The Spurs? It was nice of ESPN to interrupt their 24/7 "Summer of Lebron" coverage to give the Spurs 12 hours of headlines for winning the title before "The Decision 2.0" hit overdrive.
It didnt help that we had the Rangers/Kings stanley cup, World Cup, US Open. Last year the coverage was so much better, it almost felt exclusive, this year there was so much more crap going on that it didnt get as much attention.
Much as I was glad to see the Spur shellac the Heat, with this being a New York-affiliated team site, having the NY Rangers in the finals wasn't exactly a bad thing.
Riley is handling it perfectly by calling Lebron out here. Instead of taking the approach Cleveland did and kissing his ass over and over to get him to stay (no one respects that) Riley's simply saying a player like him shouldn't have to bounce around to find his best spot to win one. That is exactly how it should be handled and I think Lebron will respect this. (if not - he really is a pussy) I dislike the Heat very much, but Pat Riley is one smart man. In one of his books I read he said his favorite quote when faced with a difficult decision or path is "don't find a way - make one" (Hannibal). That's what he's doing with Lebron here. He's telling him don't look around for place to go where you can find a good chance to win - stay here and make your chance to win because you are Lebron friggin James. Whether it resonates with LeBron is another thing. It will be very revealing of his character.
That's easy to do when you have players who are willing to help. Lebron James has never made over $20 million in a season. Dwayne Wade is scheduled to make excess of $40 million in the next two years. Pair him with Bosh, Cole, Chalmers, etc. and they are already at their cap. Wade, from all reports, is a money hungry guy who is not willing to take a cut. If that's the case, how can you blame LeBron? The guy is the best basketball player in the world yet he has never made anything North of $30 million. Kobe and Jordan deserve those salaries but LeBron doesn't? You can't build a supporting cast around a player if the other players don't want to help. Lebron deserves the salary he wants. Wade needs to take a DRASTIC pay cut and Bosh needs to restructure. Getting all that to happen is very hard. Pat Riley may be able to do it, but you can't blame LeBron if he wants to look for another team.
It won't be actually, They can backload Wade's contract, and with the salary cap increasing every year, a 4 yr 48 milliom contract or 5 year 60 million won't look bad in 3 to 4 years. Bosh has already said that he will tske a paycut. LeBron opts in for 20 milliom, Wade gets more guranteed money,they should be fine.
Again, you are relying on Wade dropping his salary SIGNIFICANTLY and LeBron at $20 million again. Lebron is opting out. In fact, sources very close to him, including guys who have covered him his entire career belive he will. Why wouldn't he? Opt out, check out your other options, and then make a decision. Any one with brains would opt out of that contract. Wade and Bosh likely won't. But the best player in the world? Uh, yes he will. Lebron deserves $30+ million a year, and he knows that. Miami is in a bad bad situation right now. Riley is trying to make gold out of shit.
If Wade doesn't opt out, he's going to be out of the league in 2 years, He wont get 6 million once he hits the open market in 2016, but if he opts out this year, he's going to get more guranteed money. He won't opt out and take less guranteed money. Wade will get paid 14 to 15 milllion for the next 4 to 5 years if he opts out, I think he would rather make 14 million for the next years, rather than being out of the league. Bosh has already said that he will take less, so he will probably opt out. I'm not maing this stuff up. Those same poeple close to LeBron thought he going to stay in Cleveland idc what they say. LeBron has reasons to opt in. The west is stacked and Clevland do not have a team that is ready to win next year, that eliminates all of his options. Regardless of Lebron's decision we are in for a fun offseason.
If LeBron went to Cleveland again, they would be a championship team for years. They have the top pick this year. Pair that with Irving and LeBron? Good god
Well im not saying it was a bad thing at all, its just that last year EVERYONE was talking about the finals. I turn on 98.7 it was all hockey, I turn on 660 WFAN its all hockey. Then ESPN started the World Cup coverage so the NBA Finals got a lot less attention than last year, ESPECIALLY if you live in the LA/NY area.
Yeah and they have 30 million to spend.....30 Million. Next season it is entirely possible that they could have Irving, Lebron, Carmelo AND Wiggins/Parker/Exum/Embiid. Wiggins wouldnt really fit in but he might be the best option for the Cavaliers. (I would personally take Exum #1 but he did play PG which the Cavs kinda have.)
If LeBron went back to Cleveland he'd win multiple championships. They are building a power house over there and it's all youth. Lebron would be set for years. Bad blood though between James and ownership. Makes it unlikely
Definitely tons of tension but I believe that they could both move on if its the best interest for both sides.
Carmelo has to opt out Monday, Duncan Tuesday. D-Day for the Miami heat is June 29th apparently, thats when the big 3 need to make their decision.
Cleveland is beyond ideal, I didnt realize this but they have a team option on Anderson Varejao who is set to make $9.8 million. The Cavaliers essentially only have $22 million tied up for next year. If the cap is set to $65 million they would have over $40 million to spend. If Lebron and Carmelo took up $30 million (a year), it would still allow the Cavalier to give Irving a good contract (max potentially) after next season. The team would be loaded imo, they even have Jarret Jack who did a number against the Spurs in that Warriors series. As bad as Bennet was last season, he still could be a serviceable player which would just add to the young talent.
Wow nice, ESPN doing a segment on the "mystery man" Dante Exum. I knew his father played at the high level but didnt realize he played next to Jordan at North Carolina. They said no GM/Coach has watched him live in over a year I believe. He also got cut from his team 3 years ago apparently.
Rockets prepared to make an "all out push" for Lebron James if he opts out. That would be sweet. Him paired with a true big man would be fun to watch
