by Austin Peters, Jake Hileman, Andy Cowen, and Ethan Gallagher
The four of us discuss our surprises from the early start of the NBA season.
Podcast can be listened to HERE.
Anything is Possible!!!
November 7, 2014
August 15, 2014
Team Profile: Washington Wizards
It's no secret that Washington is trying to bring their hometown superstar back to DC. Is it possible for them make room for Kevin Durant when he hits the market in 2016?
by Austin Peters
by Austin Peters
August 8, 2014
Born Ready: Why Lance is a Star in the Making
Lance Stephenson is one of the most polarizing players in the NBA. A look into the good, the bad, and the potential of "Born Ready."
by Austin Peters
by Austin Peters
August 1, 2014
Team Profile: Portland Trailblazers
With the rest of the Western Conference making moves, the Portland Trailblazers are eerily quiet. What's going on in Portland?
by Austin Peters
by Austin Peters
July 28, 2014
14-15 NBA Season Preview
by Austin Peters and Chase Deaton
Contenders
West
San Antonio Spurs (DUH)
Oklahoma City Thunder (DUH... again)
Los Angeles Clippers (Added Spencer Hawes)
East
Cleveland Cavaliers (cuz LeBron)
One Piece Away
West
Memphis Grizzlies (best record in the league when Gasol came back)
Portland Trailblazers (need rim protection)
Dallas Mavericks
East
Chicago Bulls (will they be healthy?)
Miami Heat (same team just flip LeBron and Luol Deng)
Indiana Pacers (title contenders last year that lost Lance)
Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards
Playoff Contenders
West
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets (downgraded at SF and traded Lin + Asik)
Phoenix Suns (missed playoffs on the last day last season)
East
Atlanta Hawks (they never miss the playoffs)
Charlotte Hornets (LANCE!!!)
Brooklyn Nets (very different team next season)
New York Knicks (GET THAT MONEY MELO)
Wanna Be's
West
New Orleans Pelicans (good young pieces)
Minnesota Timberwolves (just trade Love already)
Sacramento Kings (what are they doing?)
Denver Nuggets (see Sacramento)
East
Orlando Magic (see New Orleans)
Detroit Pistons (see Sacramento and Denver)
Tankers
West
Utah Jazz (young, but still need to develop)
Los Angeles Lakers (SWAGGY P!!!)
East
Milwaukee Bucks (realized they suck)
Boston Celtics (don't put me through this again Danny!)
Philadelphia 76ers (was there ever any doubt?)
Listen to the full thing HERE.
July 18, 2014
Surveying the Landscape
by Austin Peters
Since the new CBA has been implemented in 2011, there have been two things that teams have coveted. I wrote a while ago about how teams covet first round picks more today and how hard it is to get first round picks because of the fact that teams value them highly. The draft is by far the cheapest way to build a team because rookie scale contracts are the cheapest in the NBA aside from veteran minimum contracts. Would you rather overpay Jodie Meeks this offseason at $6+ a year or pay Gary Harris around $1.5 this year to do essentially the same thing? This is a big reason why you don't see teams trading first round picks willy nilly anymore like they used to.
The other coveted thing is cap space. With harsher luxury tax penalties and increasingly difficult ways to build a roster while going over the cap (just ask Pat Riley about it), cap space has been the other premium along with first round picks. Think about how many deals were made these last couple offseasons to create cap space... The Rockets attached a first round pick just to get rid of Jeremy Lin. They also traded Omer Asik for an insanely protected pick. The Nets and Cavaliers both gave up assets to the Celtics (including a first round pick) so they could get rid of contracts and create some financial flexibility. Teams are always chasing after that star to put them into contention and the best way to do that is by creating cap space and believing that you have a chance to sign them.
Let's back track for a moment.... There were approximately 9 teams that were clearing cap space and trying to make this the offseason where they sign a big name free agent: the Rockets, Mavericks, Lakers, Suns, Bulls, Cavaliers, Heat, Hornets (still weird to say), and Hawks. The Rockets spent the last two summers making countless moves to try and bring in superstar free agents; they brought Dwight Howard in last summer and were darn near close to creating another super team until Chris Bosh decided to play them and stay in Miami. This also effectively pushed Chandler Parsons to Dallas while the Rockets had to settle for Trevor Ariza as a consolation prize. The Mavericks, Lakers, and Bulls, along with the Rockets, were trying to use their cap space to lure Carmelo Anthony. After Melo decided that he had 124 million reasons to stay in New York, they had to pursue other free agents a tier below them. The Mavericks gave Parsons that lucrative offer sheet to try and get Houston not to match (it worked), the Bulls focused on Pau Gasol, and the Lakers struck out on everybody (more on them later). The Cavaliers hit the home run of free agency when LeBron decided to return home. He didn't necessarily leave the Heat in shambles, however, because they were able to use the cap space to bring back Bosh, Wade, and sign Luol Deng. The Hornets went after guys like Deng and Ariza but ended up getting a guy with potentially more upside than all of them in Lance Stephenson (THE 8TH GRADER!!!!).
Ultimately, the Suns, Lakers, and Hawks were the only teams walking away from this summer with nothing to show for it, forcing them to give bloated contracts to guys like PJ Tucker, Jordan Hill, and Nick Young (SWAGGY P!!!) to fill the cap space. The reason we saw guys like Meeks, Tucker, Hill, Chris Kaman, and Ben Gordon get such egregiously high contracts is because of the amount of cap space and money floating around on the market. Teams feel they have to overpay guys if they want to get them because a lot of other teams could just as easily offer that player a similar deal. Factor in the rule that players can't sign contracts for more than four years under the new CBA, and there really isn't any bad contracts anymore. This offseason especially showed that if you attach another asset, any contract is movable.
The teams that missed out on the higher quality players in this free agency will be set back another year but will be perfectly content with rolling that cap space over into next summer. The Lakers essentially repeated what they did last summer by signing guys to one or two year deals so that they will have financial flexibility next summer and the summer after that. Same goes for the Suns and Hawks who both pursued Luol Deng really hard before coming up short.
In the case of the Suns, they were really hoping to get another high caliber player to go along with their dynamic point guard duo of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. Bledsoe is a restricted free agent and up until now, the Suns had made it clear they were going to match anything for Bledsoe. With the market dying down and hardly any teams left to offer Bledsoe a max, the Suns low balled him with an offer he didn't like and so now they are playing a game of who blinks first. Phoenix also went out and signed Isaiah Thomas at a cheap price, one of the few value contracts of this free agency. They've made it clear with the Thomas signing and letting Channing Frye walk, they won't fall into the trap of overpaying role players that eat into their cap space. If they feel that the max is too much for Eric Bledsoe, they will probably let him sign with someone else and try and get assets out of some sort of sign and trade. There aren't too many teams that could create the requisite max cap space it would take to sign Bledsoe, so that's what is making it hard for Eric and his agent Rich Paul to have leverage for that max offer. He is worth every penny of a max; he is a great two way player in a league that doesn't have many two way players to begin with. How many guys become free agents that young who can't just run your team but are also ball hawks on the defensive end? Bledsoe is miles ahead of Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, John Wall, and Kyrie Irving defensively and you wouldn't think twice about giving any of those guys max contracts (Kyrie and Wall just got their max extensions this summer).
2015
Back to the Lakers... Last summer they signed a bunch of guys to one year minimum contracts and ended up tanking their season. After missing out on Melo and others, they did essentially a combination of what they did last summer and what Dallas did last summer; they signed guys to one year contracts but also signed guys to two year contracts so that they won't just have a completely barren roster again next summer. The Mavericks did that last summer and were able to have cap space to sign Parsons this summer while keeping their same core intact. The Lakers will try and replicate that same thing while chasing next summer's big name free agents.
Speaking of next summer... The list of guys that will be free agents (or have the option to be a free agent) next summer are as follows: Rajon Rondo, Kemba Walker (RFA), Ricky Rubio (RFA), Reggie Jackson (RFA), Tony Parker, Goran Dragic, Klay Thompson (RFA), Monta Ellis (Player Option), Eric Gordon (Player Option), Iman Shumpert (RFA), Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, Arron Afflalo (Player Option), Alec Burks (RFA), Wesley Matthews, Paul Pierce (Player Option), Jeff Green (PO), Jimmy Butler (RFA), Rudy Gay, LeBron James (Please don't do it to us again LeBron), Kawhi Leonard (RFA), Thaddeus Young (ETO), Tristan Thompson (RFA), Kenneth Faried (RFA), David West (PO), Kevin Love (PO), Tim Duncan, Paul Millsap, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Omer Asik, Roy Hibbert (PO), DeAndre Jordan, Tyson Chandler, Al Jefferson (PO), Enes Kanter (RFA), and Pero Antic (RFA).
Holy cow that's a long list. A lot of those guys are going to fall off the board because of what they decide with their player options. Expect Monta Ellis, Eric Gordon, Paul Pierce, Jeff Green, LeBron (dear God I hope so), Kevin Love (more on him later), David West, and Roy Hibbert to stay under contract because they won't be able to get what they're making now on the open market. Then again, we saw this offseason that anything can happen. Also note that some of these guys will more than likely work out extensions with their teams in the offseason. I could make some guesses as to who that will be, but restricted free agency is weird so we will have to stay tuned. The only lock to get an extension I would say is Kawhi Leonard because Spurs.
I made a list of the teams below that could potentially have lots of cap space and how much they could have free:
Atlanta Hawks - $29.1 million
Boston Celtics - $26.6 million
Los Angeles Lakers - $24.7 million
Memphis Grizzlies - $31.8 million
Milwaukee Bucks - $18.9 million
Minnesota Timberwolves - $27 million
New York Knicks - $25 million
Orlando Magic - $31.8 million
Philadelphia 76ers - $48 million (completely ignore this team)
Phoenix Suns - $25.6 million
San Antonio Spurs - $41.5 million (SOMEBODY STOP THEM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. REPEAT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL)
There is a lot of assumption in this. The cap is expected to go up to around $68 million and we don't know a lot of the fine details to some of the contracts for free agents this summer yet. The point is that a lot of teams every summer are going to have gobs of cap space because of how important they think it is in building a team.
2016
I eluded to the upcoming NBA explosion in 2016 a little bit at the end of my last column. Teams upgraded their rosters this summer while also keeping financial flexibility for the summer of 2016. The Wizards, Raptors, Heat, and Lakers all signed free agents while still managing to keep cap room for that summer. I have been keeping track of all the offseason movement and if you click on that link, you'll notice a lot of two year contracts that teams signed players too. The cap is expected to sky rocket with the new TV rights deal that the NBA is going to get from ESPN and Turner, and early projections are around $80 million. That will give just about everybody cap room and the NBA will have to re think their restrictions on max contracts to maybe make them bigger.
Just for fun... The list of the top 2016 free agents are as follows: Mike Conley, Deron Willams (ETO... no way he is opting out but still), Joe Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Danilo Gallinari, Chandler Parsons (PO), Nicolas Batum, LeBron James, Kevin Love (again, more on him in a bit), Al Horford, David Lee, Ryan Anderson, Joakim Noah, and Dwight Howard.
See why everyone is freaking out about 2016?
Kevin Love saga continues
It was reported yesterday that both the Warriors and the Cavaliers are finally caving and willing to give up their prized young guys in a Kevin Love trade. I don't know why it took the Warriors so long to make Klay Thompson available. If you're the Warriors and you had to choose whether to give Klay the max next summer while also paying David Lee OR trade for Kevin Love why wouldn't you do that? You would save yourself about $15+ million in payroll AND have one of the 10-15 best players in the league on your team. You can't tell me Klay's agent saw what guys like Hayward and Parsons got on the market this year and isn't going to demand anything less than a max.
I have said many times before in conversation that if I were the Cavaliers that I would trade Andrew Wiggins in a heartbeat if it meant getting Kevin Love. The more and more I think about it, however, I am starting to believe that it wouldn't be such a good idea to trade him. Think about this... No matter how you feel about Wiggins' offensive game and where his potential is with that, everyone believes that he will immediately come in and be one of the best wing defenders in the league. His instincts are off the charts. Add in his length and athleticism and you have another Paul George on that end of the floor. LeBron is already the best on ball defender in the league. Could you imagine having LeBron and Wiggins on the wing guarding dudes and ripping the ball from them at half court? I am not exaggerating when I say that it would be like MJ and Pippen all over again. That's what you're getting at the very LEAST with Wiggins. You don't think that playing with LeBron is going to be the perfect scenario for that dude? For all the knocks on Wiggins offensively (he isn't assertive, he floats and drifts through games, isn't versatile), he still led a team in scoring that was the best team for the best conference in America. For all the deficiencies that everybody claims he has, that is still pretty darn good.
