So the good news is that the Cavs are getting something back for LeBron James after all. According to Windhorst, the Cavs will be getting two first-round picks from the Heat sometime between 2013 and 2017, a 2012 second-round pick from New Orleans, a future second-round pick, and a $16 million trade exception.
The details of this are complicated, but basically this allows Miami to pay LeBron less earlier in his contract, gives the Cavaliers something something for giving up LeBron, and helps Miami improve in the short term while giving the Cavs a better chance to rebuild.
It looks like the plan is to try and use the picks as assets in a trade and try for another winning season rather than try a full rebuild. Not sure how I feel about that as a five-year plan, but it looks like the management wants to give the fans something to root for next season. Can’t say I disagree with that logic.
I would have something to say about the press conference fiasco, but I was at summer league watching basketball. I really don’t feel like I missed something important. Until tomorrow, everyone.
toronto is now paying lebron? Did I miss something? Are we getting Bosh?
Is it only me, did LeBron look really uncomfortable and trying to force himself to give a genuine smile. The only time I really thought he was himself was when he was talking about how Riley should suit up and play with them.
So, who do we think the front office has their eyes on?
Unrelated question, but I’m not sure where to ask it that is more likely to get a response:
I’m not sure whether to chalk this up to a lack of depth when it comes to my understanding of journalistic ethics, or perhaps simply a pervasive personal cynicism, but why does it seem such a big deal is being made of the Jim Gray/Lebron (‘s camp)/ESPN arrangement for the ‘special’? Perhaps if I knew what the standard practice for such a thing is (although, can there really be a standard for something quite like -this-?) the fuss would make more sense. But, since I don’t really know what to compare it to in terms of an arrangement, or know enough about the relevant ethical standards, I read about the arrangement and hear some amount of irritation over it but don’t know what of it elicits that reaction.
Help?
Lebron looked extremely uncomfortable. Hopefully this translates into his basketball game.
Karma really needs to get working about now.
This helps the Heat more than it helps us. Those picks are not going to be good ones.
Is it just me, or did that little spectacle in Miami (last night) look like the beginning of Rocky IV?
Scott, I’m not really sure what all the uproar about Jim Gray is either. I guess people are upset that LeBron appeared to be sitting with a serious journalist, when really it was entirely staged and LeBron was immune to serious questioning. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, because I’m not sure what else was to be expected. It’s not like sports journalism (or journalism as a whole for that matter) is full of hard-hitting interviewers who actually hold people accountable. That seems about the least objectionable and least surprising part of the whole spectacle.
Check out the potential fallout of LeBron, the trade for David Lee and upcoming NBA Summer League
sportsaccordingtome.com
AHH piece of shit goddamn commenting system!!!!
I guess I’m not allowed to make a brief comment about the Bulls acquisition of Korver. Lame.
Not the acquisition that is, which I really like, but the fact that I can’t get my comment through is lame.
I really like New York’s deal for Lee, since he was pretty much superfluous now (I mean, a Lee/Amare frontcourt wouldn’t have been able to stop anyone), and I wish we could have gotten Randolph.
I was just reading the comments of the owner of the Cavs and I have to say the only reason this guy is on a rant is because he loss his cash cow. these owners really are the ones you should be bad at. I’m not a LJ fan but I do see his point of view, he’s a man that wants to win a ring and that was not going to happen Cleveland because if use look at what the owner was doing and that was using James as a carnival side show to pack the seats. This guy and every other owner in the game are the ones the ppl should be after, this guy gets on TV and tells the world how wrong James is but this is AMERICA and my opinion James did want anyone would have done; he went to a team that gave him what he wanted(GOOD FOR HIM). PPL of Cleveland you want someone to blame, blame the OWER he’s the real ENEMY. Besides this guy got a whole city to blindly follow James like he was a GOD (JUST A MAN), PPL get a life IT’S JUST A GAME. FIND REAL ROLE MODELS. ATHLETES R MORE SCREWED UP THEN US “NORMAL PPL”.
