Lebron Opts For D-Wade & C-Bosh
• dEDGE Post Scriptum •
That sound you heard rumbling through Los Angeles on Wednesday wasn’t an earthquake. It was the Cleveland Cavalier fans storming the Quicken Loans Arena for a refund on their 2010-11 season tickets. News broke earlier that Lebron James was heading to the Miami Heat and that was verified Thursday evening as James publicly announced his decision to jump ship on a prime time telecast on
ESPN. Moments later, Cavs owner, Dan Gilbert fired off his own salvo, calling James’ decision a “cowardly betrayal.” Gilbert’s bitterness continued on, guaranteeing “that the Cleveland Cavaliers will win an NBA championship before the self-titled former ‘King’ wins one.” OK, stop your laughing… Once the dust settles, or accumulates depending on your perspective, the Cavs will be hard pressed to even field a competitive team. Byron Scott has a way of working miracles out of limited talent, but he’s always had at least some sort of talent to work from. Who do the Cavs have, or more importantly, who can they get?
I like this scenario with James hooking up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Pat Riley did a masterful job of up-selling the South Beach tax-free lifestyle thus allowing the Heat to jump to the top of the list as Eastern Conference favorites. The Celtics recently resigned Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, solidifying their trio of All-Stars for another title push behind Doc Rivers. But they now appear to be a distant second to the younger, more heavily talented triumvirate located just due South. Lebron’s decision to join forces with his fellow Team USA buddies sent shock waves throughout the league that will continue to reverberate for the next few months heading into training camp. Teams that were perhaps one or two free agent signings away now appear to be severely lacking in firepower. Orlando and Chicago must look elsewhere but not much is left in the cookie jar to choose from. But what does this all mean to the Los Angeles Lakers and its fans? Not much.
Artest on King James. Kobe on D-Wade. Pau matched up against Bosh. Looks like 1-1 in head-to-head match-ups with a possible draw between Kobe and Wade. But that leaves Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom far ahead of anything Miami has to offer. Who guards Steve Blake or the (hopefully) soon to be signed Derek Fisher? With the Heat tossing out players to free up money and cap space to sign the three coveted free agents, there’s not much left in the cupboards to battle the beasts of the East, let alone the reigning two-time World Champions. Jermaine O’Neal just agreed to sign with the Celtics. The #2 overall draft pick from 2008, Michael Beasley, was jettisoned moments after Lebron made his announcement to Minnesota for future draft picks to free up additional funds. The Heat had seven free agents heading into this off season with only Wade coming back. That leaves a large void for Riley and Miami to fill in order to have any championship aspirations. Several mid-level guys are sure to take a pay-cut to team up with the newly formed nucleus, but at some point, Miami will have to rely on minimum wage players to help carry the load. Don’t get me wrong, the Heat just took a major step forward in solidifying their future. But will it be enough to combat Phil Jackson as he looks to garner his fourth 3Peat before hanging them up for good? I think not.
Should the Lakers look for additional help? It couldn’t hurt, but we look awfully strong already. Including Fisher in the equation, we’re a rock solid seven deep. Depending on how the rooks perform in Summer League will go a long way in determining what our other role players look like. The addition of someone such as Raja Bell could only reinforce our suddenly depleted bench, but with the inconsistent contributions we got this past season, things don’t look all that dim. A healthy Luke Walton and an on-track Sasha Vujacic can regain pre-contract signing form again, or could be used in possible trade scenarios prior to the February deadline. Three guys don’t beat a conglomerate. But it does make for some interesting conversation…
I haven’t been keeping up on things, but what is going on with Shannon Brown? I really don’t want to see him go.
Shannon Brown remains in contract discussions with the Lakers although the two sides are still rather far apart. The Lakers are also in contract discussions with Palo Alto native/Harvard grad Jeremy Lin, who impressed scouts with his performance in the Vegas SPL.
Why would Fish ever want to play with a bunch of wannabe’s when he can play with the real deal? Sorry Miami, keep dreaming.
D-Fish has agreed to a 3-yr. contract to return to the Los Angeles Lakers. (Hooray!)
Meanwhile, Jordan Farmar accepts a 3-yr. deal worth $12 million with the New Jersey Nets to back-up Devin Harris. (Note: LA won more games in the playoffs than the Nets did in the regular season.)
Derek Fisher meeting with master-motivator Pat Riley makes me nervous. Come on Mitch, sign this guy already.
7 titles!?! You need to get one first before you can start mouthing off like that, Lebron.
You can’t beat the Lakers out West so you might as well load up in the East. It’s the only way you’ll ever get to the Finals.
Well, it looks like Cleveland is all yours again Drew Carey.
We better lock up Fisher first.
Mike Miller just agreed to terms with Miami giving the Heat four Team USA’ers. Will Riley hire Coack K next? We better get Raja Bell for some more lock-down defense.
It looks like Raja Bell prefers to join the Heat or Magic rather than play with Kobe. I guess he’s still bitter.
As reported in ESPN Los Angeles:
“Veteran free-agent forward Raja Bell refuted an Internet story that reported the 33-year-old rejected a contract offer by the Lakers.”
“I have not expressed any disinterest in joining the Lakers,” Bell told ESPNLosAngeles.com in a phone interview Friday. “I have not been extended an offer that I could have rejected. They are one of several teams I am in contact with.”
“Bell said he has received several phone calls from former nemesis Kobe Bryant recruiting his services for next season.”