Sorry, I didn't mean to turn this into an Andrew Wiggins rant. The Cavs as it stands right now have a couple problems on their roster. I talked about them in my last column in detail. They have done a good job of getting shooters like Mike Miller and James Jones (stay tuned for Ray Allen) so that will make it better. Kyrie still needs to improve in that area seeing as he was the second worst spot up shooter in the league behind Michael Carter-Williams statistically. They also need help defensively in the paint and on the ball because of Irving's lack of effort on that end as well. If you trade Wiggins for Love, not only are you taking out one of your very few good defenders, but you are also adding another defensive liability in Kevin Love. Trading for Love may improve their rebounding drastically but it would hurt them defensively a ton. And if they insist on them taking back Kevin Martin's contract, then you sealed the deal for worst defensive backcourt in the league.
It is also really hard for the Cavs to make a deal for Love. Wiggins hasn't signed a contract so the amount of salary he would be able to contribute to a trade is $0. They don't have any trade exceptions they can absorb Love's salary into so that means that they would have to include one or both of Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson. Varejao is LeBron's buddy and Thompson shares an agent with LeBron so you can guarantee those guys won't get traded. Waiters + Bennett + Wiggins + other picks isn't enough salary wise to line up with Kevin Love. They would have to get another third team in there and do you think anyone is going to help the Cavs get Kevin Love? Probably not.
The other key thing here is a lack of any sort of commitment from Kevin Love. If he doesn't put pen to paper and commit to an extension, Minnesota loses a ton of leverage. He has an opt out for next summer or could just stay locked in until 2016 but even that probably isn't long enough for a team to feel comfortable. Seeing as players aren't signing extensions nowadays because they know they can get more money and years in free agency, it makes sense for Love to be a free agent. It just diminishes any sort of leverage Minnesota thinks they have.
Who knows what will happen. It's the NBA. We learned this summer that anything can happen.
Since the new CBA has been implemented in 2011, there have been two things that teams have coveted. I wrote a while ago about how teams covet first round picks more today and how hard it is to get first round picks because of the fact that teams value them highly. The draft is by far the cheapest way to build a team because rookie scale contracts are the cheapest in the NBA aside from veteran minimum contracts. Would you rather overpay Jodie Meeks this offseason at $6+ a year or pay Gary Harris around $1.5 this year to do essentially the same thing? This is a big reason why you don't see teams trading first round picks willy nilly anymore like they used to.
The other coveted thing is cap space. With harsher luxury tax penalties and increasingly difficult ways to build a roster while going over the cap (just ask Pat Riley about it), cap space has been the other premium along with first round picks. Think about how many deals were made these last couple offseasons to create cap space... The Rockets attached a first round pick just to get rid of Jeremy Lin. They also traded Omer Asik for an insanely protected pick. The Nets and Cavaliers both gave up assets to the Celtics (including a first round pick) so they could get rid of contracts and create some financial flexibility. Teams are always chasing after that star to put them into contention and the best way to do that is by creating cap space and believing that you have a chance to sign them.
Let's back track for a moment.... There were approximately 9 teams that were clearing cap space and trying to make this the offseason where they sign a big name free agent: the Rockets, Mavericks, Lakers, Suns, Bulls, Cavaliers, Heat, Hornets (still weird to say), and Hawks. The Rockets spent the last two summers making countless moves to try and bring in superstar free agents; they brought Dwight Howard in last summer and were darn near close to creating another super team until Chris Bosh decided to play them and stay in Miami. This also effectively pushed Chandler Parsons to Dallas while the Rockets had to settle for Trevor Ariza as a consolation prize. The Mavericks, Lakers, and Bulls, along with the Rockets, were trying to use their cap space to lure Carmelo Anthony. After Melo decided that he had 124 million reasons to stay in New York, they had to pursue other free agents a tier below them. The Mavericks gave Parsons that lucrative offer sheet to try and get Houston not to match (it worked), the Bulls focused on Pau Gasol, and the Lakers struck out on everybody (more on them later). The Cavaliers hit the home run of free agency when LeBron decided to return home. He didn't necessarily leave the Heat in shambles, however, because they were able to use the cap space to bring back Bosh, Wade, and sign Luol Deng. The Hornets went after guys like Deng and Ariza but ended up getting a guy with potentially more upside than all of them in Lance Stephenson (THE 8TH GRADER!!!!).
Ultimately, the Suns, Lakers, and Hawks were the only teams walking away from this summer with nothing to show for it, forcing them to give bloated contracts to guys like PJ Tucker, Jordan Hill, and Nick Young (SWAGGY P!!!) to fill the cap space. The reason we saw guys like Meeks, Tucker, Hill, Chris Kaman, and Ben Gordon get such egregiously high contracts is because of the amount of cap space and money floating around on the market. Teams feel they have to overpay guys if they want to get them because a lot of other teams could just as easily offer that player a similar deal. Factor in the rule that players can't sign contracts for more than four years under the new CBA, and there really isn't any bad contracts anymore. This offseason especially showed that if you attach another asset, any contract is movable.
The teams that missed out on the higher quality players in this free agency will be set back another year but will be perfectly content with rolling that cap space over into next summer. The Lakers essentially repeated what they did last summer by signing guys to one or two year deals so that they will have financial flexibility next summer and the summer after that. Same goes for the Suns and Hawks who both pursued Luol Deng really hard before coming up short.
In the case of the Suns, they were really hoping to get another high caliber player to go along with their dynamic point guard duo of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. Bledsoe is a restricted free agent and up until now, the Suns had made it clear they were going to match anything for Bledsoe. With the market dying down and hardly any teams left to offer Bledsoe a max, the Suns low balled him with an offer he didn't like and so now they are playing a game of who blinks first. Phoenix also went out and signed Isaiah Thomas at a cheap price, one of the few value contracts of this free agency. They've made it clear with the Thomas signing and letting Channing Frye walk, they won't fall into the trap of overpaying role players that eat into their cap space. If they feel that the max is too much for Eric Bledsoe, they will probably let him sign with someone else and try and get assets out of some sort of sign and trade. There aren't too many teams that could create the requisite max cap space it would take to sign Bledsoe, so that's what is making it hard for Eric and his agent Rich Paul to have leverage for that max offer. He is worth every penny of a max; he is a great two way player in a league that doesn't have many two way players to begin with. How many guys become free agents that young who can't just run your team but are also ball hawks on the defensive end? Bledsoe is miles ahead of Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, John Wall, and Kyrie Irving defensively and you wouldn't think twice about giving any of those guys max contracts (Kyrie and Wall just got their max extensions this summer).
2015
Back to the Lakers... Last summer they signed a bunch of guys to one year minimum contracts and ended up tanking their season. After missing out on Melo and others, they did essentially a combination of what they did last summer and what Dallas did last summer; they signed guys to one year contracts but also signed guys to two year contracts so that they won't just have a completely barren roster again next summer. The Mavericks did that last summer and were able to have cap space to sign Parsons this summer while keeping their same core intact. The Lakers will try and replicate that same thing while chasing next summer's big name free agents.
Speaking of next summer... The list of guys that will be free agents (or have the option to be a free agent) next summer are as follows: Rajon Rondo, Kemba Walker (RFA), Ricky Rubio (RFA), Reggie Jackson (RFA), Tony Parker, Goran Dragic, Klay Thompson (RFA), Monta Ellis (Player Option), Eric Gordon (Player Option), Iman Shumpert (RFA), Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, Arron Afflalo (Player Option), Alec Burks (RFA), Wesley Matthews, Paul Pierce (Player Option), Jeff Green (PO), Jimmy Butler (RFA), Rudy Gay, LeBron James (Please don't do it to us again LeBron), Kawhi Leonard (RFA), Thaddeus Young (ETO), Tristan Thompson (RFA), Kenneth Faried (RFA), David West (PO), Kevin Love (PO), Tim Duncan, Paul Millsap, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Omer Asik, Roy Hibbert (PO), DeAndre Jordan, Tyson Chandler, Al Jefferson (PO), Enes Kanter (RFA), and Pero Antic (RFA).
Holy cow that's a long list. A lot of those guys are going to fall off the board because of what they decide with their player options. Expect Monta Ellis, Eric Gordon, Paul Pierce, Jeff Green, LeBron (dear God I hope so), Kevin Love (more on him later), David West, and Roy Hibbert to stay under contract because they won't be able to get what they're making now on the open market. Then again, we saw this offseason that anything can happen. Also note that some of these guys will more than likely work out extensions with their teams in the offseason. I could make some guesses as to who that will be, but restricted free agency is weird so we will have to stay tuned. The only lock to get an extension I would say is Kawhi Leonard because Spurs.
I made a list of the teams below that could potentially have lots of cap space and how much they could have free:
Atlanta Hawks - $29.1 million
Boston Celtics - $26.6 million
Los Angeles Lakers - $24.7 million
Memphis Grizzlies - $31.8 million
Milwaukee Bucks - $18.9 million
Minnesota Timberwolves - $27 million
New York Knicks - $25 million
Orlando Magic - $31.8 million
Philadelphia 76ers - $48 million (completely ignore this team)
Phoenix Suns - $25.6 million
San Antonio Spurs - $41.5 million (SOMEBODY STOP THEM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. REPEAT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL)
There is a lot of assumption in this. The cap is expected to go up to around $68 million and we don't know a lot of the fine details to some of the contracts for free agents this summer yet. The point is that a lot of teams every summer are going to have gobs of cap space because of how important they think it is in building a team.
2016
I eluded to the upcoming NBA explosion in 2016 a little bit at the end of my last column. Teams upgraded their rosters this summer while also keeping financial flexibility for the summer of 2016. The Wizards, Raptors, Heat, and Lakers all signed free agents while still managing to keep cap room for that summer. I have been keeping track of all the offseason movement and if you click on that link, you'll notice a lot of two year contracts that teams signed players too. The cap is expected to sky rocket with the new TV rights deal that the NBA is going to get from ESPN and Turner, and early projections are around $80 million. That will give just about everybody cap room and the NBA will have to re think their restrictions on max contracts to maybe make them bigger.
Just for fun... The list of the top 2016 free agents are as follows: Mike Conley, Deron Willams (ETO... no way he is opting out but still), Joe Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Danilo Gallinari, Chandler Parsons (PO), Nicolas Batum, LeBron James, Kevin Love (again, more on him in a bit), Al Horford, David Lee, Ryan Anderson, Joakim Noah, and Dwight Howard.
See why everyone is freaking out about 2016?
Kevin Love saga continues
It was reported yesterday that both the Warriors and the Cavaliers are finally caving and willing to give up their prized young guys in a Kevin Love trade. I don't know why it took the Warriors so long to make Klay Thompson available. If you're the Warriors and you had to choose whether to give Klay the max next summer while also paying David Lee OR trade for Kevin Love why wouldn't you do that? You would save yourself about $15+ million in payroll AND have one of the 10-15 best players in the league on your team. You can't tell me Klay's agent saw what guys like Hayward and Parsons got on the market this year and isn't going to demand anything less than a max.
I have said many times before in conversation that if I were the Cavaliers that I would trade Andrew Wiggins in a heartbeat if it meant getting Kevin Love. The more and more I think about it, however, I am starting to believe that it wouldn't be such a good idea to trade him. Think about this... No matter how you feel about Wiggins' offensive game and where his potential is with that, everyone believes that he will immediately come in and be one of the best wing defenders in the league. His instincts are off the charts. Add in his length and athleticism and you have another Paul George on that end of the floor. LeBron is already the best on ball defender in the league. Could you imagine having LeBron and Wiggins on the wing guarding dudes and ripping the ball from them at half court? I am not exaggerating when I say that it would be like MJ and Pippen all over again. That's what you're getting at the very LEAST with Wiggins. You don't think that playing with LeBron is going to be the perfect scenario for that dude? For all the knocks on Wiggins offensively (he isn't assertive, he floats and drifts through games, isn't versatile), he still led a team in scoring that was the best team for the best conference in America. For all the deficiencies that everybody claims he has, that is still pretty darn good.
Sorry, I didn't mean to turn this into an Andrew Wiggins rant. The Cavs as it stands right now have a couple problems on their roster. I talked about them in my last column in detail. They have done a good job of getting shooters like Mike Miller and James Jones (stay tuned for Ray Allen) so that will make it better. Kyrie still needs to improve in that area seeing as he was the second worst spot up shooter in the league behind Michael Carter-Williams statistically. They also need help defensively in the paint and on the ball because of Irving's lack of effort on that end as well. If you trade Wiggins for Love, not only are you taking out one of your very few good defenders, but you are also adding another defensive liability in Kevin Love. Trading for Love may improve their rebounding drastically but it would hurt them defensively a ton. And if they insist on them taking back Kevin Martin's contract, then you sealed the deal for worst defensive backcourt in the league.
It is also really hard for the Cavs to make a deal for Love. Wiggins hasn't signed a contract so the amount of salary he would be able to contribute to a trade is $0. They don't have any trade exceptions they can absorb Love's salary into so that means that they would have to include one or both of Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson. Varejao is LeBron's buddy and Thompson shares an agent with LeBron so you can guarantee those guys won't get traded. Waiters + Bennett + Wiggins + other picks isn't enough salary wise to line up with Kevin Love. They would have to get another third team in there and do you think anyone is going to help the Cavs get Kevin Love? Probably not.
