IF U WERE LEBRON WHAT WOULD U DO

man this is real tough tbh

play football

fuck shoulda put that in

Wish the warriors had cap space.

Bron would avg like 65ppg on the dubs.

OKAY PROS/CONS OF ALL

cavs

pros: home team, don't want to be the most hated person in the state of ohio... don't want to find movers?

cons: weird juju there right now, consistently poor surrounding casts, management overreacts in poor ways, coach?

heat

pros: best city with an nba team, would get to play with wade, would prob bring best out in crowd, taxes

cons: would have to play with wade, fickle crowd, not much history

bulls

pros: the nyc of the midwest, derrick rose, franchise of michael jordan

cons: franchise of michael jordan, joakim noah

clippers

pros: blake griffin, LA

cons: everything else

nets

pros: brooklyn, jay-z, john wall, john calipari, youngish roster in general

cons: lil brother to the knicks?, no real history to speak of, bad uniforms

knicks:

pros: nyc, history

negative: horrible past 10 years, terrible roster, awful management, would be seen as a sell out hired assasin

mavs

pros: mark cuban pampers players, dirk

cons: texas, old ass roster, western conference

pistons

pros: i can't think of one

cons: living in detroit, awful roster, beat down fanbase

imma try to break these down a bit over the next few days (xp didn't know sarge was doing same). first up chicago:

two championship players already there in rose and noah--both of whom complement u and don't fuck up your style. could do enough shuffling (afaict) to add one more major piece. good fans. probably get to pick yr coach.

vs.

isn't being in jordan's shadow a little too intense? unsettled mgmt situation--paxson may possibly be insane. another midwestern city.

it's weird to answer this question bcuz personally i would never choose to live in cleveland, but obv i don't have the history there that lebron does -- tbh, i would go to the bulls -- that's a pretty decent young roster, it's a big city that's still in the midwest -- i don't think the MJ thing is really a horrible thing -- the lakers have figured out how to make room for jerry west, kobe, magic and kareem, after all -- i would never go to the knicks & as fun as the nets might sound on paper, it's still the nets

cad you should keep going, my post obv isn't very fleshed out

I'm trying to think which team has the best young big man to help lebron out - nets?

think so

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CqDk4jAv_Y4/S-zPi0-Bf6I/AAAAAAAADDY/M7RgQPfnAvI/s400/14.jpg

"I'm trying to think which team has the best young big man to help lebron out - nets?"

The team that signs Bosh as well?

I can't see Lebron and Wade on the same team.

yeah like, i think it's prob fun for them for a few weeks on team usa and fun to joke about at parties, but you can't have to primary ballhandlers of that caliber on one team -- neither is wired to take a backseat like that

it could barely work with something like kobe & shaq, dunno how it would work with two guys who effectively play the same position (the position being "the whole team")

not okc

@KDthunderup would u want Lebron in okc?(honestly, nah I like who we have..I'm the leader of that teem)
about 1 hour ago via Echofon

Cap space doesn't matter if a team does a sign and trade.

first of all

pros: best city with an nba team

i mean... lol. just.... laughing out loud.

second of all

cons: lil brother to the knicks?, no real history to speak of, bad uniforms

i mean fuck the nets 4 lyfe after they betrayed my state but no history psshhh does the name keith van horn mean anything 2 u?? i thought so. lil brother to the knicks please. uniforms are ugly tho i agree with you.

if he joined the spurs he would win at min 3 straight titles I GAHRONTEE

[x] quit nba and make an album w/ jay-z

http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/amg/games/drg000/g010/g01019x55rx.jpg

^^^ cd be lebron

At least the Nets have been in the NBA Finals in recent history.

I thought we had all agreed to forget that had ever happened

Chicago.

let's break down miami:

great city. paired with one of the other five best players in the league. potential room to add one more major piece (i have read that but i don't understand how it is possible). could lure riley out of the front office to coach. if not spolestra is far less of a chump than mike brown so that's not bad.

vs.

a wade/lebron pairing doesn't really make any sense--wade needs the ball and lebron would have to figure out how to play off him. who gets the ball in crunchtime? a truly dreadful supporting cast that makes those jokers on the cavs look like the bench of the o.g. dream team. do you really want to be coached by riley? isn't he old and weird? lukewarm fanbase.

mike brown is fired.

potential room to add one more major piece (i have read that but i don't understand how it is possible).

i believe they would have to move beasley & their first round pick in order to do this (as well as james jones, but i think he has a team option, so maybe they can just decline it? i'm not totally sure on the details tho)

they would definitely have to trade beasley, with james jones they have a team option for the next three years, so i'm not sure if they can decline it this year and essential void the contract or what the rules are there

so you'd have three max guys and have to luck out big time on the entire rest of the team aka the 2008 celtics plan.

udonis haslem is a pretty solid piece. the others???? q = the new eddie house?

yeah their roster at that point would be

wade
bosh
lebron/stoudemire etc
mario chalmers
dequan cook

& that's it

profit???

they literally would have no one else under contract so idk who they would try and sign

i guess they would have a second round pick to add to that as well

this situation reminds me jordan/bulls after the last elimination vs Detroit..

sad cuz i dont want lebron to repeat jordans trajectory =/

simmons says it's nyc, cleve, or chicago, depending on what lbj wants. intriguing column. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100514&sportCat=nba

I think Chicago is the wise move, too. If not there, someplace where there is a nucleus of a team that he can be placed into. Gotta have a decent to good point guard who is (1) level-headed enough to run the offense and (2) talented enough to score 12 - 17 per game. Also gotta have a center or forward who plays defense and rebounds.

Add to that the big market considerations - LeBron wants to get PAID on an MJ level, and small market towns ain't gonna do it.

