Not surprised, just interesting. It seems that with this whole free agency ordeal his true character is actually starting to come out with the whole dissing Cleveland "King James" attitude. Then you also have people trying to make it worse. There's always the issue of the reporter trying to uncover all the details about the bad guy, but from what I read in the article LeBron never said that was the reason why he didn't go, thats just what the reporter said. Did he actually say that was the reason or is it from insiders or what? We all know LeBrons ego is out of this world and I'm by no means defending him I've actually never been a fan I'm just curious if that's actually why he didn't go. Other news: Penny Hardaway trying to make a possible comeback? ridiculous <a class="postlink" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Penny-Hardaway-wants-to-re-join-the-Heat-ruin-s?urn=nba,256465" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_d ... nba,256465</a>
In other news, Nate Robinson agreed to a 2 year contract with the Celtics. The best part? Glen "Big Baby" Davis wanted to stop being called "Big Baby", instead asking to be called "Uno Uno" which is possibly the gayest nickname ever, other than "Big Baby". Now with Nate staying, "Shrek and Donkey" will be together and I don't have to listen to anyone but Tommy Heinsohn calling him "Big Baby".
As long as there have been professional sports, there have been reporters that have known about but buried their bad behavior. The reasons for keeping these sorts of things under wrap are several, but the biggest one is access. No one wants to get frozen out by newsworthy stars. Unfortunately, LeBron James turned himself into an NBA villain and all-around mega dick with his free agent act so now he's newsworthy for a completely different reason. He opened the door for guys like Adrian Wojnarowski to spill the beans to drive readership. There's no upside to keeping his name clean, and James has no one to blame for the shortage of goodwill but himself and his entourage of poorly-educated/short-sighted sycophants. I, for one, am loving the drama and I can't wait to see Miami turn into the most hated gang of mercenaries since COBRA fought G.I. Joe. On another note, I think the good news is Danny Ferry and Mike Brown will come out of this pretty well; James is going to take the fall for the Cavs' shortcomings now. In fact, I'd even go as far as to say that Brown may be high on the list of people (along with Budenholzer) to replace Popovich now that Avery Johnson is in New Jersey. In fact, if Bud gets a head coaching gig in the next season or two I would put money on Mike Brown taking over as #1 assistant in SA if he's still unemployed.
And you're...you're okay with this?? That's about as comforting as Knicks fans hearing that Isiah may be GM again.
Well, it's an academic conversation at this point. Popovich will keep coaching until at least the day after Tim Duncan retires, so by the point where it comes that Mike Brown or Mike Budenholzer is calling the shots I'll be cheering for a markedly different team. Can I imagine Brown calling plays in the huddle for Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker? Not really. But when the Spurs new Big Three is Splitter/Hill/Blair? That's an entirely different conversation. But no...I don't think Mike Brown is a terrible coach, if for no other reason than I respect Gregg Popovich's and Danny Ferry's professional opinions. It does make you realize that San Antonio's organizational continuity is unique among NBA franchises, along with the Lakers and the Jazz. (And the Clippers, I guess, though that's not a compliment.)
I'm a little late on the D. Rose courting James conversation here, but I'm just going to throw out the little comment that Derrick Rose is not a conversationalist. He would be reading off a sheet of paper. God bless the man's basketball game, as a Bulls fan I love him to death. Have you see his interviews? He couldn't convince Steve Jobs to make another iPhone.
Allan Houston rumored to be next Knicks GM. Very interesting, if there's any truth to it. I'm always curious about first-time GMs. There's no track record to indicate what shape they'll try to mold the team into. Hopefully, for my allegiance's purposes, Houston will know what he's doing if he gets the job. Speaking of the Knicks, Chris Paul has given the Hornets a list of teams he wants to go to. Word is, he and Carmelo want to join Amare to rival Dwyane Wade & Co. down in Miami. Looks like that rivalry could be back on within the next year.
I'd give the nod to DWade, Bosh and LBJ over Paul, Melo and Amare. I also think one "superteam" is enough. Of course, the Knicks-Heat ECF that would result from that would be pretty fun to watch.
Oh, there's no doubt which trio is superior. That being said, I think it'd be closer than people think. But we'll burn that bridge before we get there, though. No sense in speculating which team would be better when it's yet to come to fruition. I don't see what a "superteam" has to do with it. If anything, the situation in Miami makes a case for why other teams are better off stacking their roster. Otherwise, it'd be very difficult to compete. Like Magic and Michael have said, they'd never dream of teaming up, because they were focusing on beating each other solo. If James-Wade-Bosh can do it, why not other teams? And aren't you a Celtics fan? Tsk tsk.
