Tag Archive: Kobe Bryant


Bosh, Wade Form Ideal Duo For Heat

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July 8, 2010

It was, perhaps, just a warmup to the decision we’ve all be waiting for, a decision so grave and important that it is being billed simply as, “The Decision.” But first on Wednesday, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh made a joint announcement on ESPN, letting the world know that they’d decided to play together in Miami. Now, the hoops world awaits LeBron James’ free-agent announcement, scheduled for Thursday night at 9 p.m.—and yes, the ability of the Heat to pull in Wade and Bosh could open the way for James to join them.

But, both Wade and Bosh insisted that they did not know what James was planning on doing, and said that the decisions to go to Miami — Wade passed over his hometown Bulls to return to the Heat, while Bosh spurned his main suitors, the Bulls and Cavaliers — were their own.
And with good reason. Wade and Bosh are an ideal pair. Wade is a versatile perimeter scorer who has averaged 25.4 points and 6.6 assists in seven seasons. He attacks the rim with ease, and has a solid midrange game that makes him difficult to guard. In recent years, the Heat have made numerous failed attempts to bring in a star-caliber big man for Wade — Shawn Marion, Jermaine O’Neal, Michael Beasley — but they’ve never had someone of Bosh’s quality.

Bosh has developed a strong inside post game, but his natural talent is as a face-up forward, stepping back to play from the high post. In his seven years in Toronto, Bosh has had to carry the load offensively, though scouts and coaches feel he’d thrive most as a complementary big man, much as Pau Gasol has risen since playing with Kobe Bryant. That’s why joining forces with Wade simply made sense — they should make each other better players.
“I’m joining Mr. Wade in Miami,” Bosh said. “I think we’re both fine with the situation. We’ve wanted to play with each other and we have a golden opportunity to do it. Miami was the best decision for me.”
It’s a huge lift for the Heat, who worked hard to pare their roster to virtually nothing but Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers, who just finished their second seasons. There still is much work to be done, because the Heat will have to fill out the rest of the team’s role players on a tight budget, but that is a better problem to have than the one Miami was facing before Wednesday — the possibility of losing both Wade and Bosh to Chicago, which made strong pitches to each last week.

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State of LeBron: Live at 9, from his ego

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July 8, 2010

The Championship of Me comes crashing into a primetime cable infomercial that LeBron James and his cronies have been working to make happen for months, a slow, cynical churning of manufactured drama that sports has never witnessed. As historic monuments go, this is the Rushmore of basketball hubris and narcissism. The vacuous star for our vacuous times. All about ‘Bron and all about nothing.

James is throwing a few foosball tables at Boys & Girls Clubs, an empty gesture out of the empty superstar. He’s turned free agency into the title of our times, a preening pageant of fawning, begging and pleading. Hard-working people are dragged into municipalities and told to hold signs, chant scripted slogans and beg a diva who doesn’t care about them to accept a $100 million contract.

Privately, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh weren’t pleased on Wednesday morning with the belief that James’ camp was responsible for leaking their plans to a television partner, but then again it makes perfect sense: This isn’t about Wade and Bosh choosing the Heat. It’s about LeBron getting the stage to himself on Thursday night.

One front-office executive whose team made a presentation to LeBron James told Yahoo! Sports that he believes James is choosing between Miami and Cleveland. And yet, if James wants to deliver the biggest kick in the gut to his hometown, he’ll pick the flat-lined New York Knicks. Whatever the decision, he’s made clear that the teasing and tormenting of the loser isn’t his concern.

Team LeBron is having the time of its life, but has no idea the repercussions of what it’s done here. All that comes to James now is the biggest burden to win a championship that sports has ever seen. They aren’t making James a bigger star with this big-top, but a bigger target. All those teams that marched into the presentations and listened to some of the foolish and naive questions asked of them believed these kids had no idea what they were doing, or what they had gotten themselves into. They’re all feeling more validated every day. From beginning to end, this process has been a farce.
[Photos: See images of the coveted NBA superstar]

On James’ new website, under the headline dubbing this TV debacle “The Decision,” there come these words: “Maverick Carter, CEO of LRMR Marketing said…” This explains everything. Carter’s marketing company isn’t doing so well trying to get its one client Jonny Flynn a used-car dealership endorsement in the Twin Cities, and now Carter’s going to try to justify all that plush office space, staff attorneys, private planes and resort hotels by translating the Championship of Me into the making of his reputation.

Carter’s pushed one agent – Aaron Goodwin – and one advisor – William Wesley – aside because he wanted to be the voice in James’ ear and the one getting credit on the masthead. So far, Carter’s been a superstar at spending James’ money on LRMR, but now he’s getting the company name out there and turning LeBron into Mr. July after LeBron didn’t have the stomach to be Mr. June.
Team LeBron had discussed a documentary on the free-agent process, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, but the narrative changed after James’ Game 5 meltdown in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Carter says there was never a plan for a free-agent tour, but this is what he means: There was never a plan for James to get held accountable, to have his motivations and priorities called into doubt. There was never a plan for the blame to shift from Danny Ferry, Mike Brown and his Cavaliers teammates. There was never a plan that real-world rules applied to the self-proclaimed King.

