DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum LeBron Fuels New York / New Jersey Rumors

Yeah...It ain't like he's blown 4 top 10 picks...

I believe Brand would be the one Chicago goes after seeing they r so G heavy...

We need to make the move for Davis...

jk, I think all of you that believe Lebron will stay in Cleveland are wrong. You put to much faith in a young kid when you think he loves Cleveland and Akron. Lets see New York or LA vs Akron Ohio. See ya Lebron Thanks for the loyality. Good bye Basketball in Cleveland finally.

I agree, I want Davis in Cleveland. I think he would be the best overall fit for the team and style that we need to be able to play to bring a championship to LeBron.

Who's Going to Run with LeBron James?

May 27, 2008 10:55 AM

I don't live in Cleveland, and it has even bothered me. We need to see LeBron James score some easy buckets.

I'm wholly on board with the idea that the Cavaliers' existing system allows them to get further into the playoffs than one star and some disjointed parts should be able to take you. The Cavalier bigwigs get a ton of blame where I suspect they mainly deserve praise.

That's because they are bad at the one thing most people are best at noticing. They do not have an exciting offense. Not at all.

You can see that as a stylistic issue. You can see it as a personnel issue. You can also see it as a national issue. Somehow this mighty country of ours created the perfect fast break and finishing machine in LeBron James, and we just about never get to see him on the break, nor finishing at the rim with a crisp pass from a teammate.

It's like having the Statue of Liberty locked in scaffolding. Or Mount Rushmore covered in tarps.

OK, fine, for a short time we can endure that. But at some point, we need to get this thing working. It matters.

Cleveland fans feel it most acutely. They're e-mailing, blogging, and writing about it non-stop. The Akron Beacon-Journal's Brian Windhorst gets a lot of those e-mails, and has been fending off suggestions that the Cavaliers might be able to solve the problem with Elton Brand or Michael Redd.

But one idea in Windhorst's list seems pretty exciting to me: Baron Davis.

He can run the break. He can find open teammates. He can keep the defense honest. He can hit shots. He has the size and strength to be a factor on defense. Alongside LeBron James, he'd make the defense wonder, just a little, who will take the big shot.

Baron Davis would make the Cavaliers eminently watchable.

And it might not be not a total pipe dream, contractually.

Reports are that, so far, the Warriors seem to not want to give the aging and injury prone Davis a fat extension. The fact that Davis' coach benched Davis for an entire half of a crucial game has gotten some play.

Could Baron Davis -- a borderline All-Star and extremely capable shooter and set-up man -- really be available?

Could be.

Windhorst writes:

Baron is another player who has an opt out in his contract that no one is sure he will use. The Warriors are at a bit of a crossroads, they have numerous free agents to deal with. It appears Davis wants an extension and probably a massive one and the Bay Area media has reported early talks have not gone well. So it makes sense that his name would be floated in rumors. No one has told me the Cavs would have interest and it is questionable as to whether his style would mesh with LeBron because he is a shoot first guard. But it is a situation that could be worth watching.

The Cavaliers have some bits and pieces they could offer, but the thing everybody wants most of all is Wally Szczerbiak's large contract that expires next summer.

It would be incredibly exciting, and I'm all for it.

Here's my worry: In order for Baron Davis to get the extension that'll make him happy, he'll have to be signed and traded. (If he's traded first, he'll lose his Bird rights.) And assuming he gets a raise, he'll then have a contract that will be hard for Cleveland to come close to matching, even with Szczerbiak's big deal.

The Warriors, for their part, are something of a mystery to me. Everyone on the roster not named Stephen Jackson or Kosta Perovic will be a free agent one of the next two summers -- so the Warriors could be in a time of change, gearing up to rebuild around Monta Ellis and company with some cap space. If that's the case, you'd have to think Baron Davis for an expiring contract would be a consideration.

But on the other hand -- they're pretty good! Maybe they can re-tool on the fly, without getting miserable again, and having to say goodbye to all those fans who cheer loudly where there used to be vacant silence.