I'm thinking Chicago. New York would get him paid, and he may eke out a championship, but not any time soon. If Atlanta makes some smart moves and gets a good coach, they're always going to be in contention. Orlando, not going anywhere. Celtics are done in 1 - 3 years, but will still make the playoffs around Rondo/Davis/Perkins. So, there's no guarantee you're coming out of the East in the next 3 - 5. Out West? Dallas? Could work, actually, but what of Dirk? Phoenix would certainly be a hoot, but they don't have the cap room. Lakers out. Clippers - no way is he going to play for Donald Sterling. No way. Spurs? I hope not. That would be freaking deadly.

I don't know. I want to put more thought into this, but I'm at work for at least the next five hours.

Yeah Chicago is his best option. As a Bulls fan, I wouldn't be upset if he came here but I wouldn't be thrilled about it either. It's always more fun to root for the underdog. I envisioned the Bulls becoming the well-rounded, scrappy team who sticks it to the one-dimensional star-driven teams of Kobe, Wade, Lebron, etc. With LeBron here, anything less than multiple titles is a failure. There's no joy, just relief. Plus there's the hollowness of importing an already-formed star. MJ started out as a Bull, and the Bulls were underdogs for quite awhile. It's a bit like if you and your boys are doing well in the rec league, you're getting better, you might eventually be the best team...and then someone brings in a ringer from out of town and you're unstoppable but it's not as fulfilling as if you did it on your own and beat the odds y'know?

no, i don't know, because winning championships is rad no matter how it happens

but if you want a team that maybe goes six games in the conference finals at some point be my guest, more for the rest of us

you're a yankees fun aren't you

hahaha no i'm not. let me be really real with you--when the celtics traded for ray and kg there was a little bit of that hand-wringing: "aw, we brought in ringers, wouldn't it have been more fun if we had gotten lol greg oden and built a winner out of him and like al jefferson and ryan gomes shooting baseline jumpers" and whoever else we had at the time. but it didn't take long for most reasonable people to appreciate and enjoy watching pro basketball played at a really, really high level night in and night out, and by the time the c's were embarassing the lakers in the nba championship this wasn't even a point you could make.

so like, i know what you're thinking. but you're wrong :)

oh for sure, this is my thinking now, before The Ringer has ever donned a Bulls jersey. could def see it getting wiped away by the end of the 1st game of the new dynasty, let alone the 1st title.

The Lakers are not one dimensional at all, and certainly less so than the Miami Dwaynes and the Cleveland Mo Williamses.

shh don't ruin my storyline

We were totally fine with Pau joining the team a few years ago. Just sayin'.

"I figured LeBron out, dude. I think you define a player by defining what is most important to them in one word.

"MJ -- Winning. Hands down, all he wanted to do was win. And that's over-used for a lot of athletes, but not him.

"Kobe -- Greatness. Yes he's going to win some, but only because he wants to be considered great and that will be a by-product at times. But you'd also see him shoot his team out of a game; jack 3s when he should press the issue and get to the paint. He didn't mind losing a few games if people came away saying 'Kobe is great; look what happens when he doesn't shoot.'"

"LeBron -- Amaze. I think he just really wants to amaze people. Which is why he spends 10 minutes before the game throwing underhand, left-hand half-court shots. Why he celebrates amazing dunks and blocks, but isn't working just as hard to win. I know the Cavs aren't great without him, but he's got PLENTY on that team to win rings with."

Is that totally fair? Probably not. But just for fun, let's extend Chris' game ...

Russell, Magic, Bird, Duncan, Walton, West and Havlicek: Winning.

Wilt: Numbers.

Oscar and Barry: Perfection.

Shaq: Fame.

Kareem and Elgin: Pride.

Moses: Rebounds.

Malone and Garnett: Work.

Barkley: Fun.

Cousy, Stockton, Isiah, Pippen and Nash: Team.

I think that's pretty otm. Question for me is, which one applies to Wade? Guess that's yet to be determined.

duh of course you were, it's the Lakers, it's LA.

I would have to say "Competing," as in you have to knock him out to beat him?

Dude has played at a high level through so many injuries. He's not as purposefully flashy as Bron, and I don't think he has the giant sense of selfness that Kobe has.

duh of course you were, it's the Lakers, it's LA.

Meaning what, sir?

All that I know is that 55 year old secretaries be pointing out flaws in defensive schemes during the regular season out here. LA is a pro hoops town, man. They LOVE some NBA out here.

Meaning like NYC it's win at all cost, no excuses.

And what possible excuse could there be? Dude, its PROFESSIONAL sports. C.R.E.A.M., son.

BTW, as a life-long Orioles fan, I would be totally fine with the Earth opening up and swallowing Yankee Stadium WHOLE. Giant patch of green in the South Bronx. Awesome.

I would worry about Jigga and his head gear, but he's got some means, so he would find something else to wear.

MIAMIMIAMIMIAMIMIAMIMIAMI.

btw,

yeah their roster at that point would be

wade
bosh
lebron/stoudemire etc
mario chalmers
dequan cook

& that's it

profit???

the profit would be 4 -- 5 straight championships.

Shaq: Twitter

Keith Van Horn: Video Game Covers

Wade/Bosh/Lebron would be some scary, scary shit. You and I could fill out the starting 5, and they'd still take 50 games.

alright, 45, but they'd still make a run in the playoffs.

Pau Gasol: Trying to grow a beard

Sheed: Hamburgers

Paul Pierce: Face Pubes

praying for miami. bienvenido a miami, lebron james.