The other key thing here is a lack of any sort of commitment from Kevin Love. If he doesn't put pen to paper and commit to an extension, Minnesota loses a ton of leverage. He has an opt out for next summer or could just stay locked in until 2016 but even that probably isn't long enough for a team to feel comfortable. Seeing as players aren't signing extensions nowadays because they know they can get more money and years in free agency, it makes sense for Love to be a free agent. It just diminishes any sort of leverage Minnesota thinks they have.
Who knows what will happen. It's the NBA. We learned this summer that anything can happen.
July 11, 2014
The Prodigal Son and The Ripple Effect
by Austin Peters
This day will never be forgotten.
My two hour out of body experience today began when I was on the toilet (I know this is social suicide but I have to be open and vulnerable to add to the craziness of this day) and received an insane amount of text messages from a total of 13 people. I immediately went to twitter where I spent the next hour refreshing my twitter feed while also having 10 simultaneous conversations and trying not to lose my mind.
After having a couple near meltdowns and spending a couple fifteen minute periods gathering myself, I can finally begin to take it all in. The King has left his South Beach Kingdom to rebuild the one he destroyed four years ago.
LeBron broke the story himself on Sports Illustrated this morning with his incredible letter. Not only did he state his intentions for next season, he listed his reasons for leaving the team he went to four straight finals with; saying that it was time to come home and that with a third child on the way it was a good decision to return to Northeast Ohio (real quick: big shout out to my mom. she called it two days ago. She told me that the wife wanted to go back to Cleveland with the new kid on the way. Nice job, Carrie). A chance to return home and play with an unknown, unproven, young roster was worth more to LeBron than staying with the team that taught him so much about accountability, leadership, and winning.
He only had nice things to say about the Miami Mafia; owner Mickey Arison, Pat Riley, and his best friends, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. He made the letter as classy as possible. Unlike Dan Gilbert, Mickey Arison expressed his disappointment yet thankfulness for LeBron's four year tenure in Miami.
Speaking of the infamous Dan Gilbert letter, the part of LeBron's masterpiece that I can't get over is the part where he talks about his meeting with Gilbert then ends it with the phrase "Who am I to hold a grudge?" When I read that, I couldn't fight back the tears. The maturity that LeBron has shown over these last four years, starting with "The Decision" fiasco, the promising of rings to the fans, and speaking poorly of them after the 2011 finals, to now preaching messages of family, patience, hope, and forgiveness has been tremendous. It was being reported that the only thing holding up from LeBron fully committing to Cleveland was the letter and to see him write words of forgiveness despite the letter is beyond remarkable. Would you have expected something like this from LeBron four years ago? This isn't just a lesson for us to learn as fans. This will be something that kids growing up watching the game of basketball and being fans of LeBron James will see and learn.
At one point in time, LeBron was criticized for not having won any championships. People murdered him for not winning anything and then chasing rings elsewhere. He got his wish, winning two championships in four years. But Miami had already tasted success. Cleveland hasn't experienced a championship in 50 years and LeBron wants to bring hope and promise to a city that hasn't had much to cheer about since, well, LeBron played there.
He realizes that with a young roster and first year head coach there will be growing pains. Patience will be needed. But it isn't just about the basketball. If he wanted the easy way out, he could've returned to Miami to have another championship contender with the same cast of guys. It's about patience, waiting and working through ups and downs. It's about leadership, teaching younger guys and empowering them to be leaders of their own. It's about family, remembering his roots and being loyal to the city that raised him. More importantly, this decision to return to Cleveland is about hope; bringing life to millions of fans who have waited and persevered through lots of pain and trial.
LeBron was right. Returning home wasn't just about basketball.
It's about way more than that.
WHERE DO THEY GO FROM HERE?
Cleveland Cavaliers
As it stands right now, the Cavaliers now have four number one overall picks on their roster in LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and the last two season's number one picks in Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins (#TEAMCANADA). They still have other former top ten picks in Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson, not to mention LeBron's good buddy Anderson Varejao, who has been with the Cavs with and without the King. The Cavs are reportedly now aggressively pursuing a trade with Minnesota for Kevin Love that would add a third All-Star along with Irving and James. The deal would almost have to include this year and maybe even last year's number one overall picks in Bennett and Wiggins plus additional assets. Cleveland has three first round picks next year which would be great to either use in a deal or hold on to.
Love would solve one of the two problems this roster has: shooting. My good friend McIntyre Webb (@Coach_MWebb) looked up shooting statistics on the Cavaliers current roster. Last year, the three point percentages for guys on Cleveland's team were as follows: Irving 35.8%, Wiggins 34.1% (college), LeBron 40.7%, Waiters 36.8%, Thompson/Varejao 0%. The only knock down shooter on that roster is LeBron, who doesn't shoot many outside jumpers to begin with despite his improving jump shot percentages each year. Irving, Waiters, and Wiggins aren't spot up shooters either as all three shoot better when they create something for themselves off the dribble. We saw in Miami how much success they had surrounding LeBron with spot up, knock down shooters.
It isn't surprising that they are targeting some of LeBron's buddies Mike Miller and Ray Allen. I would be shocked if they didn't end up in Cleveland next season for dirt cheap (it also wouldn't surprise me if Allen retired, however, as it is believed that he is leaning that way). If neither work out, they could look in house. With their second round pick, they drafted Joe Harris from Virginia who was one of the best spot up shooters in the draft who scouts said matched guys like McDermott and Stauskas in workouts. They had also reportedly traded for Stanford's stretch four Dwight Powell (another Canadian by the way!!!) at the draft but as of this afternoon, that deal has not been completed and it looks like Cleveland might be trying to use those assets for another deal. Bennett also has a redeemable season ahead and if he is able to stay in shape this offseason, he has real potential to be a stretch four. Their lineup possibilities are endless; they can go big with LeBron at the three and Wiggins at the two, they could have a shooting lineup that includes one of the above listed shooters and Bennett at the four along with James, and they can also have a killer small ball lineup with Irving, Waiters, Wiggins, James at the four, and any one of Varejao/Powell/Thompson. If they add Love, that just adds to the unlimited possibilities that innovative new coach David Blatt will have to play around with.
That doesn't solve their other problem, however, and that is rim protection. To beat the Spurs, it was shown last year that the two things needed are shooting and rim protection. The Thunder changed the tide of the Western Conference Finals when Serge Ibaka added his presence at the rim but they came up short because of their lack of reliable perimeter shooting around Westbrook and Durant. The Heat had an endless amount of shooters, but with Chris Andersen's injury they lacked the rim protection needed to stop the Spurs. The team that played the best against San Antonio from a point differential standpoint last season was the Houston Rockets, who had great rim protection in Omer Asik and Dwight Howard plus a plethora of shooters. The Cavs (other than LeBron of course) don't have any of that as it stands today and with Love's defensive deficiencies, he wouldn't any. The Cavs will have to look at some cheap options on the market seeing as it has zero of those rim protectors at the moment. My friend McIntyre also has his own analytical model that values players and rates them according to different metrics. For guys who don't play a lot of minutes that might be cheap, Greg Stiemsma looks like the most valuable guy still left on the market according to his efficiency metric, which takes a look at their win statistics and compares it to their minutes statistics. We took his metric with blocks included and then ran his metric without blocks included and Stiemsma's ratings had a nice jump when blocks were added in. Emeka Okafor is another guy who would provide good rim protection according to McIntyre's Efficiency Rating (MER), but with him sitting out a full season due to injury, it would be hard to see him coming in and giving them what they need. Getting these guys at the LeBron discount (definitely a real thing) would be a worthwhile investment for Cleveland.
Miami Heat
For the first time ever, I have no clue on what a team should do. Without LeBron and presumably Bosh (we will talk about the Ripple Effect in a bit), the only people they have on their roster are Shabazz Napier, Norris Cole, James Ennis, Justin Hamilton, Josh McRoberts, and Danny Granger. One would assume that they would bring back Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem, Heat lifers. There is no way that they are on any other big name free agent's list because of how late to the party they would be. They also don't have many draft picks available in the next coming years, so it's not like they can blow it up at all either. With LeBron and Bosh leaving, they are really handicapped as to what they can do. Before, you could've just trusted Pat Riley to do what needed to be done. Now, I'm no so sure they are going to make it out of this offseason alive.
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
I wrote in last year's Free Agency winners and losers column that this summer would be basically a fantasy draft for the league. Are you guys starting to believe me now? I wasn't kidding.
LeBron choosing to leave Miami and go to Cleveland was the scenario that all us basketball junkies dream about because it creates the most pandemonium and roster turnover. Let's take a look at it piece by piece...
Kevin Love
Minnesota is one of the sneaky winners from LeBron choosing Cleveland. With him choosing to take his talents back home and knowing that the Cavs are going to press hard to bring Love to Ohio, Flip Saunders and the T-Wolves now hold almost all the cards in a potential Kevin Love trade. They can ask for whatever they want. The hold up seems to be over whether or not Cleveland will trade Andrew Wiggins, but if you're Cleveland, you deal him and don't think twice about it if it means bringing in Kevin Love.
Houston Rockets
Chris Bosh would've stayed with the Heat had LeBron decided to stay but not that James is going elsewhere, Bosh is heading to Houston. This has created an incredible amount of shuffling among teams. The Rockets have made the necessary moves to bring him back to his home state of Texas. They are also going to match Chandler Parsons and because they have his Bird Rights, it allows them to match Dallas' offer sheet and go over the cap. I mentioned it on Monday, but Bosh joining the Rockets for Lin, Asik, and a first round pick is just remarkable. If you factor in getting Dwight for nothing, and Harden for 10 cents on the dollar, Daryl Morey is the luckiest GM in the league. With Bosh, their rim protecting, floor spacing McHale Machine will be unstoppable. I mentioned above how they were the best team against the Spurs last season due to these factors and Bosh brings both of those to their team. In my humble opinion, even with the Spurs, the Rockets are the favorites to win the West with Bosh.
Others
Carmelo is the next huge domino to fall. Once he decides (reportedly between a return to New York or Chicago) then it will only get crazier. Guys like Lance Stephenson, Luol Deng, Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol, and dozens of others will fall to the remnants of teams like Chicago, Phoenix, Dallas, the Lakers, and possibly Miami. People have wondered why guys like Jodie Meeks, Channing Frye, Kyle Lowry, and Marcin Gortat have been overpaid is so that those teams could make sure they locked up the specific guys they wanted before things go crazy after the LeBron decision. Plus, with the amount of cap space floating around on teams and with a rising salary cap and luxury tax, it isn't really a problem for teams to splurge and overpay guys. This will be the interesting subplot going forward now and every offseason.
(Lastly: I want to say this now and plant the seed for you all to remember this in the back of you mind. You think this offseason is crazy? Just wait until 2016. Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, and many other superstars are going to be free agents. Plus, the NBA's CBA has an opt out in that year and with the amount of power the owners have now, you can bet that we are going to have another lockout. Did I just say that? Yes I did. So don't worry. If this isn't enough for like it definitely has been for me, then just wait. 2016 will be even crazier.)
This day will never be forgotten.
My two hour out of body experience today began when I was on the toilet (I know this is social suicide but I have to be open and vulnerable to add to the craziness of this day) and received an insane amount of text messages from a total of 13 people. I immediately went to twitter where I spent the next hour refreshing my twitter feed while also having 10 simultaneous conversations and trying not to lose my mind.
After having a couple near meltdowns and spending a couple fifteen minute periods gathering myself, I can finally begin to take it all in. The King has left his South Beach Kingdom to rebuild the one he destroyed four years ago.
LeBron broke the story himself on Sports Illustrated this morning with his incredible letter. Not only did he state his intentions for next season, he listed his reasons for leaving the team he went to four straight finals with; saying that it was time to come home and that with a third child on the way it was a good decision to return to Northeast Ohio (real quick: big shout out to my mom. she called it two days ago. She told me that the wife wanted to go back to Cleveland with the new kid on the way. Nice job, Carrie). A chance to return home and play with an unknown, unproven, young roster was worth more to LeBron than staying with the team that taught him so much about accountability, leadership, and winning.
He only had nice things to say about the Miami Mafia; owner Mickey Arison, Pat Riley, and his best friends, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. He made the letter as classy as possible. Unlike Dan Gilbert, Mickey Arison expressed his disappointment yet thankfulness for LeBron's four year tenure in Miami.
Speaking of the infamous Dan Gilbert letter, the part of LeBron's masterpiece that I can't get over is the part where he talks about his meeting with Gilbert then ends it with the phrase "Who am I to hold a grudge?" When I read that, I couldn't fight back the tears. The maturity that LeBron has shown over these last four years, starting with "The Decision" fiasco, the promising of rings to the fans, and speaking poorly of them after the 2011 finals, to now preaching messages of family, patience, hope, and forgiveness has been tremendous. It was being reported that the only thing holding up from LeBron fully committing to Cleveland was the letter and to see him write words of forgiveness despite the letter is beyond remarkable. Would you have expected something like this from LeBron four years ago? This isn't just a lesson for us to learn as fans. This will be something that kids growing up watching the game of basketball and being fans of LeBron James will see and learn.