If that's the goal, I imagine the Warriors and Baron Davis will be working out something to keep him in the Bay Area.

And if that happens, the Cavaliers and their fans will have to take their Szczerbiak contract and their dreams of an up-tempo LeBron, and shop elsewhere.

As a citizen, I hope they find something good.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-32-233/Who-s-Going-to-Run-with-LeBron-James-.html

baron davis is a clipper, espn is reporting it as we speak...

5yrs 65m...

he took a 4m paycut...

I think Ferry only has the option of building this team through trades. What free agent is going to come here not knowing Lebron's future? Well, one that we overpay for......but a "max guy" to the rest of the league won't take the same money to come here.

And with B.Davis going to the Clips, that means Brand is staying put.

We're running out of options.

What about Corey Maggette? He's the odd man out with the Clips.....is he worth the money? His stats look nice but he played a lot of garbage minutes with the Clips over the past few years.

Im sorry but that makes NO sense at all. Why would you go to a team that wont even come close to sniffing the playoffs much less contend in them. Not to mention hes taking less money.

A ring is out of the question. The aren't even the best team in their own arena.

They may have a nice looking team, but a lot of how they progress is gonna depend on Eric Gordon. If Gordon can turn into the next Daren Williams type guy, they may be really good an put a scare in the West. If Gordon is a bust or just average, the Clippers won't scare anyone in the West for the next few years...

I will agree that he aint gonna sniff a ring with the Clips being in the West. Keep in mind that Brand AND Davis have been injury prone....

I know that it is probably going to be a deadline deal at this point, but the problem you run into with that, is the timing.

When I mean timing, I mean when we get that guy, we will prolly be sitting 4th or 5th in the East at that point in the year. What this past season showed us more than anything, is that homecourt is more important than ever. I have no doubt if we had that game 7 at home, we win. But the fact of the matter is that the Celtics won a crapload of regular season games to earn that. I find it hard to believe with Lebron on our team that we would lose a series where we have the home court in the East...

Eventually, if we wanna win this thing, we are gonna need to get the 2 seed at the least. We were lucky the East sucked so much in 07, thus we had that 2 seed. The problem is the East is getting better, so that is going to keep getting harder..

I am with you Excl, in that there is no reason to make a move just to make a move, but it just makes you think...

J/C

This is a rumor thats been going on for about what a year plus, anyway, I think the real point of this whole topic is:

Get someone in here who can help LBJ, all the greats had a counterpart and without one, they just don't the the championship itself.

I love LBJ's game just as much as all of us, buy ya know I wouldn't blame him for leaving if the situation is just like it is now, either Ferry setups up and get him a stud, or pray for someone to develop.

Unfortunately as I said before I expect him to leave, it will suck when it happens.

As I mentioned earlier Lebron understands that the other teams in the league who are close to an NBA Title will Definitely make roster moves to improve....He also understands our cap situation next season....However , that said IMHO he will Not settle for taking steps backward , unless IF , Ferry draws it in his own blood that when we gain that cap room that he will do whatever it takes to make sure that we assemble a team to win the NBA Title that season.....Any other action or excuse will be seen as a slap in the face and Lebron will be gone....

Don't be so sure LeBron is coming

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

So LeBron James is on record saying that his favorite borough is Brooklyn, which is bad news if you had Staten Island in the office pool.

Unfortunately, nobody asked him the logical follow-up question: What is his favorite Meadowlands-area town? Since, you know, that's where the Nets actually have an arena right now.

The Nets have a plan, and apparently it goes beyond short-term oblivion. They are going to do everything possible to position themselves for the free-agent class of 2010 in hopes of landing the best player in basketball. They want to build a kingdom in Brooklyn and give King James the throne.

Solid plan. Two flaws:

1. The team is still playing in East Rutherford.

The Nets are going to be unwatchable the next two seasons, and if they get James, they're leaving. If they don't leave, they're not getting James. Nice incentive for the Jersey fans to show up this fall, eh?