Dominque Wilkins: Windmill

Artest, Rodman: hairdye

Daryl Dawkins: whambamthankyoumamslamiam

Dave Cowens: floor burns

Patrick Ewing: Steps

Shaun Kemp: booty

New Jersey Nets: Pride

Jay Williams: speeding

Shaun Kemp: booty daddy

Pistol Pete: please don't hurt me, daddy

hey stupid question, but doesn't the prospect of a sign and trade make any team a possibility for lebron? i know miami, and chi and nets etc can also sign him outright but what's to stop him from saying, you know what, i wanna play for orlando with dwight and orlando ships lewis and some other contracts to make it work?

i heard that's a possibility yeah

want to see this regardless of implications

lebron 2 bobcats

lebron to olympiakos

lebron 2 yankees??

just a rumor i heard

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100514&sportCat=nba

oh already postedddd

not sure i really agree with much of that column

the part at the end is especially *rolls eyes*

eh im kinda with him on the "not cut from the jordan cloth" bit, but he's better than (or will be) dr j

probably/possibly, but let's not diminish how great dr. j was.

if i were lebron james i would quit basketball and join ricky williams in zen-philosophy school.

ricky williams is so tite 2 me

lol

yeah idk -- i guess personally i sort of identify with lebron because i'm a stubborn pouter of a person myself, and i could totally feel him on a "fuck these guys" shit if that's why he wasn't all KG in your face lecturing andy varejao on the bench and what not -- i feel like he was pretty betrayed in this series, by his body and his coach and the guy who they traded for who was supposed to be his #2 -- i would like to see him in a situation where winning a championship is more plausible before i go "OH LEBRON WON'T MAKE HIS TEAMMATES WIN" or whatever it is

it's not like lebron wasn't trying last night & i guess i'm not a person who's big on the tim tebow style of "leadership" & i sort of detest the "lebron's teammates didn't fear him!" or what mark jackson was saying last night insinuating that "having fun" is somehow detrimental to a team -- maybe his teammates were all average idk

man i was thinking A LOT about lebron/ricky today, seriously

FOR GOD SAKES LEBRON JAMES JOIN THE HEAT, WE'LL RESIGN WADE AND BOSH WILL FORCE A SIGN-AND-TRADE TO THE HEAT. FOR GOD SAKES LEBRON JAMES.

cuz like -- when ricky retired, he really broke the mold of what macho sports culture and wanna be macho sportswriters value in sports players -- selling out your body, WILLING MEN TO VICTORY, all that ish -- and just said "i am who i am, i'm a chill dude, i want to win, but i'm just myself" and it just infuriated people, that a guy would do his own thing and defy this mold that had been constructed -- obv lebron's case wouldn't be as extreme, but i really identify with a guy like lebron who isn't all kg in your face lecturing you on the decimal places of pi -- and especially if he goes to NY to use basketball as a springboard to become a billionaire 'person' or w/e

pretty much anything lebron can do to infuriate haughty sportswriters is a ok by me

yeah ricky williams is genuinely one of my favorite athletes

not just cause he is 'into chillwave' by which i mean 'smokes pot'

ricky williams is into chillwave?!?

ohhhhh . . . "pot"

max did u see the espn documentary?

nah but id love to

my mom HATES sports--she doesnt believe in 'competition' lol--so she loves ricky williams

man i love ricky too. shit i don't care if lebron has "heart" or is a "leader" or wtf ever, but for those sportswriter arguments that shit does count.
if you're a great great player, you should be able to win or at the very least COMPETE even when not in the ideal situation. fuck this "oh you just wait until lebron has hand-picked his gm, coach, supporting cast, refs, crowd, peanut vendors...YOU JUST WAIT" attitude

well i think this series was unique because was hurt and obv could not make a jump shot

and couldn't defer to any teammates cuz they all sucked -- i'm all for the TAKE OVER THE GAME! line of thinking but there's only so many things a person can do, even of his caliber -- just look at the celtics for the converse

dude his team won 60 games! sure playoffs are a different beast but it's not like he was playing with a bunch of d leaguers.

not sure if you're at all serious about the elbow stuff but it looked fine on those 2 3's he swished to bring them to within 4 in the 4th and he shot really well from the line

yeah ricky williams is genuinely one of my favorite athletes

cosign with this forever for so many reasons

we should have a "why ricky williams is your favorite athlete" poll

mainly his thighs tbh

i'm not joking about the elbow thing -- like i said, bron has played in 70+ playoff games, i don't think he woke up after game 4 and was a 30% shooter who couldn't make anything outside 4 feet pretty much -- i think his elbow was severely hampering his shot + his whole offensive game in general -- those 2 threes were serendipity i think -- he was being v v coy about his elbow in the press game conference

again, i'd say not enough credit is being given to the celts d

u might be right -- otoh, as hollinger discussed, the celts whole D was able to be altered based on the fact that everyone knew lebron couldn't make a jump shot

yep. not saying you might not be right. shitty thing is we'll prob never know the real deal.

yup :-|

i'm not joking about the elbow thing -- like i said, bron has played in 70+ playoff games, i don't think he woke up after game 4 and was a 30% shooter who couldn't make anything outside 4 feet pretty much -- i think his elbow was severely hampering his shot + his whole offensive game in general -- those 2 threes were serendipity i think -- he was being v v coy about his elbow in the press game conference

― contl;drizer (J0rdan S.), Saturday, May 15, 2010 10:44 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

I dunno, dude shot very well for the first three games of the series, even though he was said to be hurting since the end of the CHI series. also I don't know if a banged up elbow infects you w/ a mike brown type "what the hell is going on?" type attitude. and ime if your elbow is funky then in general you compensate by driving & being aggressive more, not by taking a bunch of outside jumpers that you know are gonna be affected by your elbow.

to me one of lebron's biggest flaws is that he just relies on his youth, athleticism, speed, and power to get by in the league, which works 99% of the time during the regular season. but during the playoffs, when everybody's locked in, you need at least one or two go-to moves, which to me lebron just doesn't have. kobe otoh has a whole bag of 'em