At one point in time, LeBron was criticized for not having won any championships. People murdered him for not winning anything and then chasing rings elsewhere. He got his wish, winning two championships in four years. But Miami had already tasted success. Cleveland hasn't experienced a championship in 50 years and LeBron wants to bring hope and promise to a city that hasn't had much to cheer about since, well, LeBron played there.
He realizes that with a young roster and first year head coach there will be growing pains. Patience will be needed. But it isn't just about the basketball. If he wanted the easy way out, he could've returned to Miami to have another championship contender with the same cast of guys. It's about patience, waiting and working through ups and downs. It's about leadership, teaching younger guys and empowering them to be leaders of their own. It's about family, remembering his roots and being loyal to the city that raised him. More importantly, this decision to return to Cleveland is about hope; bringing life to millions of fans who have waited and persevered through lots of pain and trial.
LeBron was right. Returning home wasn't just about basketball.
It's about way more than that.
WHERE DO THEY GO FROM HERE?
Cleveland Cavaliers
As it stands right now, the Cavaliers now have four number one overall picks on their roster in LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and the last two season's number one picks in Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins (#TEAMCANADA). They still have other former top ten picks in Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson, not to mention LeBron's good buddy Anderson Varejao, who has been with the Cavs with and without the King. The Cavs are reportedly now aggressively pursuing a trade with Minnesota for Kevin Love that would add a third All-Star along with Irving and James. The deal would almost have to include this year and maybe even last year's number one overall picks in Bennett and Wiggins plus additional assets. Cleveland has three first round picks next year which would be great to either use in a deal or hold on to.
Love would solve one of the two problems this roster has: shooting. My good friend McIntyre Webb (@Coach_MWebb) looked up shooting statistics on the Cavaliers current roster. Last year, the three point percentages for guys on Cleveland's team were as follows: Irving 35.8%, Wiggins 34.1% (college), LeBron 40.7%, Waiters 36.8%, Thompson/Varejao 0%. The only knock down shooter on that roster is LeBron, who doesn't shoot many outside jumpers to begin with despite his improving jump shot percentages each year. Irving, Waiters, and Wiggins aren't spot up shooters either as all three shoot better when they create something for themselves off the dribble. We saw in Miami how much success they had surrounding LeBron with spot up, knock down shooters.
It isn't surprising that they are targeting some of LeBron's buddies Mike Miller and Ray Allen. I would be shocked if they didn't end up in Cleveland next season for dirt cheap (it also wouldn't surprise me if Allen retired, however, as it is believed that he is leaning that way). If neither work out, they could look in house. With their second round pick, they drafted Joe Harris from Virginia who was one of the best spot up shooters in the draft who scouts said matched guys like McDermott and Stauskas in workouts. They had also reportedly traded for Stanford's stretch four Dwight Powell (another Canadian by the way!!!) at the draft but as of this afternoon, that deal has not been completed and it looks like Cleveland might be trying to use those assets for another deal. Bennett also has a redeemable season ahead and if he is able to stay in shape this offseason, he has real potential to be a stretch four. Their lineup possibilities are endless; they can go big with LeBron at the three and Wiggins at the two, they could have a shooting lineup that includes one of the above listed shooters and Bennett at the four along with James, and they can also have a killer small ball lineup with Irving, Waiters, Wiggins, James at the four, and any one of Varejao/Powell/Thompson. If they add Love, that just adds to the unlimited possibilities that innovative new coach David Blatt will have to play around with.
That doesn't solve their other problem, however, and that is rim protection. To beat the Spurs, it was shown last year that the two things needed are shooting and rim protection. The Thunder changed the tide of the Western Conference Finals when Serge Ibaka added his presence at the rim but they came up short because of their lack of reliable perimeter shooting around Westbrook and Durant. The Heat had an endless amount of shooters, but with Chris Andersen's injury they lacked the rim protection needed to stop the Spurs. The team that played the best against San Antonio from a point differential standpoint last season was the Houston Rockets, who had great rim protection in Omer Asik and Dwight Howard plus a plethora of shooters. The Cavs (other than LeBron of course) don't have any of that as it stands today and with Love's defensive deficiencies, he wouldn't any. The Cavs will have to look at some cheap options on the market seeing as it has zero of those rim protectors at the moment. My friend McIntyre also has his own analytical model that values players and rates them according to different metrics. For guys who don't play a lot of minutes that might be cheap, Greg Stiemsma looks like the most valuable guy still left on the market according to his efficiency metric, which takes a look at their win statistics and compares it to their minutes statistics. We took his metric with blocks included and then ran his metric without blocks included and Stiemsma's ratings had a nice jump when blocks were added in. Emeka Okafor is another guy who would provide good rim protection according to McIntyre's Efficiency Rating (MER), but with him sitting out a full season due to injury, it would be hard to see him coming in and giving them what they need. Getting these guys at the LeBron discount (definitely a real thing) would be a worthwhile investment for Cleveland.
Miami Heat
For the first time ever, I have no clue on what a team should do. Without LeBron and presumably Bosh (we will talk about the Ripple Effect in a bit), the only people they have on their roster are Shabazz Napier, Norris Cole, James Ennis, Justin Hamilton, Josh McRoberts, and Danny Granger. One would assume that they would bring back Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem, Heat lifers. There is no way that they are on any other big name free agent's list because of how late to the party they would be. They also don't have many draft picks available in the next coming years, so it's not like they can blow it up at all either. With LeBron and Bosh leaving, they are really handicapped as to what they can do. Before, you could've just trusted Pat Riley to do what needed to be done. Now, I'm no so sure they are going to make it out of this offseason alive.
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
I wrote in last year's Free Agency winners and losers column that this summer would be basically a fantasy draft for the league. Are you guys starting to believe me now? I wasn't kidding.
LeBron choosing to leave Miami and go to Cleveland was the scenario that all us basketball junkies dream about because it creates the most pandemonium and roster turnover. Let's take a look at it piece by piece...
Kevin Love
Minnesota is one of the sneaky winners from LeBron choosing Cleveland. With him choosing to take his talents back home and knowing that the Cavs are going to press hard to bring Love to Ohio, Flip Saunders and the T-Wolves now hold almost all the cards in a potential Kevin Love trade. They can ask for whatever they want. The hold up seems to be over whether or not Cleveland will trade Andrew Wiggins, but if you're Cleveland, you deal him and don't think twice about it if it means bringing in Kevin Love.
Houston Rockets
Chris Bosh would've stayed with the Heat had LeBron decided to stay but not that James is going elsewhere, Bosh is heading to Houston. This has created an incredible amount of shuffling among teams. The Rockets have made the necessary moves to bring him back to his home state of Texas. They are also going to match Chandler Parsons and because they have his Bird Rights, it allows them to match Dallas' offer sheet and go over the cap. I mentioned it on Monday, but Bosh joining the Rockets for Lin, Asik, and a first round pick is just remarkable. If you factor in getting Dwight for nothing, and Harden for 10 cents on the dollar, Daryl Morey is the luckiest GM in the league. With Bosh, their rim protecting, floor spacing McHale Machine will be unstoppable. I mentioned above how they were the best team against the Spurs last season due to these factors and Bosh brings both of those to their team. In my humble opinion, even with the Spurs, the Rockets are the favorites to win the West with Bosh.
Others
Carmelo is the next huge domino to fall. Once he decides (reportedly between a return to New York or Chicago) then it will only get crazier. Guys like Lance Stephenson, Luol Deng, Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol, and dozens of others will fall to the remnants of teams like Chicago, Phoenix, Dallas, the Lakers, and possibly Miami. People have wondered why guys like Jodie Meeks, Channing Frye, Kyle Lowry, and Marcin Gortat have been overpaid is so that those teams could make sure they locked up the specific guys they wanted before things go crazy after the LeBron decision. Plus, with the amount of cap space floating around on teams and with a rising salary cap and luxury tax, it isn't really a problem for teams to splurge and overpay guys. This will be the interesting subplot going forward now and every offseason.
(Lastly: I want to say this now and plant the seed for you all to remember this in the back of you mind. You think this offseason is crazy? Just wait until 2016. Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, and many other superstars are going to be free agents. Plus, the NBA's CBA has an opt out in that year and with the amount of power the owners have now, you can bet that we are going to have another lockout. Did I just say that? Yes I did. So don't worry. If this isn't enough for like it definitely has been for me, then just wait. 2016 will be even crazier.)
July 7, 2014
Sorting Through Insanity: Thoughts on LeBron, Handicapping 2014 Top Free Agents
by Austin Peters
Whoever thought that we would get to this point?
No other sport does the offseason like the NBA. What other sport can you think of where the offseason is just as exciting as the actual product on the court? Everybody loves to dream and think of best case scenarios for their teams. "Wouldn't it be fun to see Player A and Player B play together?!" "It sure would be something if Team X went out and got Player Y!" "Team Z really needs a player like Player A on their team."
This offseason has been the craziest of any offseason in the history of offseasons. It has to be. Yes we had "The Decision" in 2010, but social media and reporting was not at the level it is currently in the summer of 2014. Throw in the amount of landscape changing free agents, and we have a ton of reasons as to why this offseason is the sexiest yet.
Speaking of landscape-changing-free agents... There is a certain free agent that is currently drawing more attention than others. Ever since the final buzzer sounded and the Spurs hoisted their fifth Larry O'Brien trophy, people have been speculating as to whether or not LeBron James will continue to be a member of the Miami Heat, the team he has been to four straight NBA Finals with and won two championships. Everyday there is new information and speculation as to what is going on in the superstar's mind.
Right now, as it stands at 11:21 AM on Monday July 7th, 2014, Free Agency is at a stand still. A week has gone by and there hasn't been any significant free agent acquisitions (depending on how you feel about Spencer Hawes) other than Kyle Lowry and Marcin Gortat re-signing with their squads. That doesn't change the landscape at all. Guys like Greg Monroe, Isaiah Thomas, Gordon Hayward, Chandler Parsons, Lance Stephenson, Pau Gasol, Luol Deng, and others are waiting for the decisions of the top dogs before they make their own decisions. The dominoes always fall each and every year and free agency always plays out this way; the stars of the market get their money then everyone else gets theirs after them. Carmelo Anthony's decision will most likely come later today (probably while I'm writing this knowing my luck), but nobody knows what is going on with the situation in Miami between LeBron James and the Heat. LeBron is taking his sweet time with his decision; he took a vacation, has his skills academy this week, and will go to Brazil to watch the World Cup. He is creating a lot of uncertainty and anxiety amongst not just fans but also front office executives and other players.
LeBron has put the Heat in a tough position. He has said that he wants to see what Pat Riley, Mickey Arison, and co. can do in Free Agency before he decides to return to South Beach. The Miami Mafia has been aggressive on that front, meeting with guys like Kyle Lowry, Marcin Gortat, Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol, Marvin Williams, Josh McRoberts, and others. None of these guys, however, are willing to commit to Miami unless there is certainty that Miami will retain LeBron, Bosh, and Wade. Chris Bosh has also said that he will return to Miami for less money if LeBron stays. Ditto for Wade. But there is a huge problem at the center of all this... LeBron won't commit unless he sees improvements in the roster but Riley can't add improvements unless LeBron commits. It is a matter of "who blinks first?"
LeBron holds all of the cards and his hand is a lot better than people seem to understand. He not only controls what the Miami Heat are doing in free agency. He doesn't just control where all other free agents land. LeBron James has control over the entire NBA. However much the power of the league shifts (and it could be a GIGANTIC shift if LeBron decides to leave) rests on LeBron's huge shoulders. Literally, the weight of the NBA is in his hands.
Where will The King build his new Kingdom?
It will be interesting to see how it plays out. LeBron's agent, childhood friend Rich Paul, has met with Phoenix, the Lakers, Cleveland, Dallas, and Houston. It was also reported yesterday that Paul, whose agency is based out of Cleveland, is pushing for a return to Cleveland for the Akron-born superstar. Chris Broussard of ESPN even said his gut tells him LeBron is returning to Cleveland. Sources out of Cleveland say they have deals lined up to clear cap space to make room for a max contract if LeBron decides to return home. He is meeting with Pat Riley within the next couple days to discuss whatever it is that LeBron wants to discuss.
The fact that LeBron is agreeing to meet with Riley and isn't meeting with any other teams face to face has to be a good sign for the Heat. One thing we know for sure is that Pat Riley is a genius and has a way of convincing people to do what he wants. LeBron definitely realizes the power he has, though. He understands his influence and how much of the situation he controls. It will be interesting to see what comes of that meeting and what direction Riley and LeBron's camp goes; if they go the same direction or if they decide to go opposite paths.
