DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavs offseason continued continued continued

1 negative is that larger market teams could have a big advantage with endorsements

I should have expected I would see this coming. I don't remember from history class many slaves making 14 mil.

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


Jesse Jackson rips Cavaliers owner for 'slave master mentality' for criticisms of LeBron James
Published: Sunday, July 11, 2010, 7:35 PM Updated: Sunday, July 11, 2010, 7:40 PM

Jesse Jackson compared Dan Gilbert to a slave master on Sunday following Gilbert's response on Thursday night to LeBron James' departure to Miami.
CHICAGO -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson says Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert sees LeBron James as a "runaway slave" and that his comments after the forward decided to join the Miami Heat put the player in danger.

Shortly after James announced his decision Thursday night, Gilbert fired off an incendiary letter to Cleveland's fans, ripping the 25-year-old and promising to deliver a title before James wins one. He called James' decision "cowardly" and later told The Associated Press he believes James quit during a handful of Cavaliers playoff games.


Jackson says Gilbert's comments "personify a slave master mentality" and the owner should face a "challenge" from the league.

Messages were left Sunday night seeking comment from Gilbert, the Cavaliers, James and the NBA

Not sure that there wouldn't be some sort of exemption for existing players..

My thoughts. Lebron is young he took his mothers advice "do what makes you happy". Apparently having pressure taken off and the potential for winning championships will make him happy. So it is what it is.

What would have been better for Cleveland is if Labron took Bill Gates' mothers advice. Great men do Great things with their money. Granted Gates has a bit more money but it is the idea that you do what is better for your fellow man.

Like I said Lebron is young and not a great man, so be it.

Yet again jackson makes himself look like a fool.

Perhaps he should spend more of the rainbow coalition money on himself? Perhaps the reverend should have more kids out of wedlock?

Or perhaps he should shut his damn mouth. His ego rivals anyone.

Official board Avys?



http://i31.tinypic.com/2hgbfhg.jpg

If it's too big feel free to resize if possible

NRTU, but how can miami trade all these 1st round picks to us and toronto? isn't the "ted stepien rule" essentially that you can't trade 1st round picks too many years in a row? from what i've heard toronto is' getting 2 1st rounders from Miami and we are getting 2 1st rounders and 2 2nd rounders.

You're absolutely right. If you read Bill Simmons' column from a few days ago, he wrote about how fake all these visits and meetings felt. The more that comes out, the more it becomes clear he was dead on. This was all theater right from the beginning, engineered with the idea of generating buzz.

i'm not a bulls fan by any means, but the fact that they pretty much stood up to him and said, if you wanna come, it will be done this way.. i have a lot of respect for them.

reinsdorf has issues like every owner has, but after what we saw take place, i think those guys are better off. they are still rivals but i hope they kick their ass in the playoffs.

love derek rose though, that guy can play.

You know it's bad when even Kermit feels betrayed by LeBron.

Wow ..... that was just wrong on so many levels ...... lol

If the NBA can fix their CBA they can go a long way toward parity in the league. The fact that several teams have yet to win the finals speaks alot about the work they need to do, whereas in the NFL you have favorites as well but its never a lock.

Keep the max contracts and even keep the bird rights but get rid of the luxury tax which only goes back to the league offices and make everyone play with the same limits rather than give benefits to teams already priced out with talent.

Well, if they get a hard salary cap, that would go a long way toward evening the playing field. It would also, by extension, get rid of the need for a luxury cap, not to mention send shockwaves throughout the league and make it practically impossible to form a "super team" with nine scrubs a la Miami.