I agree though that outside of armchair psychoanalysis the injured elbow is the only explanation that's plausible, but that doesn't make it the most likely one imo

yeah i mean, obv we're all reading something into his elbow since we have very little concrete but like, i think there was something demonstratively different about lebron's play in games 5 & 6 and i don't think it's because he gave up or copped some attitude or something for the final 2 games of these playoffs. i'm much willing to believe that he had been battling an injury and it kind of hit a breaking point. again, he played hard in game 6 -- it was definitely a "hollow" triple double, but it was a triple double nonetheless, and nearly all his turnovers were him trying to force plays either for himself or for a teammate

as for the driving thing, i think hollinger articulated it in his post, but the celts could sag off lebron and clog the middle cuz there was seriously 0% threat of him making jump shots, except for the two 3s he hit in the fourth, which were really a mirage of sorts. the whole structured of the cavs offensive possessions/celts defensive possessions changed

to me one of lebron's biggest flaws is that he just relies on his youth, athleticism, speed, and power to get by in the league, which works 99% of the time during the regular season. but during the playoffs, when everybody's locked in, you need at least one or two go-to moves, which to me lebron just doesn't have. kobe otoh has a whole bag of 'em

― retarded candle burning at both ends (dyao), Friday, May 14, 2010 11:02 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark

this is true! this is definitely true -- pretty much the only thing that 09 & 10 kobe has over 09 & 10 lebron is that dagger jump shot -- sometimes it betrays kobe too, but his post-up/fadeaway game is almost unimpeachable -- now, when lebron's jump shot is on, his game is otherworldly -- if he's playing like he did in game 3 against the celts or game 4 against the bulls he's the best forward/guard the nba has had since jordan's prime -- when it's off tho, he can usually assert himself with rbding/defense/passing & also driving/getting to the line, but yeah, he doesn't have that automatic midrange yet, and def doesn't have that back-down fadeaway that kobles has

he's a small forward version of shaq. no finesse, solely relies on overpowering (there's a speed element but that's tied into his power too. f=ma). he hasn't ever had to learn moves, have good footwork, know defender's tendencies, all that forebrain old man game shit.

this is true -- i think this is something that great players learn once they can't rely on their speed & power anymore

TM SIMMONS but if lebron gets any sort of post up game he will be practically unstoppable

i mean maybe i was imagining it cause i really get a basketball boner when it happens, but celts seemed to learn "ok when lebron drives right and we bring kg over for the double, he kicks it to the corner, and if we have the 2 guard anticpate that, we get a steal. ok when lebron is in the pick n roll, if we hold off on the double until he gets below the foul line, he'll try to dump it off to the big man, and if our 4 expects that, we get a steal" etc etc

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3375/4606827411_e885616a71_o.jpg

celts had 17 stls 1st 3 games, 29 stls last 3 games

David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Obama and a Chicago former Bulls season-ticket holder, told ESPN that the Preisdent thinks James would look "great" in a Bulls uniform.

"He doesn't want to tamper," Axelrod said. "But as a Chicago fan, the president thinks LeBron would look great in a Bulls uniform."

obama be colludin'

Breaking news David Stern fines Obama White House $25k.

to me one of lebron's biggest flaws is that he just relies on his youth, athleticism, speed, and power to get by in the league, which works 99% of the time during the regular season. but during the playoffs, when everybody's locked in, you need at least one or two go-to moves, which to me lebron just doesn't have. kobe otoh has a whole bag of 'em

this makes lbj sound like mike tyson, while he was still in his prime but after he fired his original trainers. he had otherworldly power, athleticism and speed, but no (longer any) finesse.

Do Lebron/Wade/Bosh/Etc get to find out the draft lottery results before making their decisions? NJ with 1st pick much more attractive than with 4th pick etc

(voted other because would go to TWolves - don't want to win championships, just want to make darko happy)

why would lebron go to the nets, rather than pairing with proven stars in their prime?

yeah nets have no playoff experience, lopez put up great numbers but is an untested commodity. meanwhile noah and rose are certified TRU WARIERS in the playoffs imo.

Yeah, it only makes sense if you assume he's inclined to go to the nets in the first place.

I heard beyonce's gonna suit up

lol avery johnson yelling @ b 2 cover her d assignment "GET HIM BODIED!"

loool ^.^

looool bison

why would lebron go to the nets, rather than pairing with proven stars in their prime?

― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, May 15, 2010 11:37 AM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark

if he wanted to be in nyc but didn't want the stink of the knicks on him, he could sign with the nets because they're moving to brooklyn in two years -- also jay-z is part owner, also they might hire john calipari, also they might get john wall

also they are owned by a crazy russian billionaire

if he wanted to be in nyc but didn't want the stink of the knicks on him, he could sign with the nets because they're moving to brooklyn in two years -- also jay-z is part owner, also they might hire john calipari, also they might get john wall

maybe the nets will give lebron a magic unicorn, too. that would entice him.

if anyone gives me a magic unicorn in this hypothetical situation all bets are off

One thing that we were talking abt recently ws how the Knicks payroll in the Zeke golden years was literally 2.5x the salary cap - obviously that bought them a grand total of 25 wins but if you you did the same with *actual good players* it gives NY/NJ an advantage I don't think most other teams could compete with, even those who *are* happy to pay tax?

Obviously I have no idea how they legally managed to have a payroll 2.5x the size of the cap, I guess Stern thinks money paid to Eddy Curry doesn't count.

i genuinely miss the zeke knicks, every league needs a class A clown (used to be the rangers in the nhl's pre-salary cap years)

again, my not-unrealistic dream scenario: wade re-signs under "bird rule," bosh forces a sign-and-trade to miami (and can then re-sign with miami under "bird rule"), lebron signs a max contract with miami.

no magic ponies or unicorns needed. no michael beasleys, either.

