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In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the category “Cleveland Cavaliers”

13 Jul 2010

How will we remember the LeBron Era?

With each passing day, the anguish over LeBron James’ decision to go to Miami slowly fades away. But how will the LeBron Era be remembered by Cleveland fans? And how will it compare to other post-1964 eras of Cleveland sports?

Before LeBron, the Cavs were just … there. After firing Lenny Wilkens and prior to drafting James, the team went through a succession of boring, dull coaches – Randy Wittman and Keith Smart anyone? – and even worse players (Trajan Langdon, Ricky Davis, etc.), playing in a downtown arena they didn’t need in front of mostly family and friends.

With LeBron, the Cavs were back on the NBA map with sellouts and national TV games. The team won two division titles, made it past the first round five consecutive years, was the top seed in the East two years in a row, went to two Eastern Conference finals and one NBA final, and had the best five-year record in franchise history.

Along the way their games became events; one of the best feelings was looking at the upcoming schedule on a Sunday morning and, seeing back-to-back games on Tuesday/Wednesday and another game on Friday, knowing the week was set. Watching this team – especially the past two years – has been so much fun.

I know some will argue that the Daugherty/Price/Nance Cavs of the late-’80s/early ’90s were better, but they never accomplished what LeBron’s Cavs did, not by a long shot. No division titles, one conference final, first-round playoff losses.

Not all of that was their fault, as injuries and Michael Jordan conspired against the team. It still hurts, almost 20 years later, to think about what might have been with that team.

Probably the closest to LeBron’s Cavs were the Indians of the mid- to late-90s. They captured the town’s fancy with an excitement level and star power equal to the Cavs and had just as much on-field success. Six division titles in seven years, three American League Championship Series and two World Series appearances.

Of course, they also lost to the Florida Marlins and were the only team to lose to Atlanta in a World Series, but they still hold a spot in many fans’ hearts.

The one team that the LeBron Era may never surpass in popularity is the late-’80s Browns. With four division titles in a five-year span and three losses in the AFC Championship Game, those teams still hold a firm grasp on Cleveland fans, many of whom probably still remember the lyrics to Bernie Bernie (“Bernie, Bernie. Oh, yeah! How you can throw! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah”)

As hard as it may be for some to believe, eventually we will be able to separate LeBron’s “decision” from the seven years he was on the court for the Cavs. And we will look back and remember when the Q was rocking and, for a short time, anything seemed possible in Cleveland.

Even a championship.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, End of an era, LeBron James | Leave a comment
12 Jul 2010

Odds & Ends

The more we think, read and talk about LeBron James’ decision to leave Cleveland for Miami, the more we wonder if we’re trying to make this into something bigger than it is.

Maybe this really is as simple as a 25-year-old basketball player wanting to play with his friends and hang out on the beach. He wouldn’t be the first to leave Cleveland in his mid-20s to take a job elsewhere, heck I did it after college. Of course, I didn’t have the option of staying here for more money.

There are two points that have come out over the past few days that shed a lot of light on his decision:

  • LeBron views Akron and Cleveland as two separate entities. W think he did enjoy playing 45 minutes north of where he grew up, but to him Akron is home; Cleveland was just where he went to work. We think he would have felt the same if the Cavs were located in Columbus, Cincinnati or Toledo; we all wanted to link Northeast Ohio into one large entity, while it’s apparent that LeBron never did.
  • LeBron is a follower; he’s never been, or wanted to be, a leader. Terry Pluto pointed out in his Sunday PD column that LeBron followed Dru Joyce III to St. V, not the other way around. Pluto reiterated that point today on Sirius’ Mad Dog Radio, pointing out that Dwyane Wade is the NBA equivalent of Joyce, he’s the leader and LeBron the follower. It appears that leading the Cavs as the main guy was just not in his nature.

For some other really good perspectives, visit Cleveland Frowns as well as the guys at Waiting For Next Year. They’ve put together some solid takes on the entire situation.

And if you’re really, really still upset, you can always buy one of these.

