Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade sign with the Miami Heat
2010-07-07
So Bosh decided on Miami, and Wade decided to stick around because of it. Not a bad choice for Bosh at all. He gets the money he wanted, he gets to live in Miami, and he gets to play with Wade. Not the most loyal move he could have made, and not the best basketball choice for him. (I think Cleveland, Chicago, or even Houston have better all-around rosters.)
The Heat have one great player, one very, very, very good player, a great city to play in, and some cap room. The motivations for Bosh’s decision would be essentially the same reasons LeBron would decide to sign in New York, with the caveat being that Miami actually has draft picks.
Judging by the timing of these signings and LeBron’s ESPN announcement, it looks like LeBron made his decision based on what Wade and Bosh did. As of right now, LeBron’s options are:
-Suck it up, take the extra cash, and try to make it work without another superstar in Cleveland.
-Go to Chicago and be part of a Rose/?/LBJ/Boozer/Noah team. Not a super-team, but a darn good one.
-Go to Miami, possibly taking a pay cut, and do the trio of doom thing. Might take a year or two for the team’s roster to fill out, though.
-Say “screw it,” join Amar’e on the Knicks, run some great pick-and-rolls, make a lot of money, possibly become the A-Rod of basketball, win relatively few playoff games.
-Go to the Nets, for some reason.
-Pretend the Clippers’ front office doesn’t exist, join their team.
Right now, I think it’ll be Miami or Cleveland, and neither one is really an ideal option for LeBron. Sigh. I guess we’ll all have to wait and see what happens.
Hey Daniel – let me know know when ESPN changes its name from ESPN to LEBRONSPN. Same principle jackass.
John Krolik,
Consider reading this post (http://robbieomalley.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/lebrons-lechoices)
Here is what the author states,
“If I were LeBron (and all I considered was the roster of the team) my list would go in this order – Chicago, New Jersey, Miami, Cleveland, and then New York. With Chicago signing Boozer and Miami building the team they can, I don’t think LeBron can afford to choose New York. He just won’t be able to compete for a championship. Cleveland is okay but they need to make changes.”
Interesting recent blog entries. Call me when you plan to admit your regrets naming this blog “Cavs: The Blog” instead of “LeBron: The Blog.”
Or simply “The LeBlog.” Not too late to change to it.
I don’t like the Cavs and I despise Lebron but I am pulling for you Cleveland & fans. Nobody deserves to be put through this amount of turmoil over what basically comes down to a job search. I truly hope you get your happy ending (but then lose to the Lakers in the finals :) )
How about this theory…
Alright, you know how Melo is probably going to take his extension because the different CBA next summer and much lower cap? Let’s say we are able to swing for the fences and actually pry Paul from NOLA (I know, super slim chance, but 0.5% is still more than 0%)… I’m willing to bet he’d immediately sign an extension for us considering his manlove with Scott and the extra money over the long term of the deal (again, since max contracts will probably be quite lower next season).
LeBron is clearly egomaniacal, but is he evil? Would he do us like that on national tv?
But allows me to insult myself. Evil genius.
The comment monster knows I am stupid and refuses to let the idiot speak.
One last hopeful thought. IF he announces he is staying, it will be the closest thing to a championship celebration that Cleveland has had in a while. If that is his intention, then all the buildup and secrecy will be worth it, in my opinion. it wouldn’t be at all the same if he re-signed quietly.
Not sure if the national media would run with it, but I do think there is no greater accomplishment in US sports right now than to win a championship for Cleveland. And basketball is the one sport (maybe football if a quarterback) when one player can take so much of the credit for that accomplishment. However, I am kind of annoyed by the focus on championships, this idea that LeBron’s career is worthless unless he wins multiple titles. There are many many incredible players who never win a championship because they weren’t in the right place at the right time.… Read more »
apparently jared dudley and jay williams both said on twitter that their sources say lebron to new york.
anyway, going to miami is too risky for james in a lot of ways. can they actually win against boston and orlando during the 2010-2011 season? can they win against lakers in the next three years? will they be better than oklahoma led by an emerging superstar kevin durant in the next few years? what if other young superstars/stars decide to follow their lead and create their own super-teams (paul, melo, dwight, durant, etc)? will other superstars want to join lbj-bosh-wade in miami, or would they join dwight in orlando, or the lakers with it being the lakers, or chicago,… Read more »
Also I keep hearing Eyenga is running with Lebron at his camp any word on how he looks or if we will see him in uniform this season? Maybe he could be the #2 we need?