I understand other teams need to do it to be competitive, but they can make 3, maybe 4 really talented trios out of what's left in the NBA (and that's being generous). Yes, I'm a Celtics fan, but even when our Big Three first got together, people already bitched that they were old, it's not the same as Wade-LeBron-Bosh who can have a good 5 to 8 years together. They should be a shitload of fun to watch, and I'll catch as many Heat games as I can just to see whether it works or not. Sure, Rondo-Allen-Pierce-KG-Jermaine O'Neal is a better starting five than 95% of the league, but there's something about Boston sports that just LOVES to throw together the oldest fucking lineup they could think of. The Patriots do it with their linebackers every year. "Junior Seau? Yeah baby! Come out of retirement, you're only 85 years old!" It's frustrating to watch.
T-Mac is working out and might be coming to the Bulls. I honestly do not know how I feel about this. He's not going to be "The Man" here, because he's fragile and old. I'm hoping he can be an older, stronger Ben Gordon that can actually have an inside presence. I'm hoping he's not another Allen Iverson. The best thing I know is if he gets on bullshit, the one thing I can say about the Bulls org is they do not take bullshit and will cut him.
No choice but to hate the Heat Short article on SI explaining why Miami will be such a hated team. I originally found it when I saw they made SI's top 25 hated sports teams list, and I have to say he's right. There's something rotten in Denmark about all of it. Being a Knicks fan, the prospect of Amare-Carmelo-Paul is bittersweet, because what's happening with the Heat will happen to them. I mean, I won't deny I'd love to see it happen (I endorsed it earlier in this very thread), but it does cheapen the game, in a way. Everyone and their brother will be throwing it up for Miami, New York, Boston, or whoever, and meanwhile the Danny Grangers and Devin Harrises get relatively little recognition because of the shitty teams they play for. It's different from when Boston put their superstar trio together, because they at least made that happen via trades. It took some coordinating in the front office to pull off, as opposed to three friends collaborating to play together via free agency. Maybe I'm just bitter.
DWade, LeBron, Bosh and Eddie House! http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NBA&id=714
This is the now-infamous article that ESPN pulled shortly after it was posted, citing that "the reporter did not properly identify himself as a reporter" and other such bullshit journalistic ethics which I normally stand by completely but not when ESPN is currently chocking because James's Benedict Arnold cock is in its mouth. At any rate, the article: This douche bag is so big I can't even imagine Margo Dydek would use it
I was going to hunt down this article at some point, so thanks for posting it. Actually, James comes across better in that article than what I would have imagined. Drinking green tea instead of alcohol, and his head firmly focused on basketball, even when he is relaxing and enjoying himself. The rest is relatively typical young athlete behavior. It's also not hard to see how someone living in that environment gradually starts to lose his grip on reality.
The Celtics are officially the Patriots: They have signed another old, old, old player. That's right, boys and girls, Shaq is now a Celtic. What the fuck?
I actually think I understand the logic behind the signing. The Celtics are hoping Shaq won't hurt their results with their slow-it-down, halfcourt style, or, equally well, will simply get injured near the end of the regular season and sit out the playoffs. At the same time, Shaq will drum up more interest in the Celtics and maybe even sell some jerseys/other merchandise. At less than $2 million a year, the team figured it was a bargain.
Because that's just what the world needs: MORE bandwagon Boston sports fans. Very good signing, though. I don't see what his age has to do with it. He's still an above-average caliber player for his position, and fits right into their rotation. With Garnett, Pierce, Allen, and Rondo, it's not like he needs to be relied on that heavily, either. It'll be interesting if him and Kobe end up facing each other in the Finals.
Honestly, why not? He's cheap, and the Celtics need big bodies. They don't have money to throw around, and Shaq is at least as good anyone else they could get for the money. He fits in w/ their style of play reasonably well and the contract is compatible with their plans for roster turn over after 2011-12. As a bonus, it keeps Pierce happy. This shouldn't be looked at as the Celtics signing THE Shaq. It's them signing a veteran guy who fills the paint (unlike, say, Shelden Williams) for about $1.5mil / year. And if it's a problem, you know that Doc and Ainge will have no hesitation in shipping him out.
I think the problem with Shaq is that he refuses to be a role player who grabs rebounds, plays some defense, and gets the occasional possession. Were he to do that, O'Neal would still be a valuable, beneficial player. Instead, he still demands the ball on offense, commits lots of silly fouls, and seems too disinterested/out of shape to get up and down the floor to play consistent defense. That's why his presence hurt not only Phoenix and their fast break style, but even Cleveland and their more relaxed half court sets. This will be less of a problem in Boston because of their style, locker room personalities, and a coach who isn't in jeopardy of losing his job. Still, it's far from being a coup, unless Shaq changes around his attitude and approach, which is unlikely.