They scrapped the tour, the documentary and set sights on hijacking the network for an unprecedented special they believe will elevate James’ brand. Only, James has never looked smaller, never more insecure and unsure of who he is and what he wants to be. He won’t look so much like Kobe Bryant and David Beckham, but rather a three-star linebacker from Shaker Heights picking Bowling Green over Kent and Ohio U. on local access television.

Team LeBron has known all along it was going to do this, and the cushy, protective relationship with that television network culminates with a basketball player commandeering his own coverage on his own terms. Now James and his buddies spoon out misdirection plays on his possible destination – feeding everyone for days and weeks that the Knicks were dead, only to say now, “Well…who knows?” – to build back drama for the infomercial.

This is some plan they’ve hatched and some game they’re playing with those Cleveland fans who’ve been so relentlessly loyal to James. First, he marched the biggest suitors in the sport to come court him in downtown Cleveland with those pointless presentations. He wanted those people out there creating a visual public push-and-pull for him, and because James needed to be told something that probably isn’t completely true anymore: Cleveland loves him.

Well, Cleveland craves him. Love is a strong word, and it ought to be unconditional, but loving a sports hero is the most conditional kind of love there is. Only, it was different with Cleveland. He’s one of them, but you still have to wonder: Are they one of him?

James never shared that town’s angst with the Browns and Indians. He wanted winners in his life, and rooted for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees. He doesn’t feel the pain of a city’s broken heart. Shaquille O’Neal leaving the Orlando Magic for the Los Angeles Lakers 14 years ago was a hard hit, but LeBron bailing on Cleveland is far more devastating on a different level.

Everyone ridicules Cleveland, makes it a butt of jokes, but LeBron James has the chance to change all of that. And even then, it has to crush Cleveland’s sporting psyche that James could still walk out. If one of our own won’t stay, what does that say to the rest of the country?
That’s the hardest part here, and that makes the possibility that James would go on national television – with those split-screen shots of stunned fans in Akron and Cleveland – and completely crush those people so impossible to believe. He couldn’t be that cold, that callous, that cunning? Or perhaps, maybe this is all a rollout – the website, the Twitter page and the infomercial – to introduce a new LeBron, a new city, to the world.

Whatever happens, James and the television network will hide behind some money going to the Boys & Girls Clubs. But this isn’t about kids and sports, and it sure isn’t about the credibility that comes with winning championships. Something’s changed here, and LeBron James has gone a long way to devaluing winning and losing in the NBA. David Stern has long pushed the individual over team, marketed showy over substance, and LeBron James represents the manifestation of it all.
Greatest talent to ever walk into this league, the self-proclaimed King, and now everyone gets a front-row, primetime seat for how it means to live without self-awareness, without restraint. The vacuous star for our vacuous times, live on Thursday night and fitting himself for a ring as the undisputed Champion of Me. All about ‘Bron and all about nothing.

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Even With Wade And Bosh, Heat Still Have Holes

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July 8, 2010

It took some wrangling, a bit of convincing and it could yet take a sign-and-trade. But power forward Chris Bosh appears set on going to Miami, joining good friend Dwyane Wade on the Heat. According to a source close to the situation, Wade will re-sign with the Heat, and Bosh has decided to join him after not being convinced that the Bulls were the right fit for him and deciding that he wouldn’t necessarily like playing in Cleveland.

Now, the Heat have an imposing inside-out pairing, a slashing scorer and a versatile big man reminiscent of what the Lakers have in Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. But while the imminent announcement of the intentions of Wade and Bosh is good news for the Heat, it raises other important questions.
What about LeBron? The only answer we’ve had on James is when he is going to make the announcement on his future — that will be Thursday night in an hour-long television show about his favorite subject, himself. The signing of Bosh could be a prelude to James adding his name to the Heat’s roster, creating a Dream Team on South Beach. Or, it could simply be evidence that Bosh could not be persuaded to join James in the place he was going to stay all along, Cleveland. And, certainly, if you’re a Bulls fan, you have to hope that having Bosh and Wade together will inspire James to choose the remaining team that gives him the best chance at winning immediately, the Bulls.

 
Who else will play for the Heat? If James doesn’t join Bosh and Wade, the Heat could have an essentially blank roster. Assuming the Raptors will agree to a sign-and-trade, Miami could ship a package built around Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem to Toronto. That would give the Heat at least 10 roster spots to fill, and Miami would only have about $25 million to fill them. Three of those spots could go to rookie second-round draft picks, but it’s unlikely that all three will make the team. Finding quality role players at bargain prices will be a tough task for the Heat over the rest of the summer.
What will the Bulls do? This could prove to be a worst-case scenario for Chicago, which carefully plucked out useful players (Thabo Sefolosha, Tyrus Thomas, John Salmons, Kirk Hinrich) to clear cap space for this summer. Hopes were raised when the team was granted a second meeting with Wade last week, but it would have taken a lot of convincing to get Wade out of Miami, and the Bulls were not able to pull it off. Missing on Bosh, too, is a double whammy, especially because James could now look at the Bulls and wonder if they have enough to be a championship-caliber team. If James goes back to Cleveland, Chicago will be this summer’s big loser, potentially settling for Carlos Boozer or David Lee and a handful of role players.

