Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Seriously?? This past year's 'key components' were homegrown?? Their best 4 players were bought errr signed via free agency in AFraud, Texiera, CC & Burnett - without them, they are not world Series champs period! I'll give you that they have had some great homegrown talent the past decade+ in Jeter, Rivera, Pettite, Cano & Posada to name a few...but to say that the 'cores' of their teams that won championships were homegrown is laughable. 96 World Series MVP was John Wetteland (from the Expos) and outside of Pettite, their other 4 starters were Jimmy Key, David Cone, Kenny Rogers & Doc Gooden - all free agent signees! The only key homegrown contributors that season hitting were Jeter & Bernie Williams. Leading RBI guy - Tino Martinez (free agent signee from Seattle) and 2 of their other leading hitters/fielders were Wade Boggs & Paul O'Neill - again, free agent signees!!
While no team can "buy" championships, it sure helps when you can afford to pay for mistakes you make drafting by buying the top-notch free agents and almost assure yourself of at least getting to the post-season every year.
This is why baseball went from my favorite sport growing up in the 90s were I literally would watch almost every game, to where I watch maybe a game or two a season now and have lost virtually all interest, b/c the playing field is not fair. The Indians, Pirates, Royals among other small market teams have no chance of competing year-in & year-out w/the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers of the MLB. Sure, the Indians had their nice run in the mid to late-90s and then again in 2007, but look at that squad in 2007, almost all of the key contributors are gone b/c the Indians knew they couldn't afford to keep them w/the deep pockets of the Yankees & Red Sox out there.
This is also one major advantage the NBA has over the MLB, it's an even playing field. If we were talking about whether Lebron was staying w/the Indians or going to the Yankees or Mets, there'd be no doubt in my mind he'd be gone. But the fact that the Cavaliers can pay him the most money of any team due to the salary cap rules, along w/the fact that the Cavaliers are one of the top 4 teams in the league 3 seasons running, while I'm still concerned he might bolt for a bigger market, I have a much higher confidence that he'll re-sign with Cleveland.
Enough about baseball though, this is the basketball forum !
By the way if you check the whole team,this is who is homegrown: Cano, Jeter, Posada, Cervelli, Melky, Gardner, Pettitte, Hughes, Joba, Mariano, Robertson, Aceves, Coke, Melancon, Edwar Ramirez, Ramiro Pena, and i'm sure i'm forgetting more guys that were on this past years team.
1) Most <> all contracts. If they can move Curry then that helps them a lot...but they have almost 20million of dead weight still. This would mean that yeah, they can sign Lebron BUT (and he would know this) they'd be short the funds to really pack a lot more free agent talent around him. The fact the cap space didn't go up REALLY hurts a deeper pocket team like the Knicks.
2) Yes, there are a ton of fair weather fans...on that I agree.
3) The NY Knicks and their fans have been delusional for well over a decade about how everyone would want to play there and that so and so free agent would turn things around. Much like a crack addict they've escaped their current misery with hallucinations of Lebron (or others before him) coming to save them from their current sad state.
Don't you remember the Kobe to the Knicks stuff back in 2007?
I remember the Kobe thing but that's apples and oranges.Why would Kobe leave from one of the top 2 markets to go to the other one? He was already on a well established team.Lebron is on a "SMALL MARKET" team. Notice the difference! By the way,Bosh is laughing because he would only go to the Knicks if a Lebron was there because he alone couldn't make the difference that a Lebron could.
Personally I wish Lebron would sign long term with Cleveland or another small market team then showing how much of a media whor- he really is.
And kiss any chance of ever winning a title goodbye LeBron!
FWIW, I'm a NE Ohio guy and I think he's leaving. Nike, ESPN, David Stern,ect... are working right now on getting him out of Ohio. If it comes down to it and LeBron is leaning towards staying I think Stern and company make him an "offer he can't refuse" ie, you MUST leave Cleveland. Am I accusing of the media, the NBA and his sponsors of basically cheating? You bet I am.
It's a real shame because I think some of the stuff I see on ESPN is blatant tampering but really what can Dan Gilbert and the Cavs do?
My final prediction? He leaves for NYC this summer and we lose the Cavs within 5 years (followed by the Indians).
If he does leave it will be a shame but you bounced back from the Daugherty,Nance,Price years when they left and retired too.
By the way if you check the whole team,this is who is homegrown: Cano, Jeter, Posada, Cervelli, Melky, Gardner, Pettitte, Hughes, Joba, Mariano, Robertson, Aceves, Coke, Melancon, Edwar Ramirez, Ramiro Pena, and i'm sure i'm forgetting more guys that were on this past years team.
Nice players that would make up a good team, but again, they do NOT win the world series w/out CC, Texeria, Afraud and Burnett - see 2007 & 2008 when they only had Afraud of those 4 and didn't even make the World Series either season. And I showed you the 96' team that the majority of their core players were not homegrown - 4 of their starting 5 pitchers were free agents! And the W.S. MVP was John Wetteland who they signed away from the Expos.
Also, the Cavaliers CAN offer Lebron 1 more season & up to $20-25 million more over the span of that contract than any other team b/c of salary cap rules. So, it's not going to be b/c of a better basketball contract if he decides to leave Cleveland.
If he does leave it will be a shame but you bounced back from the Daugherty,Nance,Price years when they left and retired too.
Only bounced back b/c they got Lebron though, remember from 93-03 they made the playoffs I think twice and didn't get out of the 1st round either time. While they had some nice players during that time like T. Brandon, Shawn Kemp & Andre Miller, the teams for the most part weren't very fun to watch, and a couple were downright awful.
