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LeBron James "Wherever Life's Journey Takes Me, My Heart Will Always Be In Akron"

Home ▸ Archive ▸ Pro Sports ▸ LeBron James "Wherever Life's Journey Takes Me, My Heart Will Always Be In Akron"
jordo212000's avatar

jordo212000

Senior Member

10,664 posts
May 4, 2010 11:06 AM
I specifically remember wondering what the heck Lebron was doing this summer with Ariza. If he just says "Yeah... I'm re-upping" they have a great player and piece for the run. Instead he beats around the bush, wants to hype his decision, etc and they end up with nothing.

I see a nice parallel in the MLB. Joe Mauer was facing a similar situation. New York was rumored to be interested and could have made millions. He could have hyped his decision making process all season... instead? What does he do? He re-signs with a home town discount early in the season so that there is no distraction.
May 4, 2010 11:06am
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

Senior Member

6,844 posts
May 4, 2010 11:31 AM
Great comparison!
May 4, 2010 11:31am
jpake1's avatar

jpake1

Senior Member

2,389 posts
May 4, 2010 1:15 PM
I don't buy into anything that's said. Nor should anybody else. He'll speak loudest when he signs on the dotten line. Do I think he'll stay? Yes I do. Am I certain? Most definitely not. He, and the others, have given themselves the freedom to make the best choice. I don't think he's hinted into leaving and I don't think he's hinted into saying. Maybe I missed a comment that would change my mind. I just know I see a guy in DWade that says others teams have a very short window and that Miami is most definitely where he wants to be in the FO does their job (but that stuff doesn't get mentioned much, just the negative things). I havn't heard LBJ say that type of stuff. But there's good reason. He, unlike Wade, has a very good supporting cast. He's not waiting to see what gets built around him. He's waiting to see if what's around him is good enough. If the Cavs don't win the finals, I think that changes things big time; and maybe just from a hype standpoint. I would still put the Cavs as favorites, but things could get very interesting. I've thought from day one the recipe for him leaving is no titles and some of the bigs getting old. Shaq and Z are seeing the finish line.
May 4, 2010 1:15pm
A

Al Capone

18-3 since 2000

1,727 posts
May 4, 2010 2:29 PM
Anybody that thinks Lebron will be in Cleveland next season is sadly mistaken. There's bigger things ahead for this guy beyond that cesspool. And he will take advantage. Can you imagine this guy in New York? WOW!!!
May 4, 2010 2:29pm
jpake1's avatar

jpake1

Senior Member

2,389 posts
May 4, 2010 2:37 PM
Yeah, actually I can.... ringless.
May 4, 2010 2:37pm
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
May 4, 2010 2:37 PM
thedynasty1998 wrote: First off, your argument was about money. Why pay Jackson and Williams similar money for the same reason you said to not pay Blair? Your logic is flawed.

SA has a lack of depth, but the Cavs have a lack of talent. Hickson, V, Z and Shaq are not good low post players. And of the 4, only Shaq is a threat offensively. Blair provides some offense and does get minutes with those 4 guys. The guy has played pretty well this year.

Plus, he's playing with Tim Duncan who is locking up the majority of minutes at one of the post positions, so he has to compete with McDyess and Bonner for minutes, both of whom are similar to what the Cavs have to offer.

You are not making a good argument, the sole fact that Darnell Jackson and Jawad Williams are making the same money and are not playing contradicts your whole argument.
No one knew Blair would that good, I mean a 6' 7" center is not exactly appealing. Chances are with the depth Cleveland had anyway, he wouldn't even of had the opportunity to play, so it wasn't justifiable to pay a guy ANYTHING just to rot on the bench.

And there's also no guarantee Blair even excels in the Cavs system.
This is going to sound absolutely ABSURD, but I kind of want to see what Telfair can do playing against Rondo. Telfair is our best on ball guard (at least in terms of being able to stay with Rondo), but I don't know what to expect from him offensively, despite his outstanding effort towards the end of the season.
Telfair isn't even on the Cavs playoff roster, and I'm not sure what the rules are, but I believe you can only have 12 active players on a team at one time, so you have to deactivate someone, and I think its only if a player gets injured.
May 4, 2010 2:37pm
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
May 4, 2010 3:39 PM
thedynasty1998 wrote: First off, your argument was about money. Why pay Jackson and Williams similar money for the same reason you said to not pay Blair? Your logic is flawed.

SA has a lack of depth, but the Cavs have a lack of talent. Hickson, V, Z and Shaq are not good low post players. And of the 4, only Shaq is a threat offensively. Blair provides some offense and does get minutes with those 4 guys. The guy has played pretty well this year.

Plus, he's playing with Tim Duncan who is locking up the majority of minutes at one of the post positions, so he has to compete with McDyess and Bonner for minutes, both of whom are similar to what the Cavs have to offer.

