Tim Keown thinks the LeBron James saga is more exciting than the NBA playoffs. I don't know whether to rip him a new one for contributing to the James free agency hype or suggesting the hype is more interesting than actual games of NBA basketball. So I will do both.
There is a 10% chance this article is tongue-in-cheek, but I doubt it. Tim Keown doesn't look like he does comedy or irony well.
The Cleveland Cavaliers haven't finished a week of their offseason and we've already advanced to the package deal/conspiracy level of speculation in the LeBron James free-agency saga.
I like how Tim acts like he has no choice to write an article about LeBron. It is completely out of his hands, this is where we've already advanced. Don't blame him people for what he writes, it is the momentum of the LeBron speculation train that is the real problem.
The Bulls might end up getting John Calipari, which would get them LeBron,
Why wouldn't LeBron want to be coached by a failed NBA coach? Was Lon Kruger not available for an interview? Is Mike Montgomery too busy building the University of California basketball program? John Calipari is a great college basketball recruiter/coach, but he has already failed in the NBA once. I don't see why he should get another shot at it.
Or the Calipari-James connection could be complete fiction, which is what we've been told from the authoritative source of Calipari's Twitter account.
Calipari probably turned down the job after realizing he doesn't personally get to pay the players and his merely average game tactics and game management skills would be exposed in the NBA.
This article is exactly one of the few reasons why an NBA team should not try and hire John Calipari as their head coach.
When it starts out with something as juicy as Calipari drafting in LeBron's wake to take the Bulls' job after only one year at Kentucky, where could it possibly go from here?
Straight to "Annoying Story on ESPN Every Night" Land with a detour through the "I Don't Give A Shit Until He Chooses a Team" tunnel.
Or, to put it another way, if it got this good this fast, we can't wait for what's coming.
Oh no, I can wait. I don't want to hear anything about until we know exactly where LeBron James will land, though I know this is completely unrealistic. Every sportswriter wants to be the first to break the story of where LeBron is going or be the first to have his speculation end up being correct. That means we get tons of speculation with no end in sight. Oh joy!
I'd like to rain on the parade for a minute. It does matter where LeBron goes in free agency, don't get me wrong on that. He is a great player and whichever team he chooses will either go from a playoff contender to a NBA title contender or may go from a good team to a playoff contender. The problem I see is that much like Michael Jordan and nearly every other superstar in the history of the NBA, he can't do it all himself. If he leaves Cleveland for certain other teams he may run into the same problem he had in Cleveland, where his teammates aren't good enough around him. Shaq had Kobe and Wade, Kobe had Gasol, Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen, and Bird had McHale. LeBron is going to need a running mate that can score and make an impact on the game in his own right, but doesn't mind not being the top guy.
I think it is a bad idea for James to team up with a guy like Wade because that doesn't seem to make much sense to me since both guys are going to want the ball in crunch time. I think if he did team up with a guy like Bosh or Joe Johnson, this may work out well for the team that gets both players. Absent having another player on the team who is an potential All-Star or very, very close to that level, James is going to run into the same problem he ran into in Cleveland in that he won't have much help around him.
I have heard rumors of a sign-and-trade and I think this probably more likely than James just signing with another team and it will allow him to possibly to go to a team that has cap room and is ready to compete now. That's just my opinion, but what I think is missing in this LeBron-mania is the fact he can't raise a team like the Knicks to a championship level by himself. He couldn't do it in Cleveland and I don't know if he can do it anywhere else. Sign-and-trade may be the best option.
It's the perfect combination of time, place and circumstance -- LeBron's free agency has been a story for two whole years now, so we'd probably feel a little bit cheated if the final buildup didn't include wild speculation and a surprising cast of characters.
I wouldn't feel cheated at all actually. The buildup for two years has caused me to want the speculation to end and the talk about the NBA playoffs to heat up. I have also thought about clawing my eyeballs out a few times over the past couple of weeks. There are other free agents that could join a team and allow that team to become an NBA title contender immediately. They aren't getting nearly as much press. What if the Nets signed Dwyane Wade and drafted Derrick Favors? That's not a bad team at all, even if it takes Favors a 1-2 years to develop. What if Dirk opts out and then is signed by Miami to entice Wade to stay? Is that team a contender in the Eastern Conference with some other minor moves? I think so.
And this is good. Now that the Cavs' collapse is over, we want more Worldwide Weses and more colorful tales of the guys in the inner circle -- the "family," as LeBron describes them.
No, no, no. I want less of these people. I would bet 90% of America feels the same way I do.
The title of this article by Tim Keown was:
Pick one: LeBron James or NBA playoffs
Free-agency saga has more drama, human interest than postseason games so far
(I put the title in bold and large letters just for the effect...it did not work of drama, but I don't care)Yet, there is only three paragraphs in this entire column that mentions the NBA playoffs. Tim Keown is just trying a covert way to write a "Where is LeBron James going in free agency" article. Tim Keown and his angry scowl can't fool me.