***

As for what’s next for the Cavs, the team has an opportunity to rebuild the team in a different way if they so choose. Rather than taking on players that they think they need short-term – i.e., Shaq, Antawn Jamison – they can go after players they want and build a team that can achieve long-term success.

Hopefully they see this as the prudent course of action. As much fun as Dan Gilbert’s letter was, the team can’t operate out of emotion; they’re not fans. And if that means they have to take a step or two back, then so be it.

The Cavs have assets with expiring contracts, draft picks and the $14.5 million trade exemption they received as part of the sign-and-trade with Miami. The important thing to remember is they don’t have to make any moves this week, or this season for that matter. They have a year to use the exception and the season doesn’t start for more than three months. There’s no need to rush.

One name tossed around has been Minnesota’s Al Jefferson, who is still recovering from a severe knee injury and is owed $42 million over the next three seasons. He’s only 25, though, which would help the team in its quest to get younger.

But remember, just because Jefferson may be the best player available, doesn’t mean he’s the best player. It may make more sense for the Cavs to acquire two $7 million players who can combine to match or exceed Jefferson’s numbers, rather than take on another team’s bad contract.

The important thing for the team to remember is they don’t have to rush into anything.

***

Finally, congratulations to Spain for capturing its first World Cup title, just as we predicted.

OK, picking Spain wasn’t exactly going out on a limb, and while we did get the opponent wrong, we were only four minutes away from getting the prediction right about La Furia Roja winning on penalty kicks.

Despite the claims of some that “no one cares” about soccer in America, TV ratings were up 41 percent in the U.S. over the 2006 World Cup.

And not only did Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas take home the World Cup, he got the girl as well.

Well played.

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, LeBron James, Spain, World Cup | Leave a comment
09 Jul 2010

Picking up the pieces

It’s the day after the baggy-pants farce that was LeBron James’ televised announcement that he’s leaving Cleveland for Miami. And Cleveland fans are left once gain to pick up the pieces of our broken hearts and move on.

Reaction has been swift and predictable, starting with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and his much publicized letter to Cavs fans.

As Cavs fans, we have to applaud Gilbert’s passion, although his message was a bit lost in a sea of all caps and the bizarre use of Comic Sans as his font of choice. But we’ll give him a pass on that because Gilbert probably lost more than anyone with James leaving. There’s no telling how much the franchise’s value – and Gilbert’s bottom line – will suffer without LBJ. Some projections put it at $200 million. So yeah, he’s upset.

So what’s next for the Cavs? The team could be as much as $9 million under the salary cap depending on how the proceed from here. That number will increase over the next two years as Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Delonte West, Sebastian Telfair and Antawn Jamison come off the books.

They don’t have to spend all that money right away of course, and that’s a good thing. While watching the debacle last night, one of the scariest things was the crawl across the screen listing the best remaining free agents and seeing Shaq listed as No. 2.

This is not a time for the team to react out of emotion. Remember, they only had James in the first place because they lucked out in the draft lottery. They now have the opportunity to act strategically in rebuilding this team.

This doesn’t have to happen overnight and – hopefully – it doesn’t have to involve intentionally blowing up the team in the hopes of signing the next big free agent.

It may not be pretty, it certainly will be hard, but it can be done with patience and clear thinking.

Of course, Miami is thrilled by all this. Good for them. They intentionally gutted their team, slashed payroll and made no attempt to win for the past two years in the hopes that today would come.

The only positive in this is that, despite what seemed like seven years of speculation and “guarantees,” James didn’t go to New York. And, predictably, New York thinks they have a right to feel wronged by this:

You’ll excuse us if we don’t take a moment to share in the “pain” of Knicks fans.

Finally the national media, who spent the last seven years telling us how James had to leave Cleveland, are now writing about how bad it is that he left:

Well, you get the point.

So the LeBron Era is officially over. The last seven years have been exciting and Cavs games were certainly must see, even if the team didn’t win a championship. No matter how we feel, we can’t deny that.

Cleveland fans have been through worse. We’ll get through this, eventually.

Don’t forget, Browns training camp starts in just three weeks.

