Since LeBron James sent out an ill-advised tweet about how karma and/or God were punishing the Cavs, his team lost to the Clippers (111-105) and he twisted his ankle. He was able to finish the game, but is listed as questionable tonight against the Nuggets.
So is this just a random injury or is God/karma firing a shot across LeBron’s bow?
J.A. Adande of ESPN.com suggests the Lakers as a possible destination for Griffin when he becomes a free agent in 2014.
From 1994 to 2004, the Clippers had 10 picks in the first 10 selections of the draft. The only one to stay with the team for more than five seasons is Chris Kaman, the center selected sixth overall in 2003.
Griffin could become an unrestricted free agent in 2014, which coincides with the expiration of Kobe Bryant’s and Pau Gasol’s contracts with the Lakers. Now that’s a franchise with a history of attracting and retaining star players, one with a low tolerance for down time. If the Lakers have to reset in 2014, who better for them to do it with than Griffin?
For his part, Griffin seems to be focused on the right thing — making the Clippers better.
“I would love to do that,” Griffin said. “I would love to be a part of it. I don’t think there’s a greater feeling than helping something, being a part of something bigger than yourself, being a part of something that changes the culture. If we’re really committed to winning, we’re committed to being better, I would love to be here. But there’s a lot of years, a lot of games to be played before any of that’s going to be decided.”
The phrase that caught my eye was “if we’re really committed to winning…”
That’s the rub with the Clippers, isn’t it? There have been a lot of good players come through the franchise and they hardly ever stay. Can Griffin and Eric Gordon turn this thing around quickly enough to convince themselves to stay? Can Clippers management surround them with enough talent to make the playoffs? If Gordon doesn’t re-sign in 2013, I doubt Griffin will re-up the following summer, but that’s just speculation.
The key is Donald Sterling. Widely regarded as one of the worst owners in sports, the Clippers’ bubble always seems to burst, and some have suggested that Sterling’s stink is the reason.
In Griffin they have a bubble. A very, very big bubble. Is it going to burst?
According to several league sources, Anthony has not told anyone, not even his representatives, that he will sign a contract extension with the Nets.
One source who has spoken with Anthony since trade talks between Denver, New Jersey and Detroit became public last weekend said the Nuggets forward has never even hinted at signing with New Jersey.
“He has not agreed to go to New Jersey,” said the source, who speaks regularly with Anthony. “I have never heard him, in all the times we’ve talked, say he’s willing to go to New Jersey. Not once. Personally, I would be stunned if he went there and signed an extension.”
Whaa?
This wouldn’t be a surprise if it were only the Nets and Nuggets talking, but all along Anthony’s agent, Leon Rose, has reportedly been the catalyst behind this trade talk between the two teams. Why would he work so hard to put together a trade if Carmelo isn’t interested in re-upping with the Nets in the first place?
The natural assumption is that Rose is pushing for a deal with New Jersey because Anthony is amenable to it. But sources say that’s not the case.
“He [Rose] may want him to go there,” one source said. “But Melo doesn’t want to be in Jersey. He wants to play in New York.”
I don’t buy it. If Rose and Anthony are on the same page, and one would think they are, then he has to be amenable to playing for the Nets. If Carmelo is so determined to play for the Knicks, then he should just play out the year in Denver and sign with the Knicks during the summer.
Of course, he’s trying to get his extension and a trade to the Knicks, so if that’s the case, he should tell the Nuggets that the Knicks are the only team that he’ll re-sign with, and that would put the pressure on Denver to get the best deal they can from Knicks GM Donnie Walsh. That would put him in the role of spoiled superstar, which is something he has been trying to avoid by being so tight-lipped about his future.
But Leon Rose has to know what Carmelo is willing (and not willing) to do, right?
Right?
The Cavs have the worst record in the league (8-30), and after they lost by 55 points to the Lakers on Tuesday, LeBron James tweeted…
So according to LeBron, God is punishing the Cavs (via karma, mind you) for wrongdoings that occurred after “The Decision.”
I foresee a sh*tstorm of criticism today at which point LeBron will release a statement/tweet that either a) refers to all critics as “haters,” b) claims that the tweet was not about the Cavs, or c) all of the above.
Rotoworld’s take: “[LeBron] has proven once again to have one of the most inept group of handlers known in the superstar athlete era.”
Former Bears scout Greg Gabriel wrote an interesting article for the National Football Post. He describes the scene as the Bears tried to decide between James Starks and Dan LeFevour.
As we got closer to our pick, Angelo made the decision for the Bears to draft Starks. When we drafted a player there was a protocol we followed. After the decision on who to draft was made, Cliff Stein (the Bears contract negotiator) would call the players agent and tell him we were planning on drafting his player. He would tell the agent that the wanted to get a 4-year contract with the player and wanted the contract done by a certain date. If the agent agreed then I would call the player and give him the news that the Bears were going to take him. This is exactly what happened with Starks. I was on the phone for a minute or so with Starks when Angelo walked in my office and told me he had changed his mind and was drafting LeFevour. I put Starks on hold and then said to Angelo that Stein had already talked to the agent and I had the player on the phone…we couldn’t do business like that. He said he was sorry but he decided he wanted LeFevour and the card had been turned in.
I then had to tell the player (a player that I had developed a good relationship with over the previous two years) that in fact we were not drafting him. Hearing a kid go from being extremely excited to silence was not easy. It was the most embarrassing moment I had experienced while scouting.
This is something of a story now that Starks is emerging as the top tailback for the Packers. He rushed 23 times for 123 yards against the Eagles, showing very good burst and wiggle through the hole. He also showed some nice hands out of the backfield, which makes sense since he caught a total of 93 passes in 2007 and 2008 as a member of the Buffalo Bulls.
After Ryan Grant went down, the Packers decided not to add Marshawn Lynch to the mix at tailback and it appears that Starks was the main reason why.
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