Wall, Courtney Lee, Lebron, Bosh, Brook Lopez is a pretty good team, imo.

not sure y ppl think nets will get no 1 pick! they have a 25% chance right?

True, but they have as good a chance as anyone.

my statistical brane says a non-nets team has 3 teams better odds of getting john wall w/o specifying which team that is

even if nets get the top pick, james shouldn't go there. it makes no sense given the other options.

I think the Nets are a much better option than the Knicks or Clippers, but a worse option than the Cavs or Bulls.

OR MIAMI.

tbh i think if the move to brooklyn was happening next year instead of the year after the nets would make a ton of sense as the riskiest but highest-reward team for lebron. i mean how zeitgeist-y is this scenario:

- move to brooklyn

- best player in the world coming in

- no 1 draft pick

- crazy russian billionaire doing whatever lebron asks

- steal huge amounts of the new york fanbase from the knicks

and yeah lee and lopez would be great complementary pieces. i just don't think he would spend the first year of his new contract in limbo in new jersey.

i wonder if out of all the potential teams, lopez is the player that would make most sense for him to go play with

obv he's not better than wade or d rose, but they're both backcourt guys -- actually the answer is blake griffin but obv he's not going to clips -- couldn't even imagine those two together

i've been thinking about that a lot--ppl all being like "lebron and bosh" or "lebron and boozer" but lopez seems like a much better fit than those guys

meh. the scenario for a juggernaut built to win many championships is available (but only in miami, and i suppose to a lesser extent chicago, tho i don't see how they get all three).

it's not really feasible in miami for various reasons

i.e. you're assuming that there's a team just willing to take all of the heat's crap off their hands for next to nothing

i feel bad for non-magical unicorns

well, yeah, via a sign-and-trade that includes beasley. why, aside from that, is the scenario infeasible?

YES I ALSO FEEL BADLY FOR NON-MAGICAL UNICORNS.

ALL UNICORNS SHOULD BE MAGICAL. IT IS UNFAIR AND WRONG FOR ONE TO BE OTHERWISE.

- both lebron and wade would want to play the rest of their primes with each other, which seems nice in theory but means that both guys are severely limiting the career numbers that they could put up, and both likely feel that they could win a championship w/o the other -- i.e. getting their cake and eating it too

- someone would need to take the heat's mid-round pick, also next for nothing, because if the heat draft someone in the first round, they have to pay him regardless

- someone would need to take james jones and his awful contract off their hands, also for next to nothing

it just, it doesn't make sense -- they're gonna end up with wade & bosh and that should be okay

i don't see those as major impediments. i mean, there are 1,000,000,000 nonsense articles speculating on james and wade's frame-of-mind and ego-issues, but it's all unsupported (or, it's supported by cherry-picking circumstantial evidence of the author's choosing). if the three of them want to form a dynasty, this is the path to accomplishing it -- i don't know if they want that, but it seems like winning championships is largely why stars play pro sports (aside from getting paid, which isn't an issue here, since we're talking about max contracts). i'm sure there are ways to give away the mid-round pick (someone will want a draft pick, if nothing is asked in return). i can't really evaluate the jones contract -- maybe that's an insurmountable impediment.

and yes, i'd also like a magic unicorn.

not one of the non-magic types. those are worthless.

i think most people agree that players like wade and lebron wouldn't want to play together for their careers because each wants to be "the guy" -- it's not like baseball where everyone gets up 4 times a game, or football where a star rb & star wr can coexist or even like kobe & shaq where one guy is the outside player and one guy is the inside player -- unless both lebron and wade say "i will forgive my chances to reach a ton of individual statistical plateaus and win a few championships myself for the opportunity to maybe win 4 or 5 titles" then there's really no way such a pairing could happen

i think maaaaaaaaaaybe if wade hadn't won before, there might be a slight chance that they would do this crazy dynasty agreement, but if you're wade, wouldn't you say to yourself "i don't need another me, i need another shaq" (i.e. chris bosh)

i think i'd say "the players on the celtics dynasty are considered amazing," i've won championships, i'm young, and i want to win a lot more. how do i best do that?

daniel i love ya but you're nuts--the idea of two top-5 backcourt/wing players pairing up in their primes is essentially unheard of. nba teams need a pecking order and i can't imagine either james or wade happily deferring to the other.

if lebron really wanted to go this route chicago is still the answer because he'd have clear alpha dog status over rose. there's no choosing between wade and james--and wade is the guy with the nba championship.

it's v. hard to find a comparable situation because james and wade do really, really similar things offensively

now maybe there are game-dynamics that would make a pairing of the three stars (or even james/wade) unrealistic. maybe they both need the ball in their hands in most of the offensive series to be effective. but i just don't see why that's true.

btw, kareem/magic; kobe/o'neal; duncan/robinson; any number of celtics pairings. top-tier stars coexist all the time (tho maybe not star nos. 1 -- 2 in the league).

kareem/magic and kobe/o'neal worked because it was a guard-center combo

david robinson was not a top-tier player at the time

garnett, pierce and allen had never won anything by themselves, and all were in the final 5 or so years of their careers -- wade has already won and i think lebron thinks he can win without being part of some nuclear dynasty -- i think you're overestimating the allure of winning 5+ championships

drats, you may be right (for the "both do similar things offensively" notion).

let's just agree that the 1980s celtic frontcourt, for example, is something that will never, ever happen again

cad otm -- wade & lebron are seriously essential the same players -- it's not even like one is carmelo anthony who pretty much just scores and would actually be the perfect second player to lebron/wade

i think you're overestimating the allure of winning 5+ championships

i might be but that's shocking to me. they'll earn the most one can earn. they'll have hall-of-fame careers no matter whom they play for. i can't see why winning championships isn't occupying the top spot on their priority list, perhaps after the first two items i mentioned.

wade and carmelo would destroy the league. never even thought about that.

cad otm -- wade & lebron are seriously essential the same players -- it's not even like one is carmelo anthony who pretty much just scores and would actually be the perfect second player to lebron/wade

wade often functions as a de facto point guard, tho i know noting that isn't necessarily helping my case.

carmello isn't a FA this year (or even next, i don't think).

let's just agree that the 1980s celtic frontcourt, for example, is something that will never, ever happen again

probably right.

xxp yeah he does and his options are basically shoot sick 3s over someone, drive hard, or find a shooter to kick to. sounds familiar imo.

yeah i know melo isn't out there just think it would be sick

wade and carmelo would destroy the league. never even thought about that.

