Cleveland is an absolutely awful team, with awful management, an awful owner and the worst coach in the league and above all of this it's an even worse city. This laughable SAS recent media story that LeBron will go back to Cleveland is beyond laughable. It is completely baseless and lacks any sort of objective supporting evidence or even simple logic. LeBron is going to maximize his money and his chances to continue to win in Miami, plus he loves the city and seems pretty content to raise his children there in the warm weather and luxury. Is there a prop bet somewhere online? I might keep an eye on it when the media frenzy reaches the height of its stupidity.
I think Indiana is a safe pick and the west looks a little shaky at the top right now but definitely as Anthony stated need to wait post-ASG to see how the Clippers look late with Paul back and if the Spurs get it back together. Houston is also a fairly legitimate threat. LAC is looking like the biggest threat to OKC at the moment, they lost three games in January mostly without Paul so Doc is finding his way with that team and they should only be getting better.
i like the clippers more than any other team but they are pretenders. griffin isnt a guy you can dump the ball to down low and let him work. and when teams double paul they will fall apart in the half court sets in the post season. they have nothing up front behind griffin and jordan i doubt james goes back to cleveland even if it makes sense basketball wise. the owner is a straight up bitch and showed his true colors when james left. i could see him leaving miami but not back to that shithole
Kyrie Irving has been pretty underwhelming this year, which hasn't really helped the Cavs. John Wall has been better than Irving, thus far this year.
Speaking of Kyrie. http://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...tely-Telling-People-He-Wants-Out-Of-Cleveland :: Cleveland. Move the team to Seattle.
That's just It, NO Other Place Makes Sense, But Cleveland...@ BEST, Miami Would Maintain the Status Quo for Another Run, but that Mix is Becoming STALE...Bron's NOT Gonna Go to LA & Play w/Kobe, He's NOT Gonna Go to Chicago w/DRose's UNCERTAINTY...In Terms of a CHALLENGE & Putting the FINISHING Touches on his Legacy, Cleveland's Perfect...The Talent is There, it's just in Disarray...
Why WOULDN'T He???...Dude Has YET to Turn 22...Bron's 29...Irving Could Sign a 4 Year Extension & Would Just Be ENTERING his Prime, by the Time that Contract Ended, Whereas Bron Would Be PAST his Prime & Likely Seeing the "Light" @ the End of the Tunnel By Then...From Day 1, Irving Would Be the Leading Scorer & Bron Would WANT it That Way...
LeBron won't leave Miami. He knows he received major heat for leaving Cleveland and he won't repeat the same mistake. He stays in Miami for at least another 4 or 5 years.
He's ACCOMPLISHED his Mission In Miami...If he were to Leave, there WOULDN'T Be Any Hard Feelings...We're ALL Speculating, but REED Thinks Bringing a Championship to Cleveland Would Be the PERFECT Addition to Bron's Legacy...He's FROM There, MAINTAINS a Home There & was Clearly HURT by the Reaction he Got from Cleveland Fans for his "Decision" to Take his Talents to South Beach...
Cleveland sucks . :: Kyrie is one of the league premier overrated players and they have zero coaching. LeBron also clearly hates the place and is noncommittal of even living in Akron post retirement. This LeBron to Cleveland is the worst media diversion of the year. Heat will either get rid of Wade or make him take a dramatic paycut and lure another star through sign and trade. They don't care about luxury tax.
How does Bron "Clearly Hate" Cleveland???...What's that BASED On???...Bron has ALWAYS Maintained Akron is "Home" (HIS Words, Not REED's)...Irving Overrated???...He's Only 21 Years Old, yet ALREADY has Career Averages of 21 pts & 6 assists, in 3 Seasons...If Irving is "Overrated", What the Hell is your Love Interest, DeMar DeRozan???opcorn:Irving is a Burgeoning NBA SUPERSTAR, the PERFECT Type of Player to Align w/LeBron, as he Closes Out his Prime...The FACT of the Matter is, LeBron James Is Rich BEYOND Recognition & Can "Live" ANYWHERE...To this Day, he Still OWNS a Home in the Cleveland/Akron Area...It Would've Been VERY Easy for him to Put the House on the Market & NEVER Look Back, if the "Hated" it There...
Question for you fellows: The comments of Silent and others about Cleveland had me thinking, naturally, about their other two institutions, The Indians and the Browns... The Indians were pretty competitive last year despite being a small-market club in a game with no caps but the Browns, in a better regulated league, have been a train wreck since they were resurrected and it sounds like the Cavaliers have had a tough time of it, at least post-Lebron... I think the salary cap in the NFL has largely been successful and as a result we've seen plenty of variety at the top of the standings since its inception... How has it worked in the NBA? Are the woes of a place like Cleveland as much a result of it being a small market (and thus, less likely to be attractive to FAs)? Does the franchise's lack of historic prestige hurt it at all?