just have to say one who does the Cavs owner think he is, he keeps talking about how he was disrespected, it sounds like this guy thought he owner LJ, I thought slavery was abolished in this country. It just amaze me the balls this guy has, no one owes him a dam thing. I love the plantation mentality these team owners show towards their players especially the minorities, that’s why I stop being a sports fan but the comments from the Cleveland owner really pisses me off, I mean the arrogant rich white superiority he comes off with everytime I’ve seen this guy. Well Dan the party’s over and your meal ticket went bye-bye. LIFE IS TOUGH STOP BEING A BITCH DAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, Jay, wake up bro. Gilbert crossed a line, but it isn’t because LBJ left, it’s because LBJ totally screwed us over on purpose. Since the playoffs ended, LBJ NEVER returned a Gilbert phonecall and refused to speak to him. He waited until the 8th when every single FA was taken up before making an announcement.
GIlbert went overboard, but it LBJ is still the bad guy here.
And lol and LBJ being Dan Gilberts meal ticket. The dude bought the team, not because LBJ helped him do it. He makes his money in many other places that don’t include the Cavs.
Ben, really like that Korver signing..and I’m praying to god they get Reddick. Throw two great shooters on that team, and they can beat the Heat.
Is it obvious to everyone else that Mo Williams, 3 first round draft picks, & $14 million trade exception are about to be traded to New Orleans for Chris Paul and Omeka Okafor?
Combine that with the soon to be announced signing of Josh Childress and the Cavs will have a pretty solid team next year.
Really have no hard feelings towards Lebron. Dude did what he had to do, and Im sick of people saying Kobe or Jordan were any different. If I know anything about how competitive Jordan was, he would have left chicago in a second to follow his own whims and… oh wait. Yeah he did to go play baseball. Think he wouldnt have left to go elsewhere if he hadnt been winning three peats all over the place? And kobe is on record as demanding trades and generally being one of the most ego driven humans alive. Fact is, Sports people play sports to win and make money, and Lebron just made a choice that shows money is secondary to winning. People always claim to admire that, and yet here everyone is calling him the bad guy. He owes us nothing. Sure, It would have been fantastic if he had stayed, but 7 years of hard work and doing your bit, to look around and see a squad whose second and third best players are well over 30, and whose PG was considered well sub par until he started playing with you? Damn but I would have left as well.
So Rich, LBJ is not the bad guy here or anywhere. He’s a guy who has been feted his whole life for being an awesome player and a winner. Please dont tell me that if since the age of 13 you had been treated differently and from 17 pretty much like god you would somehow be a better person.
Kevin,
This is another Kevin. You’re smoking crack.
Isaac, I would be a better person.
And no, Jordan wouldn’t have bolted CHicago. He had the chance, if you remember, to go to New York. He said no.
Still looking right past teh fact that LBJ quit the Boston series. Not sure, how under any circumstance, you can excuse that. Anyway, no, Jordan wouldn’t have left. He would have been pissed and wanted to beat the shit out of wade and bosh.
Since zero.explanation has been given for lbjs no show in those afforementioned games, and there is serious credance to the idea that he planned on joining wade and bosh as early as 2006 – I wish someone other than Gilbert would seriously ask the question: did lebron purposely quit on the best reg season team two years in a row? I wouldn’t have ever believed it…but I never would have believed he would give me the middle finger and laugh on natl tv either
Isaac: Why did he HAVE to announce the decision in a one-hour special and cut off all contact with his hometown team that had done everything he asked for his entire career? I assume you didn’t watch the special or you could not possibly be defending him. He has every right to go wherever he wants but the way he decided to do it was utterly classless and unnecessary. No city or organization would have deserved this kind of treatment — and this was his HOMETOWN.