― call all destroyer, Saturday, May 15, 2010 3:06 PM (31 seconds ago) Bookmark

the reason why carmelo is so good on team usa but will prob never win a title as the #1 alpha dog is cuz on team usa he can just lay back as a "second tier player" and just destroy who ever is guarding him cuz you can't divert your best guy to him

wade often functions as a de facto point guard, tho i know noting that isn't necessarily helping my case.

― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, May 15, 2010 3:06 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

so does wade, is the problem

lebron obv

i wonder why carmelo isn't a FA now, btw? odd coincidence that 3 of the top 4 picks in that draft are all suddenly free-agents, but melo isn't. (he was in that draft, right?)

but lebron is much bigger. he can do different things.

melo will be a FA the year after, along with chris paul

yeah i could see melo winning a title in his paul pierce years with a dynamic younger team around him where he can just do his thing and go off for 30 every once in a while

yeah melo has a player option for 11/12 that he should probably not take

there are minute differences b/w wade and lebron -- wade is a better jump shooter, lebron is a better rebounder -- but they serve the same function

lebron COULD do different things but he doesn't right now

dude needs to really woodshed and develop his game

really what the heat's problem is that for as touted as this free agency class is, it has a bunch of the same players -- wade and lebron are both wing players, and then joe johnson and rudy gay are wing players who are slightly worse -- bosh & amare are both slightly built PFs who can score like crazy but are prob a bit suspect on the defensive end. if there was a true center in this class, or a true point guard (chris paul), then the idea of a three-player dynasty would be much more feasible

i guess yao could opt out

otm

can't see amare going anywhere at this point (unless the suns conduct a fire-sale for reasons having nothing to do with on-the-court success or chemistry)

don't want yao.

too fragile.

old news, but still:

"Before we agreed to terms, LeBron and I had a couple conversations," Wade said. "I can't recall exactly what we said, but the gist of it was we wanted to give ourselves the flexibility and the option to play together.

"A lot of times in this league, players usually wind up going where they can get the most money. We're both blessed within that area. We've made a lot of money. So we wanted to base our decision on two things, the organization and the ability to win a title. And that's what we'll do. When the season is over, we plan to sit down and talk about it.

"I'm not saying it will happen. But I'm intrigued by the idea."

i was actually looking for articles about whether their styles work together. found only the linked article atm.

very cute espn analyst jemele hill doesn't like the lebron-wade pairing, so the option is now off-the-table.

finally i found the expert analysis i was looking for:

yall stupid Lebron James and D-wade are best friend and they will play together one day no one better cause they play the same but wade got a ring and james dnt

there. now please, let's put this to rest and resolve the 2012 presidential election next.

i say: palin/bachmann over obama (bulls fan, btw)/biden, 52% -- 48%.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100428115448AAicbqB

http://l.yimg.com/dg/users/1zjrDrC25AAED_IFHXAnfAg==.medium.jpg

can't argue with that guy.

If I were Lebron, I would eat so much pizza.

mushroom or anchovy?

Both. And deep dish.

if i were lebron i would be calm and debonair

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CZQHnNORSV8/SW1SCqPc1_I/AAAAAAAAHtM/bkSp8_S064c/s400/lebronjames.jpg

why hello, m bison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVA00Fngvmg

lebron could call him...daddy?

really what the heat's problem is that for as touted as this free agency class is, it has a bunch of the same players

This is a really good point!

sup Delonte?

The Chicago Tribune reported Monday that according to league sources, basketball power broker William Wesley -- a friend of both James and Calipari -- has been quietly contacting NBA teams that have coaching vacancies and salary cap space about the possibility of bringing in James and Calipari together.

terrible idea

calipari is not actually a skilled big man iirc

new espn column says lebron should go to the clippers!

re: the heat & three FA signings, here's a rundown on the scenarios from the miami herald

Say Miami finds a well-under-the-cap team to take Michael Beasley ($4.9 million), Daequan Cook ($2.2 million) and its first-round pick ($1.2 million) in exchange for compensation that wouldn't be on Miami's cap next season, such as a 2011 draft pick. One NBA general manager said Friday, ``I don't think Beasley has much value; his reputation is soiled'' but that he would be interested if Miami offered Beasley in the above deal. Giving up Beasley for so little would not happen unless Miami is sure what it would get with the cap space, and it would need to be very significant.

If Miami renounces all its free agents except Wade, that Beasley/Cook/No. 1 pick trade scenario would leave Miami with only $6.9 million committed beyond Wade's cap hold: James Jones' $1.85 million buyout (finding a team to take his contract before the June 30 buyout deadline is unlikely), Mario Chalmers ($854,000), Joel Anthony ($885,000 if he opts in), plus required cap holds to fill out a 12-man roster ($3.3 million for seven players).