Ultimately, as I've adamantly said from Day One (here, here, and here) of this mess, I believe that LeBron will return to Miami. It is still really hard for me to believe that LeBron would return to an owner that wrote a very hurtful letter about him and a city that burned his jerseys. Brian Windhorst (the man who has covered LeBron since he was in high school, written two books about LeBron, and who LeBron admits to knowing more about his life than maybe he even knows) said this morning on "The Herd" that he has three sources that he trusts more than any other (one of them being LeBron) and he hasn't heard from any of those three sources an interest in any other team other than Miami. It will be interesting to see what happens and how it plays out. Until then, LeBron has everybody on pins and needles awaiting his deicision.
Prediction: Miami 80%, Cleveland 15%, Other 5%
Melo Mania
As I said earlier, Melo's decision is supposed to come today. It was reported over the weekend that the only two teams that are in the discussion now are the Lakers and Knicks because they can offer him the most money. Teams like Dallas, Chicago, and Houston have all moved on to other players. He also has homes in both places and spends his summers in Los Angeles. His decision also factors into the Pau Gasol decision because apparently (for whatever reason) Pau is considering following Melo wherever he goes.
The tipping point in Melo's decision? His wife, TV show celebrity Lala, said that she wants to stay in New York. Key rule in life: happy wife, happy life. Not sure Melo would be wise to upset that balance.
Prediction: New York 55%, Los Angeles Lakers 40%, Other 5%
Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh is another key cog in "Decision 2.0." He wants to stay in Miami if LeBron stays. If for some reason LeBron might decide to leave, Houston is aggresively pursuing him. As of this afternoon, they have offered him a full four year max contract and he is seriously considering it. Bosh would be a great fit next to Dwight Howard. But as it stands today, Miami is his preferred destination unless LeBron leaves.
If he does leave, you have to be happy for him getting max money and playing in his home state of Texas. Also, if he does end up in Houston, what a job by Daryl Morey to bring in Chris Bosh and only costing him Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin, and maybe a pick. Amazing to think about.
Prediction: Miami 75%, Houston 25%
Dwyane Wade
Wade isn't going anywhere. There aren't any other teams that are exploring a possibility of bringing Wade in. He is going to re-sign with the Heat. The only question is for how long and for how much? This obviously depends on what happens with LeBron and Bosh's decisions.
I quickly want to point something out concerning Wade... I know that a lot of people don't think that he is anything worth a darn anymore. He hangs out on the baseline like a big waiting for a drop pass, he doesn't space the floor because he can't shoot, and he can't explode to basket like he used to be able too. His knees have made it so he can't play a full season and definitely could be the reason for his struggles in the playoffs. Despite all of this, Dwyane is still a 20-5-5 guy when he is on the floor who gets in passing lanes, makes incredible off ball cuts, and can be a secondary ball handler. Yes it is a huge chore just to get him on the floor at anything close to 100%. But to think that he isn't worth a darn or isn't a key piece on a championship team anymore is just false.
Prediction: Miami 100%
The Restricted Free Agent Market
Restricted Free Agents are so tricky. Teams other than their previous team have all the chips and they have zero say in the matter when it comes down to it. Other teams get hesitant to offer contracts in fear that the team will match. They can't overpay either because then the team could choose not to match and they would be stuck with a player they overpaid (see Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin).
Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons are drawing interest from similar teams and are the first two guys that teams will be calling after Melo and LeBron make their decisions. The Hawks, Mavericks, Suns, Cavaliers, Hornets, Lakers, Rockets, Celtics, and Bulls are all similar teams on these guys' lists. They both can't go to the same place so it will depend on where LeBron and Melo end up deciding. Also, in reference to Parsons, he is a key piece in any sort of Kevin Love or Rajon Rondo trade that might happen with the Rockets.
Gordon Hayward: Utah 75%, Cleveland 17%, Celtics 2.5%, Suns 2.5%, Other 3%
Chandler Parsons: Rockets 45%, Dallas, 25%, Bulls 10%, Timberwolves, 10%, Celtics 5%, Other 5%
Monroe is trickier than the above two guys because the Pistons are really determined to keep him and trade Josh Smith for just about anything. Monroe has also had talks with front office members about the kind of stuff he wants to happen in order for him to stay. Not sure how much good it is going to do seeing as the Pistons can just simply match an offer sheet, but for now, it looks like he is returning to be a Piston.
Greg Monroe: Detroit 97%, Other 3%
Isaiah Thomas almost seems like a lock not to return to the Kings after they low-balled him with an offer and overpaid for Darren Collison. On the flip side, it is hard to gauge how much interest he is getting from other teams. I'm going to go ahead and say the Pistons seem like the frontrunner because they are the only team that has offered him a deal so far. Also, like Parsons, he could be a piece in any sort of Rondo deal between Sacramento and Boston.
Isaiah Thomas: Detroit 33%, Boston, 20%, Dallas 17%, Sacramento 15%, Other 15%
Eric Bledsoe, like Monroe, is another guy that is hard to see anywhere else but his previous team. Phoenix has said multiple times they are willing to match any max contract that other teams throw at him. But it is also interesting to see how much Bledsoe and Dragic have been in trade rumors recently. In this day in age, you can't rule anything out but I'm not sure why they would wanna shake things up in spite of the success that Hornacek had with the dual point guard lineup.
Eric Bledsoe: Phoenix 99.5%, Other 0.5%
LANCE!!!
Lance reportedly turned down an offer for 5 years, $44 million from the Pacers. Indy is really close to the luxury tax and it might seem like they are ready to let Lance walk. But Lance is still training at the Pacers' practice facility and there aren't too many teams interested in meeting with him. This could mean a couple things... The Pacers could be planning a huge shakeup. With Larry Bird, don't rule that out. They are trying to land Rondo and Goran Dragic and also are shopping Roy Hibbert and George Hill. They might end up having the same roster next season but don't be shocked if something huge happens in Indianapolis. My personal favorite landing spot for Lance is Chicago. I feel like he would be a great fit with Rose and Butler and Thibs no nonsense locker room.
Prediction: Indiana 50%, Chicago 20%, Dallas 15%, Lakers 10%, Other 5%
Luol Deng
Deng is being pursued hard by the Hawks. They have the cap space to offer him the money he is asking and they signed Thabo Sefalosha hoping that he would be able to recruit his close friend Deng. Also, any team mentioned above is a candidate to have Deng after the LeBron mess gets sorted out.
Prediction: Atlanta 40%, Dallas, 30%, Los Angeles (either Lakers or Clippers) 20%, Miami 10%
Pau Gasol
I know that Pau wants to play with Melo, but why? That just seems strange. He and Kobe are also close so it wouldn't be surprising if Pau returned to LA now that Mike D'Antoni is out. He has also met with Miami and OKC and personally, I would love to see him play for OKC. I think he is a perfect fit for that team and would work perfectly in their offense. Not to mention he would be a great locker room presence. Sadly, they are probably the last team on this list. It is going to be hard to choose between NY and LA, no matter what Melo decides. It is going to be hard for NY to make room for him if that is eventually where he wants to go.
Prediction: Lakers 42%, New York 38%, Miami 15%, OKC 3%, Other 2%
Whoever thought that we would get to this point?
No other sport does the offseason like the NBA. What other sport can you think of where the offseason is just as exciting as the actual product on the court? Everybody loves to dream and think of best case scenarios for their teams. "Wouldn't it be fun to see Player A and Player B play together?!" "It sure would be something if Team X went out and got Player Y!" "Team Z really needs a player like Player A on their team."
This offseason has been the craziest of any offseason in the history of offseasons. It has to be. Yes we had "The Decision" in 2010, but social media and reporting was not at the level it is currently in the summer of 2014. Throw in the amount of landscape changing free agents, and we have a ton of reasons as to why this offseason is the sexiest yet.
Speaking of landscape-changing-free agents... There is a certain free agent that is currently drawing more attention than others. Ever since the final buzzer sounded and the Spurs hoisted their fifth Larry O'Brien trophy, people have been speculating as to whether or not LeBron James will continue to be a member of the Miami Heat, the team he has been to four straight NBA Finals with and won two championships. Everyday there is new information and speculation as to what is going on in the superstar's mind.
Right now, as it stands at 11:21 AM on Monday July 7th, 2014, Free Agency is at a stand still. A week has gone by and there hasn't been any significant free agent acquisitions (depending on how you feel about Spencer Hawes) other than Kyle Lowry and Marcin Gortat re-signing with their squads. That doesn't change the landscape at all. Guys like Greg Monroe, Isaiah Thomas, Gordon Hayward, Chandler Parsons, Lance Stephenson, Pau Gasol, Luol Deng, and others are waiting for the decisions of the top dogs before they make their own decisions. The dominoes always fall each and every year and free agency always plays out this way; the stars of the market get their money then everyone else gets theirs after them. Carmelo Anthony's decision will most likely come later today (probably while I'm writing this knowing my luck), but nobody knows what is going on with the situation in Miami between LeBron James and the Heat. LeBron is taking his sweet time with his decision; he took a vacation, has his skills academy this week, and will go to Brazil to watch the World Cup. He is creating a lot of uncertainty and anxiety amongst not just fans but also front office executives and other players.
LeBron has put the Heat in a tough position. He has said that he wants to see what Pat Riley, Mickey Arison, and co. can do in Free Agency before he decides to return to South Beach. The Miami Mafia has been aggressive on that front, meeting with guys like Kyle Lowry, Marcin Gortat, Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol, Marvin Williams, Josh McRoberts, and others. None of these guys, however, are willing to commit to Miami unless there is certainty that Miami will retain LeBron, Bosh, and Wade. Chris Bosh has also said that he will return to Miami for less money if LeBron stays. Ditto for Wade. But there is a huge problem at the center of all this... LeBron won't commit unless he sees improvements in the roster but Riley can't add improvements unless LeBron commits. It is a matter of "who blinks first?"
LeBron holds all of the cards and his hand is a lot better than people seem to understand. He not only controls what the Miami Heat are doing in free agency. He doesn't just control where all other free agents land. LeBron James has control over the entire NBA. However much the power of the league shifts (and it could be a GIGANTIC shift if LeBron decides to leave) rests on LeBron's huge shoulders. Literally, the weight of the NBA is in his hands.
Where will The King build his new Kingdom?
It will be interesting to see how it plays out. LeBron's agent, childhood friend Rich Paul, has met with Phoenix, the Lakers, Cleveland, Dallas, and Houston. It was also reported yesterday that Paul, whose agency is based out of Cleveland, is pushing for a return to Cleveland for the Akron-born superstar. Chris Broussard of ESPN even said his gut tells him LeBron is returning to Cleveland. Sources out of Cleveland say they have deals lined up to clear cap space to make room for a max contract if LeBron decides to return home. He is meeting with Pat Riley within the next couple days to discuss whatever it is that LeBron wants to discuss.
The fact that LeBron is agreeing to meet with Riley and isn't meeting with any other teams face to face has to be a good sign for the Heat. One thing we know for sure is that Pat Riley is a genius and has a way of convincing people to do what he wants. LeBron definitely realizes the power he has, though. He understands his influence and how much of the situation he controls. It will be interesting to see what comes of that meeting and what direction Riley and LeBron's camp goes; if they go the same direction or if they decide to go opposite paths.
Ultimately, as I've adamantly said from Day One (here, here, and here) of this mess, I believe that LeBron will return to Miami. It is still really hard for me to believe that LeBron would return to an owner that wrote a very hurtful letter about him and a city that burned his jerseys. Brian Windhorst (the man who has covered LeBron since he was in high school, written two books about LeBron, and who LeBron admits to knowing more about his life than maybe he even knows) said this morning on "The Herd" that he has three sources that he trusts more than any other (one of them being LeBron) and he hasn't heard from any of those three sources an interest in any other team other than Miami. It will be interesting to see what happens and how it plays out. Until then, LeBron has everybody on pins and needles awaiting his deicision.
Prediction: Miami 80%, Cleveland 15%, Other 5%
Melo Mania
As I said earlier, Melo's decision is supposed to come today. It was reported over the weekend that the only two teams that are in the discussion now are the Lakers and Knicks because they can offer him the most money. Teams like Dallas, Chicago, and Houston have all moved on to other players. He also has homes in both places and spends his summers in Los Angeles. His decision also factors into the Pau Gasol decision because apparently (for whatever reason) Pau is considering following Melo wherever he goes.
The tipping point in Melo's decision? His wife, TV show celebrity Lala, said that she wants to stay in New York. Key rule in life: happy wife, happy life. Not sure Melo would be wise to upset that balance.
Prediction: New York 55%, Los Angeles Lakers 40%, Other 5%
Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh is another key cog in "Decision 2.0." He wants to stay in Miami if LeBron stays. If for some reason LeBron might decide to leave, Houston is aggresively pursuing him. As of this afternoon, they have offered him a full four year max contract and he is seriously considering it. Bosh would be a great fit next to Dwight Howard. But as it stands today, Miami is his preferred destination unless LeBron leaves.
If he does leave, you have to be happy for him getting max money and playing in his home state of Texas. Also, if he does end up in Houston, what a job by Daryl Morey to bring in Chris Bosh and only costing him Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin, and maybe a pick. Amazing to think about.
