Free agency

[Windy City Walleye Hunter]

If he wants to win championships he will sign with the Bulls. With D Rose, C Boozer and Lebron and throw in L Deng and Noah they would be a force to be reconned with for many years. Might even give Michaels teams a run for the money with 6 titles!

Mark my words, if he goes to Miami with Wade and Bosh, they might win a few but I have a feeling that you will see Wade start to fade in a few years. I think that Miami will regret the last few years of Wades max contract.

Should be a media circus tonight!

Get out your Lebron love-o-meters its gonna be AAB All About Lebron!

[Born2Fish]

Windy I think I agree with your logics about the Bulls. They have a SOLID core of players that would only get MUCH better with LeBron. My serious gut feeling is he stays in Cleveland. I know that Chad Ochocinco has been tweeting about Amare and LeBron in New York all day now....But what does he know. LeBron(and his new Twitter account) put something on there today that told fellow tweeters to ask him questions that he will answer tonight on his 1 hour special.

[Born2Fish]

Here is a Tweet from Chris Bosh:

chrisbosh

Good morning. Waking up to more speculation. This makes tonight's show more interesting.

[Born2Fish]

Latest Chris Bosh Tweet:

chrisbosh

The bags are packed and I'm ready!

[Born2Fish]

Quote:

All indications are that LeBron James is leaning toward signing with the Miami Heat on Thursday night, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation.

Barring a late change of heart, sources say James has decided to join fellow All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form a potential NBA powerhouse.

James will make his announcement from the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, Conn., during an hourlong special called "The Decision" on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET Thursday. Sales of sponsorship for the program will go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Chris Paul, one of James' best friends, has urged him to stay in Cleveland and let new Cavaliers coach Byron Scott coach him, according to sources. With such strong sentiment around him to not go to Miami, it's possible James could alter his decision.

James' family and friends are divided over his decision to play in Miami, according to sources. Opinions range from understanding his desire to play with All-Star teammates, to feeling he is selling himself short by joining Wade's team, to concerns that playing on such a power-packed squad will hurt his brand even if he wins championships.

James worked hard to help the Cavaliers improve their roster, sources said. He tried to sell Bosh on the idea of going to Cleveland, but the 6-foot-11 forward was adamant he did not want to play in northeast Ohio.

While sources close to James insist his heart is in Cleveland and remaining with the Cavaliers was his preferred choice, they say he had concerns about signing a six-year deal there and ending up "31 years old, with bad knees and no title."

ESPN.com reported June 28 that James, Wade and Bosh held a scaled-down version of the free-agent summit originally suggested by Wade to seriously discuss their futures.

'The Decision' Is Coming

Where will LeBron James' basketball future take him? The NBA's two-time defending MVP will reveal his destination on "The Decision" on ESPN (Thursday, 9 p.m. ET) and ESPN3. Stuart Scott, Jon Barry and Michael Wilbon will host the hourlong special.

Sources in the initial report told ESPN.com that the sitdown took place in Miami during the weekend before July 1, when free agency commenced. That was subsequently denied by Henry Thomas, agent for Wade and Bosh. In reconfirming Wednesday that the three players did convene for at least one face-to-face meeting, sources now say the three players met in Ohio on James' turf on the Saturday before the NBA draft.

James averaged 29.7 points for Cleveland last season; Wade averaged 26.6 points for Miami; and Bosh averaged career bests of 24.0 points and 10.8 rebounds for Toronto.

By joining the Heat, James would leave nearly $30 million on the table, unless the Cavaliers agree to an unlikely sign-and-trade. The Cavaliers could give him a six-year, $128 million contract, while Miami can offer him only a five-year deal worth up to $99 million.

Wade does not know what the terms of the next contract he'll sign with Miami will be, nor when he'll sign the paper. Bosh doesn't have terms of his next deal done, either. It's all contingent on what James says Thursday night, and Wade insisted he knows nothing about what the two-time MVP will say.

Players could not sign new contracts until Thursday.

Asked why he didn't agree to a sign-and-trade that would have paired him with James in Cleveland, Bosh said he decided Miami was the best choice.

"I wasn't sure if LeBron was coming back [to Cleveland] and I just wanted to leave that decision up to him," Bosh said. "I wanted to choose the best situation for me and my family, and Miami was the best decision for me."

The salary cap released Thursday for the 2010-11 season was just more than $58 million, about $2 million more than teams expected, and that extra money could be yet another free-agency edge for the Heat.

