John Hollinger writes in his latest PER Diem (Insider subscription required) that LeBron’s best bet for long term success may not be in Cleveland…or New York…or New Jersey/Brooklyn…
And it’s especially worth noting that if the Cavs are back in the 45-50 win range this season, King James might be a much more portable commodity this coming summer. If he’s looking at a Cleveland lineup with one majestically talented player and several spare parts, one would think the comparison to such arrangements in New York or New Jersey wouldn’t be dramatically different.
But those aren’t close to being the most palatable changes of uniform available. For instance, it bears mentioning that joining the Chicago squad LeBron’s team lost to Thursday night would be dramatically different. With a young star point guard, quality big men and lots of secondary help, the Bulls — who could get as much as $20 million under the cap if John Salmons opts out of his contract, conveniently opening a spot in the lineup for LeBron at the same time — would offer a more clear opportunity for long-term success.
Let me throw out an even crazier proposition — Minnesota. The Wolves will have the cap space to make a run at LeBron, depending on a few variables — or at the very least can get there fairly easily if they know there’s a chance for a player of this caliber. (Declining an option on Ryan Gomes, for instance, is done much more easily if it allows you to replace him with the best player in the league.)
Minnesota is generally thought of as one of the NBA’s least-desirable relocation options, but let’s consider it from a winning perspective. Who would you rather play with for the next five years: Al Jefferson or Anderson Varejao? Kevin Love or Ilgauskas? Ricky Rubio or Mo Williams? Jonny Flynn or West? Ramon Sessions or Daniel Gibson? Next year’s fourth pick or next year’s 24th? It’s obvious, isn’t it?
Don’t get me wrong — the T-Wolves would be a good fit for LeBron, but he’d be a pretty good fit anywhere. I just don’t see him taking his show from one cold, small-market Midwestern city to another cold, small-market Midwestern city. If he doesn’t stay in Cleveland, then there seem to be three real options:
1. Brooklyn Nets
With Devin Harris and Brook Lopez locked up for the next few years, the Nets have two All-Star caliber players already on the roster at two of the toughest positions to fill — point guard and center. Is the penetrating Harris the perfect fit alongside LeBron? Not necessarily, but if the Nets can find a sharpshooting off guard (Courtney Lee?) and face up power forward (a la Rashard Lewis), the Nets would really be in business. Plus, the move to Brooklyn would take away the stigma of playing in New Jersey.
2. Chicago Bulls
It would break the city of Cleveland’s heart if LeBron fled to the Windy City. New York or Brooklyn? Cleveland fans wouldn’t like it, but they’d understand. But if LeBron heads to Chicago, home of the team that stepped on the Cavs’ throats so many times during the Jordan era, the city might explode. From a pure basketball point of view, it’s a nice fit. They already have Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Kirk Hinrich and maybe Tyrus Thomas. Chicago is also a threat to pry Dwyane Wade out of Miami.
3. New York Knicks
This is more about MSG and the spotlight than who the Knicks have on the roster. Playing in Mike D’Antoni’s system would be nice, and if the Knicks can unload either Eddy Curry or Jared Jeffries, they’d have enough cap space to sign another free agent to max deal. This might be a case of the Knicks having to coax Chris Bosh out of Toronto or Amare Stoudemire out of Phoenix before being able to convince LeBron to sign on the dotted line.
We’re only a couple of weeks into the season and the talk is already starting. The Cavs have plenty of time to morph into a 60-win team, but right now they don’t look it. And the longer they struggle, the louder the drum beat is going to sound.
According to Ken Berger’s Twitter page, Kings guard Kevin Martin will be going under the knife on Monday to repair a broken bone in his non-shooting wrist, and will miss around eight weeks. He is averaging 30.6 points per game, so this is obviously a big blow to the team and to fantasy squads around the country. Look for Tyreke Evans to move to off guard while Beno Udrih takes over the point.
Tyrus Thomas will miss 4-6 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured radius in his left forearm. He sustained the injury in a weightlifting accident. (Nice.) Taj Gibson will likely start at power forward until Thomas returns.