It amazes me how half the season the media hated the Cavs and then when they had the best record by far they jumped on the bandwagon and they were gonna win it all. Then the met up with Boston at their absolute best (look what they did to Orlando those first 3 games nobody mentions that) and they sucked again. Now the media says the supporting cast sucks he needs another star. I still say all that team needed was a coach and another point guard. I think Telfair could fill the role of an athletic pg we need,… Read more »
Wow… us Clevelanders are a pessimistic bunch… haha…. It seems pretty certain to me that LeBron is staying… The Cavs would have won it all this year had Le elbow not gone haywire, and the Celtics not been resurrected from the dead for a few weeks… Get Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller, and this team will have a much better roster then the other suitors.
9 P.M…. the countdown continues
the problem with the cavs is that even with lebron they have very little chance outside of lightning in a bottle late in the draft to improve drastically. Very few big name players would take less to play in cleveland.
I agree with Pepito. Wade has the potential to be the best player every year but his high-impact theatrics put him at high risk for injury. Although being able to defer to some all-stars around him will probably make him a little less chaotic.
@TR for a game, probably Miami wins. But for a season? With no other decent players, it’s highly probable Dwyane gets injured (has history). Then Cavs w/ Lebron beats Miami w/ Bosh and Lebron in a seven game series.
Agree with pepito but I think the question for LeBron is whether Cavs w/ LeBron beats Miami w/ Wade, Bosh AND LeBron.
short comment. cavs + lebron beats miami with dwyane and bosh at least for 2010 – 2011 season.
Denny…. I agree with some of your sentiments. Note that I didn’t say we had a BETTER roster than NYC and Miami. I said it was comparable. I agree my Hickson comment was a bit “homerish” but even if we scale that back, I think its reasonable to argue that the depth of the Cavs roster, and its experience and chemistry with LeBron, make it comparable to Miami and NYC rosters that have 1 or 2 pieces, but nothing else. Championships are built with both superstars AND role players, chemistry experience, etc…. I think sometimes the latter are underrated in… Read more »
In the event Lebron leaves, I hope someone is organizing a viewing party in the St. V-St. M. gymnasium for local orphans in Lebron Cavs jerseys so that the last 50 minutes of the broadcast can be filled with reaction shots.
I think at this point we have to hope that Lebron stays out of loyalty or comfort or sense of duty or unfinished business or whatever. It is hard to seriously argue that Cleveland is the best basketball destination, especially after the Boozer move. That said, it isn’t so crazy to think he will stay for one of those reasons. Other players do it all the time and no one second guesses it. I am not particularly optimistic that he will stay but no one really knows what his priorities really are.
the problem with the Cavs situation is the team is already built. they can’t do much to change it. At least in Miami, NY, and even Jersey those teams can customize to whatever players they bring in.
Chicago is already built as well and pretty good, but since their ownership and never gone over the luxury tax I would imagine that history alone takes them out of the running.
denny…in the past…other teams did trades for the likes of larry hughes, damon jones, donyell marshall and sasha pavlovich and even drew gooden…that was when our team was decent and not like it was the past two years…you are being very pessimistic…we arent overrating our team…our team was deep last year and was talented enough to win it all… we’ll still be a decent team next year without lebron but wont be as great….no one knows how this team will play without lebron being around…you cant compare when he’s on the bench because he’s always there…it’ll be interesting…. jj hickson… Read more »
Or could it be that nobody else in the league wants Cleveland to keep LeBron AND get another piece due to their fear of being dominated? And to say no one is willing to trade with us is a lie. Toronto was willing. And teams have been trading with the Cavs every year. Good point though outside of the facts!
