically lied through his teeth. So, in finding out the news Gilbert was just as angry and hurt as all of us.

4) Dan Gilbert knows his fanbase. He realized how bad this hurt all of us and knew he HAD to fire something hard back at LeBron after the stunt he just pulled. Sure he knew he might take some serious heat from the media for doing it but that wasn't his concern. His concern was winning back the fans of Cleveland who immediately jumped on the "Cavs will never be relevant again, might as well move the team" train at about 9:28 pm on Thursday night. Sure the national media think he's a buffoon for the time being but that will last until the next big "scandal" and nobody will care anymore. For Cleveland fans though, it was a huge success...exactly what we needed/wanted to hear from the only man who can control our teams future.

5) This is the BIGGEST thing. Knowing LBJ is an egomaniac. Knowing LBJ planned this charade just to be in the spotlight. What that letter accomplished more than anything. IT TOOK HEADLINES AWAY FROM LEBRON on what was supposed to be "his" day. Oh sure it's been pretty nonstop LBJ coverage, but splitting almost equal air-time on radio/tv/print is the media talking about this crazy Cavs owner instead. You think LeBron really cares what Gilbert thinks of him as a person? HELLLL no. He'll never work for or possibly even see the man in person ever again. You think LeBron was PISSED that Gilbert stole some of his face/air time and headlines with that rant on the very day he'd been planning for the last four years? HELLL YES IT DID and Gilbert knew it would. And for that reason alone, it was worth every single negative hate comment he'll ever receive.

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For Cleveland fans though, it was a huge success...exactly what we needed/wanted to hear from the only man who can control our teams future.

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1 it helped the psyche of the fanbase

2 it did not help the Cavaliers in fielding the best team possible

3 it gave a reason for the national media to rip us

1 out of 3 not good

I don't care if the national media rips us. My concern with Gilberts rants is, will it turn away potential talent down the road?

The only people in the media who really are ripping Gilbert is the ESPN sports conglomerate, and that's because they're hanging off of #6's (basket)ball sack.

I doubt it has any incredibly serious ramifications. Players follow the money or, in the case of three particular guys, their friends.

Did you even read my entire post? If you did you'd see that everything I listed was a buildup to #5. That was the real reason for the letter and it WAS brilliant in that sense.

As for your list:

#1 - agree

#2 - Players who think "wow that owner is a jack***, I'll never play for him no matter what he offers me b/c of that letter...he should have kissed LBJ's back end for agreeing to ever suit up for that stinking town" are exactly the players I don't ever want on the team anyway. I'd rather win 20 games a year with guys like Mark Price than 60 with guys like LBJ. Besides, do you really think we're luring top notch FA to this team as it's constructed now anyway? Dream on. He did no damage here. We're going to tank and draft some youngins. Hopefully we'll make some smart FA/trade acquisitions for guys who actually want to bring their lunch pail to work every day and help make the team better. No harm, no foul. Stop being over-dramatic.

#3 Why in the HELL do I care what some pompous blow-hard with an accent sitting in a chair in NY/LA thinks about Cleveland??? It's not like they don't rip on us constantly about every other sports team anyway. I'm used to it and completely tune it out. You should learn to do the same. For that matter I couldn't care less if instead they thought Cleveland was the most glorious, golden city on top of a mountain with rainbows and unicorns that they've ever seen. Again..why in the world do we care what everyone else thinks???

So no, it was a slam dunk.

Maybe I'm plaing into espn's hand, but I don't think it helps.

Our only chance is hitting a homerun in the draft.

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Did you even read my entire post?

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wait, there was a post? . You are right and I and I am right

Did we resign Telfair? I hope Scott can wake Telfair up. Or do whatever needs to be done. He was highly regarded coming out of HS and if you saw his highlights you'd think he was a top 3 PG. He's barely 25 and he's got so much talent. It would mean the world to us if he finally figured it out.


Per: SamAmicoNBA

Cavs recieve: Josh Childress and Marvin Williams
Hawks recieve: Mo Williams and Shaq (sign and trade)


Hawks trade looks good to me. I still think Marvin can be a star if he's "The Guy." People are saying we need to take steps backward to move forward - which is partially true - but another way to do it is to rob teams in trades and draft well.

i find it hilarious that the only people who have backed lebron were people that work at bspn.

i think it became clear over the last 2 days leading up to that debacle on thursday night, was that windy's "sources" were lebron and maverick. so basically his source was lebron directly or indirectly.

and he got played. they used him. they knew people were following him on twitter. cleveland fans, nba fans, other media people...

i'll never forget him saying "one thing is clear, chris bosh does not want to play in cleveland, but lebron james does"

something like that. he played windy. i think windy over the next year, 2 years, is gonna do what he can do make sure lefraud is exposed.

So how would this even be possible?!?

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/Maimi-Heat-meet-with-Derek-Fisher-071010

Heat meet with Derek Fisher

Updated Jul 10, 2010 8:22 PM ET
MIAMI (AP)
Derek Fisher might be why Miami's new trio of superstars left money on the table.

Fisher met Saturday with Heat president Pat Riley, one day after the team lavishly introduced LeBron James and Chris Bosh as Dwyane Wade's newest teammates. James, Bosh and Wade all will make less than the $16.6 million they could have commanded next season, giving Miami the chance to lure other players.

