I Heard it through the Grapevine
People say believe half of what you see, son, and none of what you hear – Marvin Gaye
Those words are true when applied to all the hot air that has been spewed over the past few weeks concerning LeBron James and free agency. The latest in a long line of nonsense comes from Chris Broussard at ESPN:
“A modified version of the ballyhooed free-agent summit that was initially suggested and then downplayed by Dwyane Wade has indeed taken place, ESPN.com has learned.
“Sources close to the situation said Monday night that three of the biggest names in basketvball – Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James – met over the weekend in Miami to seriously discuss their futures, with a focus on the increasingly plausible possibility of those three teaming up with Wade’s Heat.”
Ooh, I bet you’re wondering how I knew about your plans to make me blue.
Wow, a plausible possibility. Pretty strong stuff. Of course, who could this mystery source be? The barber at the corner shop? The waiter who delivered room service to the summit? We don’t know.
But, we do know who the source is not: Chicago-based agent Henry Thomas, who represents both Wade and Bosh.
“Dwyane was here in Chicago over the weekend and did not meet with LeBron and Chris in Miami,” Thomas said in published reports. “Have these guys talked about their futures with one another? Absolutely, and I am sure they will talk again. However, this report of a summit over the weekend in Miami involving Dwyane is untrue. He was here in Chicago with his kids and when he left town on Sunday, he was not headed back to Miami.”
So the big free-agent summit that the mainstream media wants to occur so badly, like LeBron’s “Summer of Me Tour,” is all a myth.
ESPN also reported that unless Miami trades away former No. 2 overall pick Michael Beasley to a team with salary-cap space, so it can avoid taking salary back, the Heat can’t offer the estimated 2010-11 maximum salary of $16.5 million to all three Team USA stars.
Broussard, of course, doesn’t want to let the facts get in the way of his story. He went on air today to explain that, to make the deal work, one of three will have to take less money to sign with the Heat, especially since Wade has gone on the record as saying he won’t take a penny less than the max. He concluded that LeBron will take less money since he makes more in endorsements than Bosh and Wade combined.
I can’t help bein’ confused, if it’s true please tell me dear
Let’s think about that for a moment: no top-flight free agent has switched teams since Shaq left Orlando for Los Angeles. No free agent has ever left money on the table.
But somehow, LeBron, the two-time MVP and the most sought-after, talked-about free agent in sports history will be willing to do both so he can go play with Bosh and Wade?
Why isn’t it just as plausible that James and Bosh have agreed to work out a deal for Bosh to join James in Cleveland? Because the mainstream media, led by Adrian Wojnarowski and ESPN, doesn’t want LeBron in Cleveland and shudder at the thought of all their predictions and “confirmations” of James leaving town turning out to be false.
Here are a few more thoughts on the subject, from Cleveland Frowns and Waiting For Next Year.
Only 27 hours to go until the start of free agency.
Red Right 88 