Re: NBA News
Some other NBA news
Lakers: Farmer is gone...he has gone to the New Jersey Nets
Fisher will stay in L.A. cause he said he can't get away from Kobe
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Re: NBA News
LeBron James makes it official: It's Miami
See ya, Cleveland.
Sorry, Chicago, New York and New Jersey. Maybe next time around, Clippers.
LeBron James chose superstar help over the comforts of home and is heading for Miami because he wants to win a championship with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Warren Buffett to LeBron: 'Call me' Health deteriorates for legendary college coach Historic round for PGA golfer NBA, get ready: A superstar trio has just been born.
Ending weeks of will-he-or-won’t-he speculation, the two-time MVP said Thursday night that he’s decided to join the Heat and leave the Cavaliers after an unsuccessful seven-year quest for the ring he covets.
“I can’t say it was always in my plans, because I never thought it was possible,” James said on a made-for-Lebron live show on ESPN. “But the things that the Miami Heat franchise have done, to free up cap space and be able to put themselves in a position this summer to have all three of us, it was hard to turn down. Those are two great players, two of the greatest players that we have in this game today.”
Olympic teammates in Beijing, James, Bosh and Wade all helped deliver gold medals.
This time, it’ll be about a gold trophy, the NBA championship one - the one Wade got in 2006, the one that James and Bosh have yet to touch.
“Winning is a huge thing for me,” James said from a studio in Greenwich, Conn., where an audience of kids from the Boys and Girls club was present for the announcement.
It’s a huge victory for the Heat, which got commitments from Wade and Bosh on Wednesday. That duo, along with James, formed the upper echelon of the most-celebrated free-agent period in league history.
Heat president Pat Riley landed them all, a three-pack of stars to help shape his quest for a dynasty in Miami.
“There’s magic in the number three,” Wade said, a nod to his jersey number.
And for Cleveland, a city scorned for generations by some of sports’ biggest letdowns, James’ long-awaited words represented a defeat perhaps unlike any other.
James is gone. Home sweet home no more.
He said he made the decision Thursday morning and knows it won’t go over well in Ohio.
“They can have mixed emotions, of course,” James said, adding that Akron will “always be home for me.”
His new home - part-time or otherwise - wasted no time in beginning the celebration. Horns honked outside the arena and on Miami Beach, where Wade was watching the announcement with members of his inner circle.
“It’s going to be crazy,” Wade said.
In Cleveland, the immediate reaction was predictably filled with outrage. Television images showed at least one fan burning James’ No. 23 wine-and-gold jersey.
“I can’t get involved in that,” he said. “I wanted to do what was best for LeBron James … At the end of the day, I feel awful. I feel even worse that I wasn’t able to bring an NBA championship to that city.
“To my real fans out there, I hope that you’ll continue to support me all the way to Miami.”
James met with six teams on the free-agent recruiting circuit, and said the process was “everything I thought, and more.”
“We are disappointed that LeBron James did not pick the New York Knicks, but we respect his decision,” Knicks president Donnie Walsh said.
Added Mikhail Prokhorov, the new owner of the New Jersey Nets, another club that swung and missed on landing James: “We have a vision of a championship team and need to invest wisely and for the long term. Fortunately, we have more than one plan to reach success, and, as I have found in all areas of my business, that is key to achieving it.”
And Bulls general manager Gar Forman said he was convinced his organization “made the strongest of bids to acquire LeBron James during this free agency period.”
James, Bosh and Wade entered the pros in the same year, the respective Nos. 1, 4 and 5 picks in the 2003 draft. They went their separate ways: James to Cleveland, Bosh to Toronto and Wade to Miami, where he won a championship partnered with center Shaquille O’Neal(notes) in 2006. That year, James, Bosh and Wade all signed matching contracts to make sure they were all unrestricted free agents at the same time.
Season-ticket sales for the Heat’s coming 41-game season were suspended Thursday afternoon after the entire supply of available seats were sold out. Not every seat has been released for sale yet and some will be held back for single-game purchases at the 19,600-capacity arena.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said while attending a tournament of high school stars at Cleveland State University, co-sponsored by James and Nike, one of the 25-year-old’s corporate partners.
Believe it.
