via Pastapadre.com....
2K Sports has released the list of historic teams included in NBA 2K11 along with a quick teaser featuring the cover athlete Michael Jordan. The list of historic teams may not be final with 2K possibly attempting to add more before the game has to be finalized or post-release as downloadable content. I’ve also added two full-size Jordan screen shots to the gallery. Continue on to check out the list of teams and the trailer and leave your thoughts in the comments!
Keep in mind that all players from these teams may not be included on the roster. It appears from the one screen shot that there will be some generic players in place of those they didn’t get the rights for which would be necessary to use their likenesses.
1985-86 Chicago Bulls
1985-86 Boston Celtics
1989-90 Chicago Bulls
1989-90 Atlanta Hawks
1989-90 Cleveland Cavaliers
1989-90 Detroit Pistons
1990-91 Chicago Bulls
1990-91 Los Angeles Lakers
1991-92 Chicago Bulls
1991-92 Portland Trailblazers
1994-95 Chicago Bulls
1994-95 New York Knicks
1995-96 Chicago Bulls
1995-96 Seattle Supersonics
1996-97 Chicago Bulls
1996-97 Utah Jazz
1997-98 Chicago Bulls
1997-98 Utah JazzVISIT PASTAPADRE.COM
POINT GUARD
Steal -- Raymond Felton
New York Knicks, two years, $15.8 million (unguaranteed third year)
Felton The Knicks signed the premier point guard on the market for two guaranteed years, and seven inferior point guards have signed elsewhere for longer deals. That's a big win for New York, which has positioned itself in the Chris Paul sweepstakes should he stick it out in New Orleans until he hits free agency in 2012. The contract is small enough that a buyout wouldn't hinder the Knicks from netting Paul in a trade before then.
Felton hasn't been able to step on the gas since leaving Chapel Hill, but he'll have plenty of freedom to push the ball in Mike D'Antoni's offense. Just 26 years old, Felton still has time to bloom as a player (he ranks merely average as a pick-and-roll ball handler according to Synergy Sports Technology). A career year might be in store, especially if Felton can maintain his torrid 3-point shooting from last season.
Overpay -- Luke Ridnour
Minnesota Timberwolves, four years, $16 million
Ridnour Paying Ridnour $4 million a year to start? Not a bad idea. Paying Ridnour $4 million to back up a backup? Horrible idea. And that's before we bring Ricky Rubio into the picture. Minnesota GM David Kahn signing Ridnour for $16 million is as superfluous as any deal this summer.
As it stands, the former Oregon standout will spar with Ramon Sessions for minutes behind Jonny Flynn, who curiously started every single game of his rookie season. Sessions has proved to be a more capable show runner in the triangle offense than shot-hungry Flynn but looks to be the odd one out. There's almost no chance Ridnour will repeat his .570 TSP (true shooting percentage) from last season, seeing as his previous high was .509 in 2006-07.
SHOOTING GUARD
Steal -- Anthony Morrow
New Jersey Nets, three years, $12 million
Morrow Did the Nets just sign the best shooter in the game for about half the price of J.J. Redick? It's certainly possible. The 6-foot-5 24-year-old from Georgia Tech just wrapped up a prolific shooting campaign from behind the arc last season (.456 3FG%), but the Golden State Warriors surprisingly resisted the option of retaining his rights for just $4 million per year.
It's tough to imagine why the Warriors have no interest in retaining a cheap, young commodity such as Morrow, but then again, we are talking about the Warriors. In New Jersey, Morrow joins a crowded perimeter with Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams on the wing, but it would make a lot of sense for the Nets to deal Williams to a team willing to stomach his erratic play.
Overpay -- Joe Johnson
Atlanta Hawks, six years, $123.7 million
Johnson The biggest contract of the 2010 free-agent extravaganza didn't go to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh.
No, that crown belongs to Johnson, an oversized shooting guard who just received his first and only MVP vote of his career -- and it was for fifth place.
This isn't to say Johnson didn't deserve a big payday; he is coming off five straight seasons of averaging at least 20 points per game. But the magnitude and length of the contract is egregious for a 29-year-old who hasn't been to an NBA Finals and doesn't have the chops to lead a team there down the road. He'll make about $25 million in 2015-16, but the Hawks should be elated if he earns 10 percent of that salary as a 34-year-old.
SMALL FORWARD
Steal -- Quentin Richardson
Orlando Magic, three years, $7.5 million
Richardson LeBron's sub-max contract is a no-brainer for this slot, but the two-time MVP was slated to be the best deal of the summer even before free agency began, given the league's restrictions on player salary.
Instead, it's worth pointing out that the Magic just signed Richardson, a perfect fit for their four-out system, for less than $3 million annually. In a seller's market in which Wesley Matthews, an undrafted rookie, received a $34 million deal, it's a veritable bargain. The 30-year-old drilled 142 3-pointers at a 39.7 percent clip last season in Miami, and he should help alleviate the void left by Matt Barnes, who is expected to leave Orlando this summer. It's a low-risk, solid-reward move that goes largely unnoticed in this free-agency climate. It's also the type of signing championship contenders need to make.
Overpay -- Travis Outlaw
New Jersey Nets, five years, $35 million
Outlaw Paying $35 million for a veteran bench player won't cripple a franchise's cap flexibility, but the length and dollars could be particularly dangerous for the rebuilding Nets organization. Outlaw's main contributions will come on the defensive end, but this is a team starving for scorers on the wing. It's hard to justify shelling out a fully guaranteed five-year deal to a player that has started 32 games in his seven-year career.
Outlaw will be poised to start at the 3 alongside whoever New Jersey decides to make its starting power forward (Kris Humphries?), so he'll get his share of scoring responsibility. The 25-year-old has scored 12.5 points per game as a starter in his career, but he doesn't score efficiently enough for us to expect that number to climb with a bigger scoring burden.
POWER FORWARD
Steal -- Udonis Haslem
Miami Heat, five years, $20 million
Haslem Haslem turned down far more lucrative midlevel exceptions from Dallas and Denver to help win his second championship in Miami, even though he probably won't expect much in the last two years of this deal. But at his bargain price tag, that lack of production at the tail end won't matter.
