As with real time experience, nothing is regular and...
OtB brings you a long-form joint re: NBA and its ontological extension unto all of sport. Epochrypha: writings or statements of questionable authorship or authenticity, but always impassioned and always with an eye on the times we're spectating in. Enjoy.Huge. This is huge. But you know that already, O! imagined reader o' mine. Today is July 1st, the day basketball fans have been waiting for since...well, for the truly initiated, since LeBron and fellow c/o 2003 names Wade and Bosh signed those shorter deals three years ago. It was a revolutionary move by this age's luminaries of the game. It gave them leverage over their teams and, more importantly, over their own futures that free agents who've signed six or seven year deals haven't traditionally held. It allowed them to hold this sway over the league as they move into their primes rather than as they move out of said golden years. It allows us to have basketball dominate ESPN instead of being relegated to the bottom-line ticker. (I know this is an all sport blog, but I have always been an unabashed and unapologetic basketball-over-all-else enthusiast. Thanks for enthusing with me.)
James said he'd make a decision by next week. Thus, with July 4th coming up, we at OtB celebrate the biggest NBA free agency summer ever with Independence Week 101. Now, in e-mails with Thatchmo, my erstwhile college roomie, the question came up: If you were one of the most powerful men in your field, in your mid-twenties, and you had maneuvered yourself into a position where an entire
association was prepared to tremble in your wake,
what would you do? Thatchmo inevitably said Chicago if he was James, because it makes the most basketball sense. I like that. The idea of playing with Derrick and the ineffable Joachim Noah is certainly an enticing one. However, I wonder if there are other elements that would dissuade me and, potentially, the real LeBron. J.A. Adande is on the same tip as I was a month and a half ago (I'm not saying people be stealing from me, but damn!), when
I said LeBron leaving Cleveland is less like KG leaving Minnie as it is like Shaq leaving Orlando. Adande, being credentialed and all, went and got
an interview with Shaq's agent at the time Leonard Armato. Here's the key line for me: "...he sold the history of the Lakers, and it’s undeniably a storied franchise...He sold owner Jerry Buss." That's Armato speaking on how Jerry West sold the idea of coming to the Lakers to the Big Precedent.
When I first wrote on this topic, hoping that LeBron would stay with the Cavs, I based my opinion primarily on the fans and the impact his leaving would have on them. Lately, I'm feeling the need to change my tune. Armato makes a good point, and half of it is that which New York would like to make. The history matters. The organization matters. I think a free agent's decision should be broken down into five components, at least from an objective standpoint (since we're etching our flames on Plato's walls). It comes down to teammates (potential or extant), coach, franchise (which includes history and owner/management), cash, and city. Here's a breakdown of how James' potential suitors stack up in terms of the five components.
Cash: Let's just get this out of the way. King James isn't worrying about cash unless it's an issue of respect. He goes to the bank as a global advertising power, so the salary's really just symbolic, though you'd expect any team to give him whatever he wanted. Thus, no cash considerations here. We'll go through these in the order LeBron's meeting with them.
New Jersey Nets:Teammates: The Nets sport two promising players in Devin Harris and Brooks Lopez. Beyond that, the question is who could James bring with him.
Coach: Avery Johnson fits the bill LeBron is charging teams with (former player), and he has the highest winning percentage of any coach ever, but he didn't leave the Mavs on the greatest of terms. The Lil General comes off as a bit of a death's head screamer. Pluses and minuses here.
Franchise: The Nets have been bogged down in The "Meadow"lands lately, but there are glory days here in several Finals appearances and Dr. J. The new owner and Jay-Z are cool, flashy even, but how much trust can you put in them with Rod Thorn a step out the door?
City: Brooklyn is waiting. Can LeBron bide his time? Would The Nets still be NYC's B-team even with the King? The Nets got the first meeting, but that may mean they have the smallest chance.
New York Knickerbockers:Teammates: There's not much here. David Lee is on the way out. The only player of note would be Danilo Gallinari. Maybe they can trade Eddy Curry for someone useful.
Coach: Mike D'Antoni is the real selling point here. Definite positive, though D'Antoni isn't always the most tender of ego stokers.
Franchise: The Knicks had been mired in shame through the Isaiah Thomas years. Then came D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh. Bottom line, though? James Dolan sucks. End of story.
