Lebron/Bulls gossip & rumors (merging)

[TeamMan]

My gut feeling on LeBron:

I dont think it is all about "winning" for LeBron.
LeBron loves just being LeBron & being adored as LeBron.
The King loves status & the Yankees & moving in elite circles.
Based on the above, New York seems like the pinnacle for him.
I just cant bet against the Knicks.

When I read this, the picture of MJ hugging his 1st NBA Championship trophy comes to mind.

He'd also been in the league for something like 8 years before it happened, and it was clear that even with MJ's huge ego, deep within himself, he knew that he could never claim to be the best player in basketball if he never won an NBA Championship.

IMO LeBron will never be able to rest until after he's won multiple NBA trophies. And right now he's thinking, "Which team is going to get me there?"

And ironically, the fact is that the Bulls are the only team that appears to be positioned to start another dynasty.

In Rose you have a player that led his college team to tie the NCAA record for the most wins in a season, and in Noah you have a player who was the starting center on two NCAA Championship teams, and is showing signs of busting out into becoming the best rebounder in the NBA.

Not only that, but Noah was the best 1-on-1 defender against LeBron in the playoffs.

The only problem, is with the Bulls FO.

LeBron endorsed VDN as a head coach, and there is a general consensus around the league that VDN was fired because of reasons that didn't have to do with his performance.

So, I believe that getting multiple NBA trophies is a goal for LeBron, but like many people in the league, he has to question the Bulls commitment to winning.

And that will be the only thing hold us back comes July 1st.

[Senor Chang]

It was reported on SportsCenter that sources close to LeBron told them that if he's leaving Cleveland he will only consider Chicago or Miami because he want a place to win now and not be the media attention that he will receive in New York.
http://boards.espn.go.com/boards/mb/mb? ... 4347&lid=0

but the shadow!

[AKfanatic]

Sounds like the New York media reads the New York message boards:

the Knicks braintrust has deduced that what James needs most on his side is a sniper and a player who can create his own shot in the fourth quarter.

Both elements would take the heavy burden off James. The Knicks feel they have the sniper in Danilo Gallinari and a fourth-quarter shotmaker in Wilson Chandler -- two young players improving every season.

Knicks brass don't believe James necessarily needs a prominent point guard because James handles the ball so much and is such a great passer, he essentially is the point guard and floor general.

In fact, the main thing the Bulls' cast has over the Knicks' cast is at point, with Derrick Rose. Some league personnel wonder if James and Rose would mesh well because both players need the ball most of the time.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/antoni_already_busting_at_seams_JzyZepXylmpgx5CX0taojL

More at link on D'antoni's hopeful optimism

[HomoSapien]

My gut feeling on LeBron:

I dont think it is all about "winning" for LeBron.
LeBron loves just being LeBron & being adored as LeBron.
The King loves status & the Yankees & moving in elite circles.
Based on the above, New York seems like the pinnacle for him.
I just cant bet against the Knicks.

I agree with a lot of what you're saying, and having lived in both NY and Chicago I definitely feel that NY has a charm that Chicago just doesn't have. That being said, Michael Jordan was able to become the most famous athlete in the world from Chicago. I think LeBron realizes that, and I'm sure he's fully aware that the Knicks roster blows.

[PJ Brown]

The Bulls should hire one of Lebron's Akron teammates to be Benny the Bull.

[Leto]

Sounds like the New York media reads the New York message boards:

the Knicks braintrust has deduced that what James needs most on his side is a sniper and a player who can create his own shot in the fourth quarter.
Both elements would take the heavy burden off James. The Knicks feel they have the sniper in Danilo Gallinari and a fourth-quarter shotmaker in Wilson Chandler -- two young players improving every season.

Knicks brass don't believe James necessarily needs a prominent point guard because James handles the ball so much and is such a great passer, he essentially is the point guard and floor general.

In fact, the main thing the Bulls' cast has over the Knicks' cast is at point, with Derrick Rose. Some league personnel wonder if James and Rose would mesh well because both players need the ball most of the time.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/antoni_already_busting_at_seams_JzyZepXylmpgx5CX0taojL

More at link on D'antoni's hopeful optimism

Those two statements underlined don't jive very well. Especially after they apparently think Wilson Chndler is a guy who can "create his own shot" and "take Pressure off Lebron". That's got Derrick Rose written all over it.

[AKfanatic]

Pretty sure by "some league personnel" they're referring to the Knicks personnel.

and yeah I caught that too. pretty funny imo

[Leto]

Its also strange that the Knicks "braintrust" thinks their team suits Lebron perfectly....lol

[plucas]

The Bulls should hire one of Lebron's Akron teammates to be Benny the Bull.