It theoretically present teams from loading up but the hard cap soft cap debacle really cheapens it, especially given the ridiculous amount of salary cap exceptions floating around and the transferral of Bird rights upon a trade. Right now the difference between good and great teams is how cheap a teams owner is and there willingness to go into the luxury tax to keep a team together. Sadly stricter luxury tax rules negotiated in the last CBA only put a greater disparity between the teams willing to spend and the ones that aren't at the cost of lining some cheap greedy bastards pockets further.
DeRozan averages 23. :: He's also the first option on a winning team. Kyrie is a pseudo point guard who lacks defense and makes no one better. I by no means rate the guy but if the discussion was Wiggins floor being DeRozan, a 20 per game scorer who is super athletic can create his own shot and defend then being in the top 5 should be a given. Secondly if you read the link I posted, Kyrie allegedly wants out of Cleveland already. Probably due to Mike Brown and the laughable management. If they can't even keep a 3 year vet happy what makes you think they are luring LeBron.
LeBron James was the Best AND Worst Thing to Happen to the Cleveland Cavaliers...He MADE Cleveland a Desirable Destination for Free Agents & Cavalier Apparel was MUST HAVE in Every NBA City in the Country...When Bron Left, the Cavs Went Right Back to Being the Moribund Franchise they've Pretty Much Always Been...Even Kyrie Irving, an EXCELLENT Young Basketball Player, ISN'T Enough to Draw ELITE Players There...Yes, they LACK Historic Prestige, Unless being Michael Jordan's DOORMAT Counts:hut:...All in All, the NBA is VERY Concious of its Smaller Market Teams & they Do what they Can to KEEP them Competitive...Indiana's Usually Good, the Spurs are ALWAYS Good, Portland's Almost Always Good, etc...
He's Actually Averaging 22, w/a CAREER Average of 16...DeRozan COULDN'T Even Crack Double Digits his Rookie Year, Whereas Irving's NEVER Scored Less than 18.5 in a Season...Hell, Until THIS Season, Derozan NEVER Averaged as Much as 18.5 for a Season:l2:...Irving Followed that up w/22.5 last Year & is Averaging just Under 22 AGAIN this Year...Calling Kyrie Irving "Overrated", While TRUMPETING the Cause of DeMar DeRozan HASN'T Been 1 of your Finer Moments, TLC...
How are the teams in Oklahoma City and New Orleans doing? The Milwaukee club was usually pretty decent back when I watched basketball, are they still around?
Who cares about his rookie year? DeRozan was very raw. Quit grasping. Are you also aware that Kyrie has consistently rated as one of the leagues worst defenders on the perimeter. He's also seemingly incapable of running a real offense at this juncture which is exacerbated by the incredible incompetence of Mike Brown. DeRozan is a traditional wing and this has much less responsibility in just scoring and defending which he does well. He's arguably a fringe all star.
Oklahoma City is a championship calibre team this year. New Orleans is slightly below average and Milwaukee is rebuilding.
OKC is Still a NOVELTY Act, in REED's Opinion...They've Only Been in Oklahoma for 5 Years or So AND w/Durant, they're ALWAYS Deeeeeeeeeeeeep into the Playoffs...They were JUST in the NBAL Finals 2 Years Ago...The Jury's OUT on OKC Until Durant is Fading or Retires, Which is Probably 5-8 YEARS from Now...New Orleans is Doing OK...They've Got a Young STUD Named Anthony Davis who's the Type of Player to Get an Entire City EXCITED about a Team...Milwaukee's the Quintessential Ho-Hum Franchise...Can't Get ELITE Free Agents, Always Seem to Get a LOW Playoff Seed or BARELY Miss the Playoffs, which Hurts them in the Draft Lottery, so they End Up Drafting In the Teens & Wind Up w/a Player NONE of their Fans have Heard Of...A Cycle of MEDIOCRITY, Really...It's Been Close to 20 Years Since Milwaukee was LEGITIMATELY (ie., a Championship Contender) GOOD
Derozan made the all-star team (although when I peek at the giant Raptors forum they wanted Lowry in instead)
"Grasping"...Calling Kyrie Irving "Overrated" while Offering DeMar DeRozan Nightly HANDJOBS is "Grasping", Bro...If GM's are BUILDING a Team, the Vast Majority of them will Take Irving OVER DeRozan, PERIOD...DeRozan's in the Midst of "A" Good Season (Finally, REED Might Add)...In the Next Breath, You Wanna Say Irving's Having a Bad Year or is Overrated, when a "Bad Year" for Him Consists of Stats Almost IDENTICAL to DeRozan's???:scared:...Kyrie Irving's a COMBO Guard...Always Has Been...He's NEVER Gonna Lead the League in Assists & he's ALWAYS Gonna Average 20+...
They both should have made it. Lowry is playing better ball than Kyrie and he's somehow starting. I blame the Uncle Drew commercials.