The Cavaliers, a franchise that was in ruins before winning a lottery drawing and bringing James up Interstate 77 from his Akron home, have had the upper hand - until now. They were able to offer him more money - $30 million more - than any other team.
This wasn’t about money, though.
Wade and Bosh both said they would take fewer dollars to make this happen. And that, combined with what Riley and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said to James on the recruiting tour, was enough to pull off the stunner.
Because they have overspent while trying to please James and win the first title by any of Cleveland’s three pro sports teams since 1964, the Cavs are strapped with a few big contracts that have eaten up salary-cap space and prevented them from making roster moves to improve the team.
They’ve come close to winning it all with James, who at 6-foot-8 and 260 pounds has the quickness of a point guard and brute force of an NFL defensive lineman.
With the possible exception of Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant(notes), James is the NBA’s premier player, but his legacy cannot be fulfilled until he wins a championship.
If it’s going to happen soon, it’ll happen in Miami.
Wade has shared the spotlight in the Heat locker room before, doing so when O’Neal was there for the 2006 title run. And James said that if Wade wasn’t willing to make this megadeal happen, the trio wouldn’t be together.
“At this point, D-Wade, he’s the unselfish guy here,” James said. “To be able to have Chris Bosh and LeBron James, to welcome us to his team, it’s not about an individual here. Because if that was the case, D-Wade wouldn’t have asked us to join him or we wouldn’t have asked him if it was OK to come down here. It’s not about individuals. It’s about a team.”
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Re: NBA News
The sad tale of Ray Williams: 10-year NBA vet now homeless
Amid the ceaseless acquisitive frenzy that is NBA free agency, the Boston Globe dropped a harrowing profile of Ray Williams, a former captain of the New York Knicks and a reserve guard on the Boston Celtics' 1985 NBA Finals team who played for six teams during a 10-year NBA career from the late '70s through the mid-'80s. Williams' name might not ring out with today's fans, but he averaged 20 points per game in two different seasons (1979-80 and 1981-82), hung 52 on the Detroit Pistons as a member of the New Jersey Nets on April 17, 1982, and once drew (admittedly aspirational) comparisons to the great Walt Frazier.
Now, writes the Globe's Bob Hohler, he's homeless.
Every night at bedtime, former Celtic Ray Williams locks the doors of his home: a broken-down 1992 Buick, rusting on a back street where he ran out of everything.
The 10-year NBA veteran formerly known as "Sugar Ray'' leans back in the driver's seat, drapes his legs over the center console, and rests his head on a pillow of tattered towels. He tunes his boom box to gospel music, closes his eyes, and wonders.
Williams, a generation removed from staying in first-class hotels with Larry Bird and Co. in their drive to the 1985 NBA Finals, mostly wonders how much more he can bear.
The most sobering thing about Hohler's piece? Williams' decline into unemployment, poverty and homelessness appears to have just kind of ... happened.
Williams, a former University of Minnesota standout who averaged 15.5 points and nearly six assists per game during his time in the league, adamantly tells Hohler that he's "never fallen prey to drugs, alcohol, or gambling," and he's never been arrested, so it's not like he's some shiftless sociopath whom we can easily vilify. According to the feature, there wasn't one key traumatic event that keyed Williams' downfall, with one possible exception — already down on his luck, Williams received a grant from the NBA Legends Foundation, which provides need-based assistance to people who have been involved in the pro game. But according to court records, Hohler writes, "he lost the money ... when the widow of a condominium owner who agreed to a lease-to-own contract with Williams opted out of the contract after the owner died." Which sounds like a horrendously bad break that exacerbated an already ugly situation.
It doesn't sound like a case of over-the-top avarice, either; while Hohler notes that Williams was "no longer able to sustain his NBA lifestyle" when he first filed for bankruptcy in 1994, he doesn't mention any particularly conspicuous consumption or extravagant expenditures. As the story goes, Williams just hasn't been able to hang on to any of a slew of off-court jobs over the course of the 23 years since he retired in 1987. Now, he's got nothing except the '92 Buick he sleeps in and a '97 Chevy Tahoe that he can't get out of hock.
There's no prime mover behind the disintegration, no obvious flaw in the system against which to rage. Like any story of slipping through the cracks in American society, that makes it harder to digest, compartmentalize and set aside.
