Written by Jeremy Guzman | 15 July 2010

LeBron James brought the drama  to an all-time high never seen before in sports. It was complete with broken hearts, rejoicing cities, a pissed-off owner, a  genius GM, and all the LeBron hate that would make even Allen  Iverson cringe. Many criticize his move to the Heat as betrayal. He left the city of Cleveland just as  he arrived there as a Cavalier seven years ago -- ringless. Cleveland sports teams have not  brought a championship into town  for as long as this generation (or  the generation before) can remember. And with LeBron's departure the city of Cleveland will not be parading a champion any time soon. Please don't even attempt mentioning the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians as possible champions in the near future. It's just wrong.

I feel Cleveland's heartache, despair and anger. It's natural to feel that way. Imagine a homegrown kid getting drafted by the local team and leading the local team to the NBA Finals in just his fourth season. The expectations of bringing a title to Cleveland were sky high after that. You can't fault the people in Cleveland for getting angry and bitter when LeBron made his decision to leave Cleveland and head to the Miami Heat. Hell, I felt angry and bitter when Baron Davis decided to leave the Golden State Warriors to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers. And keep in mind that the Warriors made the playoffs only once during Davis' stint with the Warriors -- nothing to what LeBron accomplished in Cleveland.

Side note: A...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 12 July 2010

With the abundance of free agent signings trades over the beginning stages of the 2010 NBA off-season along with the draft, one thing appears imminent….that the power of the Association along with some of it’s big name stars have moved east.

 

Since Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls parted ways after the 1997-98 season the Western Conference became the dominant one after years of being the inferior group. Following the Los Angeles Lakers back-to-back NBA titles in 1987 and 1988, the Eastern Conference went on to dominate the NBA winning eight of the next 10 NBA crowns (thanks to the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons). Even the Eastern Conference Playoffs in those days were in many facets superior to the NBA Finals.



All of that changed when Mike went to D.C.! The West went on to win eight of the next 11 NBA Larry O’Brien Trophies and even dominated the East in terms of star power and overall popularity. The “Summer of 2010” could be the beginning of tide once again turning in the Eastern Conference’s favor.

 

Since the 2001-02 season there have been just 22 Eastern Conference teams that have won at least 50 games in a single season. In that same exact time span the West has produced 54 teams that win reached the 50 win plateau in a year. Last season the all eight of the Western Conference’s postseason competitors all finished with 50 wins or more while in the East just four teams finished above the 49-win mark which was actually the most since the...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 09 July 2010

The Free Agent Frenzy is finally finished, well at least the focal point of that period where all the who’s whos were wooed by potential suitors and their new eventual teams now look to embark on their quests for the O’Brien Trophy next June in new (in and some cases old) places. Some of moves were shocking and others were predictable. Some may major implications on the Association for the next five to seven years and others just may be a waste of time, money and energy; but only time will that evident.

 The Salary Cap is set to be at $58,044,000 instead of the projected number of $56.1M which teams have almost $2M more to spend during this offseason. That could mean the difference in getting a star player or that key role player who could pay enormous dividends down the stretch.

 

The Miami Heat made the biggest splash in the history of NBA Free Agency signing the top three players available on the market and perhaps three of the top ten players in the league with the re-signing of Dwayne Wade and the additions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. These three should form a dominant trio together which should equal several NBA titles. If you are searching for a nickname for these three look no further than the Justice League; a team of superheroes that came together for a common cause. The money situation is still undetermined but the one thing that is certain is that Miami has put the pressure on the rest of the Association.

 The Boston Celtics have the gang all...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 09 July 2010

Why would the first question be the most important one? Once the “Decision 2010” show began interviewer Jim Gray jokingly and light-heartedly asked LeBron James a host of questions before asking him which team he will sign a contract with and take court for the next five years or so of his NBA career.

 

Once Gray finally asked James the question everyone across the sports world anticipated to find out, James responded “this fall I am taking my talents to South Beach and joining the Miami Heat”. With those 15 words a new group was formed that could one day be added to those championship NBA units; the Justice League.

 

The Boston Celtics had two versions of the Big Three (in the 1980’s and currently), Magic and the Lake Show in L.A., the Bad Boys in Detroit, Mike and Scottie as Batman and Robin in Chicago and maybe one day the Justice League will be placed in the conversation. All it will take is a little less ego from LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh along with a couple of NBA Championships.

 



For those who aren’t familiar with the Justice League they are a group of comic book superheroes that consist of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter. Now the Justice League will be Dwayne Wade staring as Superman, Chris Bosh as the Green Lantern and LeBron James as Batman in a town dubbed Wade County in efforts to keep D-Wade there this off-season.