Haslem might be only 6-8, but he's a menace on the boards, averaging a double-double per 36 minutes of playing time last season. He complements his tenacity underneath with a sweet midrange jumper, which he used to hit 45.3 percent of his 315 shots just inside the arc, according to Hoopdata.com. Plenty of teams could use Haslem in their starting rotation, but he'll be a fantastic spark plug behind Bosh.
Overpay -- David Lee
Golden State Warriors, six years, $80 million
Lee This isn't a flat-out waste of money; the price tag is just the least palatable among the premier power forward free-agent lot of Bosh, Carlos Boozer and Stoudemire. Despite Lee's massive liabilities on the defensive end, shelling out $80 million on a 20-and-10 player isn't the worst idea in the world. Giving up Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf and Kelenna Azubuike, as well? That's overpaying.
We'll never know against whom or what the Warriors were bidding, but it's clear the Knicks made out brilliantly in this deal. Instead of letting Lee leave for nothing, the Knicks got the Warriors to throw in three young, serviceable rotation players who are signed to cap-friendly deals. Turiaf and Randolph represented Golden State's only hopes to stop opponents in the paint, but that's all lost with Lee anchoring the middle. By signing Lee to a bloated contract and giving up promising assets, Golden State took two steps back for its one step forward.
CENTER
Steal -- Tiago Splitter
San Antonio Spurs, three years, $10.9 million
Splitter The Spurs have done it again. Not only did San Antonio just reel in the best big man playing overseas but it signed the 7-footer for Ryan Gomes money. Actually, even that doesn't do this deal justice; Gomes signed for $1.1 million more than Splitter. While most front offices are still gauging how to mine international talent, general manager R.C. Buford and his team have it down to a science.
The Spurs signed the 25-year-old Brazilian for three years with the midlevel exception after reserving his rights with the 28th pick in the 2007 draft. They have about $2.4 million left on their exception to nab more talent this offseason. In one fell swoop, the Spurs got better and younger as they begin their transition out of the Tim Duncan era.
According to DraftExpress.com, Splitter has maintained a PER well over 20 for each of his past three years between the Euroleague and the Spanish League. He won't contribute at quite that level this coming season, but he won't need to alongside Duncan. Splitter would be a legitimate center on most NBA squads and is a fantastic pick-and-roll option to tandem with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. At $10.9 million, this is a heist.
Overpay -- Darko Milicic
Minnesota Timberwolves, four years, $20 million
Milicic Quite a juxtaposition having Milicic follow Splitter here at the center slot. They're both 25-year-old, 7-foot European imports -- but the similarities end there. As far as we can tell, Milicic has no discernible skills as an NBA big man. He can't score, rebound or defend at all for his size, and his 96 career offensive rating, which calculates how many points a player scores every 100 possessions, ranks him on par with Brian Scalabrine among the league's worst veterans. Apparently, that subterranean production is worth $20 million to Timberwolves general manager David Kahn.
Chris Paul is demanding a trade and the Knicks are one of his preferred destinations.
According to a CBSsports.com report, Paul has informed the Hornets that he wants move to the Magic, Lakers or Knicks, with hopes of winning a title.
"He wants out," said a person familiar with Paul's exit strategy, according to the report. "He wants to play with another superstar. He wants to follow LeBron's model of teaming up with other great players."
Newly acquired Amar'e Stoudemire represents an enticing teammate to Paul, 25, who earlier this month reportedly toasted to the idea of forming "our own Big Three" with Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony in New York. But the Knicks would have to come up with a good enough offer for the Hornets, who still planned to meet with Paul to sell the direction of a franchise that's rebuilding and failed to make the playoffs last season.
Raymond Felton won't be part of the deal because he just signed as a free agent and can't be traded until December, thus complicating matters if the Hornets are looking for a point guard in return. The young talents acquired from Golden State in the sign-and-trade for David Lee - Anthony Randolph and Kelenna Azubuike - are valuable trade chips for the Knikcs, along with Wilson Chandler.
Since a move to the Lakers wouldn't make much sense for Paul because he'll be stifled in the triangle offense (and it doesn't make sense for the two-time defending champions), it seems the biggest threat to the Knicks is Dwight Howard and the Magic, which advanced the NBA finals in 2009 and last year's Eastern Conference finals.
Mike D'Antoni's offense would certainly suit Paul, but it's unclear whether the Hornets will trade one of the league's best players with two years remaining on his contract.
The Knicks have also been looking to trade for Spurs point guard Tony Parker, a three-time NBA champion.
When Marni Jaffer was about to deliver her husband’s eulogy to a crowd of 300-plus mourners, she noticed a familiar face rising above the others in the back of the funeral chapel. She had never met the man, but she recognized him from her television screen.
David Lee with Knicks Coach Mike D’Antoni. Despite being sent to Golden State, Lee attended the funeral of a Garden security official.
It was David Lee, formerly of the Knicks.
“I thought it was wonderful that he came,” Jaffer said. “And it also struck me how he stayed in the back, paying his respects quietly, not wanting to have people say, ‘Oh, it’s David Lee,’ and intrude on my husband’s moment.”
The funeral for Scott Jaffer, a longtime N.B.A. security official whose primary post was Madison Square Garden, was held July 11. Lee had been in St. Louis, his hometown, after being dealt by the Knicks to the Golden State Warriors in a sign-and-trade transaction that was announced soon after LeBron James’s all-about-me ESPN extravaganza.
Expected back in New York the next week for a basketball camp, Lee was stunned to hear that Jaffer, 63, had died.
“The guy took care of our security stuff, drug testing, things like that,” Lee said in a telephone interview. “He couldn’t do enough for us, joked with us every night, and it turned out he had cancer for three years and not one of us knew about it.”
After five years in New York, Lee had one final act of hustle on behalf of the Knicks, flying into town on Saturday night and getting in his car Sunday morning for a one-hour drive to Airmont, N.Y., from his apartment on Manhattan’s West Side.