City:This is the other selling point. Bring a championship to New York and claim divinity forever. The thing is that the franchise often gets in the way of the city, though the city has traditionally loved the franchise. Knicks people have always said the city expects winning now. That's what James wants too, but I'd be worried that the franchise worries too much about the city. D'Antoni sounded optimistic, but the resources just seem too slim.
Miami Heat:Teammates: Dwyane Wade. Lots of roster space yet to be filled. Lots of question marks, which could be good or bad.
Coach: Pat Riley? It's yet to be seen. But Riles is the coach with the best pedigree among James' options.
Franchise: The Heat don't have the longest of histories, but since Riley came to town it's been pedal to the metal. The owner? In conversations, it's not even an issue, since everything goes through the man with the perfect coif.
City: Miami is a nice town. I live in Hawai'i. You tell me what I'm supposed to say here.
LA Clippers:Teammates: This could actually be the strongest team James is looking at. This group sports
TWO all-stars in Chris Kaman and Baron Davis and two up-and-comers in Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon. Slot in James at the SF and you've got a HUGE starting five.
Coach: It's still unclear, which is not a good sign.
Franchise: It's the Clippers, the biggest joke in sports. They're owned by Donald Sterling, who makes Dolan look balanced. This is the reason there's no way this is happening.
City: You get to play in LA with bright lights, and you get to take a direct stab at Kobe's empire. But it's the same idea as with The Nets. You're the B-team. People like to root for the underdog, but that's not quite LeBron's M.O., is it?
Chicago Bulls Teammates: James would have Derrick Rose and Joachim Noah, which is a small step up from The Nets' duo of youngsters. Noah's great, but he's butted heads with James a bit. The Bulls also have Luol Deng and Taj Gibson, and would potentially look to bring in a big like Bosh or Stoudemire. Personally, I'd like to see LeBron paired with Nowitzki...
Coach: The Bulls signed much coveted Tom Thibodeau, which is a great pick up if you want to improve your D. This is a team that's not very far from hounding the D with Scott Skiles (okay, Vinny Del Negro's kind of far). James just finished playing with a defensive minded coach with Mike Brown, and again he's expressed desire to play with a former NBA player, which is not something Thibodeau can boast.
Franchise: Yeah, there's six championships there. But before that? A lot of nothing. After that? Dismality. Horrific losing that begs made up words. Respectability. The first sweep of a defending champ ever. Hope. And then flame outs. One name counts here. Jerry Reinsdorf. Traditionally a penny pincher. He's said he'll pay to keep LeBron happy. But Rose is still on his rookie contract. Can Reinsdorf realistically bring in a third star to play with James and Rose, and then pay Rose when it's time? Maybe, but I just don't trust that man.
City: The fans are great. We know that. There's a statue of Jordan out front that James would be chasing. We know that. It's the third biggest market in the U.S., and I guess it's close to Akron. This is where it gets personal and only James can provide answers.
Cleveland Cavaliers Teammates: Anderson Varejao, a host of guards like Boobie Gibson, Delonte West, Mo Williams, newcomers Antawn Jamison, Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, and Leon Powe. Big Z. Maybe Shaq. These are known quantities. It's unclear if James could bring in another free agent to bolster this almost there roster.
Coach: Byron Scott is exactly what James has asked for in a coach, but I wonder about how he hasn't lasted in either NJ or NOLA. I think Scott is actually better suited to coach this team without James.
Franchise: Cleveland has been solid for awhile, and it'd be a true accomplishment for James to bring a championship to this team and this city. Danny Ferry and Dan Gilbert have not been stellar in any respect, but at least Ferry's been solid and with a longer term commitment from James, he could grow into a strong GM.
City: Cleveland is home. Again, the question in this week is how big this remains for James. They already worship him in Cleveland. Can you imagine what it would be like if he decided to stay and brought a championship to the city? Chills. (I guess I'm still feeling this)
When looking back on this season in professional basketball, the exemplary play of one special individual stands out from all his other cohorts. The theme that best defines what he has done this year can be best explained through a lyric from the R&B artist Seal.
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So, in light of the pitch perfect handling of the Garnett injury (there was no disappointing announcement until just before the playoffs, meaning there was no end of season let down in expectations and meaning that it served as a rallying cry heading in to the playoffs), I wanted to take a brief glance at the long Celtics history of fudging opponents' sense of reality.
