Palehosefan

http://theclevelandfan.com/index.php?optio...ve&Itemid=5

Might be only a 3 year deal for LeBron. That would be interesting.

D'Antoni concedes defeat. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketba...eaded_to_m.html Bobcats apparently very interested in Beasley.

LeBron is moving from the 26th Metro area to the 7th biggest. I'm sure the NBA is all torn up.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 12:19 PM) So could the Heat still sign Wade and bring in Miller if they trade Beasley? BTW, Haywood back to Dallas http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-h...mavericks070810 Beasley will make right at 5M this year, and that's the same area as the Miller offer.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 12:16 PM) What does that mean? IF it's true, the Heat will find out LeBron's decision at 9EST at the very latest. Then Miller can make his choice. Another option is the Heat have found a trade partner for Beasley. Another option is that this is all really damn annoying and can't be over soon enough. Goodman also said, "Miller has been told by Miami that the team is "confident" LeBron is coming. Miller could likely earn more money with New York Knicks."

QUOTE (sircaffey @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 11:44 AM) These role players and bench players don't make s*** over the course of their careers compared to starters. I find it VERY hard to believe there will be a lot of players who give up millions (who pretty much go year to year contract wise) just to play with the trio. Seriously, this is a non-issue. The Heat have 5 second round picks to fill out the roster, and have had good indications that Keyon Dooling and Raja Bell will join for cheap. The only issue will be moving Beasley at the moment, but it's not going to be too hard to move a 21 year old that averaged 15 and 6 and is making 5M.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 11:32 AM) Because they'll literally have no money left if that happens. LeBron + Wade + Bosh is a little under 50M, which leaves a little more than 8M to work with. Beasley, Chalmers, and Anthony take up most of that. But Beasley and Chalmers have a good chance of being dealt for other pieces. This is assuming LeBron, Wade, and Bosh all received 16.5M their first year. They could structure it differently.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 11:29 AM) Who's their fourth best player? Michael Beasley. But he will likely be traded for other parts most likely.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 11:13 AM) OKC needs to drastically improve their frontcourt before they can be taken seriously as a legitimate contender. Ibaka/Krstic at center and the undersized Green at the 4 isn't going to cut it. It'd also help if Westbrook improved his shot selection. Thunder just finalized the deal for Aldrich. He will be a major help inside defensively.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 11:07 AM) I think one of the two big points you made there is the minutes. I think the top 3 might have to play even more minutes than that for Miami. The other is the issues they have inside on defense, and I'm not sure how they'll address those. Joel Anthony is a very good defender, he just won't add much offense. Same with Dooling at PG, he is a great defender, but won't need much on offense. As for the minutes, LeBron already averages 40 minutes a game for his career. Wade averages 38, and Bosh 37. These guys are going to have plenty of games where the back-ups will be able to finish out the games. Here is my expected roster IF LeBron joins the Heat. PG: Dooling SG: Wade SF: LeBron PF: Bosh C: Anthony Bench, Bell, Haslem, Chalmers, and the 2nd round picks. That's good enough.

Decent article on how LeBron would make more money in the first 5 years in Miami than he would in Cleveland. http://www.cnbc.com/id/38146901

ss2k, I noticed the same thing in his first game. At the bottom of the page. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...8063&st=285

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 08:49 AM) he's back tracking a little on mike and mike now too. still says miami the favorites "but you never know" ESPN won't let one of their employees ruin their big moment. They even kicked all the other media out of LeBron's camp yesterday. Gotta love em.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 08:45 AM) IraHeatBeat Now Chris Broussard saying on SportsCenter: "It is not a done deal. I'm not ready to say it's a done deal."? Because it's bulls*** you twit. LeBron's camp has played everyone throughout all of this. It's Cleveland or Chicago. Translation: "ESPN told me to back off."