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End to long national nightmare finally within view

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July 8, 2010

His long national nightmare is coming to an end.

Shortly after 9 p.m. EDT Thursday, we know now, and more convenient still, on live TV, as part of an hour-long ESPN special. And just like that, LeBron James will no longer be homeless.

This much attention for a guy who has yet to win a championship—let alone a game in the finals—is wrong on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to begin. But we’ll venture a guess: Sometime in the early 1990s, right around the time cameras turned up in high school gyms to broadcast “signing ceremonies,” giving kids with an already bloated sense of self an unhealthy dose of more.

 Thanks to inflation, 15 minutes of fame has become an hour. Even that might have been bearable, if not for the buildup.

“I’m tired of hearing about all that, to be honest with you. It’s overblown, and we’ve been talking about it for two years,” New Orleans Hornets coach Monty Williams said.

Williams can afford to be honest only because his team never had a chance to land the King. Every one of the handful of franchises that did behaved like someone desperate for a date with the prom fast approaching. NBA commissioner David Stern surveyed the courtships picking up steam in every one of those towns a full two months ago—“Songs, banners, balloons, blimps, armies, I don’t even know what,” he marveled—and good as his word, steered clear of the office since the free-agent signing period kicked off July 1.

No matter. Stern never tried to exert any influence over where James winds up, though the bigger the TV market the happier he’s likely to be. Even so, his fingerprints are all over the process. Ever since Michael Jordan’s emergence, the NBA has become more of a star-driven league than any of its rivals. What’s made all this seem over the top is that James might not be good enough to tip the balance of power by himself.

Let’s be clear: James is plenty good. He isn’t the two-time reigning Most Valuable Player by accident. Further, he’s been just about everything you could ask for from the game’s reigning personality—polite, accessible, generous with his time and money—except a winner.

Yet Kobe Bryant, despite being every bit as heralded a prodigy and a five-time champion besides, never kicked up this kind of fuss, even when he made vague threats a few years back about leaving the Lakers. But James is determined to draw this out, either because all the adulation still isn’t enough, or more likely because he knows he can’t win it all without help.

Either way, some good is guaranteed to come out of waiting almost two more days, then sitting through 60 minutes of what sounds like an after-school TV movie about James to find out which it is. The proposal his representatives pitched to ESPN apparently included an offer to bring along their own sponsors— think: Nike—and then donate the proceeds to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

And isn’t that just like LeBron?

He’s been trying so hard to please his various constituencies since he came into the league that you have to wonder whether even James knows what he wants anymore. The one thing he’s consistently said is that winning tops his list of priorities, but for all the ways he’s been selfish, that’s the one topic about which he’s been the least persuasive.

James is still only 25, which might explain the lack of urgency. But after he disappeared in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Celtics, then-Cavs coach Mike Brown boldly predicted James “would be ready to go in Game 6.” Turned out James was just getting a headstart toward the exit.

Around that time, in response to an e-mail from a reader, ESPN columnist Bill Simmons put together a list of great players and tried to define them with one word that characterized what was most important to each.

There were no surprises among those on the “winning list: Jordan, Bryant, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Bill Walton, Jerry West and John Havlicek.

Oscar Robertson and Rick Barry fell under the heading “perfection”; Wilt Chamberlain under “numbers”; Shaquille O’Neal under “fame”; and Charles Barkley, naturally, locked up “fun.”

James and Julius Erving, whose No. 6 LeBron will wear next season, came in under “amaze.”

Fitting, since just like Dr. J. until Moses Malone showed up at his side, James is not likely to win a title unless someone else good enough to shoulder the load joins him. What’s been really amazing about James throughout this ordeal is how long he’s managed to make the rest of us think this is only about him.

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org

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Will Any Members of the 2008 Gold Medalists Play in the World Championships?

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July 7, 2010

If you can peer through the dense haze of the current free agent period, you might remember that actual important basketball is going to be played this summer. I speak of the 2010 FIBA World Championships to be held in Turkey, the second-most important basketball tournament in international basketball behind the Olympics.

Throughout the last few months, most American stars have had trouble being convinced that the tournament is a big deal. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and others have said they will not participate, citing professional concerns like free agency and personal issues like divorce and marriage (in no particular order).

There have been so many refusals that it’s not quite clear who will make up this year’s team. And as told to Chris Tomasson in an interview for FanHouse, Jerry Colangelo thinks there might be no players from 2008 on this squad:

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in a phone interview Monday with FanHouse that only two holdovers from the 2008 Olympic team are making plans to possibly be with Team USA for the World Championships in Turkey. And those two, New Orleans guard Chris Paul and Utah guard Deron Williams, might not be able to play due to recovering from injuries.

So that means LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd and Jason Kidd are all out of the picture for USA Basketball this summer. Kidd (retired from USA basketball competition) and Redd (injured knee), though, were not candidates due to not being on the 31-man roster.

That is certainly a lot of star power missing from the squad. But there will be plenty of other stars on the team, including the already-committed Kevin Durant and other youngsters on the pool roster like Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry.

