LeBron-Voyage Cleveland

It's over, it's finally over. After months of speculation, non-stop coverage on sports channels, and a 1-hour television special LeBron James is finally a member of the Miami Heat.

I agree that the t.v. special was absolutely ridiculous. 100% ubsurd. No other athlete gets that coverage. .

I do, however, feel that LeBron wasn't the mastermind behind this coverage. ESPN probably called him up, offered him some sort of figure that started with a 1 and was followed by a trail of the number of NBA titles he has won, made a donation to The Boys and Girls Club, and sold ad space for a ridiculous amount. How couldn't ESPN make money off of this. The LeBron dealings are all that we have be force fed for weeks. Every male in the U.S. had their opinion on where he was going to go, or stay. Every guy, NBA fans or not, was ready to hear the announcement. At 9 p.m. last night, all of those guys had their dials turned to ESPN. Advertising heaven.

Not that I need to tell you, but James joins Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to become as formidable a trio as the league has ever seen. The Heat decided their best bet to win a championship was to employ what is becoming known as the Celtics' model. Bring in 3 stars, ie Garnett, Allen, Pierce in Boston, and hope to surround them with servicable people around them.

Yes, while the idea of one team having James, Wade, and Bosh seems like being in a fantasy league where one guy has two teams and trades with himself, you have to remember there is not much wiggle room to mold a roster to support these guys.

After last night, Miami is looking like a favorite to win the East, but currently they only have Mario Chalmers under contract.

To create some financial space, the Heat shipped the #2 pick in '08, Michael Beasley, the man with more personality issues than the WWF's Mick Foley, to the T-Wolves for a 2nd round pick. The Heat basically get nothing but Beasley off their books, and the T-Wolves get a young forward who allows them the ability to shop Al Jefferson.

As it stands right now, once the contracts of the Big 3 are signed, the Heat roster looks slimmer than the Olsen twins at a casting call for a remake of Ally McBeal.


Looks like Uncle Jesse and Joey burnt the spaghetti again.

The Heat are still going to need a few guards, a center, and some big bodies to bang with Dwight Howard if they hope to win the East, because there is no way Bosh's body-type can handle the amount of abuse it will take as the only big man. The free-agent talent pool is shallow and Pat Riley and the Heat don't have much money to work with.

The Celts were lucky to land Eddie House and James Posey for small contracts, and I'm sure that some NBA vets will look at the situation in Miami; living in South Beach, playing with LeBron, D-Wade, and Bosh, and say to himself, yeah that works for me, give me $1 mil and we have ourselves a deal. That is going to happen, but who is even out there?

Allen Iverson? T-Mac? Mike Miller? Larry Hughes? Jason Williams? Mike James? Shaq?Matt Bonner? Rafer Alston? Matt Barnes? Devean George? Juwan Howard? Brad Miller? Joe Smith? Ben Wallace?

I mean there might be some servicable guys on the market, certainly a few of them will take a cut to play with Team USA in Miami, but will it be enough to make a sustained run to a title?

Don't get me wrong, I like the chances for the Heat to win the East, even with guys like Adam Morrison, Eric Devendorf, and Chris Taft, but do they have enough to get past the Lake Show? That is the question.

No question James and Wade, all-stars on the list for guys with first names for lasts, make up the best duo that we have seen since Budnick and Donkey Lips terrorized Camp Anawanna on Salute Your Shorts.



It's going to come down to how they share the responsibilities in Miami. I'm not sure we have seen an alpha-dog situation like this before. Two players, in the primes of their careers, programmed to carry average teams solely on their backs, while playing a physically demanding style of game. Both, in the past, were forced to be Mr. Clutch, forced to carry the team in crunch time, and forced to be the SuperStar that he is. How will this mash? They did a pretty good job in the Olympics in China, but that was for a short period of time, how will that translate over an entire season.

Now how good would that Slam Dunk Contest between James and Wade be? Teammates and Rivals, think of the marketing possibilities.

With the additions of Bosh and James, the Heat now have 3 of the top-5 picks from the 2003 draft. A draft that has produced some really servicable players.

