This is obviously the question on the mind of every Cavs fan, is LeBron going to leave? Well, it depends on who you ask. According to fanhouse.com columnist and Around The Horn analyst Jay Mariotti, he's got to leave in order to have a legitimate shot at a championship title. According to Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto, all of the trades Danny Ferry made to bolster this team to play against the Magic (which is really what they did, focus on beating the Magic and only the Magic) failed.
Personally, I've been hearing all kinds of things around C-Town about LeBron and his contract situation. What I was really getting from around town for the most part was that he was a sure lock to stay about two weeks ago, and now that the Cavs lost there's practically no way that he's going to stick around. I mean, people have been saying some pretty harsh words, for instance that LeBron quit on his coach and then his team by putting out little to no effort during Game 5 and then Game 6 wasn't much better. Others have said that LeBron was hurt and that his supporting cast completely let him down. I'm sure you can find hundreds of opinions on the entire situation, so I'm just going to quit the synthesizing and just give you mine.
I think (really really really hope) that LeBron is going to stay with the Cavs and I'll tell you why in a series of posts that will probably come every time I see/read/hear something that I find pretty ridiculous about rumors. But I figured that in the wake of the Cavaliers flameout it would be appropriate to talk about it.
I read this article on the subject today from nba.fanhouse.com that said LeBron would end up in Chicago. That's nothing new of course, but this columnist, Terence Moore, is also somehow convinced that Doc Rivers will be the coach next year. Yes, that Doc Rivers the current coach of the Boston Celtics. You might be thinking, as I was, what the hell is he talking about?
Well, Moore justifies this insane claim by saying that the Bulls will buy out the last year of Rivers' contract with the Celtics. He writes, "So, when the Bulls ask the Celtics for permission to buy out Rivers' final season, the Celtics could do the illogical thing by telling their coach who wants to go elsewhere that he isn't allowed to leave."
I'm sorry, the illogical thing? I need someone to explain to me how in the world it could possibly be illogical for the Celtics front office to let their coach just go to another team in the Eastern Conference that would compete for the same spot in The Finals. That makes absolutely zero sense. Especially when you have a team with the likes of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, the list goes on. I don't want to make this post too long, but I have to share with you some other quotes from this ridiculous article.
This one for instance. Moore is writing about how LeBron and Rivers have both been prepping to go to Chicago. James, of course, by faxing in the paperwork to switch his number from 23, which is retired in Chicago for some guy named Jordan, to 6. Right here is where Moore looses his credibility for me, as everyone knows when you go to a new team, you can switch your number. So if anything the case should be made that LeBron will stay in Cleveland because of that.
In any case, Moore writes that Rivers has also been prepping to go to Chicago because he "has been hounded by Celtics general manager Danny Ainge for the last few months to sign a contract extension, but Rivers keeps saying no...Most folks in the volatile coaching world of the NBA would have signed a new deal within seconds after Ainge asked the first time. Instead, Rivers keeps saying he will wait until the summer to decide his future." I think Moore might have a point with that argument, but not much of one. If someone wants to do business in the offseason when he has another year on his contract, why not let him? In my opinion, contract talk during the season becomes an immediate distraction that has an adverse effect on what happens on the court.
But here is Moore's final argument as to why Rivers will end up with the Bulls. "...Chicago is Rivers' home town. And his wife is from up the road in Milwaukee, where Rivers went to school at Marquette." ...Seriously? That is the best you come up with? It's crap like this from Moore and Mariotti from the Fanhouse website that makes me think that they are paid to come up with the most outrageous claims that they can to drive people to the website. These writers should be more credible than that. They shouldn't appear as if they are idiots standing at the street corner on a milk crate yelling into a megaphone about some crazy idea. To me, that's not sports writing, and it's certainly not journalism.
Well I guess I'll get off of my soap box too, cause that was for sure a long post. Thanks for reading, stay tuned for parts II through...well as many as we get through until LeBron signs with whatever team he signs with whenever he signs with them.
~MAS
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