You are not making a good argument, the sole fact that Darnell Jackson and Jawad Williams are making the same money and are not playing contradicts your whole argument.
HAHAHAH first of all Darnell isn't even on the team anymore, secondly Jawad plays the swingman position (2/3) something an undersize 5 (or 4) can't play. LMAO at comparing Williams to Blair.


My argument was that we weren't gonna pay someone to rot on the bench when they have no chance of playing. Which is EXACTLY why we CUT Darnell. At least Jawad has a chance of playing if something goes really right or really wrong (see last night). Blair absolutely would not have played at all this year for us. Your failure to see that, as well as try and tell me I'm wrong is laughable. It's one thing to be like SQ when I think I'm right and I'm not, but I'm absolutely certain Blair would not have played at all, after all he's SMALLER than Darnell, except he doesn't have knees and Darnell had already been around here for a year, so by drafting Blair he would have been sitting BEHIND Darnell.
May 4, 2010 3:39pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

Senior Member

6,844 posts
May 4, 2010 3:51 PM
You are a moron for a few reasons.

1. Your original argument was about money. I cited Jawad Williams who makes the same money. It's really not that much. To say the Cavs wanted to save that $800,000 to sign Shaq is just dumb. If that were the case, they never would have been able to pay Darnell Jackson who made similar money, as did Williams.

2. Jawad Williams has zero chance of paying meaningful minutes. Why even carry his salary then if it's all about the money?

3. Blair would not have played at all? You are an idiot. He's better offensively than Hickson and Varejao. There would have been games where he would have been called upon.

4. He doesn't have knees was the reason he slipped to the 2nd round, and he has proven that he can withstand an NBA season.

5. He's better than Darnell Jackson.


You completely changed your argument. If you would have started off by saying the Cavs had the depth, or his knees were a question or even if you didn't like his game that would have been one thing, but you cited his salary and it's a bad argument.
May 4, 2010 3:51pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

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6,844 posts
May 4, 2010 3:56 PM
sleeper wrote: No one knew Blair would that good, I mean a 6' 7" center is not exactly appealing. Chances are with the depth Cleveland had anyway, he wouldn't even of had the opportunity to play, so it wasn't justifiable to pay a guy ANYTHING just to rot on the bench.
I did. Did you watch him play in college? The guy has a monster at Pitt. The thing with the college guys making the transition to watch is how they play against size, and when he played against Thabeet, he absolutely destroyed him. Now I know that Thabeet isn't exactly a good pro, but it's a good place to judge him because most assumed he would struggle with length.

When I saw that Blair was dropping to the end of the first round and possibly second, I thougth there was absolutely no way the Cavs would pass on him if given the chance. He was everything the Cavs needed last year, an offensive threat on the block. I was shocked when the Cavs didn't draft him.

Now I'm not saying he'll be an All Star by any means, but when you have the 30th pick in the draft and have a chance to draft a proven player who will make your team better and fills a need, I just don't see how you pass on that.
May 4, 2010 3:56pm
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
May 4, 2010 4:03 PM
Yeah, he's a true offensive threat averaging 3.86 points per game in the playoffs you idiot. Like I said, Blair WOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED AT ALL. THE SAME REASON WE CUT DARNELL. Jawad Williams would play significant minutes for us before Blair would.

Who's the moron now? You.

You think 3.8 pts per game is an offensive threat, LMAO GTFO.
May 4, 2010 4:03pm
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
May 4, 2010 4:06 PM
And it IS about the money. We didn't want to continue paying Darnell to sit the bench so we cut him. So why do you think we would want to pay Blair to ride the bench? Who's he going to get playing time over, Hickson? Shaq? Varejao? Z? Jamison? LOL if you think he's better than any of those players right now.

Once again, you say he's an offensive threat but he's averaging 3.8 pts per game. Sounds to me like your logic is extremely flawed.

Anyone else on here know any offensive threats averaging 3.8 a game? I'd LOVE to hear them.
May 4, 2010 4:06pm
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
May 4, 2010 4:11 PM
Ah Sleeper you're right, I just looked up the NBA playoff roster moves. Oh well, chalk that one up to wishful thinking.
May 4, 2010 4:11pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

Senior Member

6,844 posts
May 4, 2010 4:20 PM
What exactly does GTFO mean? What a tool. Where exactly do you want me to go?

Good job of citing a sample of 7 games compared to the entire regular season you dumbass. In the regular season he averaged 7.8 ppg and 6.4 rpg and shot 56% from the field in 18 minutes per game

Let's put that in perspective:
Anderson Varejao: 8.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 57% in 28.5 minutes
JJ Hickson: 8.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg 55% in 21 minutes
Shaq: 12 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 55% (53 games played) in 23 minutes

Amongst rookies he was the leading rebounder per 48 minutes.