He knew much of the Knicks’ basketball staff would be working at the summer league in Las Vegas and he wanted to make sure that the team — given its extreme state of transition — would be represented.
The same team, of course, that could not wait to replace him with its latest high-end acquisition, Amar’e Stoudemire.
When word circulated through the Knicks’ organization that Lee had attended Scott Jaffer’s funeral, few people could have been surprised. In February, after the death of Dick McGuire, a beloved Knicks organizational lifer, Lee was the only player to attend the funeral.
Weeks later, when the franchise celebrated the 40th anniversary of its 1970 championship team with a halftime ceremony, Lee was the lone Knick to come out of the locker room to watch from courtside.
Despite playing what he called “my worst game of the season” that night against Milwaukee, Lee chose to savor long conversations with Willis Reed and Bill Bradley, who told him that he had many of the qualities that they associated with their teams of four decades past.
“That was pretty amazing to me,” said Lee, who at that point clung to the hope of remaining in New York. By July, it was more wishful thinking.
“People talk about how much they want good citizens, guys who are committed to an organization and a city,” said Mark Bartelstein, Lee’s agent.
“At the end of the day, it is what it is, the hypocrisy of the whole world of sports.”
The case of Lee, the Knicks’ best and most popular player, should also put into context the allegations of disloyalty against James when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers. Organizations do what they think is best for them, too, without having to say they’re sorry.
The departure of Lee became a footnote to the free-agent fallout generated by the decisions of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to make Miami their collaborative playground. “He averaged 20 points and almost 12 rebounds, and it got swept under the rug,” Bartelstein said.
Timing is everything, and Lee’s was not good from the day he arrived in New York as the 30th and final first-round draft pick in 2005.
“The biggest regret was not having a chance to be part of a stable, winning team,” he said. “Forty-nine players and three coaches have come and gone. That’s not to blame anyone, but those were the facts.”
The overwhelming N.B.A. consensus is that Stoudemire is a stronger, more dynamic player than Lee, who improved every year — especially his jump shot — but has made one All-Star team and has never appeared in a playoff game. Even Lee noted that the Knicks, who gave Stoudemire a five-year deal worth nearly $100 million, had to make a statement after two years of readying themselves for a bid on James.
“People might say, why did they pay Amar’e $100 million?” Lee said. “Well, if LeBron had come, then you’d have to say that he would have been worth $500 million.”
But James did not come, which raises a fair question: if the Knicks do not land Carmelo Anthony or another star within the next two seasons, will Stoudemire — for a lot more money — be as much of a committed company man as Lee?
Not Lee’s problem anymore. Out West, he will play his natural position, power forward, alongside a defensive-minded center, Andris Biedrins, for the first time. He will run a million pick-and-rolls with the Warriors’ talented young guards Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis.
With the Warriors changing ownership, from Chris Cohan to the Boston Celtics minority partner Joe Lacob and the Mandalay Entertainment chief executive Peter Guber, Lee is convinced it is a team on the rise.
“I don’t look at us at rebuilding,” he said. “We have a young nucleus in place.”
This week, Lee is trying to play his way onto the United States team — against Stoudemire, who is also in the mix — that will compete in the world championships beginning Aug. 28 in Turkey. If he makes it, Lee will be back in the Garden next month for an exhibition game against France.
Walking the streets of Manhattan last week was a gratifying experience, he said. “I’ve heard this a lot — ‘We’re sorry to see you go,’ ” Lee said.
Marni Jaffer said that if her husband could have chosen one Knicks player to attend his funeral, he would have picked David Lee.
“Scott played basketball when he was younger,” she said. “He knew the game and he loved David Lee, talked about him all the time. He was a big fan.”
He was not alone, but now Lee, a Warrior, has moved on, all in the name of progress.
Ron Artest said he was disappointed, like every other New Yorker, when LeBron James spurned the Knicks and signed with the Heat.
"I wanted him to come to New York," the former St. John's star said after playing for the Sean Bell All-Stars at the West 4th Street Pro League in downtown Manhattan yesterday. "I'm a New York fan. I don't like seeing the Knicks lose."
Artest, who helped the Los Angeles win the title this past season, figured there was a chance James would choose the Big Apple.
"If you're trying to be real big, you come to New York or L.A.," he said. "But you never know what someone's thinking about."
As for Amar'e Stoudemire, the player who did choose to come to New York, Artest warned the power forward it will be a challenge.
"If you want pressure, you come to New York," he said. "He must be special to come to New York. I hope he works hard on his rebounding and shot blocking."
LAS VEGAS -- Al Harrington told The Post yesterday he was stung the Knicks never called him after July 1, that coach Mike D'Antoni never liked him, and that he isn't sure the revamped Knicks are any better than last season's 29-53 team.
Harrington also said he had inside information before July that LeBron James was going to spurn the Knicks.
Harrington left the Knicks officially yesterday, signing a full, five-year, $5.8 million-per-year mid-level deal with the Nuggets and will become teammates with potential 2011 free agent Carmelo Anthony.
Harrington said he "thinks Melo will stay," but hasn't yet spoken to him.
Harrington had held out hope Knicks team president Donnie Walsh would have enough cap space to keep him, knowing what he knew about LeCon.
"I guess they could be better, but I don't think they're better than the team we had last year," Harrington said. "That's my opinion. You never know. They got Bill Walker, he could get better, Gallo [Danilo Gallinari] could get better. So it could be better but I don't think so."
The LeCon snub was no surprise to Harrington.
"I knew he wasn't coming to New York," Harrington said at Cox Pavilion, watching the Nuggets during summer-league action. "I knew some of LeBron's sources and knew he never liked New York at all. I'm a New York fan anyway. It would've been nice to have had him there."
Harrington now teams with Anthony, who has a Denver contract-extension offer on the table. Harrington spends most of the offseason at his house in Las Vegas. James and his entourage spend time in Vegas, too, as James has a place out in the desert, too.
Harrington, a northern Jersey native, thought he may be in play after the James snub. The Knicks still had plenty of cap room.
