2014 NBA Free Agency and Draft

[greyhammer90]

SIAP-Chris Sheridan saying it's a done deal (LBJ to Cleveland)

Latest News on Top NBA Free Agents 2014

That clown was on Cowherd's show today (yeah I listened in, I'm interested in what's happening with the NBA and shit could hit the fan any second), and he was such a tool.

Sheridan: "Why did Cleveland make those trades? Because they know they're getting Lebron."

Cowherd: "So you're saying Cleveland knows they're getting him too?"

Sheridan: ....(Seriously thirty seconds of dead air)... "I'm not going to answer that."

 

[gkIrish]

That clown was on Cowherd's show today (yeah I listened in, I'm interested in what's happening with the NBA and shit could hit the fan any second), and he was such a tool.

Sheridan: "Why did Cleveland make those trades? Because they know they're getting Lebron."

Cowherd: "So you're saying Cleveland knows they're getting him too?"

Sheridan: ....(Seriously thirty seconds of dead air)... "I'm not going to answer that."

Weird. I noticed a Twitter exchange between him and Cowherd along the lines of Cowherd attributing something to Sheridan and Sheridan saying he never said that. Then Sheridan told Cowherd to put him on the air...I'm guessing that conversation was the result.

 

[greyhammer90]

Weird. I noticed a Twitter exchange between him and Cowherd along the lines of Cowherd attributing something to Sheridan and Sheridan saying he never said that. Then Sheridan told Cowherd to put him on the air...I'm guessing that conversation was the result.

Cowherd said that Sheridan had the same sources as all other reporters, but he was more aggressive in his guarantees because he is basically a self-employed writer trying to make a big splash.

Sheridan was pissed because he says he doesn't have the same sources as everyone else and that he 100% guarantees that the decision has already been made.

 

[SaltyND24]

If he does in fact go back to Cleveland, he's there til he retires. Only way the move makes sense. I would've thought he'd opt back in for two years with Miami and then sign a long term deal to finish his career in cleveland.

 

[GATTACA!]

If he does in fact go back to Cleveland, he's there til he retires. Only way the move makes sense. I would've thought he'd opt back in for two years with Miami and then sign a long term deal to finish his career in cleveland.

We wouldn't have the cap space by then. It's now or never.

 

[IrishHokie22]

Cowherd said that Sheridan had the same sources as all other reporters, but he was more aggressive in his guarantees because he is basically a self-employed writer trying to make a big splash.

Sheridan was pissed because he says he doesn't have the same sources as everyone else and that he 100% guarantees that the decision has already been made.

Cowherd is exactly right, too. All of these beat writers are trying to make a big splash and be the first to have the big scoop. It's made the last two weeks unbearable to follow as an NBA fan. Frank Isola did the same crap yesterday by saying Melo was coming back to New York (and would announce on Thursday). He had no scoop; he just wanted to be the first to report it. He now looks like a doofus as Melo has yet to sign anywhere.

On a national level, Adrian Wojnarowski can't be beaten. I'm not a fan of Windhorst, but he has some legitimate sources as well.

 

[STLDomer]

Rumor is it's been a done deal since Monday.

Cavs sign LeBron, Ray Allen and Mjke Miller. Will trade for Kevin Love and send away Thompson and Waiters and draft picks.

Announcement tommorow before he heads to Brazil for the WC.

Irving - Wiggins - James - Love - Varejao

 

[GATTACA!]

Rumor is it's been a done deal since Monday.

Cavs sign LeBron, Ray Allen and Mjke Miller. Will trade for Kevin Love and send away Thompson and Waiters and draft picks.

Announcement tommorow before he heads to Brazil for the WC.

Irving - Wiggins - James - Love - Varejao

Where are you hearing this?

 

[STLDomer]

Where are you hearing this?

Friend from Cleveland sent me a screenshot of some text messages. Just a rumor. Apparently their making their way around Twitter.

 

[GATTACA!]

Friend from Cleveland sent me a screenshot of some text messages. Just a rumor. Apparently their making their way around Twitter.

I hope so. Nerves man......

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Rumor is it's been a done deal since Monday.

Cavs sign LeBron, Ray Allen and Mjke Miller. Will trade for Kevin Love and send away Thompson and Waiters and draft picks.

Announcement tommorow before he heads to Brazil for the WC.

Irving - Wiggins - James - Love - Varejao

Do they have the cap space for this kind of roster? The rumor I keep hearing involves moving Wiggins to get Love, not getting both.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

Do they have the cap space for this kind of roster? The rumor I keep hearing involves moving Wiggins to get Love, not getting both.

Wiggins has a rookie contract so its not a huge payout in the big scheme of things.

Love will need to be paid, but its something that the with the NBA tier structure, you can play around with a little bit. NBA Salary Cap FAQ

 

[gkIrish]

If this letter is the only hold up....Cavs fans should force Dan Gilbert to sell the team because of what he said. There is precedent there.