+1
That'll show up the knicks! We're givin a guaranteed job for the next 5-10 years!

[Ben]

Sounds like the New York media reads the New York message boards:

the Knicks braintrust has deduced that what James needs most on his side is a sniper and a player who can create his own shot in the fourth quarter.
Both elements would take the heavy burden off James. The Knicks feel they have the sniper in Danilo Gallinari and a fourth-quarter shotmaker in Wilson Chandler -- two young players improving every season.

Knicks brass don't believe James necessarily needs a prominent point guard because James handles the ball so much and is such a great passer, he essentially is the point guard and floor general.

In fact, the main thing the Bulls' cast has over the Knicks' cast is at point, with Derrick Rose. Some league personnel wonder if James and Rose would mesh well because both players need the ball most of the time.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/antoni_already_busting_at_seams_JzyZepXylmpgx5CX0taojL

More at link on D'antoni's hopeful optimism

Those two statements underlined don't jive very well. Especially after they apparently think Wilson Chndler is a guy who can "create his own shot" and "take Pressure off Lebron". That's got Derrick Rose written all over it.

The great thing is that the Knicks' "braintrust" has "deduced" that what James needs most is a sniper, which they have in Gallinari, apparently not realizing that Mo Williams shot considerably better from 3-point range than did Gallo (and while Gallo has shot 38.9% from 3-point territory over the past 2 seasons, Mo has shot over 43%). The braintrust has also "deduced" that James need someone who can create his own shot, apparently feeling that Wilson Chandler can do that better than Antawn Jamison can.

SO: the Knicks' biggest assets for James seem to be Gallo and Chandler, two players who are worse than their respective counterparts on Cleveland. Put not thy trust in their braintrust.

[AKfanatic]

One thing I do wonder about is why has our past been brought up so much? Some people act like free agents talking to former players will hurt us, but not a franchise like New York. How do players that have been on New York the last few seasons feel about that organization? They where often thrown under the bus, like "ah don't worry about the scrubs we have on the floor right now, they're just here until 2010...then we'll really try to win". New York is a nice city, I won't deny that..the franchise isn't the City though.

SO: the Knicks' biggest assets for James seem to be Gallo and Chandler, two players who are worse than their respective counterparts on Cleveland. Put not thy trust in their braintrust.

heh, nice catch Ben...I didn't even think about that

[Leto]

^

[Ben]

Heck, Cleveland also had 2 more "snipers" in Anthony Parker (41.4% 3-pointers) and Boobie friggin' Gibson, who shot a whopping 47.7% from downtown. Couldn't get them past the Celtics. Cleveland has so much more talent up and down their roster than NY does, it's not even funny. Even if NY got Lebron AND Bosh, they'd be hard pressed to be a better team all-around than this year's Cavs team. They would still have no center (Cleveland had 3) and no point guard (Cavs had a borderline all-star), and a sub-par SG and nobody besides Bosh and Lebron who can defend a lick.

So, yeah.

[AKfanatic]

But none of those 3 pt. shooters are quite the draw as DannyAiello Galinari, or so i'm told from anonymous league sources that where cited during an interview with the New York Knicks.

[Ben]

But none of those 3 pt. shooters are quite the draw as DannyAiello Galinari, or so i'm told from anonymous league sources that where cited during an interview with the New York Knicks.

Yes, and none of those 3 point shooters has the good fortune to play the same position as Lebron.

[AKfanatic]

Yes, and none of those 3 point shooters has the good fortune to play the same position as Lebron.

Haven't you heard, Pringles will run Lebron at the PF and Bosh at the C.

[Red Larrivee]

Have they talked how garbage the Knicks are defensively and what a mediocre rebounding squad they are? Great help.

[lu9]

Yes, and none of those 3 point shooters has the good fortune to play the same position as Lebron.

Haven't you heard, Pringles will run Lebron at the PF and Bosh at the C.

So laughable. LeBron.. come to New York! We have a great roster of all small forwards to surround you with. And they are great at defense! Yay

[Ralphb07]

Heads up guys, in page 4 of the Scoop Jackson thread, there is a update from McGraw which confirms it and has other stuff as well. It's a good read

[organix85]

In fact, the main thing the Bulls' cast has over the Knicks' cast is at point, with Derrick Rose. Some league personnel wonder if James and Rose would mesh well because both players need the ball most of the time.

I must admit this is another one of those puzzling statements...mainly cause I think Rose defers the ball even more than he should. It seems that every game, there were stretches where Hinrich would run point while Rose was on the court. I even remember a game or two where Flip ran point over Rose for a period of time.

A big reason Rose did a lot of scoring and shooting was cause no one else on the Bulls could.