"I wasn't one of D'Antoni's guys," said Harrington. "It was an obvious thing. No matter how good I played, no matter what happened, he wouldn't mention my name after a game or anything. He obviously didn't want me there.
"When they only got one max, I thought I would hear from them and get a call," Harrington added. "I was obviously wrong."
Harrington, who averaged 17.7 points and 5.6 rebounds off the bench, notes the Knicks have lost their two most productive players in David Lee (now with Golden State) and himself.
D'Antoni defended the decision not to consider Harrington. Sources close to D'Antoni said Harrington didn't move the ball enough to suit D'Antoni's offense.
"We changed the structure of the team," D'Antoni said. "Certain guys -- even Lee -- structurally were financially out. I'm happy for Al. It didn't work out."
Harrington said Denver coach George Karl always has joked about getting him.
"It's good to play for a coach who wants you," he said.
The Knicks have holes. They don't have a legit starting center and their shooting-guard position is unclear. New addition, Kelenna Azubuike, may fill that role.
The Knicks have stocked up pieces to trade. Walsh said the Knicks are at the salary cap and have ability only to sign players to the veteran's minimum.
D'Antoni said the good news is trades will be made to improve, not subtract.
"If we do make a move, we're bringing in a better piece and not a piece just for cap space," he said.
The cap-cutting began 20 months ago when Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford were dealt and Harrington became the bridge to 2010. It was all done with James as the ultimate goal.
"I liked Randolph and Jamal and those guys, but as soon as we got their [trade] value up, we knew they were gone," D'Antoni said. "That's frustrating for players and coaches. Now when our players get up there, we can lock them in."
Harrington, who missed the last two weeks of the season after shoulder surgery, said he wanted to go to a winner after two years in New York of losing.
"I can't wait to get out there," Harrington said. "The team is stacked. We're going to have a great opportunity."
And he hopes to play with 'Melo for many years to come.
"Things are going well," agent Aaron Goodwin said. "We’re just trying to get something worked out. But both parties are talking."It remains evident that Nate's stock is really only high when he can draw attention to himself being on a bad team. I wonder if he will once again use All Star Weekend to promote himself and be in the limelight at least for a weekend.
| New York Knicks (1-1) | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pos | min | fgm-a | 3pm-a | ftm-a | +/- | off | def | tot | ast | pf | st | to | bs | ba | pts | |
| B. Walker | G-F | 25:38 | 5-11 | 0-0 | 4-4 | -1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| C. Powell | F | 15:52 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | -7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan | 23:43 | 4-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | -7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | |
| A. Rautins | G | 25:01 | 1-6 | 1-6 | 0-0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| T. Douglas | G | 27:57 | 3-10 | 0-2 | 0-1 | +4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| P. Ewing Jr. | 20:58 | 3-6 | 1-3 | 1-2 | +16 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | |
| E. Boateng | 16:17 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 5-6 | +15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | |
| L. Fields | 23:26 | 7-11 | 1-3 | 2-3 | +12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 17 | |
| J. Carroll | 12:03 | 2-4 | 1-1 | 0-0 | +4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| R. Wittman | 09:05 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | +5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
FULL ARTICLELeBusted!
Getting locked up not the worst thing to happen to these Cavs fans
JULY 9--We're sure the hearts of the dozen arrestees pictured below--who kick off this week's mug shot roundup--broke last night when LeBron James delivered his televised rabbit punch to Cleveland Cavaliers fans everywhere. We'd suggest burning those jerseys, but they'd probably get collared for arson. As for the remaining perps, a few notes: 1) The natty looking Georgian, 46, on page #4 was busted yesterday on a contempt charge; 2) The proud American on page #4 was nabbed in South Carolina on, of course, July 4. He allegedly violated terms of a home detention sentence; 3) Popped yesterday on a prostitution count, the 25-year-old Floridian on page #5 put his best face forward during booking; and 4) It was bad enough that the 19-year-old Arizona man on page #7 was nabbed for threats and intimidation. But he got arrested on July 4, the birthday of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.
A friend found this for me; it's from a 2006 issue of ESPN Magazine and goes against all the crap that he just pulled this past week.
New York Knicks (0-1) | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pos | min | fgm-a | 3pm-a | ftm-a | +/- | off | def | tot | ast | pf | st | to | bs | ba | pts | |
| B. Walker | G-F | 27:52 | 6-14 | 1-6 | 1-1 | -9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| C. Powell | F | 24:06 | 1-6 | 0-1 | 4-5 | -7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Jordan | 12:41 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | -7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| A. Rautins | G | 30:03 | 4-11 | 3-8 | 0-0 | -14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| T. Douglas | G | 34:52 | 8-20 | 5-11 | 6-6 | -9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 27 |
| L. Fields | 25:25 | 6-8 | 0-1 | 1-3 | -2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | |
| E. Boateng | 06:41 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | +2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| L. Lyons | 22:15 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 4-5 | -5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| J. Carroll | 03:39 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| M. Landry | 10:53 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | +2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| Whiters | 01:32 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
This was an exclusive interview of Raymond Felton over the weekend. It's exclusive because he has not even addressed the New York or NBA media yet about his recent contract. He seems excited about becoming a Knick and has a good head on his shoulders. He mentioned that he would have liked a longer contract but he will adjust. I think Felton is a very good fit for this team, with his abilities to push the tempo and also threaten defenses with his ability to score.
Today at 4PM on MSG network, Walker, Douglas and co. take on Ty Lawson and the Nuggets youth. things to look for are the progression of Toney Douglas and the new look Bill Walker who is 27 pounds lighter.
Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;
As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.
This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.
Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.
The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.
There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.
You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.
You have given so much and deserve so much more.
In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:
"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE"
You can take it to the bank.
If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our "motivation" to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.
Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.
Sorry, but that's simply not how it works.
This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown "chosen one" sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And "who" we would want them to grow-up to become.
But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called "curse" on Cleveland, Ohio.
The self-declared former "King" will be taking the "curse" with him down south. And until he does "right" by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.
Just watch.
Sleep well, Cleveland.
Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day....
I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:
DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue....