I’m really sick of this “Jordan would’ve never done this or that” junk. LeBron would never punch a teammate in practice. LeBron would never gamble away millions of dollars to the detriment of his family. LeBron would never blatantly cheat on his wife and spend his time drinking until 4AM rather than raising his kids. LeBron would never trick his teammates into stupid bets he knew they’d lose just to assert his dominance in the most petty way possible. MJ did lots of awful, awful s***, but was lucky enough to be in a situation to win lots of titles. Like it or not, no matter how good you are, winning a title involves lots of luck. Winning 6 involves an extraordinary amount. Saying that punching teammates or being a pathological a**h**** results in titles makes little sense. It’s just as likely that being an inclusive person who likes to team up with buddies wins titles. So far, the arbitrary wheel of fortune hasn’t fallen that way. But make no mistake, it’s arbitrary. Jordan is not the God people wish he was, and neither is LeBron. Both are just great players, who give their teams great chances of winning. Luck has to do the rest.
@Tom Pestak: Nobody, and I mean Nobody was questioning his dedication in last years playoffs till now. He had a 38 PER for goodness sake, he did not quit. Be angry but dont be unnecessary, please. This years playoffs, I can understand why you might question his dedication, but I still dont buy it. Conspiracy theorists always ask: Qui Bono, latin for: who benefits? And seriously, does Lebron benefit from quitting on the playoffs just because he is leaving later? He is obviously not lazy, the guy worked his ass off keeping us afloat throughout the regular season (see: the time he played point guard and averaged 30 and 10.) If he had won a championship he could have left a hero (okay not a hero but not reviled). So okay, maybe he was worn down, had low morale because of locker room issues, or had fallen out with the coach. Maybe he was at fault in some way, and he clearly was not himself. But I do not believe he consciously said, okay Im not gonna play my hardest. Why would he? Same guy from the detroit series, 25 consecutive points. Same guy with the 38 PER. The quitter theory doesnt hold water
@TR: Yeah, I watched it. He acted like a truly classless guy. But I just want some perspective. Im not far off his age, and I have done some stupid things. When I got into the college I wanted a while ago, I probably acted way too thrilled and enthusiasticly around some people who hadnt. And I know that if someone working at their job got offered their dream job, working with their best friends at something they love, they would take that job. Maybe some would be super discreet, maybe some would want to share how happy they are with their colleagues. My point being, Lebron’s mistake was one where he did not, and maybe still does not, have the life experience to understand how to be classy, how to be discreet. He’s 25, and has had a life completely different to anything I can imagine.
Im willing to cut somebody who has given me so much pleasure over the past 7 years just a little slack, and I wish other ‘fans’ would as well.
If he was gonna leave, that wasn’t the way to go. He’s still my favorite player, but I will never cheer for the heat. I can forgive him for leaving. But I won’t forget just how badly he left.
I don’t begrudge him leaving. I am however pretty stunned that in an hour long special at no point did he say something along the lines of “thanks for the last seven years of support, Cleveland fans, it was fun.” He thanked the organization at one point, but never much acknowledged the fans. He said it was hard to leave because of everything he’d put into it, and that it was his hometown, and hoped that the fans had appreciated everything he’d done for them. But it was strange that, in leaving, the best he offered the fans was the suggestion that his true fans would follow him to Miami – which is actually a little absurd, considering the circumstances.
James: 100% correct.
John, at some point I’d like to hear how you personally feel about LeBron’s decision. Does it bother you that he was able to abandon his hometown fans?
That’s honestly what bothers me. I know it’s not a fair or reasonable expectation, but I hoped that he wanted a championship for us as much as for himself. In his conference he made it abundantly clear that that wasn’t the case. Not even a little bit. His decision was all about him. I don’t hate him for it, but it takes away a major reason why I was his fan.
I love these people pulling the true “fan” card with LeBron now, as if it is somehow more noble to be a fan of celebrity rather than a team. As if you can be a better fan because you don’t have an allegiance to a team? That’s called being a spectator.
I’ll enjoy watching some of the highlights coming out of Miami, but as soon as he’s not a Cav, F LeBron. I just want to see him lose now.
Every one of you trolls can go wax Congressman James’ knob on an inevitably empty Miami heat comment board.
BTW, Isaac, you obviously weren’t around here for the playoffs. EVERYBODY was questioning his dedication except for like Jimmy or someone like that.
