Note: this started as a comment, but quickly evolved into a dissertation; hence, the separate post.
One thing is undeniably clear, LeBron James is the most business savvy basketball player that has ever played in the NBA. I think Jordan took what was given to him (to use a terrible cliche). Nike came calling, and he obliged. So did Fruit of the Loom, and so on and so forth. But he really didn't do much other than play basketball and take his money. He was pretty quiet, and let the marketers define him. This was a wise move on his part - to let professionals build him into a global icon. However, the other ventures he's led weren't maximized in a business or marketing sense (baseball, team ownership, team management, etc). LeBron came out of the gate and took a shorter contract in order that he might make more money in the long term. Unheard of, but pure brilliance, none the less. Most in the NBA business were surprised by it. Something so simple yet so obvious is a mark of business genius. Everyone else in the class (Wade, Bosh, Carmelo) obviously thought so. The Cleveland Cavaliers know LeBron has a different mindset. They know he's about more than basketball. I'd bet they've talked with him about it. The Cavs haven't won anything relevant in a really long time. Getting to the finals proved to LeBron and the team that they can get close. I would not argue that LeBron wants to win a championship for his "hometown" team. Immediately elevates the legacy. However, I don't think he needs to win multiple championships there. The Cavs and LeBron have decided to pull all the stops for him to win a championship in Cleveland and then see what happens from there (see: Brooklyn Nets). Cleveland is happy (kinda), the front office can say it tried, and LeBron won one for the home team. He'll might be vilified by Cleveland for jumping ship, but the national media will love the move.
All these articles give great reasons for him to go, now a couple, small, reasons it might not work.
1. Cleveland can give him more money.
One of the best parts about the NBA. Allow the team that has a player give him a larger max contract than anyone else. Every other pro sport allows a player to get poached from the team that drafted him, but the NBA gives a player's current team the upper hand. It's why Kobe stayed in LA, it's why Carmelo will stay in Denver. Some smaller markets can't afford the max contract, but Cleveland would for LeBron. He wouldn't make more money in NY unless he had a stake in the operation ...
2. Players can't own part of the team.
This is one way that the NBA is similar to other pro sports. A stake in a franchise would make a lot of sense to someone like LeBron who already makes more money off other sources than basketball. It would also allow LeBron to capitalize on the marketing money that his name would draw in NY. Unless, of course, Jay-Z would go 50-50 with LeBron on his new marketing company and get in on some of the advertising revenue the new stadium would bring in with the game's biggest star. Let's not forget ...
3. Jay-Z is not the Nets majority owner
Bruce Ratner is the principal owner. And as such, would probably want as large a chunk of the LeBron pie as he could get. He's a developer, the one who initially floated the idea of bringing the Nets to Brooklyn. Landing LeBron makes his investment increase ten-fold. The 'new' New York team, with LeBron? Shoot. Good luck prying any of the marketing money out of his hands. LeBron and Jay-Z could try some auxillary marketing opportunities, but without NY, they'd have the same opportunities in Cleveland as they would in Brooklyn.
4. What would he do with that house?!?
Showing posts with label Cavaliers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cavaliers. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sunday, June 10, 2007
NBA finals - Game 2
Alright - I thought about writing about things during Game 1, but didn't. Hopefully I'll find stuff tonight to write about. This will probably be disjointed, oh well. I'm including timestamps because that tends to be the standard. Let's see how long it takes before I get bored of this.
8:02 A quick word from our sponsors: This blog is being fueled by the last of Reggie Roby's Miller Lite. He's in Europe and I'm stuck here - he can deal with it.
8:06 Sick pass by Parker - right through Larry Hughes' legs! Easy bucket for Duncan and a foul, too! Hughes didn't even turn around! Why is he playing instead of Daniel Gibson? This might be why - Gibson is making just more than 400 grand this year. Hughes? $13.3M.
8:15 Everyone on the Spurs knows what they want to do with the ball before they get it. When Oberto got the ball under the basket, he went straight up with it. Mike Finley either takes a shot or passes immediately. No one on their team passes up an open shot, even if they aren't one of the 'big three.' You don't see that with Cleveland. It seems like they might be thinking they're taking shots away from LeBron when they take a shot. By taking a shot or getting the ball to someone else, you're not giving the defense a chance to rotate.
