tOfficial "2014 LeBron James" Superthread

[HammerDown]

Dan Gilbert makes Jim Irsay look like a man of character.

 

[Davis_Mike]

Once again.....AMARE HAD NO SAY IN THE TRADE!!! Suns could have moved him IF THEY WANTED TO! The ball was in the Suns court, not Cleveland's. At the end of the day......THE SUNS DECIDED NOT TO MOVE HIM!!

How is it James fault that the Suns didn't trade Amare???????????

Exactly. The trade didn't happen because Cleveland didn't have enough assets to get a deal done. Offering JJ Hickson & a bag of ships was not going to get them Amare. He had zero say in whether he was traded or not.

 

[Jims_Doors]

Dude, I know you are smarter than this. There are 3 parts to a trade, when trying to trade an expiring contract player. The two teams have to agree of course, but what the team, in this case the Cavs, want to know is if Amare will sign an extension with them. If Amare don't agree to an extension, then the Cavs will be to scare to take a chance. Does Dwight and the Lakers situation ring a bell?

I explained already why Lebron should have some blame too.

So you're saying no team has ever made a trade for an expiring contract not knowing if that player will re-sign? It happens all the time. It's called making a playoff run. Betting yourself NOW for a championship.

The Cavs would have loved to get Amare even if it was just for the remainder of that season. All they would have givin' up was Big Z and JJ Hickson. But the Suns didn't think that Z's 12mil expiring deal was enough.

Here's an article talking about it.

Sources: Cleveland Cavaliers inching closer to deal for Amare Stoudemire - ESPN

 

[tabascojet]

lebron is making gilbert slurp him for a few weeks before he leaves him crafting another angry letter.....

 

[Davis_Mike]

Dude, I know you are smarter than this. There are 3 parts to a trade, when trying to trade an expiring contract player. The two teams have to agree of course, but what the team, in this case the Cavs, want to know is if Amare will sign an extension with them. If Amare don't agree to an extension, then the Cavs will be to scare to take a chance. Does Dwight and the Lakers situation ring a bell?

I explained already why Lebron should have some blame too.

You have no way of knowing whether Amare would have resigned there or not. And neither would the GM. Lebron's contract status has no bearing on Amare being in a Cavs uniform. The Suns would have traded him to Cleveland had the Cavs had the assets to do so.

 

[HammerDown]

lebron is making gilbert slurp him for a few weeks before he leaves him crafting another angry letter.....

That's be great.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Who said that?

Basically the OP is saying since LBJ hasn't made a decision it is making Riley go for lower caliber players. They really couldn't afford some of those guys anyway.

Either way, Lebron will be blamed for everything and that's how it is supposed to be...I guess

 

[Lakers+USC=#1]

So you're saying no team has ever made a trade for an expiring contract not knowing if that player will re-sign? It happens all the time. It's called making a playoff run. Betting yourself NOW for a championship.

The Cavs would have loved to get Amare even if it was just for the remainder of that season. All they would have givin' up was Big Z and JJ Hickson. But the Suns didn't think that Z's 12mil expiring deal was enough.

Here's an article talking about it.

Sources: Cleveland Cavaliers inching closer to deal for Amare Stoudemire - ESPN

Did you not just read my last post? I just gave you an example with the Lakers taking a chance on Howard. You have to pay attention.

Now, even if the cavs offered enough, there was was no guarantee that Amare would've committed to the Cavs and it was possible that the cavs would of said fuck it and not took a chance.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Basically the OP is saying since LBJ hasn't made a decision it is making Riley go for lower caliber players. They really couldn't afford some of those guys anyway.

Either way, Lebron will be blamed for everything and that's how it is supposed to be...I guess

No way Riley makes those moves today unless he 100% believes James is staying, and that James approved of them.

 

[Lakers+USC=#1]

You have no way of knowing whether Amare would have resigned there or not. And neither would the GM. Lebron's contract status has no bearing on Amare being in a Cavs uniform. The Suns would have traded him to Cleveland had the Cavs had the assets to do so.

Yeah believe if his contract status had no bearing on Amare. Yes, the two teams could've went on with the trade, but dont act like it wasn't possible for the Cavs to pull out the deal, if they didn't trust Amare.

Some teams take a chance, some don't.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

No way Riley makes those moves today unless he 100% believes James is staying, and that James approved of them.

Yeah, if it's true LeBron wanted McBob then you might as well pencil him in with the Heat. LeBron's going to break Cleveland's heart all over again.

 

[tlance]

Dude, I know you are smarter than this. There are 3 parts to a trade, when trying to trade an expiring contract player. The two teams have to agree of course, but what the team, in this case the Cavs, want to know is if Amare will sign an extension with them. If Amare don't agree to an extension, then the Cavs will be to scare to take a chance. Does Dwight and the Lakers situation ring a bell?

I explained already why Lebron should have some blame too.

I disagree here.

What comes first? The chicken or the egg?

If LeBron had re-signed in Cleveland, do you really think Amare would have left? LeBron needed Cleveland to get somebody like Amare or Bosh in order for him to stay. Yes, Cleveland would have been taking a chance dealing for him, but since they wouldn't make the moves necessary to get it done, it made LeBron think that the grass might be greener elsewhere.

