ESPN Doesn't want to Upset Lebron

This Article from NBC is very interesting. ESPN apparently pulled an article about Lebron hosting a party in Las Vegas only minutes after it went up.

Was This the Best Football Offseason Ever?

I say Yes! Why was it? Was this the best draft class ever? Was it because the Bears got some of the top free agents? How about USC being suspended from post season play? All good reasons to think it was a good offseason, but no. There has not been a lull in sports since the final seconds ticked off the Saints Super Bowl win over the Colts. Think about it, the Super Bowl was played on February 7th, 2010. Let’s take a look at what’s happened since then.

Just five days after the Super Bowl the Winter Olympics began. The Olympics started February 12th and went all the way through the month of February (normally the most boring sports month of the year). Even if you don’t normally get caught up in the Olympics, it was hard not to follow the USA hockey team on it’s way to the Silver Medal. It was even harder to avoid Olympic hockey if you were a Blackhawks fan who send 6 players, all of whom played in the Gold or Bronze medal games. The USA set the record for medals in a Winter games while their neighbors to the north took home the most Gold Medals in a good showing for the host nation.

LeBron James: The Moron

A bit late but better than never. This is my article on why LeBron James is a total moron. LeBron James just left a team that in two consecutive years had the best record in the NBA. They were eliminated last year possibly because of his injuries in the playoffs. Oh, and the fact that he quit.

Now, LeBron James has taken his talents to South Beach. He has abandoned a team that he essentially built up. He has taken his "brand" and thrown it down the toilet. He is playing on Dwyane Wade's team with the uber-overrated Chris Bosh. He seems to think he has given the Cavs fans a lot. Well, he gave them nothing but playoff losses and heartache.

Bulls Free Agency Derby

I thought we'd lead today with some linkage from around the world, and see what's being written about this story you may have heard about - there are a few decent free agents in the NBA this year, apparently?

One of the top three picks from the 2003 draft JUST SIGNED A HUGE DEAL WITH MINNESOTA!!!!!

ESPN's Jon Greenberg: Chicago is ready for new sports King <- This is a well-written and honest look at where the Bulls and the sports fans of Chicago stand. There are bits that LeBron might not love hearing...

"The Bulls don't need a leader. Joakim Noah has donned that mantle. He's earned it. Teammates like him and they have started to look to him to speak to the press on their behalf and as a last line of defense on the court.

I know it sounds crazy to outsiders: The guy who acted the fool after winning NCAA titles and wore the bow tie to the draft is a legit NBA leader?"

... but where Chicago has a serious edge with LeBron is exactly in this respect. We don't need to BS with him like Miami, New York, New Jersey. There's no Kool-Aid to be drank here in order to get the King to sign. Just look at Chicago. Just look at the Bulls. I love it.

Six out of eight ESPN experts think Bron is coming to Chicago.

Chris Bosh loves twitter. A good source for updates straight from the guy himself. I don't like Twitter but I will make an exception here.

Pooooooor Cleveland. Did you know they lead the nation in drifters? From the Trib...

"AKRON, Ohio — There's a consensus among sports fans here that — despite the Jordan shot over Craig Ehlo, John Elway's Drive and Jose Mesa's blown save in the World Series — the worst tragedy in Cleveland sports history occurred when Art Modell packed up the Browns and left for Baltimore for seemingly no good reason.

As the countdown to the start of free agency neared an end, fans in this passionate but championship-deprived sports town were bracing for the sobering possibility that LeBron James may play for another city next season."

So, yeah. The Nets and Knicks are in Akron today to talk with LeBron, the first of the suitors to make their pitches. Let me guess. You're goanna tell him New York is awesome. Hey, we have great deli in Chicago too, man. And it's less crowded and dogs don't crap on the sidewalks as much. And it smells better in Chicago. Anyway. From the NYTimes' great sports section...

“We tried to put him in a New York state of mind,” Knicks Coach Mike D’Antoni said after the meeting with James.

After two years of diligently creating the cap room to pursue James — but without being able to say so publicly, D’Antoni got a little giddy.

“You know what was good? LeBron James being there,” D’Antoni said. “No one can call me for tampering. It’s liberating, really.”

I kinda think the Knicks have given up. That article mentions they've already offered Joe Johnson a max deal, too. Plus, they know they're terrible, no matter what eternal optimist Coach Mikey has to say. Now, the (soon-to-be) Brooklyn Nets, with Russian Mark Cuban and Jay-Z, they interest me a bit more, because LeBron does want to be a global icon. Times?

The Nets’ contingent, led by the new owner Mikhail Prokhorov, President Rod Thorn, Coach Avery Johnson and the music mogul Jay-Z — a Nets shareholder and a close friend of James — arrived at the offices of IMG in a series of black town cars at 10:58 a.m. James, who grew up in nearby Akron, arrived earlier, in a white sports-utility vehicle.

“Meeting went well,” Johnson shouted while walking out.

I don't think LeBron wants to play for The Little General, though. He might be more interested in Byron Scott, the Cavs' new coach. Cleveland sure thinks so, anyway.