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland fans, Dan Gilbert, LeBron James, Miami Heat | Leave a comment
01 Jul 2010

Great Scott! Byron’s the Man

The Cavs have reportedly filled their coaching vacancy, agreeing with Byron Scott on a four-year contract.

Did they make the right call? Can Scott lead them to a championship? Will his hiring impact LeBron’s decision? Let’s try and figure it out.

What do we think?

Scott is the Cavs third choice for head coach, after Tom Izzo and Brian Shaw. Izzo thankfully turned down Dan Gilbert’s bouquets to stay at Michigan State, while Shaw appears content to wait out Phil Jackson in LA and take over the Lakers, probably after next year.

LeBron James reportedly wanted a head coach with NBA experience, both as a coach and a player. Scott fills the bill in both categories.

Scott is hardly known for pushing his teams too hard, usually preferring a bit of time on the links to an extra round of practice on the court.

Scott has been around superstars both as a player and a coach, so he shouldn’t have a problem dealing with LeBron if the need arises.

Scott may have gotten a raw deal in New Orleans.

What do we know?

Scott took the Nets of all teams to the NBA finals twice, losing both times. The Nets lost to the Lakers and the Spurs, which is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

He won only eight playoff games total over the next six seasons he was a head coach (all eight coming in New Orleans).

Scott was fired in both his previous spots after the team turned against him. Players will like him, but he’ll eventually be tuned out. He won’t develop the younger ones — the younger ones who will be a challenge to develop, the type of development that separates good coaches from great coaches. He’ll clash with some players, he’ll refuse to play others and he’ll be let go after a while.

Chris Paul liked playing for Scott in New Orleans. “Anybody who knows me knows that Coach is my guy,” Paul said at the time of Scott’s firing in New Orleans. “It’s not just because of basketball stuff. I understand that it’s a business and all that stuff, but I’m honestly not the player I am today without Coach. I don’t have the Olympic gold medal and All-Star Games without Coach.”

Scott went through rebuilding efforts in both NJ and New Orleans, so in the highly unlikely chance that LeBron leaves and the Cavs have to start over, he’s experienced.

Scott stresses defense and prefers an up-tempo offense, demanding full control over choosing his assistants. His teams reflect his personality — scrappy and tough, not just physically but mentally.

Scott has a losing record as a coach, albeit he’s only three games under .500.

What does it mean?

With the hiring of Scott, the Cavs have brought in an experienced head coach that gives the team credibility with LeBron and other free agents. The learning curve that would have been required with Izzo or Shaw no longer exists.

Hiring Scott may have torpedoed the Knicks and Nets before they even get started on courting LeBron.

If Phil Jackson wasn’t willing to leave LA, and Shaw wasn’t either, Scott appears to have been the best option available. He certainly is better than the coaches of the teams that are allegedly the “frontrunners” to sign LeBron: Miami (Erik Spoelstra), Chicago (Tom Thibodeau), New Jersey (Avery Johnson) and New York.

So while hiring Scott is superior to hiring Izzo, it may be a step behind hiring Shaw.

Let’s call it a solid B and get on to the next order of business: Has anyone asked Chris Bosh what he thinks of the hiring?

Posted in Byron Scott, Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, NBA | Leave a comment
29 Jun 2010

Brian Shaw may be what the Cavs need

With the Tom Izzo flirtation (thankfully) in the rear view mirror, the Cavs have turned their attention to interviewing actual NBA-caliber coaches.

After talking with former NJ and NO coach Byron Scott, the team is now talking with Laker assistant coach Brian Shaw. Shaw has been on Phil Jackson’s staff for five seasons; he won three titles as a player before retiring in 2003 and taking over as the Lakers’ scouting director.

There’s a lot to like about Shaw, as is evident from this 2006 interview with the LA Times.

First is his coaching philosophy: “I like the triangle offense, but every game that we play, if there’s one or two wrinkles out of (our opponent’s) offense or defensive scheme, I keep a book with all the different ideas that I like. Overall, I like pressure defense, I like an aggressive rotating defense, and I like the ball to move on the offense and for everybody to get a touch and feel like they’re part of the game.”