 

[Shanemansj13]

No way Riley makes those moves today unless he 100% believes James is staying, and that James approved of them.

Yah, but what I'm saying is the guys signed already couldn't be afforded so it had little impact on the Heat. Wonder why they wanted Granger? Not a big fan.

 

[Lakers+USC=#1]

I disagree here.

What comes first? The chicken or the egg?

If LeBron had re-signed in Cleveland, do you really think Amare would have left? LeBron needed Cleveland to get somebody like Amare or Bosh in order for him to stay. Yes, Cleveland would have been taking a chance dealing for him, but since they wouldn't make the moves necessary to get it done, it made LeBron think that the grass might be greener elsewhere.

I don't disagree with you. If I was the Cavs, I would of did the necessary moves to get Amare too and took a chance.

All im saying is, Lebron's indecision could have an impact on Amare or any FA willing to sign with the Cavs or Heat.

 

[HizzleRocker]

Guys, I've Been Saying It: Lebron and Melo...

I have said on a number of threads that:

1) I think Lebron should and will go back home. He cares about his legacy. His legacy is to bring Cleveland a title. His legacy will be more complete by going home and bringing the first ever title to his city, as the home town hero, than it will by trying to compete with Jordan and Kobe for number rings. He will still be in that conversation regardless - if he goes back and gets them at least 1 title.

2) Melo and his wife want LA. Melo and Kobe are by Kobe's own words "Like Brothers." They would love to play together for at least a couple of years, and Melo would love to be in LA.


Now, I am going off on a limb here. I know within the next day or two these projections may be wrong. However, I have been on numerous threads saying these things - so I really want to be able to say "I told you so" when/if they happen.

 

[GNG]

I have said on a number of threads that:

1) I think Lebron should and will go back home. He cares about his legacy. His legacy is to bring Cleveland a title. His legacy will be more complete by going home and bringing the first ever title to his city, as the home town hero, than it will by trying to compete with Jordan and Kobe for number rings. He will still be in that conversation regardless - if he goes back and gets them at least 1 title.

2) Melo and his wife want LA. Melo and Kobe are by Kobe's own words "Like Brothers." They would love to play together for at least a couple of years, and Melo would love to be in LA.


Now, I am going off on a limb here. I know within the next day or two these projections may be wrong. However, I have been on numerous threads saying these things - so I really want to be able to say "I told you so" when/if they happen.

Melo's best chance of getting a ring would be with Dallas or Houston.

 

[Heatles84]

I agree. But I got a laugh out of that last line. I'm pretty sure that if LeBron doesn't sign a max contract, his family isn't going be showing up at the local food bank trying to get government cheese.

Seriously. You can argue that Lebron's looking out for his own career interests. But as it goes with all NBA athletes, let's stop this bullshit of them trying to put food on the table for their families. McRoberts (an average NBA player) just signed for $23 million dollars that he will earn in the span of 4 years. I will be lucky if I see a 6th of that in my life time.

 

[trojanfan12]

Seriously. You can argue that Lebron's looking out for his own career interests. But as it goes with all NBA athletes, let's stop this bullshit of them trying to put food on the table for their families. McRoberts (an average NBA player) just signed for $23 million dollars that he will earn in the span of 4 years. I will be lucky if I see a 6th of that in my life time.

There are 3 statements that people make re: these guys and money that always make me :

1.) "They have to put food on the table for their families" - No NBA players family is going hungry.

2.) "They've already made enough money" - The next time anyone hears a rich person say: "Ya know, I make too much money. I'm going to stop making money now" will be the first time.

3.) "If they care about winning, they'll sign with team A. If they only care about money, they'll sign with team B or C" - Translation = "My team doesn't have the money to sign them for market value, so if they sign with another team that has the money, then they put money ahead of winning".

 

[Sportsguy9695]

Cleveland Cavaliers attracting bets at Vegas books

More bets have been placed on the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the 2015 NBA title than on any other team at the Las Vegas Superbook.

"They are our biggest liability right now," said MGM VP of Race and Sports Jay Rood. "We took a dime ($1,000) on them at 40-1."

The Cavs are currently down to 10-1 at the MGM.

The story's the same all over Vegas, as reports surfaced about LeBron James' potential interest in returning to Cleveland. Las Vegas Superbook assistant manager and head NBA oddsmaker Jeff Sherman told ESPN.com that none of the bets on the Cavs have been "significant" in size, but, altogether, the wagers were enough to cut Cleveland's odds in half, from 60-1 to 30-1.

The defending champion San Antonio Spurs (9-2) and the Chicago Bulls (7-1) are the only teams that have attracted more money than the Cavaliers, but no team has received more overall bets (28) than Cleveland since odds went up on June 9. In comparison, the Miami Heat, the favorite at 5-2, had attracted only one bet at the Superbook.

Source: ESPN

 

[tlance]

40 to 1 is decent odds, but still not a bet likely to pay off without significant changes even if they do sign LeBron.

Personally, I am becoming more and more convinced that the Cleveland reports are very much exaggerated.

If Lebron decides to resign with Miami, he is being set up to get blasted by Cavs fans all over again. The trouble is, LeBron himself has done nothing to get fans hopes up, this is all media speculation.