 The team might not be experienced enough in international play to win the whole tournament, although their task will certainly be easier given that several foreign stars, including Spain’s Pau Gasol, have already announced they won’t participate.

Previously, Colangelo had said that anyone who did not play in 2010 would not be eligible for the 2012 London Olympics, although he has since softened that stance. His change of heart proves that the Olympics are what ultimately matter to USA Basketball. Events like the World Championships are important, but they pale in comparison to what will transpire in London two years from now.

With that in mind, it’s possible to view the absence of the gold medalists as a positive. This summer, Colangelo, Coach K, and the rest of the American bigwigs will have the opportunity to see which of the NBA’s young stars thrive in international play and which aren’t quite cut out for it. With at least Kidd, Prince, and Redd very unlikely to return to the team, that’s three spots that will have to be filled with the best available players. As Team USA has learned many times, the best NBA players aren’t always the best international players. Consider the World Championships a trial run to see who can succeed in the Olympics.

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Now a free agent, King James awaits his suitors

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July 2, 2010

NEW YORK (AP)—Finally free to leave Cleveland, LeBron James is ready to hear reasons why he should.

The NBA’s long-awaited free agency period opened early Thursday, with teams such as New York and Miami focusing their attention on California.

Now all eyes will be on Ohio.

James was set to welcome the New Jersey Nets and the Knicks to his home state, with additional teams awaiting a later audience with the King.
The Clippers have scored an invite, proving even longtime losers have a chance for a transformation in this highly anticipated shopping season.

Teams could begin making their pitches at 12:01 a.m. EDT, and some got started quickly. Chris Bosh heard from four of them, including presumed favorites Chicago and Miami.

Atlanta’s Joe Johnson was expecting early visits in Los Angeles from the Hawks and New York Knicks, with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting that the Hawks were prepared to offer the All-Star shooting guard a maximum salary contract.

James could get multiple offers Thursday as the head of perhaps the deepest class in history.

It includes other All-Stars such as Dwyane Wade, Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer; veterans such as Shaquille O’Neal and Ray Allen; and young up-and-comers such as Rudy Gay and David Lee.

“We’ve never had anything like this in my time that I can remember,” New Jersey Nets president Rod Thorn said. “There have been big-time free agents before, but never this many teams that are trying to woo them. So it’s unprecedented.”

Teams were headed around the country to speak with players, though the Mavs were saved a long trip when Nowitzki informed them he would meet with them Thursday in Dallas—with the message arriving while president Donnie Nelson was at the airport preparing for a flight to Germany.

Showing they planned to be active, the Knicks confirmed on Twitter they would also meet with Wizards swingman Mike Miller in Los Angeles. But they did so without team president Donnie Walsh, who went directly to Ohio in preparation for Thursday’s meeting with James.

Pat Riley and a Heat contingent also began their free agency tour in California, where teams were hoping to meet with Stoudemire. Miami also planned to meet with Johnson.

It promised to be a wild first few days of July, with plans changing by the minute.

“You’re not in control, as much as you would like to be,” Timberwolves president David Kahn said. “I don’t think any team feels right now they’re in control of the situation. There’s too many teams with room. Too many fine players out there. I think in those types of situations, it’s best to be really nimble and change course if need be.”

Kahn said early Thursday that Gay would visit Minnesota later in the day and Lee would arrive on Saturday. Gay is a restricted free agent, so Memphis can match any offer for him.

Lee was an All-Star this season in New York, but may not be back since the Knicks are hoping to land two bigger names.

So are the Clippers. General manager Neil Olshey announced in a statement the team had already contacted several players and confirmed it had been invited to meet with James.

“At that time, we intend to present the many reasons why his joining our organization is the best possible choice he could make,” Olshey said.

The Cavaliers might have a new reason for James to stay home. They are in “serious talks” with former New Orleans coach Byron Scott, a person familiar with their search told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

James can earn perhaps $125 million over six years by staying in Cleveland; $96 million over five years if he goes. (The exact figures can’t be determined until next season’s salary cap is set in July). But leaving could put him in a better position to win a championship.

He’ll first meet Thursday with the Nets’ traveling party that includes new owner Mikhail Prokhorov, coach Avery Johnson, president Rod Thorn and hip-hop superstar Jay-Z, a part-owner and James’ longtime friend.

Then the Knicks will drop in. They can afford to pay him and another classmate the maximum next season, which might be what they need to finally get going again after a franchise-record nine straight losing seasons.

“We’ve had to live through some tough times in order to get where you think you start rebuilding the franchise,” Walsh said. “We have that opportunity now. How well, how fast we can rebuild the team can be shortcut by getting great players.”

They’ll have plenty of competition. The Heat, Nets, Bulls and Clippers also can afford to offer a player about $16.6 million next season, which is the maximum someone with James’ amount of NBA experience can make. Chicago and New Jersey made trades in recent days to push them closer to joining the Knicks with enough to offer two max deals, and the Heat can keep Wade, give an additional max contract and have enough left over for another quality player.

Top players rarely leave via free agency because NBA rules allow their teams to offer them more money in the long run. The difference comes not in the first year of a new contract, but in the raises.