1. LeBron James - Cleveland
2. Darko Milicic - Detroit. Think Motor City would like a re-do?
3. Carmelo Anthony - Denver
4. Chris Bosh - Toronto
5. Dwayne Wade - Miami
6. Chris Kamen - LA Clippers
7. Kirk Hinrich - Chicago
18. David West - New Orleans
21. Boris Diaw - Atlanta
23. Travis Outlaw - Portland
27. Kendrick Perkins - Memphis
29. Josh Howard - Dallas
47. Mo Williams - Utah

I can't blame LeBron for leaving Cleveland. I really can't. He did everything he could for that city for the past 7 years, and they should be grateful that they actually had a sports team that they could cheer for. Of course he fell short of bring a championship to Northeast Ohio, but it is not entirely his fault. He made the team competitive, single-handedly. He produced game in and game out. He won 2 MVPs, what more can you ask for.

The team and coaching staff surrounding James while in Cleveland was pathetic. Mike Brown could actually do the unfathomable and coach A.C. Slater to a loss against Vally.

There was no way a team with Mo Williams and Antwan Jamison as the second and third fiddles were going to win a championship. Year in and year out, Cleveland did nothing to help improve their team. Bring in Shaq? Yeah good try. With the talent on the market this off season, they still did not bring anybody in that could shoulder the load when James had a rare off night. They wanted the James to do all the work, carry the team to a championship with average players. Not going to happen in today's game. A consistant and reliable second option is a necessity.

Then the owner of the Cavs comes out and says that Cleveland will win a championship before James will. My question is With Who? For your sake Dan Gilbert I hope you enjoy your lottery picks the next 5 seasons. Maybe the combination of those 5 will equal the greatness of LBJ. Gilbert, who has berated LeBron after his decision to go to the Heat, is acting like a spoiled brat who didn't get that new pony for Christmas. Well Danny Boy if you would have actually given LeBron people to play with then maybe he would have felt he had a chance of winning with the Cavs. Like LeBron said he doesn't want to be a 31-year-old with bad knees and no titles.

Then there is the rumored sexual affair between LeBron's mom and his former Cleveland teammate Delonte West. True or not, how could LeBron wanted to share a lockerroom with that scum bag. Look at West, he is opitome of scum, and for LeBron to think that there was even a chance that his mom, Gloria, was sharing a bed with him; now that is unexcusable. Once this rumor arose, Cleveland should have sent West packing. He has had is off-court issues in the past, so this wouldn't have been unwarrented.

For future reference Cleveland, assuming you will still have franchises by the time you get another star, you need to cater to your star athletes. Make them feel comfortable, give them a supporting cast not a group of players from the Island of Misfit Toys. And for heaven's sake, if one of your players is rumored to be having a sexual relationship with your star's mother, ship that clown out of town.



On a side note, when I googled Delonte West, an ad for Herpes treatment appeared. Thought that seemed about right.

Other NBA free-agent signings:

New York Knicks: Amar'e Stoudemire 5 years $100 million; Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike, Ronny Turiaf via trade from Golden State.

A guy with a bad eye, bad knee, and a questionable relationship with the head coach, not a recipe that, to me, should add up to $100 million. But if he can follow through on his promise to bring Melo and Tony Parker to NYC, then it might just be worth it. Couldn't imagine how good Parker would be in a D'antoni offense.

Stoudemire plays the same position as David Lee, so New York shipped their best player, Lee, to Golden State for Randolph, Azubuike and Turiaf. Lee will once again toil in mediocrity. His talents might never get to be fully displayed on a winning team.

Chicago Bulls: Carlos Boozer 5 years $75 million

Especially with Boozer in place, I thought this was the place LeBron needed to go to win a championship. It had all the pieces necessary to win right now. The Bulls already have a point guard, Derrick Rose, who is ready to soar into Superstardom, a hustling, rebounding, defensive machine in clown-boy Joakim Noah, think Anderson Varejao times 5.

