LeBron, Free-Agency, etc.

[L&H_05]

A team built around a player is fine. And I agree with the premise that the Cavs are built carefully to help LeBron. But in the playoffs, you need to have a second scorer to win a title. LeBron may be good enough to win a title with what they have now, I think he is, but saying repeatedly that the Cavs are built for LeBron does not guarantee that they are a great team or that he will stay.

I'm pretty sure you just said a team with Gallo/Lee, Camby, Douglas, Miller and LeBron would be a contender...

Yet, you start talking about a 2nd scorer and what needs to win in the playoffs..

Yikes...

Gotta run guys.

Best thing you've said in this thread...

[landphil]

C - Camby
PF - Gallo / Lee
SF - LeBron
SG - Mike Miller
PG - Douglas

How do you plan on putting this team together... lets go through the Knicks team...

Currently Signed Players for 2010-2011 season: Curry (he is going to pick up his option...), Gallo, Rodriguez (qualifying offer), Chandler, Giddens, Douglas, Walker for a total of just under 18 mil.

Now lets assume Lebron gets paid about 17 mil (I think thats right, if someone knows his exact number he could get paid there correct me...) So that puts us at 35 milion

Now we need to sign Camby (who is being paid 8 million this season so he is probably not gonna go too much lower than that since it would make no sense...) so now we are at 42 million

Now we need to sign Mike Miller (who is being paid 10 million...) so up we go to 50 million

Oh and who can forget David "I want to be on the 7 win Nets" Lee who will probably go for about 8 million so thats 58 million...oops above the cap!

So now your plan didnt work because we currently cant field a starting 5!!! So in summation, not only is your plan dumb because those players are garbage for the most part, but it also financially doesnt work either! I mean come on, you honestly think this team who gives up 105 ppg which is better than only the suns (who average more points than they give up, go figure...), the raptors (who is 11 games better than you), and the warrior and timberwolves who surprisingly are somehow worse than the Knicks, you think they can play defense?! Come on now...

[kenneth9265]

Lebron is not going anywhere, but he is a sherwed enough of a business man to milk the Max amount of contract money from the owener Gilbert, that is why he is prolonging it as he is.

[K_ick_God]

A team built around a player is fine. And I agree with the premise that the Cavs are built carefully to help LeBron. But in the playoffs, you need to have a second scorer to win a title. LeBron may be good enough to win a title with what they have now, I think he is, but saying repeatedly that the Cavs are built for LeBron does not guarantee that they are a great team or that he will stay.

I'm pretty sure you just said a team with Gallo/Lee, Camby, Douglas, Miller and LeBron would be a contender...

Yet, you start talking about a 2nd scorer and what needs to win in the playoffs..

Yikes...

Gotta run guys.

Best thing you've said in this thread...

Worked up much?

I don't know you are so hot under the collar -- the Cavs are having a great season and look to be the favorites.

Sure, Shaq said this season is "everybody's last chance" and LeBron was rooting for the Knicks in the Cavs locker room last night ... but I wouldn't read too much into all of that.

[K_ick_God]

Mike Miller is not going to get $10M or anything close. Blazers could overpay to keep Camby but if not, he won't get $8M.

[Triumph36]

disproving KG's argument = "getting worked up" or "being afraid of LBJ leaving"

I love it.

[K_ick_God]

disproving KG's argument = "getting worked up" or "being afraid of LBJ leaving"

I love it.

Heated rhetoric means he's nervous, no other way about it. If the Knicks weren't a threat, he wouldn't be worrying about it.

[Gordon Bombay]

Heated rhetoric means he's nervous, no other way about it. If the Knicks weren't a threat, he wouldn't be worrying about it.

that was far from heated and you know it. almost seems like you're trying to project us as worried to make yourself feel better because you know the door is closing on your "savior" coming

[landphil]

I dont understand how you are a site admin? Do they just let anyone do that job because I feel like it probably isnt in your job description to go running around to other people's boards and trying to incite riots where there really is no issue besides the delusions you and the rest of the knicks fans have. Well maybe its just you but there are some knicks fans who I am sure are drinking the kool-aid right along with you.