It’s just not even a debate that he quit in game 5. Watch the tape. He decided on his own to not be involved in the least. He stood around at the 3pt. line in the corner, for an entire game. Quit. I dunno if he did that on purose to get out of town, or if he just realized he can’t handle the pressure and folded. Either way, it shows his mentality is not that of a leader, but instead of a follower and a sidekick.
Windy recently posted an interesting article on the build-up to the decision. He’s got the groundwork being laid in 2006 when they all signed their 3-year extensions.
I think it’s over then. He threw the series. Dude should absolutely never be able to live this down.
Yeah, I’ve gotten to the point where I assume he was legitimately trying to win a championship for a while, knowing that would make the inevitable decision to leave easier for his hometown fans to swallow. Then it didn’t happen, and for some reason with potentially his best shot at it this year, he just decided he didn’t care anymore. It really makes his talk about northeastern Ohio and loyalty over the ensuing 4 years look extremely empty.
Now he’s going to win 10+ championships in Miami apparently. What a d-bag.
From that Windhorst piece, it seems clear Riley and the troika were guilty of tampering. The Cavs should take it up with the league and try to get at least an extra draft pick or two.
I really think he threw the Boston series so that his excuse for leaving could be to win championships. If he won a championship, he couldn’t use the championship excuse to go to South Beach. Game 5 was bizarre. Even the announcers said it. New York media was saying that if he lost, then there would be a better chance that he would leave. Why leave a team with the best record in the NBA for 2 straight years knocking on the door to a championship? To be on a team with 2 other stars and party in South Beach, that’s why. The guy is an egomaniac and a liar. Though he went too far, I’m glad Gilbert ripped him apart and hope that he says more. You can leave your home team but don’t pee on them too. Good riddance in a way. Roots for the Yankees and Cowboys, not the Indians and Browns. Clearly loves “America’s teams” and is figuring that Miami will be America’s team in the NBA. Replace him with high character guys.
The guy is a phenomenal player but a dirtbag of a person. Put him on the list with Boozer:
Lefraud and Loozer.
I’m going to guess that LeBron has cheated on Savannah NUMEROUS times. Remember the whole thing with Kanye’s girlfriend that was kept quiet? Yeah, like Gilbert said, people have been covering up for this guy for a LONG, LONG time. It won’t be long until some stories start to leak.
And you know what, Jordan may have punched Kerr in the face, but any COMPETITIVE person goes over the top once in a while. One of my dad’s favorite stories (he was a former college coach) is when two of his players were playing so hard against each other that they actually started fighting on the court. You know what happened? The coaches broke it up, the two went back to practice, and thinks were cool. If you’re competitive, you’re going to do what it takes to win. And if we’re going to be fair here, we can’t praise Jordan for having that fire, then make excuses for LeBron because he doesn’t. Cavs fans have been making excuses for too long. Now that he’s no longer part of the organization, we don’t have to make any more excuses. LeBron just doesn’t have that fire. He never did, and winning a championship on the Heat doesn’t prove that he does now.
ok here is my 2 cents in this whole thing. I am 17 now and started waching the nba at around the age of 10. I grew up watching my idol Lebron james. The fact that he was my idol had alot to do with me likeing the Cavs also. Slowly i became a Cavs fan and accepted Lebron was on our team. The fact he left pissed me off yes, but I thought if he was going to leave he would adress his fans and organization first. I am not as bitter about the situation as i was on thursday because I realized this is a new start for us and we can rebuild. Sure we dont have to be rebuilding because Lebron could of stayed , but we still would have to put players around him that would of worked and in my mind that is what happened we tried that only for us to be cuffed and unable to go anywhere we were forced to belive Lebron would stay and give us a ring before he left, but no he left us and gave us no space to get any of the major FA’s. now that he is gone we have alot of cap room we can still get T- Mac my other fav player ever to play the game while growing up sure he has been injured,but supposedly he has been working very hard this off season after his surgery awhile back. We could try getting Allen Iverson he even said he will go to whatever team that wants him. The fact is we have a shot at this hting and we have to stay optimistic. Lebron you go win your rings with your pals, but we will win rings in a much much more classy way.