Prediction: Miami 75%, Houston 25%
Dwyane Wade
Wade isn't going anywhere. There aren't any other teams that are exploring a possibility of bringing Wade in. He is going to re-sign with the Heat. The only question is for how long and for how much? This obviously depends on what happens with LeBron and Bosh's decisions.
I quickly want to point something out concerning Wade... I know that a lot of people don't think that he is anything worth a darn anymore. He hangs out on the baseline like a big waiting for a drop pass, he doesn't space the floor because he can't shoot, and he can't explode to basket like he used to be able too. His knees have made it so he can't play a full season and definitely could be the reason for his struggles in the playoffs. Despite all of this, Dwyane is still a 20-5-5 guy when he is on the floor who gets in passing lanes, makes incredible off ball cuts, and can be a secondary ball handler. Yes it is a huge chore just to get him on the floor at anything close to 100%. But to think that he isn't worth a darn or isn't a key piece on a championship team anymore is just false.
Prediction: Miami 100%
The Restricted Free Agent Market
Restricted Free Agents are so tricky. Teams other than their previous team have all the chips and they have zero say in the matter when it comes down to it. Other teams get hesitant to offer contracts in fear that the team will match. They can't overpay either because then the team could choose not to match and they would be stuck with a player they overpaid (see Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin).
Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons are drawing interest from similar teams and are the first two guys that teams will be calling after Melo and LeBron make their decisions. The Hawks, Mavericks, Suns, Cavaliers, Hornets, Lakers, Rockets, Celtics, and Bulls are all similar teams on these guys' lists. They both can't go to the same place so it will depend on where LeBron and Melo end up deciding. Also, in reference to Parsons, he is a key piece in any sort of Kevin Love or Rajon Rondo trade that might happen with the Rockets.
Gordon Hayward: Utah 75%, Cleveland 17%, Celtics 2.5%, Suns 2.5%, Other 3%
Chandler Parsons: Rockets 45%, Dallas, 25%, Bulls 10%, Timberwolves, 10%, Celtics 5%, Other 5%
Monroe is trickier than the above two guys because the Pistons are really determined to keep him and trade Josh Smith for just about anything. Monroe has also had talks with front office members about the kind of stuff he wants to happen in order for him to stay. Not sure how much good it is going to do seeing as the Pistons can just simply match an offer sheet, but for now, it looks like he is returning to be a Piston.
Greg Monroe: Detroit 97%, Other 3%
Isaiah Thomas almost seems like a lock not to return to the Kings after they low-balled him with an offer and overpaid for Darren Collison. On the flip side, it is hard to gauge how much interest he is getting from other teams. I'm going to go ahead and say the Pistons seem like the frontrunner because they are the only team that has offered him a deal so far. Also, like Parsons, he could be a piece in any sort of Rondo deal between Sacramento and Boston.
Isaiah Thomas: Detroit 33%, Boston, 20%, Dallas 17%, Sacramento 15%, Other 15%
Eric Bledsoe, like Monroe, is another guy that is hard to see anywhere else but his previous team. Phoenix has said multiple times they are willing to match any max contract that other teams throw at him. But it is also interesting to see how much Bledsoe and Dragic have been in trade rumors recently. In this day in age, you can't rule anything out but I'm not sure why they would wanna shake things up in spite of the success that Hornacek had with the dual point guard lineup.
Eric Bledsoe: Phoenix 99.5%, Other 0.5%
LANCE!!!
Lance reportedly turned down an offer for 5 years, $44 million from the Pacers. Indy is really close to the luxury tax and it might seem like they are ready to let Lance walk. But Lance is still training at the Pacers' practice facility and there aren't too many teams interested in meeting with him. This could mean a couple things... The Pacers could be planning a huge shakeup. With Larry Bird, don't rule that out. They are trying to land Rondo and Goran Dragic and also are shopping Roy Hibbert and George Hill. They might end up having the same roster next season but don't be shocked if something huge happens in Indianapolis. My personal favorite landing spot for Lance is Chicago. I feel like he would be a great fit with Rose and Butler and Thibs no nonsense locker room.
Prediction: Indiana 50%, Chicago 20%, Dallas 15%, Lakers 10%, Other 5%
Luol Deng
Deng is being pursued hard by the Hawks. They have the cap space to offer him the money he is asking and they signed Thabo Sefalosha hoping that he would be able to recruit his close friend Deng. Also, any team mentioned above is a candidate to have Deng after the LeBron mess gets sorted out.
Prediction: Atlanta 40%, Dallas, 30%, Los Angeles (either Lakers or Clippers) 20%, Miami 10%
Pau Gasol
I know that Pau wants to play with Melo, but why? That just seems strange. He and Kobe are also close so it wouldn't be surprising if Pau returned to LA now that Mike D'Antoni is out. He has also met with Miami and OKC and personally, I would love to see him play for OKC. I think he is a perfect fit for that team and would work perfectly in their offense. Not to mention he would be a great locker room presence. Sadly, they are probably the last team on this list. It is going to be hard to choose between NY and LA, no matter what Melo decides. It is going to be hard for NY to make room for him if that is eventually where he wants to go.
Prediction: Lakers 42%, New York 38%, Miami 15%, OKC 3%, Other 2%
July 1, 2014
Are We Surprised?
by Jordan Britt
On Monday June 30, news broke that Jason Kidd, the former coach of the Brooklyn Nets, has been traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for two second round draft picks. Here are the facts: Jason Kidd is a known jerk. The Bucks are young and for the most part, irrelevant. And Brooklyn is trying to make money fast under the guise of ‘winning’ basketball games. My initial question is: are we really surprised?
On Monday June 30, news broke that Jason Kidd, the former coach of the Brooklyn Nets, has been traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for two second round draft picks. Here are the facts: Jason Kidd is a known jerk. The Bucks are young and for the most part, irrelevant. And Brooklyn is trying to make money fast under the guise of ‘winning’ basketball games. My initial question is: are we really surprised?
Jason
Kidd
Kidd
had an abysmal season as a first year coach with the Brooklyn Nets. Yes
Brooklyn made the playoffs, and yes they beat Toronto. But let’s back up a
minute here and look at this again. Let’s start with Brooklyn’s roster…
Brooklyn, a team with KG, Paul Pierce, Deron Williams, and Joe Johnson, was the
six seed in the East. Now, I am the first to admit that KG and the Truth are
way past their prime, but I am a big believer in locker room leadership and
experience. Joe Johnson and Deron Williams are both young enough to play very
good and effective basketball. Johnson probably needs to be more assertive as a
scorer and go-to-guy. Williams needs to sharpen up his point guard play and
find the D Will that tore through teams in Utah. Regardless, those two are
fine. As for the rest of the team, they did suffer a big blow in the loss of
Brook Lopez, but this led to the coming out party of Mason Plumlee, who had a
very good rookie year. Also, Shaun Livingston came back from a tragic career
plagued by injuries and not only played as an effective back-up point, but also
had everyone who has a heart tearing up a little. Andray Blatche is
hit-or-miss, but there is no doubt he is talented. He has potential to be a
very skilled big man, although his chance of being a dominant big in the NBA is
probably gone now. But if you look at this roster, they are about 7 deep of
high quality players. And in the second half the season, you saw the team that
most people had been waiting for all year. But the question posed is, “Who gets
the credit?"
I
personally would like to give that credit to the veterans, KG and Paul Pierce.
Those two led many untalented rosters to playoff berths throughout their entire
careers, until they united in Boston with Ray Allen (but that is another story
for another day). KG and Paul Pierce know, and know very well, what it means to
be on a bad team. KG CARRIED those Minnesota teams. KG might be in the
discussion for greatest power forward of all time had he not run into the
greatest power forward of all time so many times (Tim Duncan). Pierce played on
a Boston team where he was the best player and the number two options
fluctuated between Antoine Walker and young Al Jefferson. No disrespect to any
of those players, but neither of them is a top tier All-NBA guys. KG, Pierce,
Johnson, and Williams have been at least once in their careers. This is where I
think we can say that Pierce and KG made Jason Kidd’s job a lot easier. It is
very easy to coach when you have two locker room leaders who play and act like
coaches on the floor with All-NBA talent surrounding them. Not to mention that
both KG and Paul Pierce tend to find something left in the tank in critical
moments. These guys are old, but they are not, and never will be, scrubs.
Let
us also take a brief look at the Eastern Conference in two words: Top heavy. We
have all heard this before, so I’m going to make this short… The only
legitimate title contenders this year by the All-Star break from the East were
Indiana and Miami. Chicago lost Rose early on and it is hard to convince me
that Toronto ever really had a chance to win the Eastern Conference. I am happy
that this organization was able to win some games after falling on rough times,
but they are not built to win titles, they are built to make the playoffs in
the East. The Wizards are the same way and so on down the line. On the other
hand, the West was loaded with 3-4 teams that were legitimate title contenders
this year. I’ll sum up my conference analysis: the West REALLY, REALLY good and
the East weak.
Now
back to Jason Kidd… The guy took a roster that was built to beat Miami and that
was loaded with talent (albeit aging talent) and got them the six seed and a
win over a young Toronto team with as much playoff experience as me (to
clarify, I’ve never been in the NBA playoffs, but I did make the playoffs in
intramurals this year). Congratulations, Coach Kidd, you relied heavily on
veterans to get to the second round and get nearly swept by the team you were
made to beat… Jason Kidd cannot coach. Great players do not always translate to
be good coaches. There are exceptions to this rule like Larry Bird, KC Jones,
or Lenny Wilkens (I’d say Doc Rivers, but he is not enshrined in the Hall of
Fame as a basketball player so he was a really good player not a great player).
But generally the best coaches were average or pretty good basketball players
in the League. Here are some names: Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Doc Rivers, Lionel
Hollins, Doug Collins, and Scott Skiles. I’m not claiming that these are the
best coaches ever, but this is a pretty decent list of coaches who all have
done pretty well in the league. Kidd, on the other hand, was a great teammate
of a player but not necessarily a locker room leader. The 2011 Mavs squad was
Dirk’s team along with a very good and often underrated coach in Rick Carlisle.
Kidd just didn’t turn the ball over. As a coach, he started off with a
suspension for a DWI. More to the point is the infamous water-spilling
incident. That may not indicate whether he can draw up a good play or not, but
it does indicate it must take him longer than other coaches.
So
let’s ask ourselves, “What makes a good coach?” For starters; wins, player
popularity, and ability to maximize potential talent on a roster. Kidd won…kind
of. He got a six seed in the East that we have already established is terrible.
They then lost second round after Toronto imploded. I know that Kidd is not
popular with the front office and he has been rumored by both the NY Times and
USA Today to have made power plays for control of the team. Interestingly enough,
I’ve never heard anyone on the Nets compliment Kidd as a coach. Other players
compliment their coaches. Erik Spoelstra gets shout outs. Gregg Popovich is
basically worshipped. Doc Rivers was, and still is, highly praised by his
players. Now two of those players played with Doc and those guys are all but
silent in regards to Kidd. Sometimes silence speaks louder than words. Also,
when has anyone ever heard of a coach with legal issues that were not related
to divorce? Kidd was suspended at the beginning of the year with a DWI. If it’s
a player, it’s probably fine he’s partying too hard. If it’s the coach, why
isn’t he watching game film or working with the front office? Not to mention
most people forgot about the alleged history of Kidd’s spousal abuse that we
can only hope is untrue. This guy is not a nice guy. Larry Bird and Charles
Barkley call these kinds of guys “knuckleheads.” Last I checked good or great
coaches were not “knuckleheads.”
The
Milwaukee Bucks trying to make Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets business model
Milwaukee
was bad last year. Really bad. To make it worse, they were bad in the East.
Fortunately, they got Jabari in the draft so they’ve made one off-season move
that will help. But I don’t understand the hiring of Jason Kidd. What does it
get you? We don’t know that he can develop players or that he can even coach.
Why would Milwaukee do this? I think I have an answer. They are imitating the
Brooklyn Nets model from last year. Make money under the guise of winning
basketball games. I do think Brooklyn was trying to win some games. They have
too much talent on that roster to believe otherwise, but they also have too
much public spectacle and absurd hiring to think that they weren’t just trying
to create a cheap show to sell tickets. Why hire Kidd? Here’s why: he played
for the Nets back in Jersey, he’s new and interesting, and Brooklyn fans need a
reason to go to the Barclays Center instead of the Garden. So why not go for
broke by getting NBA Vets at the last part of their popularity and then pair
them with a brand new coach who is beloved by the fan-base? At the very least
you’ll sell some tickets, something New Jersey could never seem to do. The
Bucks are doing the same thing. They stink, and next year they’ll stink again.
They will be better with Giannis and Jabari leading the way, but not enough to
be a dominant team or to even contend with the Pacers, Heat, or Bulls. But
their attendance is low and has been for a while so why not take a flyer on a
guy like Kidd after drafting Jabari? At the very least you’ll sell some
tickets.