Dan Gilbert
Majority Owner
Cleveland Cavaliers
Let me start by saying I am 105% percent convinced there are only two options, Knicks, Bulls there are no other logical options, whatsoever. I am also a 35 year Celtic fan so I am not a Knick homer on this.(1) Yesterday Wade and Bosh announced together. If they were all going to the same team, to show unity and unselfishness, they would have announced together; This would be too much of a slap in D. Wade's face. Lebron's gets a hour prime-time show, and D. Wade who some say is on the same exact level as Lebron, or extremely close, announces as he did.
(2) Regarding Broussard's report, is it possible it's the Knicks but to he has been told by ESPN to lean heavily someplace else. Yesterday all logic suggested it was the Knicks as the favorite now with Chicago a much smaller possibility, and all other contenders essentially out of it, yet Broussard didn't even mention the Knicks whatsoever all day long;
(3) Lebron's legacy- if he wins it everyone will say, but for D. Wade, he wouldn't have won it; Lebron knows he has to win titles to replace Jordan as the greatest ever, but he's no fool. People are inherently cruel, any title he wins with that powerhouse threesome, including 2 of the 3 best players in the game, will be massively tarnished;
(4) Zero chance D. Wade wants to give up his legacy as the face of the Heat. If Lebron's goes there suddenly it's more Lebron's Heat than Wade's Heat;
(5) It will be the Knicks- NY, the Garden, what bringing a title after 37 years would mean, he'd be a NY legend with just 1 title. I am fairly certain Lebron wants to win a title next year, with Curry's contract being so valuable to other teams, and a trade of his contract for a upper-level point guard being more than possible, throw in Amar'e and a great shooter in Gallinari, I believe Lebron believes he can win a title in NY next year. He knows he can't win it in Cleveland and he doesn't want to follow in Jordan's footsteps.
At 9:55 tonight this town will be rocking. Congrats Knick fans and good luck next year, not that you will need it.
Careful; this column will self-destruct at 9 p.m. on Thursday night. I can't remember writing a column that had a shorter shelf life. Twelve hours and it turns bad like leftover sushi. Let's call this "Twenty-Three Random Thoughts Before Tonight's LeBronocalypse."
1. A few weeks after the 2008 Summer Olympics, Someone Who Knows Things told me the following rumor: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Chris Paul became such good friends during the 2007 Olympic trials, and then during their 2008 Olympics excursion in Beijing, that they actually made a pact in China to play together. You know, like one of those pacts in a chick flick where two friends agree to get married if both of them are single when they turn 40.
As the rumor went, the 2010 free agents (LeBron, Wade and Bosh) would sign with the same team (at that point the Knicks if they created enough cap room), then Paul would join them in 2012 (or sooner). I thought this was the craziest thing I had ever heard -- so crazy, I only mentioned it once (in a November '08 column). It reminded me of being in my mid-20s in Las Vegas, gambling in the wee hours with my single high school buddies, then all of us drunkenly saying, "We should all pick one city and live there, we'd just go out and kill it every night!" Then you wake up the next morning and forget it was ever discussed. So even if the China rumor was true, that didn't mean it was actually going to happen. Or so I thought.
2. Fast-forward two summers: If LeBron says the word "Miami" tonight, does that mean the rumor was true? Or at least discussed by those guys? Because how could anyone make up something that loony? In 2008, you and I could have sat in a room for 10 hours trying to make up the craziest possible sports rumor and never come up with "Bosh, LeBron, Wade and/or Paul all made a pact in China to play together" without throwing in some improbably bizarre addendum like, "And they did so right after covering up the shooting of Jayson Williams' chauffeur." Was the rumor accurate? Did they stick to their guns? Will we ever find out the truth? Because if they did make a pact, that means …
3. Stephen A. Smith wins the Woodward & Bernstein Award for reporting last week that Wade/LeBron/Bosh in Miami was "done." I thought it was ridiculous. How could it be "done"? Bosh and LeBron were committing to an owner, president and coach without meeting any of them?
My guess at the time: Smith got word that Miami was in the lead, took it and ran with it, then hoped he was right. If he was right, he became the big winner of the summer of 2010. If he was wrong, he could always claim that he WAS right, but that something got screwed up and things changed. I busted his chops a few times on Twitter about it; when he reported one week later that Bosh might be heading for Houston, it sure seemed like Smith was talking out of his butt like Ace Ventura. But if LeBron announces Miami tonight? Then Smith is vindicated and I'm giving myself the byline "William J. Simmons" in my next column as an apology. Although …
4. I'm still not crazy about any report that says "done" unless it's definitely, 100 percent done.
Quick tangent: I like the engagement-ring corollary for all sports reporting. If a friend calls me and says "I'm engaged," I always want to know if they actually got the ring. Give her the ring, you're engaged. If not, "Let's get married" may have been something thrown out there during a drunken dinner, right after sex, during a makeup session after an argument … who the hell knows? I want to see that ring. Once you get the ring, there's no going back. You're locked in. You can get out, but it's almost impossible, and even worse, you might have a one-carat diamond whipped at you at 65 miles an hour.
Had Smith said, "I learned tonight that Miami is the prohibitive favorite to get all three; someone would have to go back on their word for this not to happen," then it played out the way it had, he would have been the NostradamuSAS of this thing. But he tried to get engaged without the ring. Still, he gets a partial credit for sniffing it out. Nobody else had the Miami scenario. And if Smith DID have accurate intelligence and it WAS done, then that means the guys panicked and concocted every event these past eight days -- every waffle, every leak, every extra meeting -- just to throw us off the scent.
Did they willfully snooker the general public? Four red flags indicate they may have (assuming LeBron signs with Miami, of course).
5. Red Flag No. 1: Wade and Bosh (who have the same agent, by the way) hired documentary crews to follow them around. As any reality-show junkie knows, if there's no drama, you have to manufacture it. Well, how could a free-agency documentary (or reality show, or web series, or whatever they do with this footage) have drama if both guys decided where they were going weeks ago? You'd have to center it around Wade's upcoming divorce, or Bosh struggling to decide whether to stay with his girlfriend or hook up with those gorgeous half-Cuban models that only exist in South Beach. And neither guy would ever do that. So what works? Indecision. Meetings. More meetings. A lot of "agonizing." If this footage ever sees the light of day, I bet the acting is worse than your average episode of "The Hills." You wait.