Based on the projected $56.1 million cap, that would leave $49.2 million to spend for next season, of which $16.6 million goes to Wade. If Riley can somehow convince Wade, LeBron James and Bosh to team up here, their first-year max salaries would total $49.8 million. Dealing Chalmers and Anthony -- on top of the other moves -- would create room to accommodate that $49.8 million. But a Wade/James/Stoudemire max trio would cost more ($50.4 million in 2010-11) and tougher to pull off because one would need to take slightly under the max.

By dealing Beasley, Cook and the No. 18 pick for a future pick -- but not Chalmers and Anthony -- Miami, with $49.2 million, could give max deals to Wade, Bosh and Joe Johnson (their 2010-11 salaries would total $49 million); Wade, Bosh and Memphis restricted free agent Rudy Gay if Memphis doesn't match ($46.3 million); or Wade, Johnson and Carlos Boozer ($48.2 million). But the Heat prefers Bosh or Stoudemire over Boozer. Many believe Boozer and Johnson are worth less than their first-year max numbers ($15.8 million each).

Throw in Anthony with the other pieces, and then there's space to sign Wade/Stoudemire/Johnson ($49.6 million). One GM said if James cannot be lured to Miami, this trio would be the next-most appealing.
Sign-and-trades create more wiggle room, but Miami likely doesn't have the pieces to pull off two big ones. ``If you can get some philanthropic free agents who would take a reduction to play here . . . sometimes, these guys can create their own teams if there is any kind of friendship among three or four,'' Riley said.

• In a three-star scenario, the roster would be rounded out with minimum salary players such as Carlos Arroyo, Raja Bell, Jamaal Magloire, plus Chalmers and Anthony if kept.

also lebron supposedly made a postgame call to derrick rose. i supposedly cuz i bet it was at halftime

i say supposedly

theoretically lebron would rule on the clippers -- kaman is a really good big man who would prob get better from having some offensive load taken off his shoulders, eric gordon is a great shooter who could be at the end of drive-and-kicks by lebron & could potentially carry the team when lebron sits & lebron & blake griffin on the fast break just gave me an erection, for obv reasons -- BUT IT'S THE FUCKING CLIPPERS

lebron wd need some witness relocation (move the clips to seattle and call them the sonics lol)

link to that "postgame call to rose" story?

BECAUSE THAT SOUNDS BAD AND IT WORRIES ME

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=381195

They're often mentioned as James' best chance to win right away, since he could step into a lineup with Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng

In what world is luol deng even a top-20 player at his position?

not a bad third option to have tho

i don't think deng is a bad player but he and lbj play the same position

yeah i feel like mostly everything regarding the bulls says that they would do a sign & trade for lebron w/ deng as the centerpiece going back to the cavs

wd also free up dollars to sign another guy max $$ str8 up iirc

interestingly re: sign and trade, chris broussard said today that if lebron leaves the team will lose $100 million in value and rather than take on a bunch of mediocre or even above-average salary they'd rather clear out space for summer 2011.

I imagine they'd still take on a good player, though.

yeah i was just thinking the same thing -- i don't get why the cavs would take on his luol deng and his $60m contract because he really does you no good (esp if you already have jamison)

xp yeah i agree, the bar is just set well above lol deng

if you were the cavs, wouldn't your rather have john salmons (2010 free agent) at 1/3 of the price of luol deng?

they could sign rudy gay for the money they'd be paying deng, assuming memphis doesn't match

Yeah I don't think Deng's bad at all fwiw! I have seen him play loads (lol GB) and he's a 100% solid NBA starter & an A+ guy - just not someone who'll impact much on LBJ's plans imo.

The whole going-to-Chicago is a weird sidestep on the whole legacy thing - if the kid from Akron goes to Florida or NY it is a flaw in his destiny, even if he wins 4 championships or whatever, but if he wins those same titles under Jordan's roof suddenly it's been a embrace of the pressure rather than a shirk of it? That's the crappy sportswriter narrative anyway - possibly lebron isn't the kind of sociopath who cares about any of that.

(Presumably Salmons will be getting paid this offseason?)

Deng is 100% solid NBA starter on a team that perpetually loses in the 1st round

he's not bad but he's not someone that $13m or $14m to for the next 3 years

Also: does anyone else find it kind of weird that Calipari is seen as this huge draw? He has coached one full NBA season and then gotten fired after starting the next one 3-15?

i think calipari is only a huge draw for lebron because they have a personal relationship

i think it would almost be more beneficial for the cavs to semi-tank 2010 & get a high pick & try and sign a 2011 FA

i love how shameless (and otm) espn is being re this whole thing

The conference finals are under way, but let's be honest: The biggest story in the NBA is LeBron James' upcoming free-agency tour. Nothing less than the future of the league is at stake. OK, that might be a bit extreme, but you can argue that a player of his stature has never been available at such a young age. With that in mind, Insider brings you LeBron Week, a five-part look at every aspect of James' decision.

At least one of the conf finals series is gonna have to be fantastic for the focus to shift back to, y'know, dudes playing basketball.

i mean if you're a casual nba fan not in bos/orl/la/phx you probably find the lebron story more interesting

hollinger's algorithm says that the players most suited for lebron are good shooting 4s i.e. bosh & nowitzki & to a lesser extent david lee, amare & boozer

i find the lebron story way more interesting

I'm surprised how relatively unfucked the cavs are if Lebron walks - I mean paying 46m for a 30-win team is painful and all but I had the idea it was a lot worse, especially with the jamison deal?

http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/cavaliers.jsp

the vast majority of teams have their books p clean past 2011 (lakers kind of an exception)

well, tbh they would be pretty fucked -- aside what lebron leaving would do to them in terms of economics and morale, they would have a bottom 5 pick in the draft this year, and probably a low lottery pick next year, and they'd have a bunch of cap room but they'd have to convince a free agent to come there and they have no pitch aside from "lebron used to play here!" which isn't really an equation imo for ascending anywhere near the heights of where they have been in the past 3-4 years -- not to mention that if lebron stays in the eastern conference, & bosh and wade team up then they're really gonna be behind the 8 ball

Jordan if u were Lebron what would you do?