Maybe NBA players of today, who make exponentially more money than their predecessors before ever stepping on the court, do owe a fiscal debt to the players who came before; then again, maybe Williams bears the blame because he blew the roughly $2 million he made in contracts during his career. Maybe Williams' family, former friends and associates merit some scorn for allowing him to live alone in a car in Florida; then again, maybe they've all had to distance themselves from Williams after 20-plus years of never getting his stuff together and failing to repay repeated loans, favors and kindnesses.
Maybe agencies like the Legends Foundation and the NBA Retired Players Association need to do more to help people like Williams; then again, maybe they've already done enough, having given him grants totaling more than $12,000. Maybe his coaches, teachers and mentors failed him, setting him to serve as one more awful example of how, when it comes to young basketball players, the only training and skill development that anybody really cares about takes place on the hardwood. Then again, maybe "Society's to blame" is a red herring that divests the downtrodden of personal responsibility.
Whichever way your sympathies run, the story of how Ray Williams' life fell apart should serve as a cautionary tale for athletes of the imperative to prepare for life after the game — and, frankly, a jarring reminder to all of us that we should appreciate what we're lucky enough to have while we're lucky enough to have it.
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Re: NBA News
ATLAS OIL OWNER COULD BUY PISTONS
BY TOM WALSH and VINCE ELLIS
Detroit Free Press
June 29 2010
MI
Amid a report from Crain's Detroit Business that the Ilitch family
and Atlas Oil owner Sam Simon were mulling a possible offer to buy
the Pistons, Simon told the Free Press via e-mail Monday that he knew
Chris Ilitch, president of Ilitch Holdings, but that "we are far away
before anything happens here."
Simon said he might have more to say "if we get close," but did not
elaborate on details of any discussions to date.
Simon, son of an Armenian shoe salesman who fled Baghdad in 1973
and settled his family in Detroit when Sam was 9, built Taylor-based
Atlas from one truck in 1985 to a multibillion-dollar distributor of
oil and gas products.
Karen Davidson assumed control of the Pistons after the March 13, 2009,
death of her husband, Bill. This month, the franchise announced that
a Citigroup subsidiary, called Citi Private Bank Sports Authority,
was hired to broker the sale of the Pistons and Palace Sports &
Entertainment, the umbrella arm that also owns the Palace and DTE
Energy Music Theatre and operates Meadow Brook Music Festival.
Davidson said Thursday during the NBA draft that she expects to sell
the team before the season opens in October.
Forbes recently placed the Pistons' value at $479 million,
fourth-highest in the NBA.
NBA owners must approve any sale in the 30-team league, and the league
has indicated it is committed to keeping the Pistons in Detroit.Leave a comment:
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Re: NBA News
Scottie Pippen is a little less broke these days
If you've read any of the numerous books about the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s then you know that Scottie Pippen is kind of funny about money. Raised in a poor household, Pippen jumped at the chance to sign a long-term contract prior to the 1991-92 season, choosing the security of a long deal over being paid what he was worth. Throughout his career, Pippen would endorse anything and everything, assuring that the money kept flowing in. Following the end of his playing career, Pippen was involved in a number of bad business deals that left him nearly broke.
One of the notable money mistakes that Pippen made was the purchase of a $4 million Gulfstream jet in 2002. Due to a missed inspection, the jet's engine needed $1 million worth of repairs shortly after the purchase. Rather than paying that, the jet was grounded, making it the world's most expensive paper weight. Pippen sued his attorney for the missed inspection and Monday was awarded a settlement of $2 million. He was pretty happy about it. From the Chicago Sun-Times' Lisa Donovan:
One-time Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen dissolved in tears Monday and gasped as a Cook County jury awarded him a $2 million verdict in a jet deal that went south.
Pippen had sued two attorneys at the Chicago law firm Pedersen & Houpt for malpractice, alleging they failed to closely monitor his purchase of the jet, which was grounded only months after the 2002 purchase. [...]
"I don't want to really say anything, I'm just exhausted and tired," a red-eyed but smiling Pippen said before leaving the courthouse with wife Larsa Pippen.
You know how they say you can't have your multimillion dollar jet and eat it to? Well, tell them that they're wrong. And also that that is a weird saying.