Also, using your logic and rhetoric...I dont know why we are even talking about this, the Knicks have a great chance to land Lebron, they are the Mecca of Basketball and the team they have up there has some promise...plus they have a 6th man of the year candidate in Jamal Crawford (oh they dealt him? Well how about Randolph? No kidding, him too huh?)

Of course, their coach is garbage, they cant defend, the "Mecca" isn't quite what it used to be, they dont have any players signed after this year, no one wants to play for them, they currently have no/weakened 1st round picks for 2 of the next 3 years, they have been having a going out of business everything must go sale for so long that the state attorney's office is beginning to get suspicious..

but hey I wouldnt worry about that, I'm sure Patrick Ewing will be back soon to lead them, oh hes retired...ok your screwed then...

Get back on topic, talk about the post not the poster

[L&H_05]

disproving KG's argument = "getting worked up" or "being afraid of LBJ leaving"

I love it.

Heated rhetoric means he's nervous, no other way about it. If the Knicks weren't a threat, he wouldn't be worrying about it.

Now you're breaking down subliminal meanings to my posts...

Barbell lift smiliey says I'm nervous and lack the adequate amount of protein in my diet...

Ih all honesty. I don't think too many of us are worried about it because the competition for his services is very weak... Miami and Chicago are the only attractive options and neither are real players for LeBron..

From the outside looking, I think most view the Knicks as a joke... Poorly ran (even with the new regime in place) and not of championship caliber now nor in the near future... It's just a circus without much stability...

The Knicks are so focused on cutting salary for two max guys that they've neglected every part of the process in order to woo a Lebron..,They don't even have a coaching staff nor system implemented in place that is acceptable to a player like LeBron... And as we discussed, the roster is a joke and has no shot of ushering LeBron towards championship aspirations...

No legit talent on board... No draft picks for the future... No acceptable coaching staff in place... No low post bigs... No backup bigs... No slashers...No scorers... No PG.... No backup PG...

I will say this, whomever goes to the Knicks has some serious balls.. That's not a team of the future or anything along those lines... They are literally starting from scratch and are looking to build their team the wrong way... Not through the draft or trade, but through FAgency... And once there, they're not going to be playing the right way in terms of philosophy... So good luck....

[CzBoobie]

Sure, Shaq said this season is "everybody's last chance" and LeBron was rooting for the Knicks in the Cavs locker room last night ... but I wouldn't read too much into all of that.

Does it mean the world ends in 2010 and not in 2012?

[kenneth9265]

I see bosh/toronto and wade/miami leaving their team before Lebron jets from Cleveland, and who to say that Gilbert/Ferry don't talk one of them into joining the Cavs?

[K_ick_God]

OK your points are all well taken.

We shall see what happens.

I think there are some signs that LeBron has his eye on NY, and I think some of you see that without wanting to admit it. It's a legitimate basketball story that is interesting and worth discussing -- it wouldn't be if LeBron had signed the extension. But the fact is that he has not and most of his comments seem to indicate that this is a 2-team race between staying or moving to NY. So it makes things interesting. Don't shoot the messenger! I'm not the one who didn't sign the extension after all. I'm just debating the topic -- which is kind of what these forums are for, right?

The original point of my post was (and remains) that I like the Cavs and hope you retain LeBron if he doesn't sign with the Knicks. And that is true too! So, you don't have to love the Knicks for me to still like the Cavs.

The playoffs and summer should be exciting. Let the games begin.

[TheOUTLAW]

Seriously, this argument is purely fabricated and phony. Even if what you say is true, it only is a serious discussion to teams that are only playing for next season (which is why these threads don't stick around very long on this page).

Oh and telling people how they are getting worked up is particularly annoying to people that aren't in fact worked up.

[DowJones]

You say that LeBron has never come out and said he want's to stay in Cleveland? He has, but as is the case with everything LeBron says about staying in Cleveland, people ignore it. You always hear stuff about LeBron wanting to be a billionaire (which I believe he said once, many years ago) or him wearing a knicks hat or their being a blue bird in his commercial. However people don't acknowledge the fact that LeBron says he loves it here, that he's very loyal, or that he wants to bring a championship to this area all of which he's said dozens of times.