God, I could go on for days with this stuff. Here's my prediction as of now:

Bosh/Wade to the Heat. Though I'm still not giving up on D-Wade coming to Chicago if the chips fall a certain way. Mostly, I think he's just trying to avoid living in the same town as his ex wife.

Johnson/Amare in New York, reunited with D'Antoni. God, I could get ten assists a game playing point guard for that team. Steve Nash won the MVP with those guys in 2004-05, by the way. Chris Paul, anybody? Joe Johnson actually may well be staying put in Atlanta and taking the money, according to ESPN.

LeBron/David Lee for the Bulls. Which gives us probably the best top seven in the league, especially if we add a SG like Korver or (sigh) Redick. Yes, that hurt.

Dirk stays in Dallas.

More to come. God, the 24 hour news cycle is rough!

Wilbon, Kornheiser, Simmons and Le Batard Discuss NBA Free Agency

Wait... I have the Internet?

Hello everyone. I finally got internet today, as I've been without it since May 29th. So, now I can post again. I'd like to address today's big news: Lebron, Wade, and Bosh meeting in Miami.

The good news is Lebron has been very non-committal. In fact, Chad Ford puts the Bulls chance of landing him at 40%. Which is by far the highest. If he comes here, I think it's a done deal with Bosh. I figure a huge selling point should be the fact that while Wade is very good he will be 29 this next season. While LeBron and Bosh are 26. The Bulls should emphasize that in a few years Wade's abilities will taper off. So, once Bosh and LeBron's career reaches its twilight there will be no one to pick up the slack. However, the Bulls have D-Rose who will be in his prime at the time Bosh and LeBron's ability tapers off, and thus he could lead them to extra titles.

The Bulls roster would be incredible next year with both of them, as we know. Can you say dynasty?

Rose - PG

Deng - SG

James - SF

Bosh - PF

Noah - C

Let's get this done Bulls!

Lebron and Bosh to the Bulls? Vegas Thinks so

I'm not saying this is meaningful, but Vegas/Bookies always seem to know more then anyone else when it comes to setting lines. That is why I found this comment from Bill Simmons, on his sports guy page at ESPN.com, so intresting. Simmons says "48 hrs ago: sportsbook.com had LeBron at +125 to sign w/ Bulls. Bosh was +300. Now? They're both -500. Hmmmmmm."

Mike D'Antoni, You Are Insane

This gem is from the New York Post today.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/hinrich_maneuver_EYxQj5hD0CoYEBmMNnic3M#ixzz0rsqbQ7gg

"This sets the course of the franchise for the next 10 years," D'Antoni said.The Bulls have a stronger cast in star point guard Derrick Rose, two young big men Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, and scoring forward Luol Deng.The Knicks' lone hope in landing James was having him come aboard with either Bosh or Stoudemire to join their young corps of Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas and Bill Walker."Our core young players can be put up against anybody," D'Antoni said. "You might smirk, but we have some pieces that are very interesting. I'm confident because we have a great product. We're selling the best place in the world to live and play."

Okay, let's see: Derrick Rose vs. Toney Douglas. ROSE

Luol Deng vs. Bill Walker. DENG

Danilo Galinari vs. Taj Gibson. GIBSON (close, but he did average a double-double most of the season!)

Joakim Noah vs. Wilson Chandler. NOAH

I'm smirking, Mikey, I'm smirking. It's okay though, Joe Johnson is a good fit in your system! And he will enjoy the hell out of that max contract.

I Know, I Know, Lakers vs. Celtics, But...

Props to Send Lebron to Chicago for this.



At this point, let's do the math. Nets, Knicks, Heat, Bulls, Clippers. I pretty much think that's it.

The Nets have a core of Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, and the #3 pick. They are also coming off just a godawful season.

The Knicks are terrible.

The Heat would give Bron a great sidekick in D-Wade, but not a whole lot else.

The Clippers' have a nice supporting cast, not too bad -- Kaman, an aging but still effective Baron Davis, Eric Gordon.

And then we have the Bulls. As this video points out, LeBron James and Derrick Rose may be the two most athletic stars in the game today. Rose is only 21. James still has, what, eight good years left (if we use the Garnett model for high school sustainability)?

Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich, and Luol Deng are rock solid in their roles. This is a team that could become a dynasty with one simple move. No reaching for Bosh or Joe Johnson, or Amare. No complications.

Call it 'Just Add LeBron,' because unlike every other suitor, that is all the Bulls have to do to become instant championship favorites. Of course, we knew this already. But hey, cool video right?

Kelvin Sampson next head coach for the Bulls?

I saw this today thought it was interesting. KC Johnson of the Tribune mentions in his article that the Bulls could look at former IU and Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson for the vacant head coaching position. I always thought he was a solid X's & O's coach, but not sure how he would do at the NBA level. Any other thoughts on this?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-spt-0520-bulls-chicago--20100519,0,3151299.story

The LeBron Derby...A One Team Race?

This morning I awoke to the following text from ESPN Alerts (which, btw, is the greatest service ever):

"ESPN CHI CLE - Chad Ford: Three NBA GMs think Bulls will land Lebron James; more at http://budurl.com/FordOnLeBron"

So is LeBron on the verge of becoming a Bull? Assuming those three GMs aren’t complete idiots (which is entirely possible with the state of some NBA teams)…then I say YES, yes he is.