@Nikhil:
This team isn’t winning anything with Iverson and T-Mac… no team has won, or will ever win anything with either of those players. Its 2010, not 2001…
I’m sorry, but if they would both take near the minimum I would take them
@ colin
I understand that, but the fact they can give the cavs fans hope for one season until next year when we can try and sign melo or cp3
With all this emphasis on loyalty, it would make sense to calm down we Cavs fan base by dumping the temporary guys like Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon (LeBron followers) and bring in some familiar names with a record of distinguished service to the franchise. What I mean is, NOW is the time to sign Donyell Marshall and Larry Hughes to surround the NBA’s newest and best pick-and-roll duo since Stockton and Malone, Mo Williams and Anderson Varajao.
Also, I heard Damon Jones was available, and since Wally is still getting paid it makes sense for him to suit up as well. Not that they would replace Delonte in the lineup (or in the hearts of Cavs fans, many of whom also carry firearms after all), but having that kind of championship experience (with the Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves) on the bench means something for the young guys coming up, like Boobie Gibson who needs a mentor like Damon (or Donyell) to show him how to shoot 3s under pressure.
Add all of this to SHAQ and you have the makings of something truly special. GO CAVS! 2011 Title Run starts now!
How dare the Indians treat MLB like a buisness and get rid of Redmond because he had served his purpose. Have they no loyalty? I think Redmond should write an open letter castigating ownership for treating him like a piece of meat. I think Indian’s fans should be outraged and boycott games. I think buisinesses downtown should make money because of the palpable outrage over this mattter. I think the front office should be criticized for doing this without any fanfare, and that the Plain Dealer and Beacon Journal should make a big deal of this. Where are the Cleveland and Akron news media? Do they have no respect for Redmond? Oh, I forgot that Redmond isn’t a native son and would not have helped them win a Series, so no bid deal.
Akron native and lifelong Indians and Cav’s fan.
I highly suggest you all read Windy’s reporting on how this all came to be: http://bit.ly/b3uQxt
@ Nikil
I think a lot of us are in the same boat. I’m 20 and I started watching the Cavs the second year LBJ was in the league. I had never watched basketball before, and in fact, I thought it was really dumb. But I heard we were going to be good, so I decided it was worth watching. Since then, I have fallen in love with the Cavs organization, with the game of basketball, and for a while with LeBron James. When it became very common knowledge that he would probably leave this summer (around 2 years ago) I started to get sad about it, and then realized that he’s the reason I now have a passion for the game of basketball, but I don’t need him here to enjoy it. Although the only basketaball I’ve really ever watched has been NCAA and the LeBronaliers, I can’t help but feeling that I’m not going to miss him one bit. I love my Cavs, and Dan Gilbert is wonderful.
One of the worst things about this Heat team, I’ve come to decide, is that we’ll no longer have those epic one-on-one duels between Congressman James and Wade. Instead they’ll be fighting each other for shots at the end of the game. Lame.
Guys, it isn’t about loyalty. Stop trying to say LeBron doesn’t have to be loyal. HE CAN LEAVE. We understand. Stop bringing it up because it isn’t the point.
It’s the fact that he quit in the middle of a playoff series. It really isn’t tough to understand. I’m not upset he left. I’m SAD he left, because he gave up on chasing Jordan. Wasting his talent. But im MAD that he quit on his team in the middle of hte playoffs. Not loyalty or anything.
ANd for anyone wondering if LeBron just doesn’t have the fire, there is an easy thing to look at.
If Lebron went to Chicago, he could have been the man and won MORE titles. That CHicago team, even w/ Boozer instead of Bosh, would be a better team than this Miami team. It’s clear, though, he doesn’t have the fire. He can’t handle the pressure. He never wanted to be Jordan. That’s a sad thing, but I’m not mad at him for it. I wouldn’t boo him for it and burn jerserys for it. I do that stuff because he quit in the playoffs on purpose.