Cavs Headed to Finals??

The Cleveland Cavaliers improved their chances of getting to the NBA Finals by getting Washington Wizards forward Antawn Jamison in a three-team deal. The traded center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and a first-round pick to Washington. The Wizards sent newly acquired forward Drew Gooden to Los Angeles Clippers while also getting back Al Thorton and Brian Skinner. The Clippers also are sending Sebastian Telfair to the Cavaliers. It appears the Cavaliers move is a gesture showing soon-to-be free agent LeBron James a commitment to winning. Now they can counter Rashard Lewis. The Cavs had no answer for Lewis last postseason in losing the East title to the Magic. Among other things, Jamison lightens LeBron James’ workload and provides offense that Anderson Varejao doesn’t. This does not give them an automatic pass through the East and on to the Finals to face Kobe and the Lakers. Although the Magic don’t seem to quite have the mojo they did at this time last season, they certainly aren’t intimidated by the Cavs of LeBron and Shaq. The Cavaliers wound up with a great deal, losing only Zydrunas Ilgauskas and the lowest of first-round picks. So how was Cleveland was able to keep J.J. Hickson? All along, the potential deal had been Stoudemire for Ilgauskas, Hickson, Danny Green and that likely No. 30 pick. But Cleveland took Hickson out of the negotiation today and Phoenix folded on it and does not expect to make a deal. The other most likely candidate for a Stoudemire trade was Miami because of the Heat's interest in him but the Heat have not put together any offer that comes close to enticing the Suns. A third team would likely need to be involved. He again did not say that he would prefer to stay with the team but emphasized how hard he would continue to play for his teammates if he is not traded.

Missing Piece?

It appears the Cleveland Cavaliers will do something before Thursday's trade deadline. That move could possibly involve Amare Stoudemire or Antawn Jamison, two major moves that could give the Cavs all they need for a championship run. Could any of those moves force the Cavs' rival, the Boston Celtics, to make a counter move by adding another player? It's possible the Celtics will try to add Kirk Hinrich or D.J. Augustin. Or the Celtics may not do anything at all. The C's probably won't do anything though. The Heat are primarily competing against the Cleveland Cavaliers to broker a deal with the Suns' NBA All-Star. The Heat have first-round draft picks and forward Michael Beasley, both of which might attract the Sun towards making a deal with Miami. It will be very interesting to see how things go down the next two days. As of right now though the NBA Champs are looking at The Cavaliers reportedly want to make an upgrade at power forward, either by acquiring Amar’e Stoudemire from Phoenix, Antawn Jamison from Washington or Troy Murphy from Indiana. If they get that player there is no reason why they should not win and win easy.

All-Decade Defense Team (NBA)

Time for the edition of the NBA All-Team of the Decade. There was a few disputes for the guards but the forwards and the center was hands down. Let me get straight to it:


PG

• Steve Nash (There was a dispute between him and Kidd but back-to-back MVP awards and in 04-05 he averaged a double-double, enough said. I know Kidd has the rings but the only PG in history to have back to back MVPs is Magic Johnson)
• Jason Kidd (Kidd's best years of the decade came in his first few seasons with the Nets. Kidd led the Nets to 2 NBA Finals appearances)

SG

• Kobe Bryant (By far the easiest choice for SG. He has been hands down the premier scoring guard of the last decade. Kobe has reached the playoffs in 9 of the 10 seasons of the decade, reaching the NBA Finals 6 times, and winning 4 NBA Championships.)
• Dwyane Wade (driving Miami to the 2006 championship and earning a ring before LeBron and Carmelo Anthony. Some even call him the East Coast version of Kobe. Whatever it is he has IT and may be better than Kobe if he gets the right people under him)

SF

• Lebron James (How could you not put this guy up there? By his fourth year he was in the NBA Finals. He's already on his way to being one of the all-time greats. I know I may get heat for not picking KG but who would you start your team behind?)
• Kevin Garnett (K.G. shook the label of being one of the greatest never to win a title when he joined the C's 2007-08. In Minnesota, he was 2004 league MVP and lead them to the playoffs 5x. No doubt Garnett will go down as one of the great defenders)

PF

• Tim Duncan (The greatest power forward in NBA history. Led the Spurs to the playoffs for all 10 years of the decade. Duncan brought the Spurs to 3 NBA Finals and winning all 3; two of those times he was the Finals MVP)
• Dirk Nowitzki (One of the best and most versatile 7-footers ever to play on the offensive end. Nowitzki led his Mavericks to the playoffs 9 seasons in the past decade and one Finals)

C

• Shaquille O'neal (To me he is the only one to give credit to. In this day and age a center is something that does not come around every draft. Dwight Howard maybe next or Yao but this decade it was Shaq. He won three titles with the Lakers and another after being traded to Miami. Shaq might be remembered as one of, if not the greatest center to ever play the game)

Few notable not named: Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Paul Pierce, Chauncy Billups

Nike Puppets

Well I am sure everybody knows that Nike is back at it with the puppets (if not I'll update tomorrow). This is the recent one from tonight. It has a Christmas edition to it:

Future Teammates Perhaps?

When Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about the possibility of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade playing on the same NBA team beginning in the 2010-11 season he said that it was fantasy basketball to wish that. But when the question was asked to Dwyane, there was a more optimistic outlook claiming it's something we've talked about," Wade said. "He's one of my good friends and we both decided at the same time to sign the same contract to give ourselves the ability to be able to control our own destiny. And if we want to, we could team up." The whole thing may be the point of view of each player regarding where he thinks he'll have the best opportunity to win championships. James might be satisfied that the Cavs and Wade might be dissatisfied with his evaluation of the Heat's potential. If it does happened my only question is who would get top billing? Would the Heat be a Wade-James or a James-Wade production?

You Get Both or None

Nate Robinson told Fanhouse.com he's willing to defend his dunk title during All-Star Weekend in February under one condition: LeBron James has to be competing. James has previously expressed interest in entering the contest for the first time this year. "If LeBron is in it, I am,'' the 5-foot-9 Robinson said. "If he's in it, I'm in it. But if he's not in it, I might not be in it.'' James has never participated in the dunk contest. However, last February, he hinted this might be the year he finally competes. Robinson hopes it's true. "Like I said, if LeBron is in, it's going to be that much better," he said. "If I'm in it and make it to the finals, (I'll) beat him. That's something I can always tell my kids." Shannon Brown, a former Cavs guard now playing for the Lakers, wants to take on James in this year's dunk contest on Feb. 13. Brown has recorded many spectacular dunks and is a worthy candidate. He might have beaten James in the 2003 McDonald's All-American dunk contest if not for twice missing a windmill attempt that ruined his total score. "I promise you, if I'm able to get in the dunk contest, it's going to be something special," Brown said.

Bron on the Show with Stewart

Sunday Convo w|LBJ

LeBron James ESPN Sunday Conversation With Rachel Nichols

Lebron Talks

Lebron talks about a few of the recent things in his life:

Terrible Offseason

LeBron James was having his own issues and hasn't gotten better. This has been an off summer for "The King"

• League's MVP and not bring home the title
• Storming off the court without congratulating the Magic
• He was seen wearing an "LBJ MVP" shirt [some found arrogant]
• His lack of a future commitment is killing the Cavs's free agent [ex. Artest|Ariza]
• Jordan Crawford dunking on him in his own camp [now Nike says it is returning videotapes]
• Admits he smoked marijuana during his junior year in high school [struggled with sudden fame]

I mean, dang 'Bron you better keep a low key until October rolls around.

ESPY Awards '09 [Spoiler Alert]

If you are going to miss parts of the ESPYs or just want to know who will win, here is the list:

Best Female Athlete: Nastia Liukin

Best Male Athlete: Michael Phelps

Best Moment: US Swim team rallies

Best Team: LA Lakers

Best Coach/Manager: Phil Jackson

Best Game: Super Bowl XLIII

Best Championship Performance: Michael Phelps

Best Play: Roethlisberger to Holmes

Best Upset: US Soccer shocks Spain

Best Breakthrough Athlete: Matt Ryan

Best Record Breaking Performance: Michael Phelps

Best Sports Movie: The Express

Best Male College Athlete: Tim Tebow

Best Female College Athlete: Maya Moore

Best Male Athlete with a Disability: Jason Lester

Best Female Athlete with a Disability: Erin Popovich

Best International Male Athlete: Usain Bolt

Best International Female Athlete: Lorena Ochoa

Best MLB Player: Albert Pujols

Best NBA Player: Lebron James

Best WNBA Player: Candace Parker

Best NFL Player: Larry Fitzgerald

Best NHL Player: Sidney Crosby

Kobe Takin Shots

Motto for Next Season

“My motto is very simple,” O’Neal said. “‘Win a Ring for the King.’” O’Neal was welcomed by a team that believes he can bring this title-thirsty region its first major pro sports crown in 45 years. O’Neal has no concerns about Ohio’s climate. His only focus is on warming James with a title. It’s LeBron’s team,” he said. “He’s the captain. This is the time in my career where I can fit in. I’m now in the security business. My job is to protect the King, and that’s what I’m here to do.” “I have a lot left,” he said. “There’s only four or five good centers in the league and I’m in that number. ... I’ve been in (the NBA) for 17 years, but I’ve missed three years because of injury. If you do the math, I’ve still got three years left. You got that?” Let's see if he holds true to what he says.