According to Chad Ford’s story, one of the GMs offered up a scenario that would send Luol Deng to the Cavs in a sign and trade in order to land Wade or Bosh as LeBron’s running mate. I don’t know if the Cavs go for that – but assuming it’s a sign and trade than, correct me if I’m wrong, I believe the Bulls would be able to add on that extra $3oM and 1 year that only the Cavs currently can.

Chad also mentioned that two of the GMs believe that Calipari will be the Bulls next head coach. Cal mentioned last week he had no interest in the Bulls coaching vacancy, however, I don’t think you can turn down an opportunity to coach this line-up:

PG: Derrick Rose

SG: LeBron James

SF: James Johnson? (With no Deng this will be an interesting position…the Bulls could try and draft somebody like Gordon Heyward or Damion Jones to develop and then use the mid-level exception to sign a veteran SF)

PF: Chris Bosh

C: Joakim Noah

All the points above are moot if LeBron chooses to stay in Cleveland…but we ARE talking about Cleveland –

Do you think LeBron would rather be a part of this:



Or this…:




My early prediction? LeBron to the Bulls. The Knicks will sign Joe Johnson to a max deal and regret it for the next decade.

2010 NBA Free Agency Part 2

So all the trades are in. The Bulls have cleared enough money to sign, potentially, one max FA and another player around 6-10 million. The Knicks have cleared enough room to sign two max free agents and then there are the Clippers who have near enough cap room for one max free agent. On its face, everyone is talking about how the Knicks are going to end up with Lebron and someone else. I just don't see it. If Lebron wanted to play with Knicks alongside another max free agent, they would have no other supporting cast. They would have no bench except for undrafted free agents and a late first round pick.

So, really, the only thing attracting Lebron to NY would be the promotions, a coach, and a great second player. The rest of the team would suck. That would not be enough to win a championship, or multiple championships, and NY has strained itself for the next few years in terms of being able to bring in talent (they gave up their pick next year as well I believe).

Now you go to the Bulls. The second largest market (since LA is split with two teams). A young playoff caliber team with a budding superstar. Lebron would get his wish to play along side another superstar, and would also have a team that is already talented. The promotions in Chicago would be huge, especially since Michael Jordan would also an even closer connection of his.

Minus Lebron (pre-Antwan Jamison) I'd say the Bulls were a better team than the Cavs. And to be honest, if I'm LeBron and I want to leave Cleveland (as I'm sure any rational human being would) I would choose Chicago over any of the other cities. The talent is there, the money is there, the promotions are there, and so are the connections. New York would only offer the promotions and money.

Of course, all the LeBron to NY hype is b/c ESPN is right outside NY and they cannot see beyond their own walls. So, I say bring on LeBron. He would change the face of this team immediately.

2010 NBA Free Agency

Well, here we are about half way through the NBA season and the biggest story isn't the Lakers, Cavs, Magic, Celtics, or any other team. It is what is going to happen this offseason. The free agent market is PACKED with Super Stars. You have:

Amare Stoudamire (If he opts out of his current contract)
D'Wayne Wade
Lebron James
Chris Bosh
Joe Johnson
Ray Allen
Paul Pierce
Dirk Nowitzki
Yao Ming
Kobe Bryant
Carlos Boozer

While many of these players do have player options or early termination options, this is still quite an impressive list. The Bulls easily have room to sign one of these guys, the question becomes if the Bulls get rid of Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, or John Salmons, will they have enough money to sign two of these guys?

I think yes. Ideally, with the group of players that they have already, which two should they sign? I don't know. If this was an ideal world, which it's not, I would hope they go with the two best players available IMO. And that is D'wayne Wade and LeBron James. I know, I know, the Bulls need low post scoring. However, you don't need anything when you have these two. That team would probably look like this:

Derrick Rose PG
D'wayne Wade SG
LeBron James SF
Joakim Noah C
Taj Gibson/Tyrus Thomas PF

However, if you are building a complete team than I think the Bulls should go Lebron and Bosh. Imagine if somehow a miracle occurred and the Bulls got rid of Hinrich and Salmons for expiring contracts. This would be their team:

Derrick Rose PG
LeBron James SG
Luol Deng SF
Chris Bosh PF
Joakim Noah C

That is a championship winner right there. There is way too many weapons on that roster. However, what I really think will happen is the Bulls will sign one max free agent and settle for someone like a Joe Johnson (which I have no problem with).

Derrick Rose PG
Joe Johnson SG
Luol Deng SF
Chris Bosh PF
Joakim Noah C

That is a team that can win the East if you ask me. However, I'm still going to hope and pray that the Bulls go balls out!

Myth Buster

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/07/22/lebron_dunk/index.html

If that's what everyone has been getting excited about, the mythical Crawford dunk on King James, I think Nike should get all the credit for keeping Lebron's name in the news during the summer months. I'll give Crawford credit for a nice two handed jam, but the play doesn't really smack in of 'In Your Face!'. Just like anything ESPN broadcasts, too much hype. Opinions?