One thing I'd like to see, though I'm not sure how they'd do it, is restructure the way the draft order is determined. I see the need for some type of lottery, as the tanking is still bad enough as it is, but there's too little transparency to the process right now. I don't fashion myself a conspiracy theorist, but it's always a little suspicious when a team with a fairly good roster that has one bad season happens to get the first pick (I'm thinking of examples like San Antonio getting Tim Duncan and Chicago getting Derrick Rose). Hell, you could probably add the Cavs getting the rights to LeBron to the list of shady lottery determinations.

j/c

Boobie's Open Letter to Fans

What Up World,

This Message is Directly for the fans of Cleveland from your adopted son, The one and only Boobie G. As you know i was born and raised in Houston, TX. Never once stayed outside the state for more than two weeks and the time I did, that was for basketball. But after two years of college at the University of Texas I decided to make the jump. You can just imagine how fast my mind was racing going to a city so many miles out of my comfort zone not knowing one single person. But I thank God it was Cleveland! Because From day one the city embraced me and made me feel like I was home. My Second HOME. And as time went on I began to see why we connected. Cleveland is a never die city, city of loyalty, hard-workers, passion, desire, and toughness. A lot of the same characteristics I have in me and that inspired me. So I made a promise to myself that every day I stepped foot on that basketball court I would show the world what Cleveland was all about. Leaving everything i had on the court. So no matter what obstacle was placed in front of me, I would bust right through it. No matter how high, I would get over it. Or how wide I would get around it. N I hope I did that and will continue to do that. I said that to say, I know right now emotions are high, and people are confused about the way things went down. But I'm here to say DO NOT FORGET THAT WE STILL HERE. and WE GONE GRIND!!!! The Cavaliers haven't went anywhere, just lost a piece. Everything in life happens for a reason, Some which we dont understand and never will. Somethings we cant control, But the thing we can control is our passion and our love for city of Cleveland and state of OHIO. And that every single night we take that we floor We Will represent. Blood SweAT and Tears. We will go hard. Just like you. From the bottom to the top, this organization is committed to winning and we wont stop now..... Cant stop now. I LOVE you. We Love YOU. And together We gone make it HAppen. O H I O. Hang in there.

As for me on another note, I'm in LA working on my game so that i may be a key part of this movement next season. The family is doing great. MY wife to be is in the studio every day and night trying to create the best album of her career. Cutting no corners putting her heart in it like never before. With so much new emotion to show the world. My son Daniel Jr. is 4 months now. Everyday he gets bigger. We took him to the doctor yesterday to get two shots. And lil man did not shed a tear. even laughed a little bit. Tough lil dude, something like his daddy LOL. The rest of the fam is back home in Houston working with the DGib Hoops Foundation-Shooting for Success. Helping mainly inner city youth to meet new friends, become more discipline, athletically and academically so that one day they may qualify for scholarships and go on to college and be whatever they want to be. Following a living example. ME... Well thats enough for today, yall stay tuned for my next post and remember if you believe, you can achieve. ANYTHING

Cleveland Stand up

1LUV,

BooBie

------

I want to believe him, but the cynicism and callousness that has developed is hard to shake.

Solid letter, lets see if he actually gets any playing time this season.

This is an interesting take. Can any one say "Agent Zero" should be a Cav?

http://www.fearthesword.com/2010/7/11/1563613/emotional-investment-in-cleveland

Excerpt from the article:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I consider Dan Gilbert a very intelligent person. With the founding of Quicken (as well as Fathead), he has turned himself into a self made billionaire. He was successful in his campaign to change Ohio's Constitution, allowing him to open up a casino in both Cleveland and Columbus. He is a fan like the rest of us in Cleveland, with the exception that he can actually hire players to make the team better. He does not worry about spending large amounts of money, as he paid over $100 Million on last season's Cavaliers roster. With his intentions to 'win now' clearly laid out in his address to the fans earlier this week, I think he has something up his sleeve. I think Dan Gilbert plans to rebuild like no team has ever tried rebuilding before.

That is rebuilding by not rebuilding at all.

Conventional wisdom suggests that in order to correctly rebuild a team, it needs to be stripped down to its core and replenished with young rising talent to place as cornerstones of the franchise. Veterans are then added to provide a mentoring presence, and role players fill any gaps that remain on the team. Radical rebuilding strategies, such as the ones the New York Knicks and Miami Heat tried, were somewhat innovative in the fact a team went from having one All*Star to having three. This strategy was orchestrated over months, and while creating a titanium reinforced foundation for one team, it kept another team in the dark ages for at least a few more years. There is always a risk when trying something new and unproven. Strategies that deviate from the norm often fail. Teams that try to win off of reworked foundations are almost never successful. Still, I believe the strategy Gilbert is constructing will work because of one unique factor: Money.