 

[#1rish]

What's this letter everyones talking about?

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Everyone in the media is (predictably) piling on Gilbert, all while ignoring the fact this guy did EVERYTHING in his power to make Lebron happy.

He pampered him, let his little entourage work for the team and travel with the team and have locker privileges, powder his butt when things got tough, and shield him when critics did their thing.

Anybody would be pissed if a 26 year old man you spent 8 years holding with kid gloves kicked you in the balls on national TV for an hour. Should he have taken the high road? Absolutely. I guess we should just be happy Cuban wasn't the one spurned, because that letter would have been something.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

And, this can be used as an excuse to deflect the Cleveland venom from Lebron.

 

[FearTheBeard]

Everyone in the media is (predictably) piling on Gilbert, all while ignoring the fact this guy did EVERYTHING in his power to make Lebron happy.

He pampered him, let his little entourage work for the team and travel with the team and have locker privileges, powder his butt when things got tough, and shield him when critics did their thing.

Anybody would be pissed if a 26 year old man you spent 8 years holding with kid gloves kicked you in the balls on national TV for an hour. Should he have taken the high road? Absolutely. I guess we should just be happy Cuban wasn't the one spurned, because that letter would have been something.

Not saying they didnt try but Lebron had nowhere near the kind of team to work with in Cleveland as he did when he chose Miami. He didnt leave Cleveland because of anything against the city or owners he left because it was best for him career wise. Everyone should quit being so butthurt that Lebron made a good career choice like many other people do all the time.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

As I said, it has NOTHING to do with him leaving, and EVERYTHING to do with the classless way he did it. He poured gas on a fire. Gilbert reacted very poorly, but c'mon.

*ESPN is the real villain here IMO for creating this rift that began when he left.

 

[NDdomer2]

It's not about Wiggins contact. I just think Minnesota will demand him in exchange for love. A pick and Thompson+waiters isn't that great.

 

[Emcee77]

Everyone should quit being so butthurt that Lebron made a good career choice like many other people do all the time.

Right, the double standard drives me crazy. If I work with two other lawyers on a pro bono case, and we become friends and gain each other's mutual respect as lawyers, and we decide that we would be successful if we started a practice together, so we leave our current jobs to join another law firm to do exactly that ... no one would have a problem with that. Even our old bosses would probably understand that it's not personal, just business. We are doing the best thing for our careers and, by extension, our families.

That's basically what LeBron did ... he played USA basketball with Wade and Bosh, grew to like and respect them, and he wanted to play NBA basketball with them.

I just don't see what is so wrong with that. Is it that ESPN wanted to do a big overwrought special about The Decision? Blame ESPN for that, not LeBron.

As I said, it has NOTHING to do with him leaving, and EVERYTHING to do with the classless way he did it. He poured gas on a fire. Gilbert reacted very poorly, but c'mon.

*ESPN is the real villain here IMO for creating this rift that began when he left.

I get this, but I agree that ESPN is the real villain.

 

[FearTheBeard]

As I said, it has NOTHING to do with him leaving, and EVERYTHING to do with the classless way he did it. He poured gas on a fire. Gilbert reacted very poorly, but c'mon.

I agree he should have done it differently but theres no reason it should still be held against him. Its not like he's committed any crime. People reacted wayyy over the top and could never let it go. Yeah e messed up but he could be doing alot worse stuff

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Hahaha:

 

[Irish#1]

Wiggins has a rookie contract so its not a huge payout in the big scheme of things.

Love will need to be paid, but its something that the with the NBA tier structure, you can play around with a little bit. NBA Salary Cap FAQ

Plus they can go over the cap and pay the tax.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Right, the double standard drives me crazy. If I work with two other lawyers on a pro bono case, and we become friends and gain each other's mutual respect as lawyers, and we decide that we would be successful if we started a practice together, so we leave our current jobs to join another law firm to do exactly that ... no one would have a problem with that. Even our old bosses would probably understand that it's not personal, just business. We are doing the best thing for our careers and, by extension, our families.

That's basically what LeBron did ... he played USA basketball with Wade and Bosh, grew to like and respect them, and he wanted to play NBA basketball with them.

I just don't see what is so wrong with that. Is it that ESPN wanted to do a big overwrought special about The Decision? Blame ESPN for that, not LeBron.



I get this, but I agree that ESPN is the real villain.

Does ESPN have some sort of power over LeBron to force him to do that? What prevented LeBron from sending out a tweet or just having a standard press conference?

LeBron is a shrewd businessman and I suspect that program was designed to be mutually beneficial. It just wasn't.

 

[Emcee77]

Does ESPN have some sort of power over LeBron to force him to do that? What prevented LeBron from sending out a tweet or just having a standard press conference?

LeBron is a shrewd businessman and I suspect that program was designed to be mutually beneficial. It just wasn't.