The Cavs were a defense first team under former coach Mike Brown, so playing an “aggressive rotating defense” should fit well. And the ball moving on offense with everyone getting a touch? Sounds good so far. And don’t forget that LeBron is reportedly “interested” in the triangle offense.

What he’s taken from Jackson: “I like Phil’s brand of doing things. He allows players to figure things out for themselves and challenges you mentally every single day. He’s not going to baby you, so if you’re not mentally tough you’re not going to be able to handle the system. And I like that because it makes you mature and it makes you responsible for your actions out on the floor.”

Letting the players work though their mistakes, with a squad led by LeBron James and his high basketball IQ, would work well at the Q.

On his relationship with Kobe, who can be somewhat difficult to say the least: “We’ve had confrontations many a time. And I think he respects the fact that we want the same thing, but I’m not gonna back down or compromise how I really see things and how I think that they should be. If I think he’s dead wrong, I’m going to tell him. And he’s going to respond because he’s an alpha male and that’s how he is. But I’m not going to sugarcoat anything. I’m going to say what I’m going to say, he’s going to say what he’s going to say. And I think he respects that.”

If Shaw can put up with Kobe, he’ll have no problem working with LeBron, who works so hard to make everyone around him better. Additionally, Shaw played with Shaq in both Orlando and LA, so he knows the what to expect if Shaq returns. Wait, let’s not think about that for now.

It seems, at least on the surface, that Shaw is an ideal candidate for the Cavs vacant coaching position. Of course, this being Cleveland, there are a couple of catches. First, no one knows if Jackson wants to come back next year and coach and, if he does retired, LA would want to consider Shaw for the same reasons that Cleveland does.

The other issue that the Cavs have to seriously consider is that the Jackson coaching tree is, to put it nicely, extremely infertile, as Kurt Rambis is the only former Jackson assistant currently with a team.

There are several potential reasons for that, with the most common one, according to Sports Illustrated, being that Jackson and his teams imbued the triangle with a mythology that has made other front offices hesitant to buy in.

“I think a lot of general managers think that what we run won’t be a good for the personnel that they have and they think that’s all the basketball we know,” Jim Cleamons told SI. “You have to look at upper management. They have to be open-minded to see what we run can produce and does produce winning basketball. But it takes time to learn if your personnel is amenable, and by amenable I mean they have somewhat of a basketball IQ.”

Say what you will about Dan Gilbert, but he’s nothing if not open-minded and willing to go against the norm of the NBA. That willingness to take chances may just pay off if the team does land Shaw as coach.

And if they do, it may just put the team one step closer to that illusive championship. Because if they can’t talk Jackson into coming to Cleveland, maybe his right-hand man would be just as good of a choice.

Posted in Brian Shaw, Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, Phil Jackson, triangle | Leave a comment
24 Jun 2010

The Myth of New York City

With only a week to go until the start of the NBA’s free agency season, much has been written and spoken about the future home of LeBron James.

New York City and the Knicks have long been considered by the mainstream media as front runners for the two-time MVP, with three reasons always being cited: the chance to play in Madison Square Garden, increased endorsement opportunities and the history of the Knicks.

But if you look behind the curtain just a little bit, you realize the allure of the Knicks franchise and playing in New York City is long on myth and short on reality.

As for MSG, when the 2010-11 season opens this fall, the arena will be the second oldest in the league. The 41-year-old arena is allegedly going to be renovated, but like most things in NYC, you never know exactly when that will occur and how long it will take. Contrast that to playing home games at the Q and practicing at the team’s new facility in Independence.

What about endorsements? The mainstream media acts as if the streets of New York are paved with gold. Taking a closer look, however, shows a different story.

Consider the New York Yankees, probably the biggest sports franchise in America. You’d think if you were a star on a successful team playing in the largest market in the country, you’d be rolling in piles of cash from commericals. Well, think again:

  • CC Sabathia made $250,000 in endorsements last season.
  • Mark Teixeira made the same.
  • Alex Rodriguez made $6 million.
  • Derek Jeter made $8.5 million.

LeBron? He pulled in $28 million in endorsements playing in Cleveland. So it would appear that companies are finding LeBron just fine here on the north coast.