Shaq finally a Cav

Well I was just about to post how rumors was circulating that this deal would be done tonight [while i was sleep] or tomorrow sometime, instead it was just a few ago. This better mean NBA Championship for 'Bron & Co. The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached an agreement in principle to acquire Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal, a league source told Yahoo! Sports late Thursday night. Cleveland will send Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, the 46th pick in Thursday's draft and cash to the Suns for O'Neal. I hope Shaq is as effect as he was with the Suns.He averaged 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season.O'Neal had one year left on his contract with the Suns. The trade maybe finalized on Thursday. The Cavs and Suns have been talking about this swap for the last six months off and on and couldn't get it done ahead of February's trade deadline. Great trade for two reasons:it would give them the massive inside presence they have been lacking & if the Cavs don't win a championship [which they better] Shaq's contract will be up and the Cavs could get a big name free agents in 2010. Sounds like a win win situation to me.

Cleveland was also in talks to acquire Tyson Chandler before apparently reaching a deal with Phoenix.

Forbes

Forbes unveiled its list of the world’s highest-paid athletes in 2009. This of course is when you combine salary and endorsements together. The #1 athlete is Tiger Woods. He is banking 110 million. And even that's with the knee problems. Then in second you had Kobe and Michael Jordan . Lebron came in 6th [tied with Manny Pacquaio & Phil Mickelson] but he was ahead of Kevin Garnett. I did not know Kobe was banking up there with MJ. Wow!

Oh yeah, Kobe [4] Rings shirt is now on sale because it was so popular when Kobe was wearing it.

Lastest MV[Puppets]

Busy man

Wow! As busy as Lebron has been, you would think he just won the NBA Championship. Monday, Lebron and some friends visited the White House and were given a tour. Then Lebron went to see the premiere of his movie [More than a Game]. It is a documentary based off Lebron's high school team and their rise to champs. Yesterday, James and pop music star Rihanna celebrated the opening of the Carol's Daughter Hand & Foot Spa in New York. I mean, what is next for him? A trip to the moon?

You need MORE

We all know that the summer of '1o is supposedly called the summer of Lebron beacuse he is a free agent. The team that is dumping just about everybody for him is the New York Knicks. The great Michael Jordan spoke on the topic while he was golfing this weekend. He feels that New York fans would love to have him, but you need a lot more components than just one player. He feels that he should stay in Cleveland because he's done a heck of a job in Cleveland, they deserve to have him there, and he's from that area. So the picture above maybe the only picture you see of 'Bron in a NY jersey. 

Oh and for the NY fans thinking they can get D-Wade, Wade has said he will not sign with New York because of the weather.

Future Teammates...

A potential Suns trade that would send center Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland to help LeBron James' title quest is heating up again after the idea was killed back at the trade deadline. The trade consist of the Suns would send O'Neal to Cleveland for veteran power forward Ben Wallace, who is considering retirement, and reserve guard Sasha Pavlovic, whose final contract year is not fully guaranteed. This would help both teams since Steve Nash has said the team needs more-active big men. Nash had some difficulty incorporating O'Neal's post-up game after running a system based on his skills. Also this is a plus for the Suns because the trade could save the Suns $9.9 million or even more if Wallace wants a buyout. It makes since to the Cavs because getting O'Neal would counter Dwight Howard and the Magic, who took them out in the Finals. The Cavs should do it before Shaq's window close and he retires. 

Other options could be: The Clippers are expected to part with one of their three bigs because they will draft Oklahoma forward/center Blake Griffin with the No. 1 overall pick; Chris Kaman. Marcus Camby, a former Defensive Player of the Year, Zach Randolph. Then you have Rasheed Wallace, Charlie Villanueva, and Carlos Boozer. Just pick up anybody better than what you have now. 

Kobe vs Bron

After the Cavs lost, people thought that it was over. They were wrong it was just beginning. The Kobe-Bron commercials are still going strong and still funny. Nike said It really wasn't about Kobe versus LeBron in the Finals. They just thought both were being compared so much and both were having great seasons to start it. Some people even thought that maybe a Dwight Howard puppet was somewhere, not true. Dwight Howard is signed to Adidas so you might want to talk to them [although Howard did get his little Vitamin Water commercial]. So hurray for Nike and keep us laughing. 

Latest Nike [Kobe-Lebron Series]