This
is where I get skeptical. I am not sure that this move is a move that is made
to win games, but rather to make money. Generating fan interest is good, but
winning also generates fan interest. Just ask small markets like Oklahoma City,
Indiana, San Antonio, or Portland. Milwaukee isn’t exactly a thriving
metropolis and money isn’t flying around up there, but that doesn’t mean you
can’t build a winner. San Antonio has been doing it for over 15 years. Jabari is
a high character guy like Tim Duncan; he’s the kind of person that will be
loyal to fans if they are loyal to him. He’s also the kind of player that will
go where he thinks he can win. Like I said, winning generates fan interest and
fan interest produces money. I know it’s not that simple in real life, but I
think it is not as complicated as Brooklyn and Milwaukee have made it. You
don’t need to take flyers to sell tickets, just build a good team and develop
the young talent you have with a solid veteran coach. You don’t even have to
get a player coach. These kids are young and don’t have as much stake in
coaching styles. They need discipline so they can figure out the game.
Is
Jason Kidd a Good Hire?
Let
me start by saying that I am sorry Larry Drew was fired. That does not bother
me, as much from a front office standpoint, new guys have to bring in people
that they feel like they can work with and know. Is it always right? Nope. But
is it at least understandable? Yes. I’m sorry Larry Drew did not get the chance
he deserved; I hope he finds success somewhere else.
Now
the main point: was Jason Kidd a good hire for Milwaukee?
I’m
going to say no for several reasons. First, Kidd is unproven. What has he done?
Won a playoff series against one of the youngest teams in the league? He had
more NBA experience on that roster than pancakes at IHOP. They actually knew
the difference between playoff basketball and regular season ball. Second,
there is no proof he can develop young talent. Admittedly Mason Plumlee did get
better this year, but how much of that was going against KG, Brook Lopez and
Andray Blatche every day in practice? And how much of Plumlee’s success was
because Kidd knew how to exploit match-ups? Hardly any. Plumlee is a hustle
player who outworked guys to get rebounds and scored off of good interior
passing and offensive rebounds. Plumlee is good. I’d sign him in a heartbeat,
but he’s not a hard player to develop. Did Kidd get any other young player
better? Not that anyone can remember or even think of. Third, Kidd can’t
out-scheme guys. If you watch a Brooklyn Nets game, they do not beat you off of
great set plays. They beat you off of good on-ball defense, offensive skill,
savvy, and size inside to rebound. I would’ve been very impressed with Kidd had
he beat Toronto and won more than one game against Miami. As it stands, I am
not. Having said that, I will admit that I may be eating my words at this time
next year. Kidd did lose Lopez early on and then had to coach a very bizarre
roster in terms of its make-up. But as it stands, I do not think he makes
Milwaukee better.
June 25, 2014
2014 Mock Draft, Free Agency
by Austin Peters and Chase Deaton
Chase and Austin give some quick thoughts on the LeBron free agency then do their own first round Mock Draft.
Listen HERE
Chase and Austin give some quick thoughts on the LeBron free agency then do their own first round Mock Draft.
Listen HERE
June 17, 2014
2014 NBA Finals, Offseason Preview
by Austin Peters and Chase Deaton
What happened to Miami in the Finals? How does this Spurs dynasty stack up to the greatest teams of all time? Where do Tim Duncan and Gregg Poppovich stand in the history of basketball? We answers all those questions plus talk about some of our favorite offseason storylines in our very first podcast.
Listen HERE
What happened to Miami in the Finals? How does this Spurs dynasty stack up to the greatest teams of all time? Where do Tim Duncan and Gregg Poppovich stand in the history of basketball? We answers all those questions plus talk about some of our favorite offseason storylines in our very first podcast.
Listen HERE
July 4, 2013
The Aftermath
by Austin Peters
I don't think that Celtics fans have experienced more of a free fall than what has occurred over the last month.
I, like my fellow Celtic brethren, have had to suffer through the media frenzy that has surrounded the franchise. There have been a lot of stories that have been going on throughout the past month; Dwight Howard's possible team for next season, the NBA draft, the coaching carousel that has happened this offseason. But no matter what ground breaking news that has surfaced regarding these topics, it has always taken a backseat to whatever it is the Celtics have been doing. Most fans would say that this is a good thing. If we really dig deep and dissect what has happened over this roller coaster of a month then yes, everything that has happened to the Celtics have been positive things. The way the media has outlined and covered the stories, however, one wouldn't think so.
The greatest era of my life came to an end over the course of this last month. I have followed the NBA for a long time but never really dug into it until 2007 when my favorite player of all time got traded to the most storied franchise in NBA history...
July 31, 2007
The Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves had been discussing a deal for quite some time. The Wolves were looking to rebuild and the Celtics, after making a splash and trading for star shooting guard Ray Allen in the draft, were looking to make headlines yet again and add another piece that would help them in their efforts towards another title. Kevin Garnett was the prize they were after but the Big Ticket had been very reluctant to leaving Minnesota and did not want to leave the place he had called home for so long. Trade talks died out and both teams seemed content with going forward with their current rosters. Shortly after this, however, Garnett suddenly had a change of heart and was welcoming to the idea of teaming up with Allen and Celtics' franchise star Paul Pierce. Celtics GM Danny Ainge called his friend and former teammate Kevin McHale (Wolves GM) and resurrected the trade talks and got the deal done. The "Big 3" era had officially begun...
June 17, 2008
After a 66-16 regular season that gave them homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, the Celtics made it to the NBA Finals to face off against their arch rivals the Los Angeles Lakers. In Game 6, led by Garnett's 26 point, 14 rebound performance and the hot shooting of Ray Allen, the Celtics stomped the Lakers to win 131-92 to clinch their 17th title in franchise history. I still get goosebumps when I watch Garnett's post game interview. After many years of rebuilding and frustration, Coach Doc Rivers had finally gotten a good team to put together and coach. Rajon Rondo had emerged as a top point guard in the NBA. In their first year together, the "Boston Three Party" had proved that they could win a championship and it looked as if they would be winning many in the years to come...
2009-2012
The Celtics continued their dominance over the course of the next four seasons, always finishing at the top of the Eastern Conference. They made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009 only to lose to Dwight Howard's Orlando Magic in six. 2010 brought a rematch against the Lakers in the Finals where Boston gave away a lead in Game 7 and watched their enemies celebrate a championship. The following year, with Garnett sidelined during the playoffs due to an injury, the Celtics lost to the new look Miami Heat who had brought in a "Big 3" of their own that summer. In 2012, the Celtics fought off all of the nay-sayers and critics battling their way through a grueling seven game series in the Eastern Conference Finals against their new rivals in Miami and lost after a miraculous Game 6 performance by LeBron and a determined Dwyane Wade in Game 7. They had poured out so much into that run that it looked like this could be it. The "Big 3" had finally showed their age, that superstars can't be superstars forever, and that loyalty is a lost trait in today's game...
July 10, 2012
After all that the team had gone through and after all the success they had shared together over the last five years, Ray Allen decided to leave more money on the table and take a pay cut to join the Celtics new hated rival the Miami Heat. The first domino had fallen. Ray Allen's betrayal of a locker room that battled through adversity after adversity together was the beginning of the end for the Celtics...
2012-2013
Garnett and Pierce battled injuries all season long and star point guard Rajon Rondo tore his ACL in January, cementing Boston's future destiny for that season. The Celtics limped into the playoffs as the seven seed and lost a tough six game series to another rival, the New York Knicks. Boston once again showed resilience and fight as they went down 3-0 in the series and then battled back only to come up short in Game 6 at home. A long and dark offseason was ahead. Pierce is entering into the last season of his contract, Garnett isn't getting any younger, and Rondo's name has always been on the trading block. Yet none of these aforementioned storylines were what kicked off the gloomy month that was about to follow...
June 23, 2013
After on-again, off-again trade talks went down for a span of a month, the Celtics tenured head coach Doc Rivers decided it was time for a "change of scenery" and left Boston to go coach the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for a future first round pick. Rivers went back and forth the whole time between wanting to leave, wanting to stay, blaming Rondo, blaming Bill Simmons, etc. A city and franchise that Doc allegedly "loved" was now not good enough for him after he had previously promised Danny Ainge he would coach Boston through another rebuild. Doc proved once again that loyalty is a lost trait in today's game...
June 27, 2013
Days after the mess with Doc Rivers ended, the Celtics officially put a bow on the greatest era of my lifetime. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry (another personal favorite of mine) were shipped to the Brooklyn Nets for a package of players (still mad I have to watch Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries next season) and a multitude of draft picks. The "Big 3" era was now officially over. Allen was celebrating in Miami. Doc had quit on the team. And now the two remaining pieces from the "Boston Three Party" were sent away in order to usher in the rebuild of the Celtics. All the memories and moments shared over the last six seasons were now just that, memories and moments. No more Garnett talking trash. No more Pierce late game winners. No more classic Doc pump up speeches. No more Ray Allen corner threes. It's all over (just give me a moment, the tears are coming back...).
When we really sit and think about this last month, after we spend our time shedding tears and sharing memories, this month really was not as tumultuous as it seems. After the Doc Rivers and Nets trades, Boston now has a total of 9 first round picks in the next five years including two in the next year's stacked 2014 draft class (if Andrew Wiggins becomes a Celtic...). Ainge has also set themselves up to have a lot of cap room in next year's loaded 2014 free agency class (even if I have to watch Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries for one year). And to top it all off, yesterday they got this Brad Stevens guy who is a pretty solid coach (WE GOT BRAD STEVENS!!!). It will be a long, grueling couple years but it is safe to say that there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Celtics. After the explosion that has happened over the last month, there is hope to be found in the aftermath.
I don't think that Celtics fans have experienced more of a free fall than what has occurred over the last month.
I, like my fellow Celtic brethren, have had to suffer through the media frenzy that has surrounded the franchise. There have been a lot of stories that have been going on throughout the past month; Dwight Howard's possible team for next season, the NBA draft, the coaching carousel that has happened this offseason. But no matter what ground breaking news that has surfaced regarding these topics, it has always taken a backseat to whatever it is the Celtics have been doing. Most fans would say that this is a good thing. If we really dig deep and dissect what has happened over this roller coaster of a month then yes, everything that has happened to the Celtics have been positive things. The way the media has outlined and covered the stories, however, one wouldn't think so.
The greatest era of my life came to an end over the course of this last month. I have followed the NBA for a long time but never really dug into it until 2007 when my favorite player of all time got traded to the most storied franchise in NBA history...
July 31, 2007
The Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves had been discussing a deal for quite some time. The Wolves were looking to rebuild and the Celtics, after making a splash and trading for star shooting guard Ray Allen in the draft, were looking to make headlines yet again and add another piece that would help them in their efforts towards another title. Kevin Garnett was the prize they were after but the Big Ticket had been very reluctant to leaving Minnesota and did not want to leave the place he had called home for so long. Trade talks died out and both teams seemed content with going forward with their current rosters. Shortly after this, however, Garnett suddenly had a change of heart and was welcoming to the idea of teaming up with Allen and Celtics' franchise star Paul Pierce. Celtics GM Danny Ainge called his friend and former teammate Kevin McHale (Wolves GM) and resurrected the trade talks and got the deal done. The "Big 3" era had officially begun...
June 17, 2008
After a 66-16 regular season that gave them homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, the Celtics made it to the NBA Finals to face off against their arch rivals the Los Angeles Lakers. In Game 6, led by Garnett's 26 point, 14 rebound performance and the hot shooting of Ray Allen, the Celtics stomped the Lakers to win 131-92 to clinch their 17th title in franchise history. I still get goosebumps when I watch Garnett's post game interview. After many years of rebuilding and frustration, Coach Doc Rivers had finally gotten a good team to put together and coach. Rajon Rondo had emerged as a top point guard in the NBA. In their first year together, the "Boston Three Party" had proved that they could win a championship and it looked as if they would be winning many in the years to come...
2009-2012
The Celtics continued their dominance over the course of the next four seasons, always finishing at the top of the Eastern Conference. They made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009 only to lose to Dwight Howard's Orlando Magic in six. 2010 brought a rematch against the Lakers in the Finals where Boston gave away a lead in Game 7 and watched their enemies celebrate a championship. The following year, with Garnett sidelined during the playoffs due to an injury, the Celtics lost to the new look Miami Heat who had brought in a "Big 3" of their own that summer. In 2012, the Celtics fought off all of the nay-sayers and critics battling their way through a grueling seven game series in the Eastern Conference Finals against their new rivals in Miami and lost after a miraculous Game 6 performance by LeBron and a determined Dwyane Wade in Game 7. They had poured out so much into that run that it looked like this could be it. The "Big 3" had finally showed their age, that superstars can't be superstars forever, and that loyalty is a lost trait in today's game...
July 10, 2012
After all that the team had gone through and after all the success they had shared together over the last five years, Ray Allen decided to leave more money on the table and take a pay cut to join the Celtics new hated rival the Miami Heat. The first domino had fallen. Ray Allen's betrayal of a locker room that battled through adversity after adversity together was the beginning of the end for the Celtics...