With one of Gilbert's new casinos scheduled to open within two years, there is incentive to make the Cavaliers as competitive as possible with the hopes of drawing crowds of people downtown. One could suggest it could be worth it for Gilbert to overspend and potentially lose money on the Cavs in order to draw bigger crowds downtown to his casino. One of Gilbert's biggest assets to the Cavs is that he is willing to spend as much as he is able to get a competitive team on the court. Because of this, I would look for the Cavs to acquire players with large contracts that terminate within two or three years. This would both increase the team's available tax adjusted salary for when the Cavs are able to use their newly acquired draft picks, and also allow the team to remain competitive in the interim. By the time these large contracts are set to expire, Gilbert can trade them for superior talent from teams that are looking to break apart and save money. The Cavaliers in their current state are a better team than their mid-2000s equivalents, which is a testament to the organization's ability to turn expiring contracts into good or even great players.

Of main concern is how this can be achieved with the NBA's rules regarding cap space. This shouldn't be too difficult, seeing as the 2010-2011 free agency period has already been dubbed as the 'Summer of Carmello'. First, the Cavaliers should trade away any large expiring contracts they have for a high end (preferably high salaried) player a team is willing to dump for salary reasons. Though it would be nice to acquire players like Danny Granger, Chris Paul, Jason Richardson, or Stephen Curry, the Cavs should look for players with large contracts that can be had for pennies on the dollar... Specifically Big Al's Contract and (dare I say it?) Agent Zero's Contract. No, I promise you I have not just lost my mind - the Cavs should acquire both Al Jefferson from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards. While getting Jefferson from the T-Wolves makes a ton of sense (young, talented PF-C who is great on the boards & his offensive game, with a full year of recovery time under his belt from knee surgery), acquiring Arenas seems more than slightly off. I understand the gun toting problems we have already had with Delonte West, but I think it is a calculated risk that should seriously be considered in the NEO-Rebuilding age. Arenas is 28 years old and put up 28.5ppg - 4.6reb - 6ast with 2.3 3ppg his last full season in 2008. His contract is large, ends in 3 years, and can be had for beans; great timing for a team with developing young players. His contract could be traded to a team in need of salary relief allowing the Cavs to acquire an even better player in two years.

It is easy to speculate that Arenas will not be the same player he was in 2008, and that this move would have the Cavs suffer for two years. I respectfully disagree with this notion. Assuming Arenas has any interest in repairing his reputation in order to gain one final long term contract, it would be in his best interest to shape up when playing for a team next season. The new not-so-lenient Mr. Gilbert will make this very clear to Arenas. There is also reason to believe that the players around him will significantly improve. For years now, when a player was brought in to assist LeBron's Cavaliers, his overall numbers would decrease. (Parody Page from '06) This is unusual, because when better talent is brought in, players get better looks and usually perform better. Unfortunately, Mr. James's shot selection was poor, and his frequent dribbling late into the shot clock didn't help the Cavs at all. Take a look at last year's Cavaliers: Mo Williams, Delonte West, Shaquille O'Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson, Jamario Moon, and Anthony Parker all had poorer seasons than in 2008-2009. In contrast, LeBron James's statistics improved to Michael Jordan -esque levels. This is not a coincidence. Seemingly every time LeBron was out during the season, Mo Williams would take over and have a great game. However, when he was playing on the court with LeBron, he looked unsure of himself and passed the ball around. Shaq and Z were both efficient last season when they got the ball, but too often LeBron was dribbling down the shot clock and wasting opportunities for teammates to score and improve. Because of this style of play, it would not surprise to see all of the Cavs' numbers increase. By bringing in Jefferson, the Cavs would have a very talented (though somewhat undersized Center at 6'10") with the Wild Thing coming off the bench. JJ Hickson would be allowed to start at Power Forward and continue to develop, allowing him to have his best statistical season to date. Leon Powe should provide a very useful backup if given the chance to play. Filling in at Small Forward would be Antawn Jamison. This may seem like odd position placement at first, until you consider two things; the Cavs would have a plethora of talented PF with long contracts. 'Twan can create his own shot and shoot the midrange jumper, spreading the court out for his teammates. He would not need to drive to the basket like LeBron, which can actually help the C and PF perform better. Also, having played with the team for a few months should help him readjust to the player he was before the Cleveland trade. Mo Williams, not a true PG but forced to play there due to lack of depth, can finally return to his tailored position at Shooting Guard. I expect Williams will have the most improvement over any of the Cavaliers regardless of who is added; if he is able to play his own game, seeing 21ppg with 7ast is a legitimate possibility. Finally, Gilbert Arenas would be able to play his usual position at Point Guard backed up by Boobie Gibson. A motivated Arenas could potentially fill the void of LeBron is he exhibits his talent and keeps his head on straight. If he ends up faltering, his large contract would still provide valuable support in acquiring better talent along the road.