How about when LeBron's own mom came out and said that LeBron will remain in Cleveland? That was a big piece of information that the media just ignored. Remember that LeBron is a mamma's boy all the way. He constantly calls his mom his best friend and they have a really close relationship so she would know where LeBron is leaning more than ANYONE.

To me that trumps everything that has ever been said about LeBron.

[mcfly1204]

You say that LeBron has never come out and said he want's to stay in Cleveland? He has, but as is the case with everything LeBron says about staying in Cleveland, people ignore it. You always hear stuff about LeBron wanting to be a billionaire (which I believe he said once, many years ago) or him wearing a knicks hat or their being a blue bird in his commercial. However people don't acknowledge the fact that LeBron says he loves it here, that he's very loyal, or that he wants to bring a championship to this area all of which he's said dozens of times.

How about when LeBron's own mom came out and said that LeBron will remain in Cleveland? That was a big piece of information that the media just ignored. Remember that LeBron is a mamma's boy all the way. He constantly calls his mom his best friend and they have a really close relationship so she would know where LeBron is leaning more than ANYONE.

To me that trumps everything that has ever been said about LeBron.

Strike one, Gloria is **** crazy.

[DowJones]

I am a little bit worried about New Jersey and that is it. I don't see LeBron going to Chicago (despite what World Wide Wes is telling people), I don't see LeBron going to Miami (not going to share the city with Wade...and more importantly he's not going to "Wade's team") and he is not going to go to New York (they suck). New Jersey offers a couple of things...

1. New stadium/market. He would have to spend some time in Newark but they will eventually be in Brooklyn.

2. Young talent. Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Terrance Williams, and a Top-3 pick is some nice young talent to work with.

3. Cap-space. If NJ makes a few moves, they will be under the cap enough to offer a 2nd max-contract player.

A nucleus of Harris-Courney Lee-LBJ-Lopez-John Wall/Evan Turner-2nd max PF (Lee, Boozer, Bosh, Stoudemire) is a pretty scary unit to contend with.

[tidho]

I think there are some signs that LeBron has his eye on NY, and I think some of you see that without wanting to admit it.

Conversly there are also plenty of signs that he isn't interested in going anywhere. Those signs are so routinely ignored by Knick fans and the media alike that it does get a little frustrating having to hear about this all the time.

It's a legitimate basketball story that is interesting and worth discussing -- it wouldn't be if LeBron had signed the extension. But the fact is that he has not and most of his comments seem to indicate that this is a 2-team race between staying or moving to NY.

I have yet to hear a comment from LeBron to indicate its a two team race. What has he said to eliminate the Clippers, Bulls, Heat, Nets, or anybody else?....nothing!
New York has annointed itself as LeBron's only other option. LeBron just watches his merchandise fly off shelves and continues to say nothing.

[Triumph36]

I am a little bit worried about New Jersey and that is it. I don't see LeBron going to Chicago (despite what World Wide Wes is telling people), I don't see LeBron going to Miami (not going to share the city with Wade...and more importantly he's not going to "Wade's team") and he is not going to go to New York (they suck). New Jersey offers a couple of things...

1. New stadium/market. He would have to spend some time in Newark but they will eventually be in Brooklyn.

2. Young talent. Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Terrance Williams, and a Top-3 pick is some nice young talent to work with.

3. Cap-space. If NJ makes a few moves, they will be under the cap enough to offer a 2nd max-contract player.

A nucleus of Harris-Courney Lee-LBJ-Lopez-John Wall/Evan Turner-2nd max PF (Lee, Boozer, Bosh, Stoudemire) is a pretty scary unit to contend with.

Huh? WWW doesn't want LeBron in Chicago.....he wants him in NY or NJ.

Anyway, I am only worried about LeBron leaving if the Nets get enough room for a second max. I'm not worried about the Knicks at all and I can't wait to see them overpay for supposed "max" players