Jason Kidd, their most popular player, was shipped out in the winter. Richard Jefferson, near the top of the list, left in a salary-cap-clearing deal last week. The team recently offered $25 lower-level season tickets to area companies and two-for-one season-ticket deals to anybody who hasn't been paying attention.

The next step: Dropping tickets on Fourth of July celebrations from a hot-air balloon.

2. The plan is loaded with "ifs."

Look, it's no secret that James' BFF is Jay-Z, the rapper/Nets co-owner. That gives the Nets an edge that other teams -- including his current one -- lacks if James puts himself on the market. It could very well make them the leader for his services in two years.

"My friendship with Jay," James said this week, "was way before he became part-owner of the Nets."

But the friendship alone won't be enough if some not-so minor details aren't ironed out between now and 2010. The list of "ifs" that must fall into place is long and daunting.

IF ... the new arena is actually completed. Owner Bruce Ratner keeps winning his legal battles, but there still remains the small matter of finding $1 billion to build the thing in this difficult economic market. The Nets might want to have a few girders in the ground before they start making those LeBron jerseys.

IF ... LeBron actually decides to leave Cleveland. Plenty of superstar free agents have talked about signing with another team. Most have stayed put. He might love Park Slope as much as he says, but chances are, his playful comments this week were directed at his bosses in Cleveland to find him a better supporting cast. The Cavs, under NBA rules, can offer him one more year and $20 million more than any suitor.

IF ... he decides the Nets are his best chance to win a championship. It is hard to see how a supporting cast is coming into place here now. LeBron might size up a starting five with him -- Josh Boone, Devin Harris, Yi Jianlian and a 33-year-old creaky-kneed Vince Carter -- and think, "You know, life on the Lake Erie wasn't so bad after all."

IF ... the bright lights of Madison Square Garden aren't more appealing. The Nets might leave New Jersey, but they're not supplanting the Knicks as the premier team in the market. LeBron will have two weeks in Beijing to ask Kidd how well he did at shifting attention to this franchise. Will he come all this way to play second fiddle?

IF ... any number of the other teams clearing out cap space for 2010 isn't more appealing. Plenty can happen in two years. Presumably, if James has a chance to play for a legitimate contender in, say, Miami, he will declare that his favorite ocean hangout is South Beach.

We fancy ourselves the center of the sports universe here, but anywhere James decides to go will be a major market in the NBA. James doesn't need New York. He signed with Nike for $90 million a few weeks removed from playing for St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio.

"Brooklyn is a great place here in New York City," said James, sounding like the chamber of commerce. "Some of my best friends are from Brooklyn, so I definitely stick up for them."

If you are starting to wonder who, exactly, will stick up for Jersey, you're not alone. Jefferson was the most outspoken Nets player about his affection for playing here, and now he's ostracized in Milwaukee. So are any hopes of this team contending before the planned move.

For the next two years, either we get to watch this Dead Team Dribbling attract the game's biggest star as it bolts town, or we'll see it fail at that pursuit and maybe stay right here for the extended rebuilding plan. Either way, there will be plenty of good seats available in East Rutherford, just 18 forgotten miles away from LeBron's favorite borough.

Steve Politi appears regularly in The Star-Ledger. He may be reached at spoliti@starledger.com

http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/politi/...&thispage=2

there are some good points in there...

i've been saying for months now, that the nets aren't going to be in great shape in 2 years.. sure they may have the cap space for lebron, but what about the rest of the team?

ooooh, yi jianlian... "oh man, i'm sorry cleveland, but i gotta go play with yi! can you say championship!?"

if the cavs can turn those expiring deals into a michael redd or tracy mcgrady, that will be his best chance at a championship...

and let's not bring up the knicks, and the shape they are in... what an epic disaster that franchise is.

i believe lebron laughed and poked fun at the knicks a few months ago saying he wouldn't know why anyone would want to play there...

of course that doesn't get a quarter of the pub that him saying brooklyn is his favorite burough though...

It is unbelievable how far the media and fans have taken that statement....I'm sorry, the answer to a question!