This NEO-Rebuilding process Gilbert appears to be conceiving looks to be expensive, but surprisingly not very risky. Jefferson, Arenas, and Jason Richardson can all be had on the cheap and can be traded in a year or two (with Jamison if need be) for top end talent. With the salary cap completely blown out of the water, Gilbert could theoretically afford to trade for multiple top tier free agents while still having a strong set of players around those stars. Gaps in the roster can be filled in with his newly acquired draft picks (if they had not already been traded) or by using the mid-level & bi-annual exceptions whenever they are available. If Gilbert is truly serious about the Cavs winning a championship before the self proclaimed 'King', then this is the path he must take. A team with the core mentioned above would surprise all the national pundits and keep us on the edge of our seat.

And that is exactly what Mr. Gilbert wants.

Ha, the pictures on the site are hilarious.

LBJ booed at wedding

Any chance the Heat can play nothing but home games?

3 Amigos being introduced.

They get brought up a platform on the stage at 2:10. Boy they look full of themselves.

10 Min video

The video below includes the crowd starting a “Beat LA” chant (2:03),
D-Wade talks for the first time (3:25),
Dwyane Wade saying they’re arguably the three greatest players to play together (3:52),
LBJ is introduced to his new kingdom (4:01),
Chris Bosh is introduced to his new pit (5:42)
Bosh speaking Spanish (8:40).

i totally want a "check my stats" t-shirt.

I think you have the greatest username ever

The vid of the guy with the LBJ tat made laugh. What a goon.

If trading for Arenas and Butler and whatever other players I don't like is what it takes in the short term to get us back on track quickly... then go for it.

I remember DC saying that someone should bring a watergun and nail Lebron when he's doing his chalk thing ... and it got me thinking: Could that person probably get away with it? I mean, security might escort him out, but can you see GIlbert suspending him for life? He might even have security escort him to his suite for the rest of the game. Even if he got charged with "assault", can you see ANY jury of peers in Cleveland actually finding him guilty for assault with a watergun?

Of course we can all hope for a "Palace" incident, where Lebron charges up into the stands and is never seen from again.

I want them to do a mask night when the Heat come back. Every fan gets a Gloria James mask and the ones next to them get a Delonte West one to wear.

I was looking for opinions from outside of Cleveland and came across this from here

Injoy

Sorry Unrelated, but saw this farther down in his previous posts under "Jerk of the Week #3"

"Are you kidding me!?!?!?"

He yelled this every time his friend completely misfired. In all fairness, Best Football Player Ever's friend really sucked. Every pass wobbled, and two attempts hit a Verizon truck parked near their house. One incredibly overthrown pass almost hit my car, which was parked across the street. Basically, he had Derek Anderson-type accuracy.

that was amazing

I thought this was pretty good. Mitch Albom is the guy who wrote "Tuesdays with Morrie" and "5 people you meet in heaven"

Posted: July 11, 2010
After LeBron James episode, Cleveland's now our kind of town

BY MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

Fear not, Cleveland. You've lost LeBron James. But you've gained something, too.