8:26 Gibson with another nice shot. I think this would be a good chance to point out that he's from Houston.
8:33 That makes me think that the Houston pro teams should be looking at talent originating in the Houston area. Gibson was picked with the 42nd overall. The Rockets had the 32nd overall. They apparently forgot about Hakeem and Clyde - players who brought championships to the Rockets after playing for the University of Houston. Championship teams are made through the draft - regardless of the sport. (See San Antonio Spurs, New England Patriots)
8:49 Break in the action. Check this out - I think I'm going to try to watch this girl play some time. She's 6'5 and has dunked a couple times in games.
9:05 Wow, San Antonio is up by like 28 points! I must not be paying attention. At least we don't have to hear about how Cleveland is "only" down by so much.
9:22 This has turned into quite the whooping. So much for Cleveland coming out a bunch stronger tonight.
9:45 I'm back. Oh gee, I'm getting tired of Tim Duncan's reactions to every foul. If he doesn't think he fouled somebody, he should scream obscenities at the refs and kick the ball and make a lot bigger deal about it. That whole bug-eyed thing should be really embarrassing for him. (Note: That was sarcasm. What I'm really tired of is everyone complaining about it. Seems like a relatively minor thing for people to jump on him about. None of his fouls are really that extreme and he deals with it in a civilized manor. Seems like a better way of handling it than laying down on the scorer's table.)
10:01 Not much to write about. Spurs are owning.
10:04 Horry with his fourth block! Once upon a time, he played for the Rockets, too. Won two championships with them. He's another player that the Spurs have had good success with. Horry is here to win a championship, he understands his role, and the coaches do a nice job of playing him effectively. It's tough to beat the experience that 6 rings brings you. I've got to believe that Horry is coming back next year. The Spurs aren't going to be changing much next year, would have to be considered favorites out of the West again, and Horry continues to get meaningful minutes and contribute. If I were the Spurs, I'd ask him back.
10:08 As I wrote the previous, Horry hits another three. Go figure.
10:15 So, Spurs up 27 starting the fourth quarter and Duncan and Parker are sitting on the bench. Is there even a chance this series makes it back to San Antonio. With the 2-3-2 (which I hate!) the next three are in Cleveland. Doesn't give the home team much of a chance for a celebration. Besides, why would you do it one way for the rest of the playoffs and then change it when it matters?
10:39 Don't look now, but this turned into a game for a little bit. This probably isn't a bad thing for either team. The Spurs will have some things to work on for next week. Well Mr. Marc Jackson just said the Cavaliers can feel good going into game three because they made a comeback against San Antonio's good players, but that was not the case and Stan Van Gundy agreed with me. Duncan and Parker sat long enough for Cleveland to get some momentum then came off the bench a little cold. It brought some competitiveness back into a game that was really done shortly after it started. The Spurs end on a nice note. Cleveland ends with a loss. Moral victories don't exist in the finals. The "boring" Spurs won a game that could be considered high scoring for these playoffs and scored 103 points on cruise control for most of the game.
Recap: Look for the Spurs to come out in game 3 in Cleveland focused and without the laughing and looseness they displayed in S.A. The crowd will be rowdy, but not enough. LeBron showed flashes towards the end of this one, but the Spurs' defense takes him out for large parts of the game. Duncan will assume his silent assassin demeanor and Parker continues his ways. Fouls tend to go the way of the home team, but they haven't been a factor in either of the first two, so I don't see them making the difference in Game 3. We'll see together.
Don't know if the blog is making a comeback for Game 3. I enjoyed it, included some stuff that I'd wanted to get onto the site, and it took some of my attention away from an otherwise uneventful whooping. After reading some other "analysis" I'll probably have more to say.
8:02 A quick word from our sponsors: This blog is being fueled by the last of Reggie Roby's Miller Lite. He's in Europe and I'm stuck here - he can deal with it.
8:06 Sick pass by Parker - right through Larry Hughes' legs! Easy bucket for Duncan and a foul, too! Hughes didn't even turn around! Why is he playing instead of Daniel Gibson? This might be why - Gibson is making just more than 400 grand this year. Hughes? $13.3M.