2012-2013
Garnett and Pierce battled injuries all season long and star point guard Rajon Rondo tore his ACL in January, cementing Boston's future destiny for that season. The Celtics limped into the playoffs as the seven seed and lost a tough six game series to another rival, the New York Knicks. Boston once again showed resilience and fight as they went down 3-0 in the series and then battled back only to come up short in Game 6 at home. A long and dark offseason was ahead. Pierce is entering into the last season of his contract, Garnett isn't getting any younger, and Rondo's name has always been on the trading block. Yet none of these aforementioned storylines were what kicked off the gloomy month that was about to follow...
June 23, 2013
After on-again, off-again trade talks went down for a span of a month, the Celtics tenured head coach Doc Rivers decided it was time for a "change of scenery" and left Boston to go coach the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for a future first round pick. Rivers went back and forth the whole time between wanting to leave, wanting to stay, blaming Rondo, blaming Bill Simmons, etc. A city and franchise that Doc allegedly "loved" was now not good enough for him after he had previously promised Danny Ainge he would coach Boston through another rebuild. Doc proved once again that loyalty is a lost trait in today's game...
June 27, 2013
Days after the mess with Doc Rivers ended, the Celtics officially put a bow on the greatest era of my lifetime. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry (another personal favorite of mine) were shipped to the Brooklyn Nets for a package of players (still mad I have to watch Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries next season) and a multitude of draft picks. The "Big 3" era was now officially over. Allen was celebrating in Miami. Doc had quit on the team. And now the two remaining pieces from the "Boston Three Party" were sent away in order to usher in the rebuild of the Celtics. All the memories and moments shared over the last six seasons were now just that, memories and moments. No more Garnett talking trash. No more Pierce late game winners. No more classic Doc pump up speeches. No more Ray Allen corner threes. It's all over (just give me a moment, the tears are coming back...).
When we really sit and think about this last month, after we spend our time shedding tears and sharing memories, this month really was not as tumultuous as it seems. After the Doc Rivers and Nets trades, Boston now has a total of 9 first round picks in the next five years including two in the next year's stacked 2014 draft class (if Andrew Wiggins becomes a Celtic...). Ainge has also set themselves up to have a lot of cap room in next year's loaded 2014 free agency class (even if I have to watch Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries for one year). And to top it all off, yesterday they got this Brad Stevens guy who is a pretty solid coach (WE GOT BRAD STEVENS!!!). It will be a long, grueling couple years but it is safe to say that there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Celtics. After the explosion that has happened over the last month, there is hope to be found in the aftermath.
June 21, 2013
The Gap is Closer Than You Think
by Austin Peters
I am wrong.
We are all wrong.
These words are the words that nobody in today's society likes to hear. Nobody likes to admit when they are wrong. Usually when we are wrong we try to come up with an excuse as to why we are still right. People are just stubborn. Myself included. I am not going to throw out a stereotype without admitting that I too fall under this generalization.
In the summer of 2010, I jumped on the side of everyone else in being the biggest hater of LeBron James. Over the course of the last three seasons I have grown to dislike every flop, every complaint to the official, every curse word mouthed on the court, etc. just like all of you. LeBron James in more ways than one has come to embody everything that NBA fans don't like. I'd like to think it's split 50/50 as far as people that love LeBron and people that hate him. My twitter feed is full of the hate because I like to follow the people that have the same distaste for theatrics in sports.
After watching this incredible seven game, grind it out basketball series in which LeBron captured his second title in a row I am starting to think that the other 50% of people that I have had countless arguments with over the last three years have nailed one thing on the head. These people have figured it out. They are truly living in the moment and fully appreciating the greatest player of our generation. And possibly the greatest player of all time.
Yes there was everything wrong with "The Decision" and this debacle that got us all fired up and immediately on the hater bandwagon. The Heat nevertheless proceeded to march through the regular season and playoffs before losing to the veteran-filled Dallas Mavericks in six games. All of us LeBron haters also remember rather vividly his worst interview ever after that Game 6 loss, giving us even more motivation not to like the guy. His performance in that Finals wasn't very good no matter who you talk to: 17.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 6.8 APG, 60% free throws, 32.1% three pointers, and the stats that everybody loves to point out the 3.0 PPG, 33% field goals in the fourth quarter of that series.
Much to the dismay of all of us haters, LeBron responded the following year by winning his 3rd MVP award and capturing the elusive first title that we were all praying that he wouldn't ever get. Karma was not about to catch up to LeBron as he led a Heat team that steam rolled the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder after losing game one in OKC. LeBron was nothing short of spectacular as he averaged 28.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 7.4 APG and shot a much improved 82.6% from the free throw line in the final series.
LeBron was again nothing short of incredible this last season. He brought home his second straight and fourth in five years regular season MVP. The Heat dominated the Bucks and the Bulls in the first two rounds before meeting some resistance in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers. LeBron was great in the seven game series averaging 29.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 5.3 APG, and a remarkable 44.3% from three point land. This series included a game winner in game one that looked all but won by the Pacers. Don't get me wrong there was the ugly, like the back to back turnovers late in the fourth that led to the Pacers stealing game two in Miami. LeBron wasn't going to let that game stop them from ultimately going on to beat the talented Pacers squad.
Nor did he let anyone stop him from capturing his second championship. This year's Finals campaign had its ups and downs for both teams. It seemed that after every Spurs win people would start writing off the Heat and after every Heat win the same would occur for the Spurs. After a few blowouts, we got spoiled and were able to witness two phenomenal final games in games six and seven. LeBron started off poorly in game six but turned it on in the fourth and OT, willing his team back from a 13 point deficit and hitting a crucial three to cut the lead to three before Ray Allen had the defining moment that everyone will remember forever. James had a triple-double with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. Oh and the whole "LeBron isn't clutch" thing? 18 points in fourth quarter and overtime and had the go ahead bucket with under two minutes left in OT to put the Heat up for good.
He followed it up with another classic LeBron closeout game, putting the finishing touches on the series with a 37 point, 12 rebound performance. Oh and the whole "LeBron isn't clutch" thing? Here you go. James finished with averages of 25.9 PPG, 10.9 RPG, and 7.0 APG on his way to earning his second straight title and Finals MVP. His 33.8 PPG in game sevens in the best of anyone in the history of the game. The only other player to ever earn regular season MVP and Finals MVP in back to back seasons? Michael Jordan.
Hey speaking of Michael Jordan, do you all want to take a guess at how old Jordan was when he won his second championship? 29. LeBron? 28. How many MVP's did Jordan have when he won ring number two? Three. LeBron has four. Jordan had eight All-Star appearances; LeBron has nine. Playoff series wins: LeBron 19 to Jordan's 13. Every single argument that people want to use for Jordan and against LeBron, championships, MVP's, Finals MVP's, LeBron has either matched or surpassed Jordan when Jordan was at the same point in his career as LeBron. I know that is hard for all of you people who have never seen a game of Michael Jordan's to believe but these are the facts. LeBron is on his way to being something special.
Personally, I still feel that MJ is the greatest of all time. The accomplishments and accolades that he has to his name are incredible and there are only a few other players in NBA history that you could put in the same discussion as MJ when it comes to that. But LeBron isn't too far behind. Let's all give ourselves another chance and stop trying to dissect every single one of his press conferences and interviews and using that as our evidence that LeBron isn't a good basketball player. Let's give credit where credit is due and cherish the years that we got to see LeBron play basketball because our kids will one day ask us, "what was it like watching LeBron James play?" Maybe I should follow more LeBron supporters on twitter because they have been doing what us haters should have been doing all along; appreciating a once in a generation talent who has captivated the league as we know it. All of us LeBron haters need to take a step back and realize that we are not only witnessing one of the best players in the league today but a guy that is on track to be the greatest of all time. The gap is a lot closer than you think.
I am wrong.
We are all wrong.
These words are the words that nobody in today's society likes to hear. Nobody likes to admit when they are wrong. Usually when we are wrong we try to come up with an excuse as to why we are still right. People are just stubborn. Myself included. I am not going to throw out a stereotype without admitting that I too fall under this generalization.
In the summer of 2010, I jumped on the side of everyone else in being the biggest hater of LeBron James. Over the course of the last three seasons I have grown to dislike every flop, every complaint to the official, every curse word mouthed on the court, etc. just like all of you. LeBron James in more ways than one has come to embody everything that NBA fans don't like. I'd like to think it's split 50/50 as far as people that love LeBron and people that hate him. My twitter feed is full of the hate because I like to follow the people that have the same distaste for theatrics in sports.
After watching this incredible seven game, grind it out basketball series in which LeBron captured his second title in a row I am starting to think that the other 50% of people that I have had countless arguments with over the last three years have nailed one thing on the head. These people have figured it out. They are truly living in the moment and fully appreciating the greatest player of our generation. And possibly the greatest player of all time.
Yes there was everything wrong with "The Decision" and this debacle that got us all fired up and immediately on the hater bandwagon. The Heat nevertheless proceeded to march through the regular season and playoffs before losing to the veteran-filled Dallas Mavericks in six games. All of us LeBron haters also remember rather vividly his worst interview ever after that Game 6 loss, giving us even more motivation not to like the guy. His performance in that Finals wasn't very good no matter who you talk to: 17.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 6.8 APG, 60% free throws, 32.1% three pointers, and the stats that everybody loves to point out the 3.0 PPG, 33% field goals in the fourth quarter of that series.
Much to the dismay of all of us haters, LeBron responded the following year by winning his 3rd MVP award and capturing the elusive first title that we were all praying that he wouldn't ever get. Karma was not about to catch up to LeBron as he led a Heat team that steam rolled the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder after losing game one in OKC. LeBron was nothing short of spectacular as he averaged 28.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 7.4 APG and shot a much improved 82.6% from the free throw line in the final series.
LeBron was again nothing short of incredible this last season. He brought home his second straight and fourth in five years regular season MVP. The Heat dominated the Bucks and the Bulls in the first two rounds before meeting some resistance in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers. LeBron was great in the seven game series averaging 29.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 5.3 APG, and a remarkable 44.3% from three point land. This series included a game winner in game one that looked all but won by the Pacers. Don't get me wrong there was the ugly, like the back to back turnovers late in the fourth that led to the Pacers stealing game two in Miami. LeBron wasn't going to let that game stop them from ultimately going on to beat the talented Pacers squad.
Nor did he let anyone stop him from capturing his second championship. This year's Finals campaign had its ups and downs for both teams. It seemed that after every Spurs win people would start writing off the Heat and after every Heat win the same would occur for the Spurs. After a few blowouts, we got spoiled and were able to witness two phenomenal final games in games six and seven. LeBron started off poorly in game six but turned it on in the fourth and OT, willing his team back from a 13 point deficit and hitting a crucial three to cut the lead to three before Ray Allen had the defining moment that everyone will remember forever. James had a triple-double with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. Oh and the whole "LeBron isn't clutch" thing? 18 points in fourth quarter and overtime and had the go ahead bucket with under two minutes left in OT to put the Heat up for good.
He followed it up with another classic LeBron closeout game, putting the finishing touches on the series with a 37 point, 12 rebound performance. Oh and the whole "LeBron isn't clutch" thing? Here you go. James finished with averages of 25.9 PPG, 10.9 RPG, and 7.0 APG on his way to earning his second straight title and Finals MVP. His 33.8 PPG in game sevens in the best of anyone in the history of the game. The only other player to ever earn regular season MVP and Finals MVP in back to back seasons? Michael Jordan.
Hey speaking of Michael Jordan, do you all want to take a guess at how old Jordan was when he won his second championship? 29. LeBron? 28. How many MVP's did Jordan have when he won ring number two? Three. LeBron has four. Jordan had eight All-Star appearances; LeBron has nine. Playoff series wins: LeBron 19 to Jordan's 13. Every single argument that people want to use for Jordan and against LeBron, championships, MVP's, Finals MVP's, LeBron has either matched or surpassed Jordan when Jordan was at the same point in his career as LeBron. I know that is hard for all of you people who have never seen a game of Michael Jordan's to believe but these are the facts. LeBron is on his way to being something special.
Personally, I still feel that MJ is the greatest of all time. The accomplishments and accolades that he has to his name are incredible and there are only a few other players in NBA history that you could put in the same discussion as MJ when it comes to that. But LeBron isn't too far behind. Let's all give ourselves another chance and stop trying to dissect every single one of his press conferences and interviews and using that as our evidence that LeBron isn't a good basketball player. Let's give credit where credit is due and cherish the years that we got to see LeBron play basketball because our kids will one day ask us, "what was it like watching LeBron James play?" Maybe I should follow more LeBron supporters on twitter because they have been doing what us haters should have been doing all along; appreciating a once in a generation talent who has captivated the league as we know it. All of us LeBron haters need to take a step back and realize that we are not only witnessing one of the best players in the league today but a guy that is on track to be the greatest of all time. The gap is a lot closer than you think.
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