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 08:34 AM) I'm with you on this one but how bad is the rest of that team? Do they have anyone worth a darn? Beasley, Chalmers, and Joe Anthony are officially the only players on the roster at the moment. However, Beasley and Chalmers seem likely to be traded somewhere. Joe Anthony is a solid defensive center, might compliment Bosh well. Jarvis Varnardo, Dexter Pittman, Da'Sean Butler, Patrick Beverly, and Robert Dozier are all 2nd round picks from this year and last that might have roster spots. Varnardo should provide decent PF minutes with his shot-blocking ability, and Dexter Pittman is very talented for the 20 minutes or so he can give a game. Da'Sean Butler is recovering nicely from his knee injury and will be a solid SF back-up. Beverly is a defensive PG. I'm expecting the Heat to sign Keyon Dooling to play PG, and Raja Bell to get some SG/SF minutes. I'm also expecting Riley to step back in and coach. He usually has a 8 man rotation at best.

Ha, there's so much BS floating around right now. I'm sure NY, Miami, Chicago, and Cleveland all feel they have a shot right now.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:03 PM) why's that? Miami insiders as well as LeBron apparently flying to Miami tonight to meet with Riley. Wade and Bosh might be at the announcement as well. It could all just be rumors, but the Miami insider has been 100% so far. ESPN actually ran the LeBron flying to Miami news across the bottom line for about 5 minutes before pulling it back tonight at around 9:35.

I'm officially feeling good about LBJ to Miami.

This zone is absurd.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 01:01 PM) Even with Amar'e, the Bulls roster is so much better than the Knicks it's not even funny. He'd be an idiot(and hell he very may well be one) to go to the Knicks for that reason. I think you are underestimating LeBron and his "crew's" motives. One of LeBron's main goals is to become the next Billion dollar athlete. He is likely looking at the roster in New York and thinking it's no worse than Cleveland's and he could make millions more in endorsements.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 11:34 AM) Just saying that people in Miami don't give a s***. ?? 2010: 15th, 439 fans away from 9th place. 2009: 15th, 1,000 away from 7th place. 2008: 8th, 99.3% capacity. 2007: 5th, 100.6% capacity 2006: 4th, 101.8% capacity 2005: 4th, 101.4% capacity Heat fans are no worse than average NBA fans now. When I first started watching the Heat in the 90's, the stadium was half full on any given night. Hell, before 2005 the Heat had trouble drawing crowds. But that all changed with the title, surprise, surprise.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 11:27 AM) Well this is definitely true. I think the bigger problem the NBA has is lack of competitive balance though. There are just so man teams that don't matter, makes it hard to keep fans interested. Have to disagree again there. Cleveland was craptacular before LeBron. Atlanta was horrible for a long time before finally getting a few solid drafts in a row as well as Joe Johnson. Many of the teams that are garbage right now, were major contenders not even 10 years ago. Sacramento, Philadelphia, Detroit, New York, Indiana, Houston, etc were all relevant not too long ago. All it takes is the correct draft pick, or correct free agent signing and you can have your franchise in contention again. Boston wasn't relevant for many, many years before acquiring KG. The Lakers were nothing from the time Magic retired to the time Kobe and Shaq were acquired. Orlando had nothing going for them from the time the Shaq and Penny era ended until Dwight Howard was drafted. There's no reason a team built around Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah wouldn't be a title contender in a year or two.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:38 AM) You're not winning an NBA championship with Carlos Boozer as your 2nd best player and making either near max or max money. The trio of Deron, Boozer, and Mehmet Okur were winning 50+ games a year in the West. Rose, Boozer, and Noah won't be a contender in the East?

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:10 AM) No, but he offers a lot more on the offensive end than Boozer does. And at least Amare is bigger also, which in Thibodeau's defensive system would be a big advantage. This is an area that I have to disagree a little. Both guys are career 54% shooters, and Boozer offers a better low-post game while Amare can step out and hit jumpers. Amar'e might be an inch taller, but Boozer is at least 15-20 pounds thicker and is almost impossible to move inside. Both guys are atrocious defensively, and Amar'e is only a little less than a year younger than Boozer. Both guys have had their injury troubles, but Amar'e relying on his athleticism would bother me more than Boozer and his bulk usage. Not to mention that Boozer will actually pass the ball out of the post for an open jumper.