"We'll see what the best thing is for us to win," Wade told The Associated Press. "I'm going to make a lot of money, no matter what happens. I've been blessed. I'm not counting every dollar and every cent. Let's sit down, let's see what the best thing is for us, for the long haul."

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who was an assistant coach on the 2008 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball team that included James, Wade and Bosh, said he has no doubts the three superstars can co-exist on the same NBA team.

"All three can play together, they played together for us and they were great," Boeheim told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.

"If he goes to Miami it clearly gives him the best chance to win. They could easily play together. They are all good friends and they all like each other. Bosh can play off each of them. He doesn't need to be the main guy. You can alternate down the court -- one time LeBron takes it, Dwyane takes it the next time. I don't think it's even an issue," Boeheim said. "We had all of those guys and Kobe [bryant] on the court at the same time and we did all right. Anybody who says [they can't play together] doesn't know what they're talking about."

Miami came into free agency with what turned out to be roughly $46 million of cap space, not including $16.5 million or so earmarked for Wade, thanks to years of avoiding just about any deal in which money would have been committed for the 2010-11 season.

"We want to build a dynasty," Miami Heat president Pat Riley had told fans entering free agency.

By scheduling his special show and essentially putting a deadline on himself to make an announcement, it would appear that James has made up his mind. If he does, however, change his decision, the Cavaliers, the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls all would be possibilities, according to the sources.

[Born2Fish]

Tweet from Adam Schefter:

Adam_Schefter

RT @Ian_OConnor: reading body language here at Knicks presser in Garden, Mike D'Antoni is pretty much resigned to defeat on LeBron front.

[Windy City Walleye Hunter]

Again, it comes down to whether Lebron wants multiple rings and a huge image or just wants the big bucks and continue to lose in Cleveland. Big fish in a little pond. I can not see why he would want to stay in Clevland, they had him last year and did not get it done and nothing has changed there. He could go to Knicks and try with Amare but they have NOTHING else other than those two. I think if he goes to Miami that will be a train wreck, three superstars and only one basketball!

Not trying to be biased here but Chicago is his best option. Will still get the max deal, will get the big city love and if he starts winning will be on the train that Michael rode!

All Aboard!

[ozzie]

MIAMI here comes Lebron!!!!!!!! After reading a bunch on this [PoorWordUsage] I am convinced tonight he will choose Miami........especially with the extra 2 million in salary cap space for next year......they will get some vets on the last legs of their careers to join them and they will coast to an NBA championship!!

[B. Amish]

this is the future of the nba. all stars moving to the same team to win rings. the twolves are doomed forever......

[toughguy]

Isn't already that way? Only 8 teams in the last 30 yrs have won an NBA title. Compare that to the NFL 15 teams and MLB 18. The NBA has been broken for years.

[Scott M]

Lots of things to digest here.

* Cleveland's fans got murdered on national television. That team doesn't even make the playoffs; their best player is Antawn Jamison. Can you imagine the fans, the city, the owners, the teammates?

* We don't get to see the best of LeBron, Wade, or Bosh since they will have to take their foot off the gas to share the ball.

* Was this all decided two years ago after the Olympics? Is Chris Paul coming over next? I get the feeling everyone was getting strung along all along.

* Which free agents will take the league minimum to play with these guys? This will be interesting to watch. I'm sure lots of guys will try to jump on the bandwagon.

* Can you imagine being a Knicks fan? They've peed away how many first round picks and created all this cap space for the summer of 2010, and they don't get their man? It's like wasting 10 years in a war and then losing. Now they have Amare, do they attempt to retain fan favorite David Lee who plays the same position?

* Windy was right. The Bulls were the best fit, a better rounded out cast that would be a better team. I think these guys could have all colluded to the Bulls if not for the fact that the max. money wouldn't have worked there for the three. Wade knew he had to stay in South Beach to get his money. And the injury concerns for him are legit...he could be in bad shape in a few years; he's a little bit older than Bosh and LeBron.

* Miami was just lucky that Wade had to stay and that Florida has no income tax. They won an NBA championship in 2006 and within a couple years they couldn't fill half the arena. There is no basketball history in Miami. They are unba-freaking-leavable lucky.

I'm going to watch the Heat next year because basketball fans have never seen anything like this. However, I am going to root for the Thunder (young guys, shrewd GM, Durant signed a contract extension without a TV special and little more than a Tweet) or a team that plays the opposite of Miami...pound it out a la early 1990's New York Knicks, bang them inside since Bosh is a poor defender and everyone else is on the perimeter.