 

All three have been “the man” on their own...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 02 July 2010

All 60 of the 2010 NBA Draft selections have been made now all the players just have to sign their contracts and then these rookies can get acclimated with their new teammates and ready to endure the grind of an NBA season. The draft process itself is complete crap shoot and nothing is guaranteed; extreme success nor immanent failure, nothing. Sometimes things pan out as they’re supposed to however there are other instances where top picks flat out suck (Kwame Brown, Darko Milicic and Michael Olowokandi) and later round selections shine Manu Ginobili, Carlos Boozer and Michael Redd).

 

Sometimes guys need a year or a few to “figure it out”, to reach their potential as an NBA player and other times a team gets lucky and selects a guy who fits into the team philosophy and system ideally or a guy is just that pro ready where he can make a substantial difference either helping his team reach the postseason or making a significant improvement from the prior season.

 

These five players will make an instant impact during the 2010-11 campaign while making their general managers and presidents in charge of player personal look like geniuses. And no John Wall is not on this list! I’m not saying he can’t be good in the NBA, however while the rest of the jury may have made a decision I’m the 12th man who isn’t quite convinced that everyone else wants to hurt because they want to go home.




Evan Turner Shooting Guard 1st Round, 2nd Overall Pick Philadelphia...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 02 July 2010

The 2010 NBA Draft has now come and gone which means it is now time to dissect and examine each and every decision that was made during the NBA’s amateur player selection process. There were some picks made that were expected and then there were others that raised more than a few eyebrows across the Association.

 

John Wall went number one overall as many thought he would and Evan Turner followed behind at number two just as all the experts predicted. The University of Kentucky not only had their first number one overall selection in school history (Wall) but they also topped North Carolina’s and Duke’s record of having four players drafted in the opening round when Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton were all selected before the 31st pick.

 

The most shocking fact was that the first senior wasn’t selected until Trevor Booker of Clemson went 23rd overall (which is the latest that the first senior had been selected in draft history). De’Sean Butler was drafted in the second round despite the fact that due to his horrific knee injury (which took place in the Final Four) he wasn’t able to work out for teams.

 

Here is a team-by-team draft breakdown complete with grades for each team in the Western Conference.

 

Northwest Division

 

Denver Nuggets

Team Draft Grade/Explanation: Incomplete/ The Nuggets didn’t have a single pick for the 2010 draft.

 

Minnesota Timberwolves



1st Round, 4th selection: Wes...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 02 July 2010

The 2010 NBA Draft has now come and gone which means it is now time to dissect and examine each and every decision that was made during the NBA’s amateur player selection process. There were some picks made that were expected and then there were others that raised more than a few eyebrows across the Association.

 

John Wall went number one overall as many thought he would and Evan Turner followed behind at number two just as all the experts predicted. The University of Kentucky not only had their first number one overall selection in school history (Wall) but they also topped North Carolina’s and Duke’s record of having four players drafted in the opening round when Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton were all selected before the 31st pick.

 

The most shocking fact was that the first senior wasn’t selected until Trevor Booker of Clemson went 23rd overall (which is the latest that the first senior had been selected in draft history). De’Sean Butler was drafted in the second round despite the fact that due to his horrific knee injury (which took place in the Final Four) he wasn’t able to work out for teams.

 

Here is a team-by-team draft breakdown complete with grades for each team in the Eastern Conference.

 

Atlantic Division

 

Boston Celtics

1st Round, 19th selection: Avery Bradley SG/PG Texas Freshman

2nd Round, 52nd selection: Luke Harangody PF Notre Dame Senior

Team Draft Grade/Explanation: C+/ It...

Written by Steve Wright | 30 June 2010

At 12:01am est the most historic round of NBA free agency ever is set to begin. The free agent class is loaded with such household names as Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Paul Pierce. However there is one name that stands out above all the others, LeBron James. King James is such an otherworldly player that certain teams have been clearing salary cap room for the last two years just to get a shot at him. He is a player that makes any team an instant contender to win the NBA title, and he is a marketers dream. With that being said, and in no particular order, let us take a look at who is courting the king.



Cleveland Cavaliers

It is really only fitting we start with the team that will hold LeBrons contract until midnight, the place where he is seen as a beacon of light in a sporting landscape littered with failures. James and Cleveland is an almost unique situation in all of sports. LeBron was born and raised in Akron, Ohio which is a mere 40 miles from Cleveland. It is this hometown connection which creates such a strong bond between team and player, and this is the reason leaving will be such a hard thing to do. The Cavs have tried everything to keep James in town. They built a team around him, and have been competitive the last few years. However while their star is the 2 time reigning MVP of the league, Cleveland has been unable to win a championship, and this is what James craves above all else. If he stays in town and brings a title he will be revered forever, but...