6. Red Flag No. 2: Wade's second visit with Chicago (the old "I really might do this, look, I'm meeting with them again!" trick) was a textbook reality ploy. Look, I've logged my fair share of reality TV over the years. It's one of my vices, along with gambling, Sour Patch kids, Sly Stallone movies and unprotected sex in hotel saunas. (Fine, I made that last one up.) If I were producing Wade's documentary, I would have told him, "After we meet with the Bulls, let's leak information that you want to meet them a second time, and that you want to be closer to your kids post-divorce, then after the meeting we'll shoot a scene of you walking along Lake Michigan deep in thought like you're deciding what to do. Just trust me. It will be great TV." That's what you do when you fake reality. And that second Chicago meeting sure seemed fake.
(Also helping this theory: Multiple teams -- that's right, multiple -- believe Wade went through the free-agency process partly to spy on Miami's competitors for Pat Riley. And if he did? Savvy. Why not? Did you ever think an NBA free-agency period would include the word "spy"? That would have been the wackiest thing that happened this summer if Darko Milicic, Channing Frye, Amir Johnson and Drew Gooden hadn't signed for a combined $114 million on the same day Atlanta offered Joe Johnson $120 million to thank him for leading the Hawks to a four-game sweep in Round 2 in which they were outscored by 25 points per game.)
7. Red Flag No. 3: Wade is 28 years old and just finishing a bitter divorce. He's earned max money for exactly three years and doesn't have a second payday looming in 2016 like Bosh and LeBron do. As we learned with Antoine Walker and Allen Iverson, "wealthy" superstars are never quite as wealthy as we think. Walking away from a sixth guaranteed year in Miami (and no state income tax) when he's battled serious injuries in the past? No way. This was his one chance to bank as much money as possible. It was always going to be Miami.
8. Red Flag No. 4: Bosh clearly wanted to emerge from this summer more famous than he was. I know this because he hired his own documentary crew. Because he made an "Entourage" cameo last month. Because someone who attended one of Bosh's free-agent meetings told me that Bosh was considerably more concerned with his camera crew than hearing the team's pitch. Because he asked his Twitter followers where he should play next year -- a slap in the face to everyone in Toronto who supported him these past seven years -- and because I attended two different 2010 Lakers games at which Bosh inexplicably walked a complete lap around the court while holding hands with his girlfriend, like someone who just wanted to be seen. And it worked. You see a 7-foot basketball player strolling 0.02 miles an hour around a basketball court, you're going to notice him.
If you want fame, then attaching yourself to Wade and/or LeBron in a major market is the way to go. That's what Bosh did. Orlando's Stan Van Gundy even hissed yesterday that Bosh followed Wade around for two weeks like a "lapdog." Doesn't sound like someone who ever seriously considered anywhere but Miami. Add those four red flags together and it's pretty clear, in retrospect, that Wade and Bosh never seriously looked elsewhere. You know, because any time you can play in a city with such rich basketball tradition, you have to do it. It's hard not to get inspired during the national anthem when you see Rony Seikaly's number in the rafters.
9. If one more person refers to Bosh as a "superstar," I'm going to scream. His résumé: seven seasons, 11 career playoff games, one second-team All-NBA selection, never played in a big game in his life other than the gold-medal game of the 2008 Olympics. Now he's fleeing frigid Toronto for South Beach, no state income tax, Dwyane Wade, max money and the playoffs … and this makes him a "superstar"? Did we really drop our standards that low?
Look, I need my NBA superstar to sell tickets, generate interest locally and nationally, singlehandedly guarantee an average supporting cast 45-50 wins, and potentially be the best player on a Finals team if the other pieces are in place, which means only LeBron, Wade, Howard, Durant and Kobe qualify. There's a level just a shade below (the Almost-But-Not-Quite-Superstar) with Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Roy, Chris Paul and Deron Williams. (Note: I think Derrick Rose gets there next season.) Then you have elite guys like Bosh, Gasol and Amare Stoudemire who need good teammates to help them thrive … and if they don't have them, you're heading to the lottery.
You know what we call these people? All-Stars. Although if LeBron picks Miami, we have to call Bosh something else: "lucky." On a good team, he could absolutely thrive like Pau Gasol did on the Lakers, although he's not as sure a bet because Gasol played in so many big games overseas before the Lakers stole him. (Bosh had the opposite experience: He's never played in a Sweet 16, a Game 7 or even Round 2 of the NBA playoffs.) Hearing Bosh referred to as a "superstar" these past few weeks left me with the same face Jake had on Monday's "Bachelor" special when Vienna wouldn't shut up and kept undermining and emasculating him. If Chris Bosh is your third-best player, you're in tremendous shape. Just don't think you can win a title with a 228-pound big man who doesn't block shots and grabs 10 rebounds a night. You need more help than that. Which brings us to …
10. Let's say LeBron signs with Miami. Can you even make the Finals with LeBron, Bosh, Wade and nine minimum-salary guys? Because that might be next year's team … and if that's what happens, the answer is "no effing way." You don't win titles just because of your top three. That belittles the meaning of guys like Derek Fisher, Robert Horry, Steve Kerr, John Paxson, Brian Shaw … you could go on for hours naming role players who swung a title. The 2008 Celts lucked out by getting James Posey, Eddie House and P.J. Brown for practically nothing; Miami wouldn't have that luxury this summer, not with so many role players jockeying for contracts one year before the possible lockout. Nobody is taking less money to showcase themselves for a summer that might not happen. Even if Miami could spin Michael Beasley for a fourth guy (say, Trevor Ariza), that's still not enough. They'd need one more rebounder, point guard, a 3-point shooter and a center. Good luck.