A player signing with his own team is eligible for annual increases of 10.5 percent, while a new team can offer only 8 percent bumps. The home team can also offer six-year deals, whereas players joining new teams can get only five-year contracts.

Still, teams have been slashing payroll for years in hopes players would move this summer.

“It is an ‘all-in’ strategy, in that even when it works, you’re going to have to operate with a very low payroll,” Houston general manager Daryl Morey said. “If it doesn’t work, it can be catastrophic in terms of if you strike out, it’s going to be very difficult to be competitive.”

Morey used his Twitter feed to announce he’d met with Bosh in the opening hours of free agency.

“He is about winning so I focused on how (with) Houston he can win a championship,” Morey wrote.

Bosh also took to Twitter to inform followers he’d also received presentations from Chicago, Miami and Toronto.

The Raptors expect to lose Bosh. If the All-Star forward joins James or Wade, or both, that team figures to become an immediate championship contender. Boston won the title the year after assembling its Big Three—which could now be broken up with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen on the market—and the Lakers have reached the finals every year since acquiring Pau Gasol to complement Kobe Bryant.

Numerous teams are now dreaming of similar pairings once deals can be signed on July 8.

“You look at the teams that have an awful lot of cap space, there could be a lot of power shifting in this league,” Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said.

AP Sports Writers Tom Withers in Cleveland, Chris Duncan in Houston and Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

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LeBron leads free-agent crop ready to change NBA

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July 1, 2010

NEW YORK (AP)—The NBA’s free agency period has opened, with LeBron James leading perhaps the deepest group of players to ever hit the open market.

Teams could begin making their pitches at 0400 GMT Thursday, and some were getting started quickly.

Atlanta’s Joe Johnson was expecting early visits in Los Angeles from the Hawks and New York Knicks, with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting that the Hawks were prepared to offer the All-Star shooting guard a maximum salary contract.
Things get interesting later Thursday, when the New Jersey Nets and Knicks are scheduled for visits to Ohio to meet with James, the two-time MVP who heads the class.

It includes other All-Stars such as Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer; veterans such as Shaquille O’Neal and Ray Allen; and young up-and-comers such as Rudy Gay and David Lee.

“We’ve never had anything like this in my time that I can remember,” New Jersey Nets president Rod Thorn said. “There have been big-time free agents before, but never this many teams that are trying to woo them. So it’s unprecedented.”

Teams were headed around the country to meet with players, though the Mavs were saved a long trip when Nowitzki informed them he would meet with them Thursday in Dallas—with the message arriving while president Donnie Nelson was at the airport preparing for a flight to Germany.

Showing they planned to be active, the Knicks confirmed on Twitter they would also meet with Wizards swingman Mike Miller in Los Angeles. But they would do so without team president Donnie Walsh, who went directly to Ohio in preparation for Thursday’s meeting with James.

Pat Riley and a Miami Heat contingent also began their free agency tour in California, where teams were hoping to meet with Stoudemire.

It promised to be a wild first few days of July, with plans changing by the minute.

“You’re not in control, as much as you would like to be,” Timberwolves president David Kahn said. “I don’t think any team feels right now they’re in control of the situation. There’s too many teams with room. Too many fine players out there. I think in those types of situations, it’s best to be really nimble and change course if need be.”

Kahn said early Thursday that Gay would visit Minnesota later in the day and Lee would arrive on Saturday. Gay is a restricted free agent, so Memphis can match any offer for him.

Even the Clippers, those longtime losers, thought they could be a player this summer. General manager Neil Olshey announced in a statement the team had already contacted several players and confirmed it had scored an invitation to meet with James.

“At that time, we intend to present the many reasons why his joining our organization is the best possible choice he could make,” Olshey said.

Talk of James’ destination seems to change by the minute, considered a lock for Chicago in one report, then seemingly guaranteed to head to Miami in another. The rumor mill spun so out of control that an online sports book simply stopped taking action on James’ next team.

Bottom line: James can get perhaps $125 million over six years by staying in Cleveland; $96 million over five years if he goes. (The exact figures can’t be determined until next season’s salary cap is set in July). But leaving could put him in a better position to win a championship.

Thorn is headed to Ohio, where James will welcome suitors to his home state Thursday. He’ll be joined by new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, coach Avery Johnson and hip-hop superstar Jay-Z, a part-owner and James’ longtime friend.

The Knicks plan to drop in on James, too. They can afford to pay him and another classmate the maximum next season, which might be what the Knicks need to finally get going again after a franchise-record nine straight losing seasons.

“We’ve had to live through some tough times in order to get where you think you start rebuilding the franchise,” Walsh said. “We have that opportunity now. How well, how fast we can rebuild the team can be shortcut by getting great players.”

They’ll have plenty of competition. The Heat, Nets, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers also can afford to offer a player about $16.6 million next season, which is the maximum someone with James’ amount of NBA experience can make. Chicago and New Jersey made trades in recent days to push them closer to joining the Knicks with enough to offer two max deals, and the Heat can keep Wade, give an additional max contract and have enough left over for another quality player.

Top players rarely leave via free agency because NBA rules allow their teams to offer them more money in the long run. The difference comes not in the first year of a new contract, but in the raises.