It would be fantastic if we could toss a famous rapper and a Russian billionaire into the mix --
Gosh, that would be nice. If only...
and hey, here come the Nets with Jay-Z and Mikhail Prokhorov.
Oh shit, you got me! I completely fell for that one. That was some Peter King-esque, "I don't like the pick by the Steelers...I love it" tomfoolery there.
Oh shit, you got me! I completely fell for that one. That was some Peter King-esque, "I don't like the pick by the Steelers...I love it" tomfoolery there.
(Two years in Newark, though? Unlikely place for a guy who calls himself "King.")
As opposed to 5-7 years in New York where he can be a king without a decent supporting cast or feel like he is starting over like when he joined the Cavaliers out of high school? Of course that may be the case in New Jersey too.
Plus, there's the looming specter of Cleveland to remain in the running. There's the distinct possibility that owner Dan Gilbert will do whatever it takes -- fire Mike Brown, sign Bosh, hire Worldwide Wes as GM -- to keep LeBron.
Well, Brown was fired, but I think the biggest thing the Cavs need to do is make sure if Bosh doesn't come to Cleveland, they get another player who can help carry the load with LeBron. Preferably the Cavs won't try to find a player that clogs up the lane when he is on the floor and makes it hard for LeBron to get to the basket (like Shaq did). That always helps. Antawn Jamison is much more of a #3 scoring threat on a championship team, than a #2 threat on a championship team. There has to be some more help for LeBron or it won't matter who is coaching the Cavs.
What do we bet there won't be a coach hired in Cleveland until the Cavs find out if LeBron is staying or going somewhere else in free agency? I would bet $100.
The stupidest rumor I have heard is Coach K going to Cleveland to coach LeBron. Why would a college coach in his early 60's leave his current job at a top college, when he is still recruiting well, to go coach overpaid millionaires in the NBA, where most college coaches fail anyway? This doesn't make sense for him to do.
After all, if James is truly chasing a title, he's closer to one in Cleveland than any of the other most popular suitors.
Disagreed. What about a sign-and-trade idea? If James goes for a sign-and-trade then Cleveland may not actually be closer to an NBA title than any other team in the running for James' services.
The LeBronfest is the culmination of a sports world that has become obsessed with prognostication, rumor and anticipation.
Or as I call it ESPN.
And here's another thing: It couldn't come at a better time. Sure, LeBronmania is destined to become even more rabid and overblown -- hey, we'll do our best --
Mission accomplished. I want LeBron to pick a team now so ESPN can go directly into the coverage of what surgery Brett Favre is wavering about having this week or start covering the World Cup more than they ever have before (since they are televising it and are covering the World Cup so intently for no other reason other than they aren't a sports network anymore, but instead a corporate conglomerate that is concerned about promoting it's own products whenever possible). I want LeBron to choose so ESPN can over-cover another sporting event. I need the LeBron-mania to be over...and yet I know it is just beginning.
but it beats this season's playoffs.
Only a person who writes about sports for a living could actually think rumors and speculation about where LeBron James will go is more exciting than actually watching NBA playoff basketball.
Whether it's the pace -- game, two days off, game, three days off, game -- or the matchups, this season's games make us pine for the days of the tape-delayed 11:30 p.m. Friday night telecasts, when it seemed like Calvin Murphy was always at the free throw line and Dick Stockton was at the mike.
I will agree with his point about the pace. The pace does go off-kilter for me at times. Other than that, these playoffs haven't been the most thrilling, but they are the NBA playoffs and real fans of the NBA will enjoy them regardless. As I have said before, I wish we could get back to the time when every game didn't need an "angle" to be interesting and the mere entertainment of the game being played was enough. That's my old person rant for the day, but things weren't always perfect in the good old days, but I feel as if the media believes no game is complete without an angle that doesn't have to do with the specific matchup on the court.
In a word, this season's playoffs have been brutal. Of the first 12 series, just one went the full seven,
I guess an NBA playoff series can't be interesting unless it goes the full seven games. I remember there being some excitement in the Oklahoma City-Los Angeles Lakers series and it only went six games, so I would say Tim Keown is wrong about this statement. A series doesn't have to go seven games to be considered exciting.
and that one -- Hawks-Bucks -- was probably the most forgettable seven-game series ever.
Well that's only because the Hawks-Bucks games involved teams from Milwaukee and Atlanta and not any important NBA cities like Los Angeles, Boston, New York, or Dallas. If these games were played by any of the teams the media tends to favor, it would have been an exciting seven games series. Alas, it did not happen and it was forgettable in the eyes of Tim Keown. I would bet he didn't watch more than one game of the series, so I am not sure we can trust his opinion.
Should Atlanta and Milwaukee even be able to have NBA teams? Why even have NBA teams in cities that are so boring?
The average margin of victory through the first two rounds (63 games) was 12.5 points, a figure that was admittedly skewed somewhat by the Magic-Hawks abomination.