In hearing "farewell" from the world's most talented basketball player, you join a long but familiar list. You are Humphrey Bogart watching Ingrid Bergman fly out of Casablanca. You are Eponine in "Les Misérables," taking a bullet for Marius. You are Betty seeing Archie kiss Veronica.

You are the odd man out. The jilted lover. The one who says, "We have history. We're good together. Can't you see how much you mean to me?" You're Jacob in the "Twilight" movies. Only with your shirt on.

You are Charlie Brown sighing at the little red-headed girl. You are Jennifer Aniston watching Brad and Angelina's kids. You're that geeky stalker in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Unrequited love, thy name is Cleveland. You did everything right, but it wasn't enough. Your heart's desire had a wandering eye.

And he wandered away.
Join the lonely hearts club

But fear not. The events of last week have lost you a superstar, but they gained you a nation. They made you sympathetic.

Cleveland with LeBron was like Julia Roberts with Lyle Lovett; a nice romance, but the clock was always ticking.

Ah, but once those two split up, who got the public embrace? The beautiful, famous actress -- or the plain-faced country singer?

That's right. Mr. Plain Face. Julia was hated. Julia got the "How could you?" Lyle was beloved. Because Lyle is one of us. Regular folk.

And so are you.

Let LeBron have Miami, Cleveland. Let him run with Dwyane Wade. Wade married his high school sweetheart, went to Miami, filed for divorce. Shaquille O'Neal had a wife, went to Miami, filed for divorce.

See what Miami does to people? Too many starlets. Too many clubs. Too much disco music.

Keep your dignity, Cleveland. Keep your ruddy looks. You're a lake and Miami is an ocean? Big deal. Oceans have sharks.

Who can relate to Miami? The people in Miami can't relate to Miami. It's a place of charlatans, wannabes and men with too many buttons open. Cleveland is real. Cleveland is face-value. What you see is what you get.

And you got dumped.

But as James Taylor says, you've got a friend.
Everyone loves an underdog

The fact is, there are more dumpees in the world than dumpers. Think of all the places that identify with you now, Cleveland.

Boston saw Babe Ruth sold to the Yankees. Brooklyn saw the Dodgers take off for Los Angeles. Baltimore saw the Colts vanish in the middle of the night, trucking it to Indianapolis.

Here in Detroit, we watched Motown pick up and leave for the coast. Motown! Diana Ross is from here, but left. Lily Tomlin is from here, left. Madonna is from here, left and grew an English accent.

Most of us, at some point, have been shunned for a bigger, better deal. So LeBron may have done you a favor, Cleveland.

He made you America's Team.

Really. Who is more a fan favorite now than you? Who would make a better championship story? LeBron has made Cleveland everybody's underdog.

When your owner, Dan Gilbert, blew molten lava all over the Internet, posting an open letter accusing LeBron of being "narcissistic" and "cowardly" -- well, hey, who didn't jump up and cheer? Go CAVS! OK, maybe Gilbert did try to steal Tom Izzo the way Miami stole LeBron, but memories are short. Time is long.

And for a long time, Cleveland, you will be able to milk this thing. You'll have our pat on the back. You'll have our sad smiles. Scream "Your loss, LeBron!" Scream, "Take your powder with you!"

You're the white hat, he's the black hat. You're Caesar, he is Brutus. Wear your jilt with pride, Cleveland. Paint that broken heart on your sleeve, and get in line with the rest of us.

Fear not, oh city by the lake. You are Sampson after Delilah. Grow your hair back. Wash that man right out of it.

And check when Kobe's contract is up.

You never know ...

link

j/k

I do find it intresting, he's telling Miami fans the same thing he told us Cleveland fans, but there wide eyed & believen his every word, He screwed us, wonder how long until he screws them.......I just cant wait to watch this whole Miami thing come unravelled, it wont take long and ego's will be the talk, & all media will be saying they called it first......6 year deals,,,,I say they dont last 4 years.

Miami fans.....enjoy the moment and maybe the next 2-3 seasons....we all know it's gonna get ugly......they waved palms at the king of the Jews when he came riding into town and guess what they did to him bye weeks end.....NO I'm not comparing LB to Jesus.....just the stories......Just saying