11. Another problem: You realize how many minutes these guys would log on a three-man team? 42-44 minutes for 100 games … and if anyone missed an extended stretch of games, then that would put even more pressure on the other two. Crazy. No way they win more than 50, especially with teams gunning for them every night. We've also never seen two perimeter superstar alpha dogs coexist for an NBA title -- not even when Jerry West and Elgin Baylor teamed up with Wilt Chamberlain against the aging Celtics in 1969. LeBron would have to accept becoming Mega-Pippen to Wade's Jordan. (Yeah, right.) Even during the final quarter of the 2008 gold-medal game, when everyone on the American team was staring at each other wondering who was going to step up against a red-hot Spain team, there were a few minutes of tentative, "I don't want to step on anyone's toes here" basketball before Kobe said "Screw it, get out of my way" and took over the key portion of the game.
Well, at some point, Wade and LeBron will have one of those 2008 Spain moments … but what happens if both guys say "Screw it, get out of my way"? You need to have a special type of mentality to want that moment; that's why Scottie Pippen melted down in that 1994 Bulls-Knicks playoff game, because Phil Jackson had spent that entire year building him up and making him think "We can win without Jordan, you're just as good, we can DO THIS," then designed the biggest play of the season for someone else. It was a slap in the face. Pippen reacted terribly, but still, don't you want him to be pissed there? Isn't that what being an alpha dog is all about? Don't you need a special level of swagger and confidence to carry that load every night? And once you reach that level, doesn't it become impossible to share the spotlight with someone else? Of course …
12. Maybe LeBron knows that he isn't wired that way.
Maybe he wants to be an unselfish creator like Magic or a do-it-all wingman like Pippen. Maybe he has too much Doctor J in him, as I theorized after Game 6. Maybe he believes that if Wade carries the crunch-time load, it will free LeBron to do LeBron things and average a triple-double every game without having that burden of "I've gotta create every shot for us in the final four minutes." Maybe he thinks it's his best chance to win. And if so …
13. I think it's a cop-out. Any super-competitive person would rather beat Dwyane Wade than play with him. Don't you want to find the Ali to your Frazier and have that rival pull the greatness out of you? That's why I'm holding out hope that LeBron signs with New York or Chicago (or stays in Cleveland), because he'd be saying, "Fine. Kobe, Dwight and Melo all have their teams. Wade and Bosh have their teams. The Celtics are still there. Durant's team is coming. I'm gonna go out and build MY team, and I'm kicking all their asses." That's what Jordan would have done. Hell, that's what Kobe would have done.
In May, after the Cavs were ousted in the conference semifinals, I wrote that LeBron was facing one of the greatest sports decisions ever: "winning (Chicago), loyalty (Cleveland) or a chance at immortality (New York)."
I never thought he would pick "HELP!"
14. LeBron joining Wade after his 2010 playoffs flameout, in my opinion, is like Conan O'Brien getting kicked in the teeth by NBC, then overreacting and forming a late-night version of "The View" with Chris Rock, Adam Carolla and Jeffrey Ross over trying to create his own show somewhere else. (Note to Carolla and Ross: Don't get excited, it's only a hypothetical.) Total cop-out. The move of someone who, deep down, doesn't totally trust his own talents any more. And maybe he doesn't.
15. What should LeBron do? Pick Chicago. That's where the rings are. The fact that he didn't say to Bosh, "Come to Chicago with me, we'll play with Rose and Noah and win six titles together" was the single most disappointing outcome of the summer. That team would have been a true juggernaut with pieces that actually complemented each other, unlike this pickup-basketball situation that's brewing in Miami. Even with Boozer there in Bosh's place -- and I think he's a great fit for them, with or without LeBron -- it could still translate to multiple titles, because Rose could have been the best second banana since Kobe in 2001.
Just know that Kobe would have caught a whiff of those rings and gone to Chicago. Same with Jordan. Same with Magic and Bird. Chicago had the biggest competitive advantage of anyone: room for two max guys along with an under-23 franchise point guard and one of the only elite defender/rebounder big men in basketball. How can you care about winning and NOT go to Chicago?
16. I need to make that point a second time: How can you care about winning and NOT go to Chicago? Unless …
17. LeBron picks New York. Ballsiest move. Fulfills his "global icon" wishes, puts him in the best possible basketball city, allows him to live a relatively normal life in our biggest city, gives him the biggest possible challenge (saving basketball in New York) and the biggest possible reward (going down in history as the guy who saved basketball in New York). I wouldn't love the thought of him crushing Cleveland for a similarly shaky situation, but if he spun it the right way, you could talk me into it. And here are the words I'd want to hear:
"Bringing New York a championship -- and doing it in the biggest city in America, in the best arena to play basketball -- would mean more to more people than anything else I could do as a basketball player. It's a challenge I could not resist."
Say that and I'm signing off. Anything less … no.
18. I ruled out the Knicks last week after details trickled out about LeBron's comical New York meeting, which sounded like a "Saturday Night Live" sketch because of Donnie Walsh being in a wheelchair and wearing a neck brace (he just had neck surgery), and James Dolan being James Dolan. Now the Knicks are gaining momentum thanks to the "He's coming!" buzz that drove MSG's stock price up 6.5 percent Wednesday. Where did this buzz come from? As far as I can tell, nowhere. But there's buzzing. You have to believe me. My BlackBerry practically blew up yesterday with e-mails from sports-industry friends with "KNICKS???" in the subject heading.
If he spurns them, then suddenly we're looking at the most disastrous decade in the history of New York sports -- first the Layden Era, then the Isiah Era, then Donnie Walsh spending two years gutting the team so he could spend $100 million on a guy with a bad knee and a bad eye who hasn't played defense in six years. Do you realize the Knicks will have given away top-10 lottery picks in 2004, '06, '07, '09, '10 and, potentially, '11 and '12 without making the playoffs or landing one superstar? How is that even possible?
(Important note: The fact that David Stern stuck Rod Thorn in New Jersey, Walsh in New York, David Kahn in Minnesota and Stu Jackson in Vancouver has to be added to his Wikipedia page. Like, right now. He's the Pied Piper for putrid GMs.)