Now can you honestly say he doesn't get any minutes there? He basically averaged the same as V and Hickson in less minutes in his rookie season.
May 4, 2010 4:20pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

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6,844 posts
May 4, 2010 4:22 PM
lhslep134 wrote: And it IS about the money. We didn't want to continue paying Darnell to sit the bench so we cut him. So why do you think we would want to pay Blair to ride the bench? Who's he going to get playing time over, Hickson? Shaq? Varejao? Z? Jamison? LOL if you think he's better than any of those players right now.

Once again, you say he's an offensive threat but he's averaging 3.8 pts per game. Sounds to me like your logic is extremely flawed.

Anyone else on here know any offensive threats averaging 3.8 a game? I'd LOVE to hear them.
I can't believe you continue to cite that argument. Look at his regular season stats. I hope you are not thinking about law school because you make horrible arguments.
May 4, 2010 4:22pm
D

devil1197

Senior Member

6,220 posts
May 4, 2010 4:31 PM
I like Blair but the Cleveland FO loves JJ and they are sticking with him (I think he'll end up better than Blair in the long run, more raw talent to be used). Blair doesn't bring more to the table compared to AV either. He definitely wasn't going to get any minutes over Shaq or Jamison either.
May 4, 2010 4:31pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

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6,844 posts
May 4, 2010 4:33 PM
I think Hickson has more potential, I don't know for sure if he will have a better career. And although the FO might like him, Brown doesn't seem to have much faith in him, and he's the one who decides minutes.
May 4, 2010 4:33pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

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6,844 posts
May 4, 2010 4:38 PM
Here's a new argument for you:

What if the Cavs would have drafted Blair and not brought in Shaq. They are basically at this point in their careers very similar players, but Blair is younger.

Then the Cavs save $20 million since money is so important that they couldn't waste $800k on a role player and could have paid more money for someone else last season.

Guys they could have signed if they were not spending money on Shaq:
Rasheed Wallace
Chris Andersen
Brandon Bass
Channing Frye

Does that make the Cavs better or worse?

Personally, I think the Cavs would have benefited with all 4 of those guys over Shaq if they had the big body banger in Blair through the draft.
May 4, 2010 4:38pm
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
May 4, 2010 4:51 PM
thedynasty1998 wrote: Here's a new argument for you:

What if the Cavs would have drafted Blair and not brought in Shaq. They are basically at this point in their careers very similar players, but Blair is younger.

Then the Cavs save $20 million since money is so important that they couldn't waste $800k on a role player and could have paid more money for someone else last season.

Guys they could have signed if they were not spending money on Shaq:
Rasheed Wallace
Chris Andersen
Brandon Bass
Channing Frye

Does that make the Cavs better or worse?

Personally, I think the Cavs would have benefited with all 4 of those guys over Shaq if they had the big body banger in Blair through the draft.
LMAO you keep looking funnier with each post. NONE of those players can do what we brought Shaq in to do, which is neutralize Howard. You think a 6'7" Blair can muscle with Dwight? LOL dude you're so fucking dumb.


Did you REALLY say that at this point in their careers Blair and Shaq are similar? Using basic logic that would also mean that Blair can similarly guard Dwight Howard.

Like I said before, get the fuck out. That means don't post any more of your retarded points on this thread, you've already been shut down. Feel free to post on other threads, but not this one if you're going to continue spewing garbage.



And for the record, I do think that the $20 million was WAY too much to pay for Shaq but what he brings to the team is something no other player available could do, including your precious Blair.


And another thing, you don't think these 7 PLAYOFF games are any indication of Blair? It means the Spurs don't trust to use him in meaningful minutes, it was easier to throw him in there for the regular season especially when dealing with injury. I cannot believe you actually think Blair would be as productive as Varejao for us. LOL dude you're such a joke.
May 4, 2010 4:51pm
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
May 4, 2010 4:52 PM
And Dynasty, again, what other offensive threat role players are only averaging 3.8 pts in the only meaningful part of the season, the playoffs? LMAO if you're trying to say his regular season stats are more important than his playoff ones.
May 4, 2010 4:52pm
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
May 4, 2010 4:57 PM
thedynasty1998 wrote:
sleeper wrote: No one knew Blair would that good, I mean a 6' 7" center is not exactly appealing. Chances are with the depth Cleveland had anyway, he wouldn't even of had the opportunity to play, so it wasn't justifiable to pay a guy ANYTHING just to rot on the bench.
I did. Did you watch him play in college? The guy has a monster at Pitt. The thing with the college guys making the transition to watch is how they play against size, and when he played against Thabeet, he absolutely destroyed him. Now I know that Thabeet isn't exactly a good pro, but it's a good place to judge him because most assumed he would struggle with length.