You could be right, but fwiw I disagree. I think ESPN approached LeBron about it and he just said yes, not realizing how it might be perceived. I really don't think there was anything calculated about it. He just assumed that because ESPN wanted to do this, viewers wanted him to do it too, and he was just doing what was expected of him as an NBA star, each of whom has media obligations.

Michael Jordan used to say, "Basketball is not my job. Endorsing products and dealing with the media is my job."** LeBron thought he was just doing his job.

It may have been a bad PR move, but is the level of hate people have for LeBron really fair just because he isn't really that PR savvy?

Just my $0.02

**It may be unclear out of context that what he meant was that he LOVES playing basketball, so he doesn't consider that his job. Endorsing products and dealing with the media is the part of his life that feels like a job. The point was not that he doesn't take basketball as seriously. Probably obvious, but I wasn't sure.

 

[IrishLax]

Right, the double standard drives me crazy. If I work with two other lawyers on a pro bono case, and we become friends and gain each other's mutual respect as lawyers, and we decide that we would be successful if we started a practice together, so we leave our current jobs to join another law firm to do exactly that ... no one would have a problem with that. Even our old bosses would probably understand that it's not personal, just business. We are doing the best thing for our careers and, by extension, our families.

That's basically what LeBron did ... he played USA basketball with Wade and Bosh, grew to like and respect them, and he wanted to play NBA basketball with them.

I just don't see what is so wrong with that. Is it that ESPN wanted to do a big overwrought special about The Decision? Blame ESPN for that, not LeBron.

Haha you KNOW it's different than that though. Because in your example, you don't have millions of fans + billboards + etc. etc.

It'd be more akin to being a member of a band with lots of fans, deciding that you want to go to a rival band, embarrassing your former band in the media with your decision, setting your former band back decades as they had been completely catering to you... and as such putting the album all your fans had been waiting for on indefinite hold. You can't expect your former bandmates to be happy nor the fans of your former band nor your record label.

That's the difference. Tough business decisions get made all the time. For people who are part of the public trust, you're supposed to be careful with how you do them or suffer the consequences. LBJ definitely suffered the consequences...

 

[Emcee77]

Haha you KNOW it's different than that though. Because in your example, you don't have millions of fans + billboards + etc. etc.

It'd be more akin to being a member of a band with lots of fans, deciding that you want to go to a rival band, embarrassing your former band in the media with your decision, setting your former band back decades as they had been completely catering to you... and as such putting the album all your fans had been waiting for on indefinite hold. You can't expect your former bandmates to be happy nor the fans of your former band nor your record label.

That's the difference. Tough business decisions get made all the time. For people who are part of the public trust, you're supposed to be careful with how you do them or suffer the consequences. LBJ definitely suffered the consequences...

Right, I agree that's the difference, but it's a merely perceptual difference. Your rock band example is no different from my lawyer example except that people care about the rock band's work as fans. That doesn't create any obligation on any bandmember's part, imo. This is where I differ from many people, maybe even most people. Doing something people care about doesn't make you or your work their property.

 

[woolybug25]

Right, I agree that's the difference, but it's a merely perceptual difference. Your rock band example is no different from my lawyer example except that people care about the rock band's work as fans. That doesn't create any obligation on any bandmember's part, imo. This is where I differ from many people, maybe even most people. Doing something people care about doesn't make you or your work their property.

I think your story is missing the part when the two lawyers leave their companies in a manner that embarrasses and disrespects them.

 

[FearTheBeard]

Haha you KNOW it's different than that though. Because in your example, you don't have millions of fans + billboards + etc. etc.

It'd be more akin to being a member of a band with lots of fans, deciding that you want to go to a rival band, embarrassing your former band in the media with your decision, setting your former band back decades as they had been completely catering to you... and as such putting the album all your fans had been waiting for on indefinite hold. You can't expect your former bandmates to be happy nor the fans of your former band nor your record label.

That's the difference. Tough business decisions get made all the time. For people who are part of the public trust, you're supposed to be careful with how you do them or suffer the consequences. LBJ definitely suffered the consequences...

Really? Embarrassing? He said his heart is always in cleveland during the decision. He talked about how hard of a decision it is. It was strictly that his best chance of winning championships was in miami. Lebron isnt property of cleveland idk why they feel or felt entitled to him. Fans need to realize that Lebron worked his way to the NBA and plays basketball because he enjoys it and it is his career. He doesnt play just to make fans happy. People need to understand that he never disrespected anyone and made a business decision.

Also, why does it matter that he made his decision public on live tv in an interview? Does it really make any difference if people find out by seeing it flash across ESPN or see him say it in person? Its not traditional but it even raised money for charity. It wasnt the best way to handle it but he never disrespected anyone, people should just let it go.

 

[tussin]

I have a hard time imagining a scenario where Cavs get Love without giving up Wiggins. The Klay Thompson offer is already on the table and is better than the Tristan / Waiters combo.