Riley declined to comment Saturday.

Fisher has been part of all five Los Angeles Lakers' championships in the Kobe Bryant era, four of them as a starter. After the Lakers won their second straight title last month, Fisher said he would return to Los Angeles, and Bryant insisted that he wouldn't allow Fisher to play anywhere else.

But after Fisher reportedly received a $2.5 million offer for next season from Los Angeles, he listened to other possibilities, including the chance to play in Miami, which had enough cap room to not only keep Wade, add James and Bosh, but could lure a slew of other talented players as well.

"It's about sacrifice now," Wade said.

James, Bosh and Wade all signed six-year contracts. The value of James and Bosh's deals is nearly $111 million, while Wade took around $107 million. They could have received about $125.5 million apiece if they had taken the maximum value allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement.

"What we signed for is not important," James said Friday night at Miami's welcome celebration. "One thing that is important is we all sacrificed money, sacrificed a lot of things to be a part of this. But what we signed for is not important. What we're going to do this coming fall is what's most important."

Fisher averaged 7.5 points and 2.5 assists while starting all 82 regular-season games last season for the Lakers. In the playoffs, he averaged 10.3 points and 2.8 assists, again the starter in all 23 postseason contests.


MIAMI BOUND
The most coveted free agent in NBA history made his choice. Now what? Keep up with everything you need to know about the Summer of LeBron.
Wade, James and Bosh have all given names to Riley of various players they would like to see join the Heat. Miami is closing in on a deal with Mike Miller and expects to keep Udonis Haslem, who has more lucrative offers from other clubs but wants to remain in South Florida - his lifelong home.

"He's been a part of this with me for seven years. ... We want Udonis back and we're going to do everything we can to make sure Udonis stays home," Wade said Friday night.

Riley said Friday that there "might be some good news" about Haslem's status with the Heat in the coming days.

Nonetheless, with now only four players — James, Wade, Bosh and Mario Chalmers — under contract, the work continues to fill out Miami's roster.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Saturday that Miami has had contact with forward Juwan Howard. Other free agents who are known to have expressed interest in Miami include Raja Bell, Chris Quinn, Quentin Richardson and Jamaal Magloire, and the Heat still have the rights to restricted center Joel Anthony.

Dorell Wright is moving on, however. The swingman who spent his first six seasons in Miami agreed in principle to a three-year deal Saturday with Golden State, returning to his native California.

Tell me why anyone would even think to believe that this entire scenerio wasn't planned and discussed in detail for years.

And if anyone can, tell me why the league isn't going after these crooks. (riley, wade, bosh, james and Heat ownership)

Someone explain how those people can get away with something that has got to be a violation of league rules.. And to boot, killing two franchises..Cleveland and Toronto..

If I'm Dan Gilbert, I want one of two things,, I want the League and the Heat to reimburse me the 250 million my teams worth just lost with the loss of James.. Or I want the Heat sold, the team dismantled, and a ruling that disallows Bosh, Wade and James from being on the same team for 6 years.

Well, the Boston series makes sense now. - After the series ended I posted on here about how things didn't add up.

LBJ ended the Chicago series by taking a free throw left handed. - Seconds after making a free throw right handed. - He suggested that his elbow was injured.

The Boston series:

Game one: LBJ looked a little flat, but Mo Williams carried us through. - People were starting to buy into the notion that LBJ's elbow was injured, hence his poor play.

Game two: LBJ played terrible and we lost - Again, the elbow was to blame.

Game three: All of a sudden, the elbow doesn't bother LBJ anymore, he scores 38, and the Cavs hand Boston their worst home playoff loss in team history. - This is where I got confused, how could a nagging injury simply "go away"

Game four: LBJ's turnovers and bad play mount and we lose.

Game five: Here, Lebron scores 15 points, and keeps turning the ball over, and we get blown out at home.

Game six: Lebron plays well, but commits turnover after turnover, and we lose the series.


Uhh guys, this is is more than collusion. - Lebron deliberately threw the series against Boston. - The turnovers? The 38 points one night and 15 points the next? It's obvious the elbow injury was fake all along?

- Believe it folks. Dan Gilbert should push this as far as he can.

nothing will be done. miami might get some tampering charges made against them, but it'll be a slap on the wrist.

what do they care about $$$ or draft picks right now?

what i would like to see is more articles like windy's, that point out how this was all planned. expose him. then it doesn't matter. they can win whatever ring they want but people will always put a steroid type asterisk next to it.

seriously, if this was all planned, why would lbj go and do this 1 hour pr nightmare?

money? a diversion? to stick it to his hometown? (but why? what did we ever do to him?)

i think it was a diversion. i think he set that whole thing up so people over the course of the next week would be talking about this special and not about how they talked about this moment for months, i mean days.

he threw the boston series because he knew he needed that circus of a "free agency process" he knew nobody would believe him if the cavs were world champs.

espn, and all the cavs fans wouldn't have camped out at IMG, nobody would believe he'd leave the world champs.

i'm not saying if they would have beat boston they would have gone on to win it all, but you see where i'm getting.

i also think he didn't want to taint his brand by making the finals and possibly losing to kobe.

instead they lose to boston, he plays the 'im kinda hurt' card, and the media thinks lebron has the worst supporting cast of all time.