A player signing with his own team is eligible for annual increases of 10.5 percent, while a new team can offer only 8 percent bumps. The home team can also offer six-year deals, whereas players joining new teams can get only five-year contracts.

The Knicks traded away Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph—the NBA’s top sixth man and a first-time All-Star, respectively—to get their $34 million in cap room. New Jersey, which shipped out Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter in recent years, went just 12-70 last season but hopes for a quick turnaround. Miami essentially left Wade to play by himself this season in exchange for the chance to get him some superstar help next year.

“It is an ‘all-in’ strategy, in that even when it works, you’re going to have to operate with a very low payroll,” Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. “If it doesn’t work, it can be catastrophic in terms of if you strike out, it’s going to be very difficult to be competitive.”

The clock started ticking four summers ago, when James, Wade and Bosh passed on maximum-length extensions on their rookie contracts in favor of shorter deals that allowed them to opt for free agency this summer.

Momentum kept building as fears grew that owners will seek radical changes in the length and value of contracts next summer when the league’s collective bargaining agreement expires. That made it wise for a player like Nowitzki, even if he has no intention of leaving Dallas, to exercise his early termination option now and sign a new deal under the current rules.

Toronto expects to lose Bosh. If the All-Star forward joins James or Wade, or both, that team figures to become an immediate championship contender. Boston won the title the year after assembling its Big Three—which could now be broken up with Ray Allen on the market—and the Lakers have reached the finals every year since acquiring Pau Gasol to complement Kobe Bryant.

Numerous teams are now dreaming of similar pairings.

“You look at the teams that have an awful lot of cap space, there could be a lot of power shifting in this league,” Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said.

Deals can be agreed to but can’t be signed until July 8. The process often goes quickly, but with so many potential good options, James might want to take his time.

AP Sports Writers Jaime Aron in Dallas, Chris Duncan in Houston and Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

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LeBron must decide if it’s time to leave home

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June 30, 2010

CLEVELAND (AP)—As he dressed in his spacious corner locker, LeBron James glanced over at the news scrolling across the flat-screen TV on the far wall. The ticker read: “NBA: Kobe Bryant signs three-year contract extension with Los Angeles Lakers.”

Buttoning his shirt following the game in April, roughly one month before his quest for a championship would end awkwardly and two months before becoming The Free Agent Of All Free Agents, James wasn’t a bit surprised.

“Did anyone really think he was leaving?” he asked incredulously. “Kobe’s been there since he was like 17. That’s his home. He wasn’t going anywhere.”
Hmm. Sound like someone you know, ‘Bron?

The league’s MVP grinned and bit his top lip. Not saying.

Soon enough, we’ll have his answer.

At the heart of James’ impending free agency, a moment of controlled chaos hyped beyond anything in recent sports memory, is one underlying question: Can he move away from the only place he has ever known?

James hits the market at 12:01 a.m. Thursday as the valedictorian of this historic 2010 free-agent class. He might have already decided where he’ll dribble, drive and dunk next. Even if he has, he’s still going to listen to offers and can’t sign with anyone until July 8.

Depending on whom you believe, the soon-to-be No. 6 is either headed to New York to resurrect the sorry Knicks; or to New Jersey to plot global domination with rap mogul pal Jay-Z and Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov; or to Chicago to follow Michael Jordan’s magnificence; or to Miami to join Olympic teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in a terrifying trifecta; or to Dallas where he could play with buddy Jason Kidd and watch his beloved Cowboys all the time.

Or, he’ll stay in Ohio, kick back in the 40,000-square-foot palace he built not far from the Akron streets where he was raised and continue to play for the Cavaliers.

Right now, nobody knows.

In a guessing game changing by the minute, one thing is certain: James’ decision will be made by one person—LeBron Raymone James.

He has listened to his advisers, consulted with friends, former coaches, Nike bigwigs, gazillionaire Warren Buffett and others of influence. But James and only James will make the final choice before signing on the dotted line.

What’s he going to do?

“What’s best for him and his family,” teammate Shaquille O’ Neal said before the Cavs’ postseason collapsed in a second-round loss to Boston. “He’s 25, but he’s something I’ve really never seen before.”

There’s never been anyone like him—or anything like this.

Never before has one player carried such clout into free agency. Despite never winning a championship—or even one game in the finals—James has the league bowing at his expensive sneakers. The anticipation of his league-tilting decision has caused an information feeding frenzy only rivaled by Tiger Woods’ sex scandal.

Teams have revamped their rosters for him, with Chicago and Miami doing the most maneuvering.

Cities have spent big bucks campaigning for him, calculating the economic impact of his arrival, or in Cleveland’s case, a possible departure.

Corporate jets will descend upon Northeast Ohio in the coming days, loaded with teams hoping to lure James away. The Nets’ delegation led by Prokhorov, Jay-Z, new coach Avery Johnson and outgoing president Rod Thorn will make their sales pitch first, followed by the Knicks and at least four other teams.

Everyone wants him.

All that matters, though, is what James wants.

He has spent seven seasons in Cleveland, a marriage manufactured by the lucky bounce of a draft lottery ball that sent the local kid up Interstate 77 to play as a pro and transformed a forgotten franchise into one of the league’s powerhouses.