[Former NBA stars who made it big, owe big: Rick Mahorn]
But really, this is good news. Yeah, it's kind of hard to feel bad for a guy filing lawsuits because he didn't get to use his super expensive airplane, but with all the 1990s basketball players that have been going broke these days, it's nice that something good actually happened for one of them.
[Former NBA stars who made it big, owe big: Eddy Curry]
That being said, I think we've all learned a valuable lesson here. Whenever you spend $4 million on a jet, make sure it works first.
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Re: NBA News
Firstly, I wouldn't say this is 2003 because during that time, Kobe wasn't recognized as he is now. He became known after Shaq left the stage later on. His true colors started shining back in '06, especially after making numerous buzzer-beaters. And yes, I did see Kobe play today and surprisingly, his skills slacked off on him. You're right, I do not know "much about the NBA" and neither am I planning on majoring in Basketball, however, I can glance and state what I've analyzed, all coming from my view. Now, by saying "without Kobe, the Lakers wouldn't be where they are," I didn't imply that the rest of the players never input their abilities towards the team...they did, everyone does, and like you said, without the team, the leader has no one to show leadership to. Kobe is an MVP and the leader of his team, he's also scored more than anyone else I can remember from the Lakers. No one's bashing the rest of the team mates, it was more like "without their leader, they would have been unfavorable."Originally posted by One-Way View Post
Eh, I'm done with this Basketball talk; I feel like a boy. Fml.Leave a comment:
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Re: NBA News
First of all, I'm talking about Kendrick Perkins, and you're talking about Glen Davis.
Second of all, this isn't 2003. You're proving that you don't know much about the NBA by saying "without Kobe Byrant, the Lakers wouldn't be where they are." I really hate it when people say that because that's the old school fallback.
Listen, Kobe Bryant is the leader of the team, and every team has that captain. Chicago Bulls wouldn't have had six titles without Michael Jordan, either. Cleveland Cavaliers wouldn't have even made the Playoffs without LeBron James. Phoenix Suns is nothing without Steve Nash. As far as the Boston Celtics go, they're pretty much an All-Star team and drafted all their stars from different teams. They signed Ray Allen from Seattle (their team's best player), Rasheed Wallace from Detroit (their team's best player), and Kevin Garnet from Minnesota (their team's best player). Celtics pretty much had Paul Pierce, who was a great star, but didn't take off until they had all these other star join them.
So, don't give me that crap and say the Lakers wouldn't be where they are without Kobe. Of course not, because a team is led by their captain, but they also need a good supporting team. Lakers didn't win in 2008 because Kobe didn't have a good team beside him. They didn't win all those years without Shaq because it was a one man show, and Kobe had nobody by his side.
Honestly, if anything, Kobe just proved that the Lakers won because they are a team. Kobe played horribly today - did you see his shot percentage? He was 6 from 24!! Lakers is a team now and they didn't make it this far or win just because of Kobe. They did this because they're a team and they've been played like a team. It's no longer just Kobe who is holding the team down, but Pau Gasol as well, with major contributions from Derek Fisher, Ron Artest, and the rest of the team.Leave a comment:
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Re: NBA News
Originally posted by One-Way View Post
Stop getting so technical on "the shit flowing down his face," everyone saw that on live television, and yea, that shit was nasty, but it was his moment of fame, the guy got a little too excited, let him yell like a gorilla, no one gives a shit. And yes, I do watch the game close enough to read the players' lips and focus on who's cussing (I really do) and I can say that I've seen Kobe cuss plenty of times during these last games. They all cuss, it's nothing new and shouldn't surprise you, and just because you can't see it on live television, doesn't mean they didn't blurt out more nonsense later on. You get aggressive, and while you're aggressive, you end up cussing, it's human nature, it flows through the body and comes out the mouth (kind of like the movie Space Jam).
And like I said, Kobe could have just pretended to look at Chris, I didn't say spark a conversation with him. Face it, without Kobe Bryant, the Lakers wouldn't be where they are. He deserves to take home all the winnings, even though I dislike him, but we have to, eventually, look at things in a realistic manner: The boy has got some mad skill for a blackie.Last edited by iFemale; 06-18-2010, 04:52 AM.Leave a comment:
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