[Scott M]

Nevermind, David Lee to the Warriors in a sign and trade for Randolph, Turiaf, Azubuike.

[Scott M]

Beasley to the Wolves to open cap space. This could be decent for Minny.

[jwmiller33]

He could go to Knicks and try with Amare but they have NOTHING else other than those two. I think if he goes to Miami that will be a train wreck, three superstars and only one basketball!

Not trying to be biased here but Chicago is his best option. Will still get the max deal, will get the big city love and if he starts winning will be on the train that Michael rode!

All Aboard!

windy city, i laugh at your "not enough ball to go around" argument for miami.. you were just saying the other day in another thread, when there were alleged rumors going around about bosh and lebron going to chicago, about how awesome of a trio that was going to be... and now, when you heard it was going to be lebron and bosh were teaming up with dwayne wade instead of rose, all you talk about is how there is "only one ball" to go around.. well, there was only going to be one ball to go around in chicago too. and in chicago it was lebron, bosh and rose, and it was the greatest thing since sliced bread in your eyes, but now, subtract rose and add dwayne wade and all of a sudden there isnt enough ball to go around? you chicago bias is clouding your vision, and your arguments

[Windy City Walleye Hunter]

JW,

I stand by my statement. I would not compare D Rose and Noah to D Wade. D Wade is a me first guy that needs the ball, so is Lebron. Bosh can fit into either team nicely. I guess my arguement would be that D Rose would have fit much nicer in the equation that D Wade who is known to be a ball hog. I still maintain that when you put D Wade and Lebron together you will get less than if they were seperate. Chicago would have been the perfect spot with D Rose setting the table, Lebron being the go to guy and Bosh and Noah cleaning up the dishes! I will laugh when the Bulls finish ahead of Miami next year and watch all the pundits yap about how Wade and Lebron can not play together. Also, D Rose is much younger than D Wade, I guarantee that the third fourth and fifth year on his contract will be a dissapointment to Heat fans, he will be past his prime while still raking in a max contract (call it the Alphonso Sorriano complex!) Ask Geno the Cubbie lover about that one!

[Scott M]

Wolves dealt Hollins and Sessions for Delone West and Telfair. West will be waived next week to the tune of half a million and Telfair will also likely be released. It's just to even out minutes for everyone.

[Scott K]

Quote:

Jonny Flynn's hip injury will require surgery that will keep him out for three to four months.

That means he's out for at least the start of the season, and maybe closer to Christmas depending on how his rehab goes. Luke Ridnour is officially the starting point guard for the Wolves, and he may not give up the job easily once Flynn is healthy.

Its a good thing we picked up a couple more point guards yesterday! A team can never have enough point guards.

[ozzie]

What really has me confused is now Flynn is out until Christmas, we traded Sessions and we will drop West and Telfair, besides Ridnour, who is our other PG's on the roster?

[bisonthunder]

Im confused why we gave up a 2nd round pick to help rid Cleveland of baggage...

[ozzie]

that got me confused also.....maybe they had to to make it work.....

[Born2Fish]

Sounds like they might hold onto Telfair....

[CJH]

From the Pioneer Press:

A big part of the Timberwolves' building process is expected to take part next February before the NBA's trade deadline, when teams make some high-priced players available.

"We have positioned ourselves financially so if some team wants to unload a player because of salary, we don't have any restrictions anymore," Wolves owner Glen Taylor said. "We can do now (financially) what many teams can't. We're not done."

[ozzie]

So basically if we can't sign a free agent we will force them to come by being the dumping ground for a team with a player they don't want to pay or on their team.....sounds like a great move.....haha

[Scott K]

The better the players we get, the easier it will be for us to sign good players. This will be a big year for the Wolves, if we can be a contender, even if we fall short of making the playoffs (which we will) with Rubio coming next year, we can maybe add a star or two, and we could easily have a good team, for many years.

I see, and understand the direction they are going, lets just hope it works!

[Scott M]

I mostly agree with the optimism 4WE, but if the league goes into a lockout it could all be for naught.

Sounds like Shaq to the Celts. The Celts could continue to be a force as a black and blue, slow it down type of team. That's how to beat Miami, take it to them inside. It's hard to beat the Lakers at that game with Gasol and Bynum, but at least they could have a shot at the Finals.