Although the Cavs have enjoyed unparalleled success with James, events over the past month or so have threatened to drive them apart forever. Cleveland’s postseason flop—losing three straight, including Game 5 at home by 32 points to the Celtics—was followed by coach Mike Brown’s firing, the resignation of GM Danny Ferry and owner Dan Gilbert’s failed pursuit of Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.

As of Tuesday, Cleveland still hadn’t hired a coach but was zeroing in on Lakers assistant Brian Shaw.

If the Cavs were hoping to make an impression, this isn’t the one James wanted to see.

James, who will pass on his $17.1 million option for next season to officially become a free agent, wants stability and structure, not an organization seemingly making changes on the fly.

Although other teams can’t formally meet with James until Thursday, the Cavs have been in touch with him, agent Leon Rose and business manager Maverick Carter since Cleveland’s season ended. Gilbert and new GM Chris Grant recently visited James at his Bath, Ohio, home, and the Cavs are expected to make a final run at the superstar after the other suitors make their presentations.

“Our goal is to re-sign LeBron,” Grant said stating the obvious.

Cleveland, a city tortured by a pro sports title drought approaching a 47th birthday, is counting on loyalty to put a full-court press on James’ heart and persuade him to stay. The Cavs can offer him more money (as much as $30 million on a six-year contract), and they have one asset no other team can offer—this is home.

Since his season ended, James, whose puzzling performance in the Game 5 loss to Boston will tarnish his legacy should he sign elsewhere, has given no hints at his plans. He has made two public appearances, most recently at a LeBron Appreciation Day in Akron, where he showed up as the event was winding down. He professed love for his hometown, saying “everything I do is for this city.”

If that’s true, he’ll follow Bryant’s lead and stay home.

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Celtics handle Kobe onslaught and lead LA 3-2

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June 23, 2010

BOSTON (AP)—Paul Pierce is heading back to his hometown, and a second NBA championship could be waiting for him.

A Los Angeles native who has played his entire career with the rival Celtics, Pierce scored 27 points to help Boston withstand 38 points from Kobe Bryant to beat the Lakers 92-86 on Sunday night and move within one victory of an unprecedented 18th NBA title.
The Celtics lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. Game 6 is Tuesday night, and a victory then or in Game 7 in L.A. on Thursday would give Pierce the chance to celebrate in the city where he grew up.

“It’s going to have to happen if we’re going to win the title,” Pierce said. “I mean, that would be great. I’m not going to try to jinx it right now. We’ve got to win one game; that’s the goal. But it would be amazing if we get it done.”

With the “Beat L.A!” chant reverberating through the TD Garden, Kevin Garnett scored 18 points with 10 rebounds and Rajon Rondo had 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds to help Boston become the first team in the series to win two games in a row. If Los Angeles can’t do the same at home, the Celtics will improve to 10-2 against them in the finals, from a 4-0 sweep over the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959 through the Bird-and-Magic era of the ’80s and Boston’s win in ’08.

But Bryant said neither the rivalry nor revenge should be motivating his teammates when they try to stave off elimination at home.

“Just man up and play. What the hell is the big deal?” he said. “If I have to say something to them, then we don’t deserve to be champions. We’re down 3-2: Go home, win one game, go into the next one. Simple as that.”

Bryant was the MVP of the finals last year, when the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic to win their 15th championship. But Pierce earned the honor at his expense in ’08, when the new Big Three beat the Lakers to raise an NBA-record 17th banner to the rafters at Boston’s TD Garden.

Bryant outscored Pierce this time, but the Lakers’ guard got little help from his teammates. And the stretch where he was most dominant was also the time when the Celtics pulled away.

“I wasn’t in a personal duel,” Pierce said. “I didn’t notice that we were going back-and-forth scoring at the time. He’s a tough player. He makes shots.”

Lakers coach Phil Jackson defended Bryant’s attempts to take over the offense.

“He’s the kind of guy (where) you ride the hot hand, that’s for sure,” Jackson said. “We were waiting for him to do that. … He went out there and found a rhythm.”

Bryant did everything he could to send the Lakers home with the edge.

He scored 23 straight Lakers points between the 4:23 mark of the second quarter until there was 2:16 left in the third. But over that span, the Celtics expanded the lead from one point to 13.

“I just tried to keep telling them, it’s only 2 points each time he scores. It’s not 10,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s just like if someone else was scoring. … I love that our guys for the most part, they understood what he was doing. But we defended everyone else. And I thought it was big.”

And Pierce was having his best game of the series, too.

The Celtics’ captain scored seven points in the last 3 1/2 minutes of the second quarter and added nine more in the first 5 minutes of the third. Ray Allen, who hasn’t hit a 3-pointer since making an NBA-record eight in Game 2, made a pair of baskets that gave Boston a 71-58 lead with 3:08 left in the third.

Jackson, wearing a microphone for the TV broadcast, told his players during a late timeout, “This team loses more games in the fourth quarter than any team in the league. They know how to lose games, and they’re showing us that now.”

The Lakers got within six points several times, but never within five until Bryant made three free throws to make it 87-82 with 90 seconds left.