I think you’re underestimating the possibility of the Bulls move. Sure, the Miami option would be great for him, but I can’t see Wade or Bosh taking the pay cut. Wade deserves it enough and Bosh is sure enough that he actually does that neither of them will, and of course Lebron wouldn’t. Sure, he would want the best chance at a championship, but I don’t think he’d take that large of a pay cut with no guarantee of a championship. If your assumption is that Lebron would rather win than go for the max money possible, Cleveland doesn’t look… Read more »
@Bryan – Really? REALLY?! I want Lebron to stay as much as the next guy, and agree that both NY and Miami are lacking in depth, but to say that we’re worlds better off roster-wise by pointing out that somehow JJ HICKSON is going to be 90% of an amare or bosh in a year or two … is utterly ridiculous. It’s emblematic of the bitter denial thats all to prevalent around these parts. I hate to break it to you, but JJ Hickson will never be 90% of an Olympic gold medalist perennial all star big man. And that’s… Read more »
Why would the Cavs trying to pull off something big be a panic move? We’ve known all offseason that they were going to try something big, why does this all of a suddenly mean he’s leaving? Its like the people freaking out about his announcement… we knew it was coming to this (not literally, of course, but it was going to be made into a big deal).
Everyone, relax.
Don’t be mad Jimmy.
I post too much nonsense. I should take a break and let other people voice their opinions
meant to say:
“why would he plan a 1-hour special to embarass everyone in his hometown?
still think cavs have a comparable roster to NY and Miami. no second banana, but much more depth, and much more compatibility with james overall. also, amare and bosh are both a bit overrated. i am not convinced hickson can’t reach 80-90% of their productivity in a year or two. to me, chicago adding boozer seems to be the best overall roster now.
i still think he stays with cavs. why would plan an 1 special to embarrass everyone in his home town?
Henry Abbot was retarded long before this whole thing happened.
I’m more nervous now than ever. The fact the Cavs are trying something big (of course, reghi is generally wrong, so who knows) tells me they think he’s leaving..and they haven’t thought that all alone.
I’ve reached this conclusion..if he leaves, I want him to go to New York. That way, we can point and laugh as he fails for the next three years (it will be a 3 year deal) and then they get to go through this too. That would be oh so satisfying.
This has been the most insane day of rumors yet. My god help us all. It went from Miami, to New York, to Chicago, to New York, now back to Miami….in one day.
Apparently, LeBron has a new shipping adress in Chicago, was talking to Bosh and wade on the phone, and eating dinner with Amare and Alan Houston in New York!!!HE’S SIGNING WITH THREE TEAMS EVERYONE!!!
BTW (one more though, I’m starting to feel like Rich), really Henry Abbott?
It has been well reported that Wade, James and Bosh have talked extensively about this, and it’s interesting that Wade doesn’t say anything about being happy to let James go elsewhere. He leaves the door wide open. It’s impossible to think James has told them he will go elsewhere.
I really hope that “impossible” was a typo. I mean, isn’t it possible that Wade just doesn’t want to blow up his friends spot? This whole thing is making people retarded.
Thanks Colin, for some reason I thought there was an exception to that rule with a sign-and-trade, but I was mistaken.
Ben, I agree. I’m not going to read into location too much. It just seems stupid that he would try to find some weird common ground between secrecy and proximity to the city he’s signing in…especially considering how secretive he’s been about it so far.
Good call, Colin (assuming Broussard is actually right this time). I figured it was logistics but I didn’t think of wedding season.
Broussard is reporting that Melo’s wedding is in Connecticut this weekend, close to Greenwich. LeBron is attending the wedding, hence the reason he is announcing there.
Take it with a grain of salt though… as you should with ANYTHING being reported.
I don’t think the media has ever been this clueless. Usually *something* leaks beforehand. At this point, we’ve got nothing but speculation. Still amazes me…
The other thread’s probably dead by now, so I’ll add this non-sequitor here.
Re: “The Decision” location tomorrow. Isn’t it possible they opted for Greenwich because its essentially between Bristol (i.e., ESPN headquarters) and New York where he’d be flying into?
I’m guessing for a last-second hour long TV special that logistics were a bigger consideration than any calculated hat tip to his chosen city.