Finally, the biggest laugh is the talk of the Knicks’ “great” history. Sure, the Knicks have two titles to zero for the Cavs, but NY’s last championship came 37 years ago in 1973. Not exactly recent history.

Since the start of the 1973-74 season, the Knicks have won 10 more games than the Cavs (1,473 vs. 1,463), although over the past 20 years the Cavs have won more games (861 vs. 813). The gap is even wider over the past decade (Cavs 437 vs. 327).

Both teams have won three division championships, with the Cavs most recent coming this year while the Knicks haven’t won their division since 1994. Both teams have also made four appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals, with the Cavs last appearing two years ago while the Knicks haven’t made it that far since 1999.

So there’s really nothing separating the teams on the court.

But somehow we’re supposed to believe that LeBron will give up everything he has here at home to play for a franchise that, by every measurable statistic, is inferior?

Fuhgeddaboudit.

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, myths, NBA free agency, New York Knicks | Leave a comment
09 Jun 2010

History is Not on Our Side

Waiting for Next Year is reporting that Tom Izzo plans to take the Cavs coaching job. If this turns out to be true, and those guys deserve credit for being out ahead on this story, then we are all witnessing the death of the Cavs as a viable NBA franchise.

Izzo is a very good college coach – but that’s what he is, a college coach. While the basics of the game are the same on the NBA level, it’s simply just not the same game.

Consider this from Sports Illustrated’s Ian Thomsen, who wrote about Billy Donovan possibly moving to the NBA three years ago:

It takes NBA coaches years to develop the understanding and respect necessary to connect with players and earn their trust toward a common goal. … To become a successful NBA head coach, Donovan would have to take a costly step backward and enter the league as an assistant. He would need many seasons of deprogramming to unlearn much of what made him successful at Florida. Put it this way: The NCAA and NBA both have rule books as thick as bibles, but that’s the only thing they share in common. …How can any college coach who is used to wielding power over his players be expected to succeed overnight in an NBA world where he’ll be granted little or no power over his players? … If Donovan jumped to a veteran team, his players would quickly realize that they knew more about the pro game than their coach. That would not end nicely. … The NBA season is so much longer, and the games are so much more complicated strategically, that any college coach would need at least one season to work his way up.

Does that sound like something we want to go through as Cavs fans? Wait 2 to 3 years for Izzo to figure out the NBA game, assuming he does?

How about this from Steve Aschburner at NBA.com:

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ reported interest in Michigan State coach Tom Izzo as a replacement for Mike Brown, their recently fired head coach, elicited differing views from the two fellows who hold that job with The Finals teams.

A number of successful college coaches haven’t achieved similar results when they’ve moved to the NBA, including Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Mike Montgomery, Tim Floyd and (going back a ways) Jerry Tarkanian. Lakers coach Phil Jackson was asked: Why?

“It’s not an easy job,” Jackson said, “and when it’s 200-some days depending on how far you go into the playoffs, it’s a pretty arduous task as far as dealing with the stars of all ranges … It’s a long march and that gets difficult. The game itself – 82 games is a big difference from 30 or whatever you coach in college.”

“If you look at it historically, they’ve all had bad jobs,” Boston Doc Rivers said. “They’ve all had bad talent on their team. I think the first one that gets good players will be a good coach in our league. … There are a lot of college coaches that would be very good NBA coaches.”

Now Rivers makes a valid point. Bad teams hire more coaches than good teams. But maybe good teams are that way because they know not to hire a college coach. But he overlooks the cases where, after firing the college-bred coach, a team improved the following year. Consider:

  • Boston was 12-22 (works out to 28 wins) when they fired Rick Pitino; they went 49-33 the following year.
  • New Jersey was 3-17 (12 projected wins) when they fired John Calipari; they won 31 games the next year.
  • Chicago was 4-21 (13 projected wins) when they fired Tim Floyd; 30 wins the following season.
  • San Antonio was 9-11 (36 projected wins) when Jerry Tarkanian was let go; 55 wins the following year.
  • Washington was 19-63 in Leonard Hamilton’s only season; they won 37 games the next season.
  • Philadelphia was 21-31 (33 projected wins) when they let Randy Ayers go; 43 wins the following year.
  • Oklahoma City was 1-12 (6 projected wins) when they fired PJ Carlesimo; they won 50 games the following year.
  • Golden State was 34-48 under Mike Montgomery; the following year they won 42 games.

