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Lebron's gonna leave to play in a big market if they don't win! Nike is going to pay him a 10% escalator if he goes to NYC!
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Lebron's gonna leave to play in a big market if they don't win! Nike is going to pay him a 10% escalator if he goes to NYC!
I heard Wade responded to some fans and they got it on their cell phone. Something about trading LeBron for Dwight.
"LeBron James? Really? LeBron James? You won't give him up for Dwight Howard. Who the .... is LeBron James anyway?"
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I dunno if anyone heard Windy's interview with KNR yesterday, but he brought up the idea of Lebron back in Cleveland.
He thinks there's a good chance he comes back in his next FA period (2 years from now he can opt out) I agree with him. It's been a hot topic here and with Cleveland fans for the last year.
He said the starting point would actually be with the Cavs, who allow any NBA players to come and work out at their facility over the summer. If the Cavs make it known that he's welcome, he thinks that would be the start of it. He sees that the organization is over it, he comes in, works out with Kyrie Irving, and maybe the momentum gets going.
I'm not saying this is a done deal, there is still a lot that needs to be paved by both Dan Gilbert and Lebron, both would need to swallow some of their pride, and we're talking about 2 very powerful people.
If the Cavs land a top 3 pick, combine that with Kyrie Irving...
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and I think it is a pure load of BS that LeBron's people are trying to shove down our throats in an effort to quell the hatred that eminated from Cleveland and spilled out throughout the country and tarnished his image.
if Cleveland forgives LeBron, then everyone else will. once again though, his people underestimate the resiliency of the negativity of which the Northcoast is capable.
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I wonder if that's in the works ... I just checked the Cavs salaries for the next few years: http://hoopshype.com/salaries/cleveland.htmWe have a little over $19 million committed for the 2013/14 season. (Assuming we pick up the team option on Irving and TT). Toss on another $5 million for our first round pick this year, and we're still looking at quite a bit of flexibility in the very near future. Chris Grant has already said they won't be big players in free agency this year, so I'm wondering if they're placing their bets for something big in 2013.
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Dan Gilbert will hold a 1 hour special about the 2013 Cavaliers FA decision. After going through all the great FAs available (LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Dwight, etc.) he will reach under the table and pull out 2 jerseys for:
Manu Ginobli (Pops/Duncan since retired)
Al Jefferson (Favors/Millsap combo cheaper for Utah and effective by that point)
That is my dream. Al and Irving would be a monster PNR combo and Manu may be the NBA's best non-PG creator.
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Actually, if we wanted to, and could SOMEHOW attract a big name or two, we've got the cap room to sign someone to a max deal this year ($14-15 million depending on the cap) ... and then in 2013, we've Byron Davis, Walton and Casspi coming off the cap for another $23M in saving ... we could get another max deal in. Pair that in with a potential top 3 pick this year ... we could turn around in a hurry.
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I dunno if anyone heard Windy's interview with KNR yesterday, but he brought up the idea of Lebron back in Cleveland.
He thinks there's a good chance he comes back in his next FA period (2 years from now he can opt out) I agree with him. It's been a hot topic here and with Cleveland fans for the last year.
You predicted this right after LeBron left. I remember that. I think you are going to end up looking like a genius. Because I agree with you, it will happen ........... as long as the Cavs continue to add some nice pieces.
But it would only be a story book ending if he can actually bring a championship here.
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I don't want him back.
I rooted for him because he was a Cav, but he was a punk while he was here, he was a punk during free agency, he's a punk now, he'll be a punk if he returns.
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So what sort of thuggery did that cheap-shot artist Wade stoop to yesterday?
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Last edited by Flap; 05/16/12 11:40 AM.
Crowded elevators smell different to short people...
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So what sort of thuggery did that cheap-shot artist Wade stoop to yesterday?
Big time cheap shot. Suspendible, in my opinion.
All because he didn't get his way on a call.
What a baby. I used to like Wade before the whole LeBron thing went down. Guy's a jackwagon.
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Thanks for posting. Not surprised. Glad nobody got hurt this time.
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Quote:
Quote:
I dunno if anyone heard Windy's interview with KNR yesterday, but he brought up the idea of Lebron back in Cleveland.
He thinks there's a good chance he comes back in his next FA period (2 years from now he can opt out) I agree with him. It's been a hot topic here and with Cleveland fans for the last year.
You predicted this right after LeBron left. I remember that. I think you are going to end up looking like a genius. Because I agree with you, it will happen ........... as long as the Cavs continue to add some nice pieces.
But it would only be a story book ending if he can actually bring a championship here.
That's my small print in all of it too.
I have said it a million times, I don't hate the guy, he did what he did, I know he regrets it and is probably sorry, and I just don't have the energy to go and put it into hating him and hoping he loses. I was happy to see them lose last year, this year I don't care.