The Celtics got a break from a review when replays showed Allen’s 3-pointer barely nicked the rim, giving them the ball with a fresh 24 seconds and 1:05 left. Rasheed Wallace missed a 3-pointer, but the rebound wound up tied up between the 6-foot-11 Garnett and 6-foot-1 Derek Fisher.

Fisher won the jump ball, tipping the ball ahead to Ron Artest for a breakaway; Pierce fouled him to keep him from scoring an easy layup, and he missed both free throws. Bryant grabbed the rebound, but Pierce ripped it out of his arms and dribbled off to the side to call timeout.

A desperate inbound pass went to Pierce, who fed Rondo under the basket before falling out of bounds, and Rondo made an over-the-head layup to make it 89-82 with 36 seconds left.

“I was just showing off my Randy Moss and my (Tom) Brady the whole play,” Pierce said. “I was Randy when I caught it; then Brady on my pass to Rondo.”

Bryant missed a series of desperation 3-pointers down the stretch, and when Allen made two free throws with 19 seconds left and Garnett one of two with 8.9 to play, it was over.

“He’s the best shot-maker in the game. There’s probably better athletes and all that, but there’s no better shot-maker than Kobe Bryant,” Rivers said. “You’ve just got to live with it and play through it.”

Pau Gasol scored 12 points with 12 rebounds and Fisher, the Game 3 star, scored all nine of his points in the first quarter as no other Laker reached double figures in scoring until Gasol hit a free throw with 2:25 left. Andrew Bynum played on his sore right knee for 31 minutes, but he scored all six of his points and his only rebound in the first quarter.

NOTES: Of the 25 finals that have been tied at 2-all, the winner of Game 5 has won 19 of them. … Rondo was called for a technical foul in the second quarter when he pushed Artest in retaliation for a hard foul on Garnett. Artest embellished the shove, but got the call. … Celebrities in the crowd: sprinter Usain Bolt, actress Eliza Dushku, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and singers Glen Frey and Jimmy Buffett, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard and New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

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No 4th quarter heroics for Kobe in Lakers’ loss

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June 22, 2010

LOS ANGELES (AP)—For once, the fourth quarter didn’t belong to Kobe Bryant.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar picked up his fifth foul early in the final period, when Bryant’s defensive matchup, Rajon Rondo, carried the Boston Celtics to a 103-94 victory Sunday night that tied the NBA finals at a game apiece.

Bryant finished with 21 points, six assists and four steals in the Lakers’ first home loss of the postseason. They dropped to 9-1 at Staples Center.
Bryant committed five of the Lakers’ 15 turnovers.

Midway through the fourth, it looked as though Bryant was going to take over as he’s done countless times in his career. He scored five points in a row to extend the Lakers’ lead to 90-87—their largest of the period.

“We fought pretty hard to get back in the game, and then we let the game slip away,” said a subdued Bryant in one of several clipped responses he gave.

But Rondo wasn’t finished. He keyed a game-ending 16-4 run on his way to 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in helping the Celtics tie the series. Game 3 is Tuesday night in Boston.

Bryant, meanwhile, began misfiring over the final 5 minutes. He missed a 3-pointer, then scored from long range after teammate Ron Artest’s haphazard dribbling led to an ill-advised 3-pointer that came up empty.

“It’s one of the more unusual sequences I’ve ever witnessed,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Bryant missed again on a drive while double-teamed, then got stripped of the ball from behind by Rondo before missing another 3 in the closing seconds.

“Just causing turnovers down the stretch,” Bryant said.

Jackson noticed the Celtics forced Bryant to consistently drive left.

“They were not letting him come back to his right hand, shoving him to the left and then going to help when he started to push the ball,” the coach said. “That changed things up for him. He still figured it out pretty well towards the end, but couldn’t complete it.”

After Bryant’s one-man spurt, the Celtics ran off 11 unanswered points, with Rondo scoring six.

“We gave them too many easy baskets and blew too many defensive assignments,” Bryant said. “That’s it.”

His offensive foul led to his fifth 45 seconds into the fourth, when the Celtics outscored the Lakers 31-22. Jackson gambled and kept Bryant in the game. Boston never lured him into a sixth.

An irritated looking Bryant sat down after his fourth foul midway through the third, when he had just two points. He didn’t return until the fourth began.

“I wasn’t happy with those foul calls. Those were unusual calls,” Jackson said. “But he tried to play aggressively. Got called for it. Tried to limit his game a little bit because they were taking charges, and it really changed the complexity of this ballgame. They did a good job on him defensively, no doubt about that.”

Bryant wasn’t the only Laker on the wrong end of the referees’ whistles.

Lamar Odom picked up three fouls in the game’s first three minutes and ended up with five fouls and three points.

“I turned to my crew and said, ‘Do you think he can play through this?”’ Jackson said. “And as I was talking to them, he got his third foul. So obviously he couldn’t play through that sequence.”

Andrew Bynum also had five fouls in between tying his career playoff high with 21 points and swatting seven blocked shots. Artest fouled out with 47 seconds remaining in the game.

Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 25 points, eight rebounds and six of their finals-record 14 blocked shots.

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