I thought about awarding this to Deron Williams for his 27-point, nine-assist, seven-rebound effort in Utah’s 113-99 win over the Spurs, but then I remembered that Tony Parker isn’t exactly known for his defensive prowess. Tim Duncan is. So that makes Carlos Boozer’s line — 27 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots — all that more impressive. He went 12-20 (60%) from the field and regularly scored on Duncan, who has been named to the All-Defensive team 12 times in his illustrious career.
The final score should be no surprise. The game was in Utah, and the Jazz had their backs up against the wall a little bit as they started out the season with a 1-3 record, which included a home loss to the Rockets.
Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair had another nice game, posting 14 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes. He’s averaging 9.8 points and 8.5 rebounds through four games and is shooting better than 70% from the field. The Spurs will use him extensively during the season to keep Duncan as fresh as possible for a playoff run.
After an 0-2 start to the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were riding a three-game winning streak into Thursday night’s home game against the Bulls. Here are the highlights:
The Cleveland faithful might think that LeBron was fouled on his last drive, but after taking a couple of looks at it, I think it was a clean play. The defender is entitled to his space, and he’s allowed to jump in the air as long as he doesn’t jump forward. This is called the “principle of verticality,” which means that a defensive player is entitled to his vertical cylinder. Joakim Noah’s defense on the play wasn’t a perfect example of this (as his body was drifting toward the basket a bit), but it was a good defensive play. LeBron was in a tough spot and obviously jumped into Noah looking for the call and the refs didn’t bail him out.
There are a couple of other things to take from this game:
1. Mo Williams’ ineffectiveness
He was 4-13 from the field (including 1-7 from long range). He did have six assists, but Mo is a scorer and he needs to be more efficient than this.
2. The Bulls’ balance
Chicago had seven players score at least seven points, and Luol Deng led the Bulls with 15. Derrick Rose didn’t shoot the ball well, but still scored 14 points and dropped 11 dimes.
The Cavs drop to 3-3 with the loss, while the Bulls are 3-2.
The Hornets have struggled early on in this season, and were 1-3 heading into a home game last night against the red-hot Mavs. Chris Paul responded with 39 points (on 14-23 shooting), seven assists, five rebounds and two steals in 45 minutes of playing time. He had the high efficiency score of the night (+41). Funny thing is, it wasn’t even his high game of the week. He posted a +42 against the Knicks on Monday.
The Hornets have two All-Star caliber players (Paul and David West) and a pretty good center (Emeka Okafor), but not much else. They need a wing or two who can knock down shots and take the pressure off of Paul and West. Peja Stojakovic and Morris Peterson are both past their prime and Julian Wright is a fine complementary player, but he’s not a shot-maker. Stephen Jackson and Rip Hamilton are reportedly available, and they’d both be a great fit in New Orleans if the Hornets are willing to take on some long-term salary to try to make a run this season.
- SPORTSbyBROOKS gives us one more reason to hate Sasha Vujacic. (Hint: He’s dating the girl in the picture.) They also have a strange story about Dwight Howard, as told by porn star Mary Carey.
- RED’S ARMY says that people should forget about LeBron James joining Kobe in Los Angeles. Are there actually those who think this might happen?
- PRO FOOTBALL TALK reports that the 7-1 Minnesota Vikings face potential blackouts after this week’s bye. Seriously. That’s pathetic.
- LARRY BROWN SPORTS wonders if the sign that the Chiefs posted is aimed at a certain running back with the initials “LJ.”
Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points in the fourth quarter — you read that right — to give the Mavs a 96-85 win over the Utah Jazz. He posted 40 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and two steals. He shot 12 of 22 from the field and 15 of 16 from the charity stripe. The Mavs trailed by 16 with 8:17 to play before they made their charge.
After a somewhat surprising loss to the Washington Wizards on opening night, the Mavs beat the Lakers soundly on the road and derailed the Jazz at home, all without Josh Howard. They look like a fringe contender in the West. If they can stay healthy and get a few lucky bounces, they could challenge.