When I saw that Blair was dropping to the end of the first round and possibly second, I thougth there was absolutely no way the Cavs would pass on him if given the chance. He was everything the Cavs needed last year, an offensive threat on the block. I was shocked when the Cavs didn't draft him.

Now I'm not saying he'll be an All Star by any means, but when you have the 30th pick in the draft and have a chance to draft a proven player who will make your team better and fills a need, I just don't see how you pass on that.
O RLY? You knew? Yeah, I'm sure the NBA GM's who know more about the game of basketball than all of us on here, all passed on a dominant player. Please, he wasn't drafted higher because he wasn't projected to be anything good, I mean a 6'7" center, are you kidding me?

Now sure, he had a great rookie season, its easy in hindsight to say the Cavs should have taken him now, but they didn't, so stop whining.
May 4, 2010 4:57pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

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6,844 posts
May 4, 2010 4:59 PM
You are a moron.

First off, the Cavs might not get by the Celtics, so Shaq guarding Howard isn't even in the conversation.

Secondly, that's the most overrated argument in the NBA, that Shaq was brought in to guard Howard. First off, he would only be effective in drawing fouls on Howard. Secondly, Howard isn't even a low post threat, he lives off of rebounding and finishing around the rim and running the floor, all of which Shaq wouldn't be able to contain. Shaq guarding Howard is more of a disaster than Lebron guarding Howard. The Magic will eat up Shaq running their pick and roll with Howard.

Go take some pictures of some OSU athletes and post them for me.
May 4, 2010 4:59pm
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
May 4, 2010 5:07 PM
Dynasty, you brought up a point not even relevant to what you consider an argument but most would consider a one sided affair (the OSU comment) which is normally a sign someone's given up and is clearly wrong.

If you don't think we brought in Shaq to neutralize Howard then you CLEARLY didn't watch the Magic/Cavs series last year or the regular season series this year. That was the sole purpose for bringing in Shaq. Shaq did a phenomenal, for the most part, job in guarding Hoawrd throughout the season series.


I'll ask one more time, hoping that maybe you'll answer this, if not I'll know you can't:

What other "offensive threat" is averagine 3.8 pts per game in the postseason.


Thank you, come again.
May 4, 2010 5:07pm
jordo212000's avatar

jordo212000

Senior Member

10,664 posts
May 4, 2010 6:15 PM
I am not really taking a side here, but you really shouldn't use a 7 game sample size to determine how good of an offensive player is. You'd think you would look at the 82 game regular season.
May 4, 2010 6:15pm
BRF's avatar

BRF

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8,748 posts
May 4, 2010 7:12 PM
lhslep134 wrote:

If you don't think we brought in Shaq to neutralize Howard then you CLEARLY didn't watch the Magic/Cavs series last year or the regular season series this year. That was the sole purpose for bringing in Shaq. Shaq did a phenomenal, for the most part, job in guarding Hoawrd throughout the season series.


Amen. I have posted this before, but you, ihslep134, did a better job than I in stating it (I can even ignore the typo on "Howard", because I know you were fired up when you typed it! ;-) )

I have this vision in my head of last year, when the Magic cleared out leaving Howard all alone with Z "near by". 'Nuff said on that.

What we have now will challenge and PUNISH that sort of stuff.

[size=xx-small]I know that you, Footwedge, will disagree with all I've said but take it from an old[/size] guy! ha ha!
May 4, 2010 7:12pm
F

Footwedge

Senior Member

9,265 posts
May 4, 2010 7:23 PM
BRF wrote:
lhslep134 wrote:

If you don't think we brought in Shaq to neutralize Howard then you CLEARLY didn't watch the Magic/Cavs series last year or the regular season series this year. That was the sole purpose for bringing in Shaq. Shaq did a phenomenal, for the most part, job in guarding Hoawrd throughout the season series.


Amen. I have posted this before, but you, ihslep134, did a better job than I in stating it (I can even ignore the typo on "Howard", because I know you were fired up when you typed it! ;-) )

I have this vision in my head of last year, when the Magic cleared out leaving Howard all alone with Z "near by". 'Nuff said on that.

What we have now will challenge and PUNISH that sort of stuff.

[size=xx-small]I know that you, Footwedge, will disagree with all I've said but take it from an old[/size] guy! ha ha!
BRF...I don't disagree that that was the thinking in bringing in Shaq. The problem is that Shaq has gone over the hill, and as such, Howard will eat Shaq's lunch.

We can beat the Magic...but need to use plan B in doing so.

If Shaq stinks against Noah...and stinks against Garnett (both ends of the floor), how is Shaq gonna do any good against the best center in the league?
May 4, 2010 7:23pm