Forget Ubuntu. I'm saying the Celtics are employing all out Jes Grew tactics. What they're saying isn't what's real and we know it (and admire them for it). From Mumbo-Jumbo: "All that's all right, what you speak of, but that ain't all. There's more. And I bet that before the century is out ment will turn once more to mystery, to wonderment." This new batch of feints mean no opponent will know exactly what to expect. Will Rondo be off? Are they completely diminished by injuries? You can't go for the throat for fear it's all feigned. At the same time, you can't exactly get up for them because there're all these images floating around suggesting they're hurting.
Stepping Up is big games from little guys. Big meaning important though the boxscore might not show it. Little meaning lack of household-name-ness. Recognize.
Magic-Sixers: Didn't catch a lot of this one myself (you're bound to miss a few when you double as a grad school student/full time teacher...I guess that's three things), but Andre Iguodala looked crisp in the bits and pieces I caught. Here's to the sharp, multiple jab steps you took to get yourself free, Iggy. And, y'know, that jumper ain't half bad either. UPDATE: Right after posting this I found an e-mail in my inbox tipping me off that Donyell Marshall and Theo Ratliff both had nice games. Talk about turning back the clock.
Lakers-Jazz: JVG turned a nice phrase with, "Ariza’n to..." live, or at least watch. Ariza was a highlight for the Lakeshow, but again we knew that was coming. In the losing effort, AK-47’s on the ball D kept the Jazz at least with a semblance of being in it. Joey Crawford’s ran a nice close out to stop a premature free throw, and looked a bit like Hannibal Lecter. The refs might be said to have stepped up with lots of fouls called and free throws attempted (The Jazz led the league in fouls committed and lead all playoff teams in opponents free throws attempted, and they committed four more fouls and thus gave up eight more free throws over their averages). Without a lot of surprises though, this series really calls for a call out. Jerry Sloan should really be called out for not believing in his team and then, during the game, trying to play mind games a la Phil Jackson. Maybe he's just bitter he's never won CoY despite the imminent HoF induction.
Mavs-Spurs: Who knew the Mavs were still deep? Jose Juan Barea, Antwoine Wright, and Brandon Bass (granted, we knew about Bass). Even the usually rather damp Dampier was solid. Simmons cites Barea as going off "like five times this season," but for the energizing effect those games have deems JJ the 117th most "valuable" player in the league. Barrea looked like Devin Harris out there. But with that Tyron-Lue-on-Iverson-D (see: 2001 playoffs for the only time Tyron Lue was relevant) on Tony Parker. Barea cemented this win for the Mavs. Other big steppers: Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki’s rebounding. (Dirk Diggler's not the most prolific rebounder, we know, but on good days he pulls down all the right ones. Saturday was one of those days.)
And those are your players/aspects stepping up in the first weekend of post-season play. It all continues tomorrow. No rest for the giddy, people. No diggity? No doubt.
The Call Out is a sporadic cross section taken from the pulsing vein of the sports world. When the heartbeat skips, we look at why.
Tayshaun was and has been the poster boy for "doing it right." He came out of Kentucky after four years, a few "blistering" performances, and the usual conference awards (SEC MVP). He didn't start that first year out of Kentucky, coming off the bench behind Clifford Robinson and (hold the phone!) Michael Curry, but he did come on strong in the playoffs. That postseason, he became the only NBA player ever to score more points in the playoffs than in the regular season. Such an emergence, went the rationale, made the possibility of drafting Carmello unimportant to Dumars' '03 eternal sunshine and spotless mind. In '03-'04, Detroit won the NBA finals and the rest, as they say, is history. They won doing it "the right way," with no certifiable star and lots of guys who looked like glue. The ultimate glue guy on that glueiest of teams? Tayshaun. He did it all. Solid game at mid-range, long, and even post play. Moved the ball well. Defensive stopper. Length like no one's business. Pulled down a good number of caroms. Blocked Reggie Miller lay-ups for breakfast. He wouldn't score 30, but if you needed him to he'd put the chairs on the tables before you closed down for the night.
Tayshaun? You could've done better. You should be doing better. Tayshaun, you've been called out.