Oh wait you have already said bulls! M bison what would u do? Go to SA for min money?

i would join the relief effort in haiti full time

tbrr tho go to chi with bosh and try to pry philjax out of LA

Does anyone have any links that shed light on what Bosh actually is looking for? Like, is he a chip-at-all-costs guy? Would he like being a #2 or #3 option? I feel I have no idea what he wants besides attention.

he just wants 2 b loved

and well-paid, but i don't think he's a gotta be #1 guy tbh

i think he wants to escape canada

i think everyone assumes he's a miami lock? altho i guess a lebron sign & trade with chi would open the door for him going to the bulls? but more realistically the heat

iirc the Cavs don't have any picks in this years draft

Important tweet:
Slevin Kelevra FLACO_757
I wasn't buying it but did Delonte West really Smash LeBron's mom? Factual info only Please and Thanx.

yeah, i heard he did. twice.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/05/white-sox-beat-indians-ozzie-guillen-writes-bye-bye-lebron-on-autograph.html.php

http://silebronwatch.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/ozzie-lebron-duo22.jpg?w=590&h=214

obama's on it: http://www.theonion.com/articles/president-obama-mentions-hed-like-to-see-lebron-ja,17512/

heh, that's pretty much exactly what I thought when I heard about O recommending chicago

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

i would insist on a sign-and-trade with the minnesota timberwolves.

I just wish he would confide in Dan Gilbert and say, "Look, don't tell anyone, but I'm signing with Chicago (or whoever) next year." That way, at least the Cavs could prepare for a LeBron-less future. As it is now, they're completely stuck in the dark and have no way to rebuild the team. Plus, there's the whole thing about how he's selfishly doing this all for his ego, and to be honest he's really pissing me off.

Yeah, I don't think LeBron is coming off very well this summer.

i think he will get over it by taking a bath in ben franklins

Yeah, I don't think LeBron is coming off very well this summer.

better now than if he did a "tour" of the cities with teams wooing him.

see i don't see what's wrong with doing a tour of such cities -- it would be pretty pointless since he's been to all these places, but if anything i think it's more self-centered to be like "NO YOU COME TO ME"

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

otm

wait, which two of you would join the clippers if you were lebron?

i am worried about your well-being.

OH FIVE PEOPLE GOT IT RIGHT

voted 4 miami, riles was the tie-breaker w chi

first of all

pros: best city with an nba team

i mean... lol. just.... laughing out loud.

http://i45.tinypic.com/axjg2p.gifhttp://i45.tinypic.com/axjg2p.gifhttp://i45.tinypic.com/axjg2p.gifhttp://i45.tinypic.com/axjg2p.gifhttp://i45.tinypic.com/axjg2p.gif

funny thread

none of us knew how the heat would fit three max guys!

yeah their roster at that point would be

wade
bosh
lebron/stoudemire etc
mario chalmers
dequan cook

& that's it

profit???

― contl;drizer (J0rdan S.), Friday, May 14, 2010 2:10 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

profit!!

none of us knew how the heat would fit three max guys!

― call all destroyer, Friday, June 29, 2012 5:49 PM (31 seconds ago) Bookmark

yeah i was legit stumped by the presence of james jones. i guess they bought him out? i don't even remember.

i guess the one thing we didn't know is that they all would end up giving up some money

yeah that seems like the key

record a rap song w/KD

https://soundcloud.com/frankywahoo1400/labron-kd-it-aint-easy-produced-by-franky-wahoo-stewbillionaire

Anyone watching The Shop on HBO?

not super groundbreaking or anything, but it's really engaging, Lebron is a cool guy. Mo Bamba and Victor Oladipo seem really nice, Ben Simmons seemed ok

the drake part was pretty good i thought

it's fun to hear lebron curse

Drake part was prob my least fav but obv the most noteworthy. I just like seeing the dudes shoot the breeze. First ep was more natural imo.

Edie Falco went on Chuck D’s podcast "Shattered: Hope, Heartbreak and the New York Knicks", and let it slip that the Knicks brought back Gandolfini and Falco in a bid to lure LeBron. Who better than Jersey’s finest to recruit James to New York? According to Deadline, frequent 30 for 30 director Jonathan Hock helmed a ten-minute short that reunited the titular Sopranos. “We got those requests all the time back then and Jim Gandolfini, he did nothing. And somehow, he agreed to this thing, which I was shocked by,” Falco said. “I thought it was a prank when someone said Jim’s going to do it.”

The short was shot in Gandolfini’s apartment, and posited that Tony Soprano had been in witness protection ever since his maybe-death in the HBO show’s final episode. Alas, as anyone who watched The Decision knows, LeBron did not wind up going to New York. “I couldn’t believe that it didn’t work,” Falco said. “Not so much because of The Sopranos. I just thought, it’s New York. How does anyone say no to New York, for God’s sake? But he did!”

I've been to New York it's remarkably easy to not want to go there

it helps if you have a pretty good chance to win a Tony or be a Tony.

i am doubting that lebron has the level of acting necessary to star in a cartoon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCsEKvz2mxs

This has been on Wikipedia for more than a year. https://t.co/wp8slQbClD pic.twitter.com/SgYBxOLRY9

— John M. Cunningham (@jmcunning) March 17, 2022

jaymc.xls

what a delight to see jaymc crossover from my main twitter to my hoops twitter account

lol when I saw that tweet earlier I was like "I feel like I know this guy from somewhere...?"

How do you think I feel, being that I hadn't seen a pic of him since we were in high school