8:15 Everyone on the Spurs knows what they want to do with the ball before they get it. When Oberto got the ball under the basket, he went straight up with it. Mike Finley either takes a shot or passes immediately. No one on their team passes up an open shot, even if they aren't one of the 'big three.' You don't see that with Cleveland. It seems like they might be thinking they're taking shots away from LeBron when they take a shot. By taking a shot or getting the ball to someone else, you're not giving the defense a chance to rotate.
8:26 Gibson with another nice shot. I think this would be a good chance to point out that he's from Houston.
8:33 That makes me think that the Houston pro teams should be looking at talent originating in the Houston area. Gibson was picked with the 42nd overall. The Rockets had the 32nd overall. They apparently forgot about Hakeem and Clyde - players who brought championships to the Rockets after playing for the University of Houston. Championship teams are made through the draft - regardless of the sport. (See San Antonio Spurs, New England Patriots)
8:49 Break in the action. Check this out - I think I'm going to try to watch this girl play some time. She's 6'5 and has dunked a couple times in games.
9:05 Wow, San Antonio is up by like 28 points! I must not be paying attention. At least we don't have to hear about how Cleveland is "only" down by so much.
9:22 This has turned into quite the whooping. So much for Cleveland coming out a bunch stronger tonight.
9:45 I'm back. Oh gee, I'm getting tired of Tim Duncan's reactions to every foul. If he doesn't think he fouled somebody, he should scream obscenities at the refs and kick the ball and make a lot bigger deal about it. That whole bug-eyed thing should be really embarrassing for him. (Note: That was sarcasm. What I'm really tired of is everyone complaining about it. Seems like a relatively minor thing for people to jump on him about. None of his fouls are really that extreme and he deals with it in a civilized manor. Seems like a better way of handling it than laying down on the scorer's table.)
10:01 Not much to write about. Spurs are owning.
10:04 Horry with his fourth block! Once upon a time, he played for the Rockets, too. Won two championships with them. He's another player that the Spurs have had good success with. Horry is here to win a championship, he understands his role, and the coaches do a nice job of playing him effectively. It's tough to beat the experience that 6 rings brings you. I've got to believe that Horry is coming back next year. The Spurs aren't going to be changing much next year, would have to be considered favorites out of the West again, and Horry continues to get meaningful minutes and contribute. If I were the Spurs, I'd ask him back.
10:08 As I wrote the previous, Horry hits another three. Go figure.
10:15 So, Spurs up 27 starting the fourth quarter and Duncan and Parker are sitting on the bench. Is there even a chance this series makes it back to San Antonio. With the 2-3-2 (which I hate!) the next three are in Cleveland. Doesn't give the home team much of a chance for a celebration. Besides, why would you do it one way for the rest of the playoffs and then change it when it matters?
10:39 Don't look now, but this turned into a game for a little bit. This probably isn't a bad thing for either team. The Spurs will have some things to work on for next week. Well Mr. Marc Jackson just said the Cavaliers can feel good going into game three because they made a comeback against San Antonio's good players, but that was not the case and Stan Van Gundy agreed with me. Duncan and Parker sat long enough for Cleveland to get some momentum then came off the bench a little cold. It brought some competitiveness back into a game that was really done shortly after it started. The Spurs end on a nice note. Cleveland ends with a loss. Moral victories don't exist in the finals. The "boring" Spurs won a game that could be considered high scoring for these playoffs and scored 103 points on cruise control for most of the game.
Recap: Look for the Spurs to come out in game 3 in Cleveland focused and without the laughing and looseness they displayed in S.A. The crowd will be rowdy, but not enough. LeBron showed flashes towards the end of this one, but the Spurs' defense takes him out for large parts of the game. Duncan will assume his silent assassin demeanor and Parker continues his ways. Fouls tend to go the way of the home team, but they haven't been a factor in either of the first two, so I don't see them making the difference in Game 3. We'll see together.
Don't know if the blog is making a comeback for Game 3. I enjoyed it, included some stuff that I'd wanted to get onto the site, and it took some of my attention away from an otherwise uneventful whooping. After reading some other "analysis" I'll probably have more to say.
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