With Blake Griffin sidelined for the first six weeks of the season, the race for ROY is suddenly wide open. Griffin will still have plenty of time to stake his claim, but for now, the spotlight is elsewhere. It was supposed to shift to Tyreke Evans in Sacramento, but the Bucks’ Brandon Jennings has stolen the show.
He nearly became the second rookie in the history of the NBA to register a triple-double in his first game when he posted 16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists against the Sixers. The next night, after a quiet first half where he only scored three points, he erupted for 16 points in the third quarter, leading Milwaukee to a huge comeback (and an eventual win) against the Pistons. Here’s a look at a phenomenal steal and finish that brought the house down…
Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks will miss at least two weeks after experiencing soreness in his surgically repaired left knee, a source told ESPN.com on Monday.
Redd underwent surgery in March to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and he left Saturday night’s game against Detroit during the third quarter because of discomfort in the knee.
Redd is a great example of why the NBA needs to lower the maximum contract length to three or four years. Over the last three seasons, Redd has missed more than a third of his team’s games. During that span, the Bucks paid him almost $44 million and have missed the playoffs each and every year.
I give Redd a lot of credit for transforming himself from a second round pick into a NBA All-Star, but his inability to stay healthy in recent years has really hamstrung the Bucks. To add insult to injury, he’s slated to make more than $35 million over the next two seasons, and if he isn’t healthy, he’s going to be impossible to trade.
It didn’t look like it was going to happen, but the Boston Celtics have struck a deal to keep their talented point guard in the green and white for another five years.
Facing a Monday deadline, the Boston Celtics and Rajon Rondo have reached an agreement in principle on a contract extension, his agent confirmed to ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher.
The deal is for five years and will be worth at least $55 million, a source confirmed to Bucher.
Rondo and the team agreed to the deal late Sunday night, thanks in large part to what the 23-year-old point guard has demonstrated since training camp began.
General manager Danny Ainge and owner Wyc Grousbeck balked at giving Rondo the kind of deal he wanted because of concern about his leadership skills and integration in the team fabric when negotiations began.
“They were candid and we understood,” said Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy. “It was never about on the court. They wanted him to demonstrate being more of a leader, meshing with the team, being engaged in the locker room. Those issues have been squelched. I have to give a lot of credit to Ainge and Wyc. When there is an issue and you get it resolved, it’s like a cleansing.”
Give credit to both sides for avoiding the intractability that so often prevails when a pending restricted free agent isn’t being offered what he (or his camp) believes that he’s worth. Back in June, I pegged Rondo’s value at $9.0-$10.0 million per season, and it looks like he was able to get a contract worth $11 million per year. I devalued Rondo somewhat due to his reputation, but now that the Celtics believe that it’s a non-issue, it makes sense that they’d feel he’s worth a bit more.
He still struggles with his shot, but he’s savvy around the rim, and is a great defender, rebounder and playmaker. He nearly averaged a triple-double in the playoffs when the Celtics were without Kevin Garnett.
I wouldn’t call this a great signing by the franchise as I think Rondo’s inability to shoot limits his upside somewhat, but it looks like the two sides struck a pretty fair deal given everything else that he brings to the table.
I thought about awarding this to Deron Williams for his 27-point, nine-assist, seven-rebound effort in Utah’s 113-99 win over the Spurs, but then I remembered that Tony Parker isn’t exactly known for his defensive prowess. Tim Duncan is. So that makes Carlos Boozer’s line — 27 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots — all that more impressive. He went 12-20 (60%) from the field and regularly scored on Duncan, who has been named to the All-Defensive team 12 times in his illustrious career.
The Hornets have struggled early on in this season, and were 1-3 heading into a home game last night against the red-hot Mavs. Chris Paul responded with 39 points (on 14-23 shooting), seven assists, five rebounds and two steals in 45 minutes of playing time. He had the high 
Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points in the fourth quarter — you read that right — to give the Mavs a 96-85 win over the Utah Jazz. He posted 40 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and two steals. He shot 12 of 22 from the field and 15 of 16 from the charity stripe. The Mavs trailed by 16 with 8:17 to play before they made their charge.