With Boozer in place that is another 10+ boards per game guy, who is a legitimate 2nd scoring option and low-post presence, that LeBron has never gotten to play with. Throw in Deng as your fifth starter and that is a heck of a team. A team poised to win now.

Even without LBJ, the Bulls should be able to make a nice run in the East. Boozer, Rose and Noah are not comparable to James, Wade, and Bosh, but they do have a much better supporting cast.

Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki 4 years $80 million, Brenden Haywood 6 years $55 million

The Mavs were able to sign two 7-footers but that is about all they have in common.

Dirk did the noble thing and stayed in Dallas. Although, I don't believe there was much threat of him leaving anyways. He didn't take the max amount which would have been around $96 million, and allowed Dallas some extra money to spend. He is the best player in franchise history and I'm sure he will retire a Mav.

Haywood is another try at getting the all-ellusive center for the Mavs. They have wasted millions upon millions of dollars on 7-footers like Erick Dampier and DJ Mbenga, but have never found a center that was useful.

Hey Mark Cuban, I hear Shaq is a free agent. He will be glad to take a few million dollars off of your hands.

Boston Celtics: Paul Pierce 4 years $61 million ; Ray Allen 2 years $20 million, Jermaine O'Neal 2 years $11.5 million

Good re-signs of Pierce and Allen. Both are in the twilights of their careers, but as they proved this past Spring, they might just have a little juice left in the tank.

O'Neal is a puzzling signing. He is also old, after finishing his 14th NBA season, but the Celts got him for a lot less than the $23 million he was making last year, but I guess he is a replacement for the injured Perkins and lethargic Rasheed Wallace, who was lazier than Stu Scott's eye.

Atlanta Hawks: Joe Johnson 6 years $123.7 million

Yeah great Atlanta, you got one of the top free agents on the market. Too bad he isn't even in the same stratosphere as James and Wade. This was a no-brainer for Johnson. Where else was he going to get that kind of money. Plus he doesn't have to pack up his things and move to a new city. 6 more years of Lil' Jon and Jermaine Dupuis.

Yes, Atlanta, he was your best player for the past few seasons and led your team to the playoffs, but if you remember this past Spring when you got swept. Yeah so good luck with that.

LA Lakers: Steve Blake 4 years $16 million

Obviously they think this was it for Derek Fisher. I'm assuming Blake would be the starter, since he has held that role before, and Farmar will remain the back-up. Fish had a great career, I'd like to see him catch on with a team if the Lake Show decided not to keep him. He has been an intregal part of all of Kobe's championships, that is why LA reached out and brought him back to LA from his hiatis to Utah and Golden State.

Not to mention he was part of the wildest finish I have ever seen in an NBA game.



Memphis Grizzlies: Rudy Gay 5 years $82 million

Another no brainer. Gay had to take this deal, had to. $82 mil is no joke for a young player who will never reach superstar status. The Grizz have a chance to be decent with Gay and Marc Gasol for a couple years, but don't you think they wish they got a little more in the Pau Gasol trade.

Phoenix Suns: Channing Frye $30 million; Hakim Warrick 4 years $18 million

Again Steve Nash will have to work his magic to make this team competitive. No wonder Steve Kerr quit.

Milwaukee Bucks: John Salmons 5 years $40 million; Drew Gooden 5 years $32 million

The Bucks were actually a competitive team last season, and showed glimpses of the potential they have for the future. If Bogut can stay healthy they might challenge for home-court in the first round of the playoffs.

Salmons has been a big part of teams' turn-arounds the past few years as a trade deadline acquistion, and deserves this pretty decent sized contract. Now the Lou Albano wannabe can decorate his goatee with diamonds.

Geez, Drew Gooden has made a boatload of money in the NBA for basically doing nothing. I can't remember a memorable season that he's had, but it seems I always see his name flash across the sports ticker after signing for millions of dollars. To be tall.

Well now is the time to rob a bank in Cleveland. All the police will be busy watching the bridges for jumpers now that the biggest name in the Cleveland sports lexicon is Jake Delhomme.