19. I always thought the goal was winning rings. That's what Russell, Bird, Magic and Jordan taught us. That's what I grew up believing. But sports are different now. You're a brand as much as an athlete. In the past 72 hours, with the suspense building for his announcement, LeBron created a Twitter account, launched his own website and agreed with ESPN on a one-hour live selection show that, incredibly, was the exact same idea that a Columbus reader named Drew had in my Thanksgiving '09 mailbag … but I thought he was kidding. Now I think he's Nostradamus. Or even NostradamuSAS.
Drew from Columbus looked into the future, and here's what he saw: A world in which it was totally conceivable that an NBA superstar would sell an hour-long show in which he picked his next team and tainted his legacy in the process. I played along and pushed a "Bachelor"-type setup ("The LeBrachelor!") in which LeBron whittled 29 teams down to six, then four, then two, then one over the course of six episodes. Hell, have him hand out roses. Why not? It's not like this would actually happen, right?
20. Seven months later, it's happening. I can't wait to watch for the same reasons I couldn't turn away from O.J.'s Bronco chase or the Artest melee: it's Car Wreck Television. If LeBron picks anyone other than the Cavaliers, it will be the cruelest television moment since David Chase ended "The Sopranos" by making everyone think they lost power. Cleveland fans will never forgive LeBron, nor should they. He knows better than anyone what kind of sports anguish they have suffered over the years. Losing LeBron on a contrived one-hour show would be worse than Byner's fumble, Jose Mesa, the Game 5 meltdown against Boston, The Drive, The Shot and everything else. At least those stomach-punch moments weren't preordained, unless you believe God hates Cleveland (entirely possible, by the way). This stomach-punch moment? Calculated. By a local kid they loved, defended and revered.
It would be unforgivable. Repeat: unforgivable. I don't have a dog in this race -- as a Celtics fan, I wanted to see him go anywhere but Chicago -- but LeBron doing this show after what happened in the 2010 playoffs actually turned me against him. No small feat. I was one of his biggest defenders. Not anymore.
And here's where I really worry, because I don't think LeBron James has anyone in his life with enough juice to hurl his or her body in front of the concept of "I'm going to announce during a one-hour live show that I'm playing somewhere other than Cleveland." It's the best and worst thing about him -- he has remained fiercely loyal to his high school friends, but at the same time, he's surrounded by people his own age who don't stand up to him and don't know any better. Picking anyone other than Cleveland on this show would be the meanest thing any athlete has ever done to a city. But he might. Assuming he's not malicious, and that he's just a self-absorbed kid who apparently lost all perspective, that doesn't make him much different than most child stars who became famous before they could legally drink -- or, for that matter, Tiger Woods. That's just the way this stuff works. Too much, too fast, too soon. You don't lose your way all at once; just a little at a time. Then one day you look up and there's a TMZ photo spread with 15 of your mistresses, or you're agreeing to stab an entire city in the heart on a one-hour television show.
(When Kevin Durant announced his own five-year, $86 million extension with an endearingly simple tweet yesterday, we all had the same thought: "Now that's how it's done." Pretty sad that an NBA star stood out for being humble and only caring about basketball.)
21. I don't think LeBron will pick Cleveland for the simple reason that he didn't want to meet with Tom Izzo a few weeks ago. If he was staying, he would have wanted to meet someone who may have been his next coach. He didn't care. That tells me he's gone. But what do I know?
22. I think he should pick Chicago, and if not the Bulls, then New York. But I live in a dream world where NBA superstars only care about winning titles and/or playing in the biggest basketball cities with sophisticated fans and tons of history. The truth is, New York might not mean anything to LeBron, just like college football recruits don't care about Notre Dame any more. He isn't old enough to remember Frazier's Knicks, or Bernard's Knicks … hell, he's barely old enough to remember Ewing's Knicks. And he might be too egotistical to follow Jordan in Chicago, like it was the sloppy seconds of NBA cities or something. But what do I know?
23. Before I heard that tomorrow's announcement was taking place in Greenwich, Conn., I would have bet anything on Miami … as well as my next column having the byline "William J. Simmons." The Greenwich thing threw me for a loop. I am still picking Miami. Cautiously. Then again, what do I know?
(Actually, I do know one thing: By going for 24 thoughts instead of 23, I have to nail only six of them to win the LeBronocalypse MVP. Let's go one more.)
24. The goofiest part of these past few weeks: The way media people have been speculating in a way that seems like a cross between learned information and opinion, except we're never really sure what's real and what's conjecture. Thanks to Twitter and the 24/7 news cycle, the lines have been blurred completely. Chuck Klosterman thinks the true hero of the LeBron saga is Brian Windhorst, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter who cranked out articles and Tweets by the boatload -- never speculation, always facts, always backed up by sources, and there were a couple of times when he made you wonder, "Wait a second, is Windhorst hiding under a table in LeBron's office right now?" Maybe he was.
Sifting through the various reports and tweets, trying to figure out fact from fiction, glancing at my BlackBerry every 15 seconds to see if anyone e-mailed me … that's what I'll remember from the LeBronocalypse more than anything else. And also, who knew anyone could keep a secret for this long in the Twitter/TMZ Era? Even yesterday, when I was batting around LeBron theories with my buddy Connor, we were breaking down the Greenwich thing and had this exchange:
-- Connor: "Greenwich, that's nine minutes from the Knicks' practice facility. That has to mean something."
-- Me (thinking): "Maybe they KNEW it was nine minutes from the Knicks' practice facility, so they put it there to throw people off the scent."
I mean … what the hell kind of sporting event is this? It's like college signing day crossed with JFK's assassination. LeBron's team wanted to keep people talking and promote his website, and really, that's what happened. The man nearly exploded Twitter and melted ESPN. He transcended free agency, the World Cup, everything. He will draw a massive television audience tonight; he's the only professional athlete who could have pulled that off.
What a week for LeBron's brand. I just hope he remembers to wipe the blood off the knife after he pulls it from Cleveland's back.
Bill Simmons is a columnist for ESPN.com and the author of the recent New York Times best-seller "The Book of Basketball." For every Simmons column and podcast, check out Sports Guy's World. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sportsguy33.
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