Yeah, my comments section is the Bermuda Triangle. No idea why. Long comments seem to trigger something, so copy before you post and maybe break it up if you’re planning on posting a treatise.
@James:
If another team were to sign Lee, they CANNOT trade him until December 15th.
You’re not alone roger. Krolik, do you have any idea what may be causing comments to disappear in the internet? Is it random or like an over sensitive spam filter or something?
Is it just me or does this site eat half of your comments?
the knicks would sign and trade lee to you for lebron LOL!
If he screws us like that then good riddance and all the easier to hate him. I’ve pretty consistently thought he’d stay, but it’s all just so uncle nutsy’s clubhouse these days.
if LeBron leaves, which is looking like the case, that hour will be spent saying goodbye to Cleveland. As a post above said, he’s probably super bummed that everyone in Cleveland/Akron is gonna hate him for leaving the Cavs. He will announce he’s leaving, for Chicago, Miami or NY and then spend the next 55 minutes talking about his fond memories of Cleveland thanking the fans for all their support, trying to look like as good guy by ditching the Cavs.
I believe another team w/ cap space could sign-and-trade Lee to Cleveland, if I’m not mistaken. I’m just not sure that helps Cleveland a whole lot. Options are looking thin at the moment.
Oh no someone other than Wes brought up morrow. He’s not better than mike miller.
what Lebron has always wanted to do is go to NY. He feels extremely guilty, which might prevent him from going, because he’s bummed that everyone will hate him from where he’s from. and people put these expectations on him that are not his priority; one of which is winning on a Kobe and Jordan level – which is not who he is; or to be utterly loyal to his hometown – which is not his responsibiliy (the luck of ping pong balls 7 years ago dropped that on him.) Guilt may win out, and if that’s the case, I… Read more »
Anthony Morrow is a PERFECT fit to play with LBJ. He has length, great shooter, efficient scorer and doesn’t need the basketball in his hands. I’ve been clamoring for Morrow since the Celtics series. I’d take him every day over Miller for our MLE. Our big man issues are problematic though. Haywood plays defense and gets boards, but let’s be honest he isn’t locking down Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum. Not to mention we’d still have 0 frontcourt scoring that way. Al Jefferson would be a very nice get but he’s a PF and what would it cost us? I’d… Read more »
calling cp3 for the hail mary
It’s nice to see that some of us are maintaining optimism. :-)
Rumors abound that the Cavs are working on a big, eleventh hour acquisition that would definitely keep LeBron in CLE. Even if they don’t pull this one off, they’ve done everything they can to show LeBron that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win (something none of the other teams currently courting LeBron can say). That, coupled with an extra $30 million should make the Cavs extremely attractive to their franchise player.
Yeah, you can forget David Lee. Only way he ends up here is if NY S&T’s him to us, and the Knicks fans would riot if that happened.
You don’t spend two years tanking for LeBron, only to send your team’s only good player to the Cavs helping him stay. That would be the single dumbest move of all time… if only Isiah were still the GM there…
This ship is sinking and mighty fast. Forgive my cynicism. Cavs lookin like they’ll roll snake eyes while all these other teams are reaping the benefits of mediocrity. And all we can do is watch it happen.
Get Al Jefferson super cheap, add Anthony Morrow —-> Booyeah
David Lee would probably do the trick, but wouldn’t the Knicks have to help us make that happen? Why would they do that when they feel like they are still in the hunt for Lebron?
With Boozer going to Chicago, I keep hoping that Cavs mgt. will pull something out of the air to entice LeBron to stay. David Lee seems like the only hope? I’m not sure what/who else is out there. This was a 60+ win team two years in a row with the current roster. The Cavs aren’t that far off. I now think the Bulls have really improved from last year with thier own version of ‘big 3’ of Boozer/Noah/Rose, but the Celts, Magic still seem like the favorites – unless LBJ goes to the Bulls.
Doug, I totally agree. I don’t know if the Cavs front office screwed the pooch or if Cleveland really is that unattractive to outsiders, but this team has fallen way behind in the talent race now.
I am not feeling very optimistic with all these new developments. It really looks like the Cavs are about the 4th best option right now. In fact if he does stay, he’s a better man than me. I don’t know if I could do it in his position.