However, I don't want him back if he's 36, with bad knees and no explosion. If he wants to come back, he's gotta do it within the next few years, and he's gotta have a sit down with the Cleveland media, and he's gotta be humble. It has to be genuine too.
I know not everyone would be on board, but I think a lot of people would change their tune if he had a sit down and explained some things, and vowed to work hard for a championship.
They have their system in place, they have their franchise PG in place (something Lebron has never had) and they have a coach who will have all the power if he were to come back, they've all been here, Lebron would be the new guy coming in. Byron knows that Lebron just can't waltz in and make things like they used to be, it's gonna be his ship, and Lebron would just have to go along with what they are already doing.
Like I said, not a done deal, but I think it could happen. They're not going to win it this year. If next year this thing blows up and the Cavs keep adding good young players, it's going to become clear to people.
I'm all about winning, that's all I care about. I'm not going to let some grudge get in the way of seeing a championship.
Oh, and Kyrie gets the ball in last second situations, hahahaha.
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Oh, and Kyrie gets the ball in last second situations, hahahaha.
Before I read this last line, I was already thinking it.
On a side note, did anyone notice what a wuss LeBron was when he got fouled hard and there was some chest bumping going on? He looked scared out of his mind. For crying out loud, grow a set dude.
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The thing with Lebron is, I think if he were to ever leave, whether that be Cleveland, or elsewhere, he's going to have to change his game, and his philosophy toward the game if he truly wants to win a championship.
I think he's going to have to give the ball up, he's going to have to play in the paint more, he's going to have to use his frame to get cheap points, and create a few mismatches. Maybe most of all he's going to have to swallow his pride knowing that if he did give the ball up a bit, that people are going to say he's only winning because of player X or player Y, etc...
They'd say that in Cleveland, "oh well he's only winning because he has Kyrie Irving handling the ball, and he's just feeding off of him". I know people think these guys don't care, but they do, they all watch sportscenter, they all see what the talking heads say. I bet even some of them read the comments section of places.
That's a tough pill to swallow but the truth is I just think after 9 years, his style of bringing the ball up 90% hasn't gotten him anything, and he's approaching 30.
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Jordan was the master at getting his off the ball (catch and shoot, working the post) or with a great deal of efficiency with the ball in his hands. Two dribbles, stop, pop.
The players today ... Kobe, Wade, LeBron ... they all work so hard for their shots.
But no one ever accused Jordan of feeding off of anyone. I think LeBron would be alright in that regard.
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Yup, MJ also had a lethal mid-range game that he developed in his late 20's, because he knew he wasn't always going to be able to jump out of the gym. Most people remember that he didn't win anything until he changed his game and gave up the ball a little bit.
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the funny thing is that back then it was considered a good thing that he learned to trust his teammates (even in game ending situations)
now, players get lambasted for doing the same thing with people falsely saying that MJ wouldn't have given that ball up (Donyell Marshall in the corner of game2 being the most obvious example among countless others)
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LeBron James is getting a first-hand look at just how hard it is for the Miami Heat to replace Chris Bosh.
Playing extended minutes at power forward with Bosh sidelined by an abdominal strain took its toll on the league MVP in Tuesday's 78-75 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
"It's a lot more taxing being in there with bigger guys," James said, according to the Miami Herald.
He said that defense "is the biggest difference. When you're on the perimeter, there's more space. The interior is more cramped and physical."
http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2012/sto...ris-bosh-taxing
Damage is already done at this point without Bosh. These guys are screwed if they play an energized and rested Thunder squad.
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the funny thing is that back then it was considered a good thing that he learned to trust his teammates (even in game ending situations)
now, players get lambasted for doing the same thing with people falsely saying that MJ wouldn't have given that ball up (Donyell Marshall in the corner of game2 being the most obvious example among countless others)
Yup, how quickly people forget John Paxson and Steve Kerr.
The Marshall play was the right play, it's just that Marshall couldn't hit the ocean if he fell out of a boat. I mean the guy was wide open.
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Pacers vs. 76ers in the ECF
Spurs vs. Thunder in the WCF
Right now TNT and ESPN/ABC network management are FREAKING OUT over the mere possibility!
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Thunder/Spurs is going to happen. I don't think they would mind the Thunder, as they are a pretty popular team, even though they are in a small market.
Sixers/Pacers is more iffy but it is a doomsday scenario. The NBA doesn't want either of those teams in the finals.