Clearly, none of these teams turned into NBA champions after dropping the college coach. But they all did improve, which takes the air out of the argument that the coaches failed simply because they did not have any talent. A lot of the failings fall on the coaches’ shoulders.

Look, we want this to work out if it happens. We all want the Cavs to succeed. The past five years have been a lot of fun, we’re really not keen to return to the days of John Lucas, Randy Wittman and the rest.

But if Dan Gilbert is going to start running this team with his heart, rather than his head, we may all be in trouble.

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, despar, doom, man crushes, NBA coaches, Tom Izzo | Leave a comment
05 Jun 2010

No coach, no GM … no Problem?

“Danny Ferry and their ownership have proven they care deeply about winning and about people. That is a winning combination to sell.” – Jeff Van Gundy

Well, not so much anymore. With Danny Ferry’s surprise resignation as GM on Friday, the Cavs’ winning combination has taken a big hit and no one may be buying what they are trying to sell.

It’s obvious that despite the unprecedented success the team has enjoyed the past five years under Ferry and former coach Mike Brown, owner Dan Gilbert has decided he knows best. Ferry wanted to keep Brown, understanding that finding a new coach that would improve the team would be a difficult, possibly impossible task.

Terry Pluto summed it up in today’s PD: “Ferry could have signed an extension to remain with the team. His contract expires June 30. But after five years — the best five years in franchise history — it’s obvious Ferry and team owner Dan Gilbert had a significant disagreement.

“A good guess is the coaching situation.”

Great. Instead of staying out of the way and letting his basketball people do the job they were hired for, Gilbert has decided to insert himself into the process. That always ends well when owners get “hands on.”

Art Garcia, writing on NBA.com, asks a chilling question: Is it possible that the departures of a wildly successful coach and an equally accomplished general manager are good for a franchise?

This is Cleveland, Art. That answer seems pretty obvious.

He continues:

“Last week’s firing of Mike Brown and Friday’s resignation of Danny Ferry would signal chaos, especially considering what’s been achieved in Cleveland the last five years. Sure the Cavaliers didn’t win a title, and despite having the best record in the league didn’t get out of the Eastern Conference playoffs the last two years, but just line up the teams in the league that would gladly trade places with Cleveland.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty darn long line.

“Dan Gilbert also needs to make sure everyone in the organization is 100 percent behind the LeBron Plan, whatever it is.

“Ferry wasn’t anymore. He felt uneasy with dismissing the coach he hired, and has watched Gilbert take on a more active role in day-to-day operations, further comprising his sphere of influence. Ferry stated publicly before firing Brown that his goal was to continue to build a championship organization under Gilbert. Clearly, Ferry’s role in that project had changed.”

Gilbert does deserve credit for having a plan in place with Ferry’s departure, naming Chris Grant as GM. But will Grant have the same power and ability to battle the owner when Gilbert wants to make a move that hinders the progress of the team?

It’s amazing that the situation has gotten this far, this fast. Was it really only a few weeks ago that Cavs fans were dreaming of an NBA title? And now we’re wondering who the next coach will be and looking at a rookie GM running the show in the “Summer of LeBron.”

Just another day in the paradise of Cleveland sports.

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland sports, Danny Ferry, NBA coaches, sinking ship, uncertainty | Leave a comment
01 Jun 2010

Searching for an Edge

The Cavs may not have a head coach, but they apparently have “an edge” when it comes to LeBron James.

In an interview with CNN’s Larry King, James said that Cleveland has “an edge” to re-sign him when free agency hits July 1: “Absolutely. Because, you know, this city, these fans, I mean, have given me a lot in these seven years. And, you know, for me, it’s comfortable. So I’ve got a lot of memories here. And – and so it does have an edge,” James told King, according to published reports.

