Comic Sans Gold
Yeah yeah, LeBron is going to Miami and will play with these two. Oh, and Wade and Bosh. (How the other 7 spots on the roster get filled will be interesting to say the least.) But the most shocking moment last night for me was reading this insane open letter to "Cleveland and Northeast Ohio."
Some highlights:
Some highlights:
our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this eveningI can't. . . I don't even know where to start. The strangest reaction I have is anger and frustration that our economic system allows this guy to have enough money to be majority owner of an NBA franchise. Mostly I just think it's funny. I'm also pretty excited to see Wade Bosh and James play together next year.
over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.
You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.
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.
posted by b r christensen at 7/09/2010 08:11:00 AM
15 Comments:
I have zero sympathy for the owner: he made his money peddling mortgages and casinos. But, it was probably a good move on his part to write the open letter. He is just articulating what many people in Cleveland are feeling and he is trying to transform that anger into spiteful ticket sales.
The idea of the Lakers paying the Heat makes me never want to watch the NBA ever again.
Why hate on heat?
Not a good move when the letter is pretty much universally condemned by NBA players. Anyone choosing between Cavs and another team will remember.
Why root for the Heat? They are now just like the carpetbagging 2004 Lakers and 2008-whenever Celtics. And I still can't forgive their 2005 Championship which was another result of the preferential treatment stars get from refs.
Plus, it just adds further evidence that the NBA has the least parity among sports in the USA. Only 7 franchises have won the NBA Championship in the past 26 years, and that trend looks likely to continue for sometime to come. Why even bother watching?
I can't believe you don't feel any sympathy for the Cleveland franchise. They can't even land Kwame Brown now. LeBron royally screwed them in front of a national audience.
To me the Heat aren't like the '04 Lakers at all. Besides being the Lakers the main reason that team was hateable was that Malone and Payton pretty much just came along for the ride, the Lakers had a championship caliber team already, Malone and Payton signed on chasing a ring.
The Celtics '08 championship run was made possible by pretty much the same phenomenon as the Lakers '09 championship, a "rival" GM with close ties to the team made a questionable trade that provided the Celtics (Lakers) with HOF type talent.
Wade, Bosh and James are now the Heat. There are two other players under contract on that team, there's no foundation. I think it's an interesting experiment. It was also pretty much entirely the players' idea, I mean Riley was thrilled about it I'm sure, but he's not the mastermind here, the players said something like, "wouldn't it be awesome if we could play together?" and made it happen.
As for the Cavs, please explain to me how LeBron screwed them. Free agency means exactly that. This is the reason why the contract extension he signed in '06 was for only three years with a player option for four. Wade signed a similar 3 year plus player option with the Heat, Bosh signed one with the Raptors. Did Bosh screw the Raptors? The Heat did an better job remaining competetive (47-35, 5th seed last year) and still giving themselves financial flexibility.
Out of these GMs who do you think could best convince you he knows how to put together a championship team?
Donnie Walsh (please)
Rod Thorn (just stepped down)
Gar Forman (replaced Paxon in 09)
Chris Grant (replaced Danny Ferry 1 month ago.)
Pat Riley (needs no introduction)
Cleveland still has a decent team, and now has about $12M in cap space. Mo Williams, Jamison, Varejao, JJ Hickson. 12 million bucks and an owner who will be irrationally motivated to spend. A decent GM can work with that.
Agreed. And I'm not entirely sure that it will work out for Miami either. Wade is the only played who is willing to give ANYTHING to win. LBJ... not so much. Bosh... ha!
The real question: Who does Shaq sign a Malone contract with on Monday. Miami? L.A.? Or Dallas?
Sorry, that was a poor choice of words. I meant embarrassed instead of screwed.
I'll give you that it is going to be an interesting experiment. And you mean to tell me that you don't hope the Miami Heat implode spectacularly during the playoffs just for some juicy schadenfreude?
And can we turn these comments into ragging on Nell's team for poaching the Jazz's diamonds in the rough. Draft your own players assholes!
Guys the Jazz should look at instead of matching the Wes Matthews offer:
Josh Howard
Richard Jefferson
Roger Mason
Rasual Butler
Ronnie Brewer
Marquis Daniels
Eddie House
Tracy McGrady
But yeah, wtf blazers, I bet they wouldn't be pulling this crap if Legless Larry were still around.
Take the more expensive guys off that list if Al Jeff is really joining the fold.
Start the season with:
1- D-Will / Price - Gaines
2- CJ Miles / Hayward - Jeffers (Mason?)
3- AK / Hayward - Millsap?
4- Millsap / Jefferson - AK - Evans
5- Jefferson / Fesenko
Memo comes back and makes the front court rotation a LOT stronger. Still worried about depth at 2 and 3, maybe O'Connor included Koof in the Jefferson deal to give the Jazz more space for Wes Matthews' contract? I think it would be overpaying, and I think I'd rather have the financial flexibility than Matthews for 5 years. No point in locking up a guy like Matthews for 3 more years than Deron.
The Matthews contract is a tough call. Part of me thinks they might match just because Portland is a division rival. It would be different story if Matthews was being courted by the Raptors.
All in all, I like the Jefferson trade. At the very least it will be interesting to see how the Jazz play minus Boozer now.
How has Hayward looked in the summer league?
I haven't watched any video, but from the reports I've read he has shown some nice flashes, but hasn't overwhelmed.
He has a nice shot and good handles, especially for his size. I think he could run point forward for the Jazz the same way AK has in the past.
Wes Matthews
5 years 34M
OR
Raja Bell
3 years 10M
If Raja Bell stays healthy, and that's an if the size of Charles Barkley's ass, it's a good move for the Jazz. I guess Paul Allen can afford it, but 9.2 million next year for B-Roy's backup? In Bell Jazz get great defense and solid 3 pt shooting from the 2 guard, exactly what they needed.
Forgot to mention the nice veteran presence Bell brings as well
D-Will (age 26)
Bell (34)
AK (29)
Millsap (25)
Jefferson (26)
with CJ, Hayward, Price, Evans and Fesenko who are all young as backups. Hopefully Okur comes back soon and can take Fesenko's minutes away.
Gotta say, it looks pretty strong to me. Jazz have done better than division rivals so far this offseason. Portland will, of course, be better as long as they're healthier, so they're scary. Denver adding Harrington is laughable. JR Smith and Harrington will not co-exist very well. Though I've always thought Harrington was underrated he needs the ball to be effective, so does JR, something will have to give. Of course the downside of this is that Denver now has TWO guys on their bench who could put up 30 any given night.
Post a Comment
<< Home