If he leaves, and it's hard to think about this, but they probably are looking at being 7th-10th in the Eastern conference as they still would have Mo Williams, D. West, Varajeo, Hickson, Gibson & Parker as a decent core, and hopefully they would be able to at least get an all-star level player and some other role players with the open cap space that LBJ leaving would create (not to mention they will have Z & Shaq's contracts coming off the cap space at the end of the season as well).
I remember the Kobe thing but that's apples and oranges.Why would Kobe leave from one of the top 2 markets to go to the other one? He was already on a well established team.Lebron is on a "SMALL MARKET" team. Notice the difference! By the way,Bosh is laughing because he would only go to the Knicks if a Lebron was there because he alone couldn't make the difference that a Lebron could.
Personally I wish Lebron would sign long term with Cleveland or another small market team then showing how much of a media whor- he really is.
The Kobe rumors were going on back when the Lakers' picked up Gasol etc. and were still struggling. I'm only bringing this up because some people seem to think that guys are just beating down the door to go play for the Knicks because "it's a big market". Well, you get a LOT more attention making the playoffs and winning championships than you do struggling....and ii think the "big market" stuff is way overblown.
With the internet and the global nature of things it's just not about being in a "big market" anymore, it isn't the 1970's. If Michael Jordan came back today at age 25 and had a pro team in a 500 person village in Alaska that ripped off 6 championships, he'd still be all over the commercials etc.
I personally think that Lebron wants to WIN and get attention that way and that there are plenty of "big enough" markets out there without having to take a huge chance on the poorly run Knicks organization.
Lebron on the Knicks and mediocrity gets far less attention than say....Lebron on the Magic winning a championship.
If he does leave it will be a shame but you bounced back from the Daugherty,Nance,Price years when they left and retired too.
It only took about 10 years!
Seriously, LeBron pretty much single handidly saved the franchise. Had the Cavs not lucked out in the lottery and gotten that first pick which enabled them to take LeBron I doubt the Cavs would still be in Cleveland.
There was ZERO fan interest during the post Price/Daugherty/pre LeBron era.
The only Cleveland sports franchise that is always guarunteed fan interest is the Browns. They will always sell out. Fans will always follow them no matter how poorly they do.
The Indians and Cavs are another story. People are sick of the Indians refusing (or not being able) to pay enough to keep our home grown All Stars. Attendance is in the toilet which in turn lowers payroll even more. The Indians are in trouble IMO and if the Cavs lose LeBron they will be in trouble too. It wouldn't shock me to see both teams leave within 10 years.
And kiss any chance of ever winning a title goodbye LeBron!
FWIW, I'm a NE Ohio guy and I think he's leaving. Nike, ESPN, David Stern,ect... are working right now on getting him out of Ohio. If it comes down to it and LeBron is leaning towards staying I think Stern and company make him an "offer he can't refuse" ie, you MUST leave Cleveland. Am I accusing of the media, the NBA and his sponsors of basically cheating? You bet I am.
It's a real shame because I think some of the stuff I see on ESPN is blatant tampering but really what can Dan Gilbert and the Cavs do?
My final prediction? He leaves for NYC this summer and we lose the Cavs within 5 years (followed by the Indians).
Are you f**king on crack? Cavs and the Indians leaving town? not going ot happen in 10 trillion years.
Here is one thing that you need to realize about LeBron, he is an athlete. Athletes are all about every last red cent. Like was stated above, the Cavs can pay him $20 some million more than any other team. He is staying here for that reason alone. DWade isn't going anywhere either for the same reason. Bosh will probably be 50-50, but he will probably stay in Toronto because they will be able to pay more than anyone else.
This has happened time and time again, and the athlete chooses the most money, EVERY SINGLE MFing TIME.
You people who honestly believe that is going to any other team than the Cavs next year must also believe that Kim Jong Il hit 11 holes of one in one round of golf. Also the word 'gullible' cannot be found anywhere in the dictionary, it just isn't there!
Are you f**king on crack? Cavs and the Indians leaving town? not going ot happen in 10 trillion years.
Here is one thing that you need to realize about LeBron, he is an athlete. Athletes are all about every last red cent. Like was stated above, the Cavs can pay him $20 some million more than any other team. He is staying here for that reason alone. DWade isn't going anywhere either for the same reason. Bosh will probably be 50-50, but he will probably stay in Toronto because they will be able to pay more than anyone else.
This has happened time and time again, and the athlete chooses the most money, EVERY SINGLE MFing TIME.
You people who honestly believe that is going to any other team than the Cavs next year must also believe that Kim Jong Il hit 11 holes of one in one round of golf. Also the word 'gullible' cannot be found anywhere in the dictionary, it just isn't there!
David Stern, Nike, ESPN and all his other investors are gonna tamper and steal him. I have never in my lifetime seen the media basically campaign for an athlete to leave his team like they are doing with LeBron. I don't want it to happen but I have a feeling it will.
I know the Cavs can pay him more than any other team in the NBA but what is to stop Nike from slipping him $100 mill for leaving? What is to stop ESPN or David Stern and the NBA from doing the same? Look at the current coverage of the NBA. The Cavs are probably the best team in the NBA and are basically dismissed as an also ran. No respect. Sure LEBRON gets coverage but any talk about the rest of the team is how awful they are.
Being fair, this kind of crap would happen if LeBron was in Milwaukee or Portland or Oklahoma City as well. Stern ain't gonna rest until NYC has a star.
We are gonna get screwed and frankly I hope everyone in Ohio boycotts the NBA forever if it happens.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
!