And James is 100 percent correct. The fans have been behind him and the team every step of the way, from the first time he took the court against Sacramento back in 2003, through all the playoff disappointments and all the way through this year’s collapse against Boston.

But it’s more than just loyalty and knowing that the majority of the fans have your back night in and night out. It’s also knowing you are in a situation that puts you in the best position to win a championship.

Consider that, according to John Hollinger at ESPN, Chris Bosh is the best player to pair with LeBron. Bosh has made it clear he wants out of Toronto – he’s not the only one – and the Cavs have the assets (J.J. Hickson or Anderson Varajeo and Shaq) to work a sign-and-trade with the Raptors to acquire Bosh. That would give the Cavs a frontcourt rotation of James, Bosh, Antawn Jamison, Leon Powe and either Hickson/Varajeo.

That certainly would be of interest to James, yes?

* * * * *

If you’re looking for something silly to kill some time, take a spin.

* * * * *

Finally, Brian Windhorst of the Plain Dealer is no friend of the hoople heads. In his Sunday column, he laid out what the smart folks have been saying, namely that firing a coach is the easy part. I especially enjoyed the part where he tracked down the contract situation of two European coaches.

Posted in Chris Bosh, Cleveland Cavaliers, edge, hoople heads, LeBron James, NBA free agency | Leave a comment
26 May 2010

Reading is Fundamental – Basketball Edition

With summer just around the corner, we’re all looking for a good book to read, be it on the beach, at the pool or on the back deck.

There are plenty of great (or very good) sports books out there for Cleveland fans, specifically, and sports fans in general. Here are some basketball books worth checking out; most should be familiar to Cleveland fans, some may not be. Some may no longer be in print, but if you can find a copy it will be well worth your time:

  • Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association, by Terry Pluto. Simply one of the best books I’ve ever read. For anyone (like me) not old enough to remember the ABA, the stories from the players and coaches who built the league are unforgettable.
  • Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA, by Terry Pluto. A companion piece to Loose Balls, Tall Tales tells the story of the NBA, from its birth up to the early 1970s. The stories are not quite as entertaining as those in Loose Balls, but they are just as important in learning about the growth of the game.
  • Foul: The Connie Hawkins Story, by David Wolf. I first read this when I was in high school and I had no idea who Hawkins was. His story of rising out of poverty in New York City and the scandal that wrongly led to the NBA blackballing him during his best years is gripping.
  • The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy, by Bill Simmons. While its a bit long at 736 pages and overly biased toward Boston players, go figure, this is an excellent book for fans of the game. And the way the book is organized its easy to pick it up, read a bit, and put it back down for later without losing anything.
  • Operation Yao Ming: The Chinese Sports Empire, American Big Business and the Makign of an NBA Superstar, by Brook Larmer. The story behind the Chinese government’s plan to create the next NBA superstar.Everything about Ming, from birth to first endorsement deal, was planned by a confluence of government and business interests intent on creating a superstar.
  • The Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk and the American Dream, by Mitch Albom. The remarkable story of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, and their successes and failures in the NCAA tournaments of 1992 and 1993. Has it really been almost 20 years since they came on the scene? Good lord, I feel old.
  • Forty-Eight Minutes: A Night in the Life of the NBA, by Terry Pluto and Bob Ryan. Forty-Eight minutes is the story of the Jan. 16, 1987, game between the Cavs and Celtics, told in minute-by-minute detail with insights from the players and coaches involved in the game.
  • The Jordan Rules: The Inside Story of a Turbulent Season with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, by Sam Smith. A behind-the-scenes look at the 1991 Chicago Bulls.
  • Cavs: From Fitch to Fratello, by Joe Menzer and Burt Graeff. Published on the team’s 25th anniversary, this book chronicles the Cavs from their early days at the Cleveland Arena, the glory years of the Coliseum era and the move back downtown.

If you do decide to check one of these out, you won’t be disappointed. And remember to shop at your local bookstore. If you don’t have one in your area and are in the Hudson area, it’s worth a stop at The Learned Owl.

I’ll follow up over the next few days with recommendations on football, baseball, soccer and sports in general.

Enjoy!

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