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Only reason I wouldn't want to bring LeBron back is because at this point I simply don't think he's as advertised. He's *not* who we thought he was. He's the champ of the regular season who just can't dig deep and will himself to that highest level. LeBron is a 26-year-old athletic freak of nature in the best physical shape of his life, and he's talking in the media last night and today about how he's playing too many minutes and how it's hard guarding power forwards. He got tired of trying to do it the hard way, decided he wanted it the easy way and he's not getting it the easy way. We'll see if he elevates his game and his team or if he shoots the proverbial left-handed free throw.
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Thunder/Spurs is going to happen. I don't think they would mind the Thunder, as they are a pretty popular team, even though they are in a small market.
Sixers/Pacers is more iffy but it is a doomsday scenario. The NBA doesn't want either of those teams in the finals.
yeah, Thunder would be the "most popular" of the 4 teams there, but it's between them and the Lakers. so, still not the choice they would prefer.
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I think your post is spot on.
But I think he still has time on his hands. Maybe if he can dig deep one season and get it all, it will get him over the proverbial hump and he can relax a little in those pressure situations.
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He's *not* who we thought he was.
And we let him off the hook!
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Quote:
He's *not* who we thought he was.
And we let him off the hook!
if you want to crown him, crown his ass
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Honestly, I think the 2008 Olympics was the worst thing to happen to Lebron. He sort of got an alpha dog complex with Kobe being there, and he's acted neutered ever since. Not to mention, the group of guys there all sort of got this "Hey let's all team up together, instead of competing against each other" mentality ... and they all also seemed to adopt this new-age penchant for flopping. (possibly taught to them by Coach K? ... after all isn't Duke considered to be the birthplace of college flopping?)
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But is LeBron really different now than the 18 year old that got drafted by the Cavs? I don't think he is. I think he's the same guy.
I've mentioned this before, but I think it bears repeating. LeBron had some clutch moments with Cleveland, possibly enough for someone to counter argue that he is clutch. But his clutch moments always came as the underdog. He's never been able to perform when he's supposed to as the favorite....pre-Olympics and post-Olympics.
He's just missing that "I don't give a damn" gene. The irony is the reaction is worse when he hides in big moments than if he were to take every big shot and miss. He's just not wired to see it.
I think if he did come back to Cleveland he would have had to already won a championship. Because the pressure the second time around here will be 100x worse ... there will be a faction of the fanbase that probably would never forgive him unless he brought a championship home.
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the Orlando series in '09 (man, it's been that long ago?) seemed to change him as far as clutch moments. he had been so dang clutch vs. Washington, vs. Detroit, vs. Boston in '08 (stupid PJ Brown overshadowed that), and against Orlando in '09 to a point.
I think it was game4? when he got so frustrated as we were blowing another lead that he tried to go "GAME5 LeBron" on them and kept us in the game, but didn't have the legs for crunchtime. Delonte West not securing that rebound, Ben Wallace not chasing Rashard well enough on that 3pter just cemented his thought process that he had to do everything on his own and even then it probably wasn't enough IMO.
Once that was in his head, the crunchtime prowess seemed to disappear.
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I still blame that series on that Mo Williams 3/4 court shot. That was the peak of the Lebron era Cavs. They were riding so high that night, they were literally crapping all over the eventual Eastern Conference champions, Lebron had this awesome block of Dwight Howard which got lost in the mix, and from that point on I think the pressure really thickened. Lebron hit that ridiculous shot the next game but that's been about it.
I think 2008 as a whole changed Lebron. I mean think about the few months there he went through. He had busted his ass the year before getting that team to the finals, they were still somewhat young team moving along and then BAM, the Celtics land 2 hall of famers still in their prime. They give everything they have and come up just barely short. The Lakers also went out and got Pau Gasol making them a top tier team.
Then he goes to Beijing and I don't think I need to explain any of that.
Maybe he didn't believe in the teaming up thing but thought he had no other choice? I still think deep down he wanted to stay but didn't think he could get it done as it was, and was scared that everyone else was going to team up like they have, and he'd be sitting in Cleveland with Mo Williams and Andy Varejao.
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J/C...
Maybe I've missed it before, but listening to Gottlieb on the way home from work this afternoon I heard the "2007 Cavaliers were better than this Heat team" excuse for the first time. I laughed.
It's always an excuse for this d-bag and his BFF Dwayne.
GO PACERS.
"If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college"
GO ROCKETS
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"Lebron James is a raging inferno" is a top-3 moment in my 30 year Cleveland sports fandom.
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Being down here in Florida (Orlando, which is somehow Heat country) may give me a bit of a different perspective... I would give anything for the Heat to lose again this year.
I want the Cleveland Browns to be my pallbearers so they can let me down for the last time.
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I really hope the Thunder just give LA an ass beating of a life time
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LeBron is the perfect embodiment of the AAU generation.
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Am I the only one that pronounces hyperbole "Hyper-bowl" instead of "hy-per-bo-le"?
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