See? Get rid of that team in Atlanta. They are an abomination. Contract the Hawks and Bucks and hold a draft for their players among the other 28 teams in the NBA.
The final four holds some promise, or at least we can still hope. Jeff Van Gundy's words on the grim spectacle of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals rang true -- that's going to be a long, hard slog. And Game 1 of Suns-Lakers, a matchup that should work, didn't start well.
Yet here we are a few weeks after Tim Keown has stated the LeBron James free agency sweepstakes is more exciting than the playoffs and we have two series that are pretty exciting. So now the excitement Tim Keown craves is here. Though I am sure Tim Keown won't consider them exciting playoff series until they have gone seven games.
Here's an idea: Split the screen and show the games on one side, without sound, while the other half is taken up by talk of LeBron.
Here's an idea: Let's not do this. If the intent is to make sure nobody watches the Eastern Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals and the NBA Finals then this would be a great idea. Otherwise, how about we just watch the games that are being played and shut up about LeBron James until the time comes when he actually has to make a decision?
Call in various guest speakers -- the traditional screaming heads,
Known as Tim Keown's co-workers at ESPN.
sociology professors, influential people from Worldwide Wes' past pixelated with voice distortion to prevent identification. I'm convinced we're one or two more blowouts from someone making this a reality.
The sad part is I am somewhat convinced ESPN would think about doing this. As the NBA Finals start and James' pending free agency gets closer, it wouldn't shock me if there were periodic "LeBron updates" during the game.
Oh, and a special guest appearance by John Calipari, via Twitter.
If LeBron's handlers want to ruin the peak of LeBron's career they will find a way to get Calipari to coach him.
Before I go for the day, I wanted to share with everyone the abortion of a title for an article I found. It is about Derrick Character and his past troubles as he gets ready to enter the NBA Draft. What is it called?
"Character issues could come back to haunt New Jersey's Derrick Caracter in next month's NBA Draft."
It's not a half-bad article if you are looking for background on Caracter, but that title is absolutely terrible. What's next regarding bad puns in article titles in relation to the NBA draft?
"Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors does his opponents no favors on the court."
"Ohio State NBA draft pick sees ship he can sail on in Philadelphia and looks to turn-er around toward less stormy seas."
"James Anderson may have a normal name but his basketball skills are anything but ordinary."
It's so obvious to make the title of an article about Derrick Caracter to involve a play on the word "character." That's weak.
As opposed to 5-7 years in New York where he can be a king without a decent supporting cast or feel like he is starting over like when he joined the Cavaliers out of high school? Of course that may be the case in New Jersey too.
Plus, there's the looming specter of Cleveland to remain in the running. There's the distinct possibility that owner Dan Gilbert will do whatever it takes -- fire Mike Brown, sign Bosh, hire Worldwide Wes as GM -- to keep LeBron.
Well, Brown was fired, but I think the biggest thing the Cavs need to do is make sure if Bosh doesn't come to Cleveland, they get another player who can help carry the load with LeBron. Preferably the Cavs won't try to find a player that clogs up the lane when he is on the floor and makes it hard for LeBron to get to the basket (like Shaq did). That always helps. Antawn Jamison is much more of a #3 scoring threat on a championship team, than a #2 threat on a championship team. There has to be some more help for LeBron or it won't matter who is coaching the Cavs.
What do we bet there won't be a coach hired in Cleveland until the Cavs find out if LeBron is staying or going somewhere else in free agency? I would bet $100.
The stupidest rumor I have heard is Coach K going to Cleveland to coach LeBron. Why would a college coach in his early 60's leave his current job at a top college, when he is still recruiting well, to go coach overpaid millionaires in the NBA, where most college coaches fail anyway? This doesn't make sense for him to do.
After all, if James is truly chasing a title, he's closer to one in Cleveland than any of the other most popular suitors.
Disagreed. What about a sign-and-trade idea? If James goes for a sign-and-trade then Cleveland may not actually be closer to an NBA title than any other team in the running for James' services.
The LeBronfest is the culmination of a sports world that has become obsessed with prognostication, rumor and anticipation.
Or as I call it ESPN.
And here's another thing: It couldn't come at a better time. Sure, LeBronmania is destined to become even more rabid and overblown -- hey, we'll do our best --
Mission accomplished. I want LeBron to pick a team now so ESPN can go directly into the coverage of what surgery Brett Favre is wavering about having this week or start covering the World Cup more than they ever have before (since they are televising it and are covering the World Cup so intently for no other reason other than they aren't a sports network anymore, but instead a corporate conglomerate that is concerned about promoting it's own products whenever possible). I want LeBron to choose so ESPN can over-cover another sporting event. I need the LeBron-mania to be over...and yet I know it is just beginning.
but it beats this season's playoffs.
Only a person who writes about sports for a living could actually think rumors and speculation about where LeBron James will go is more exciting than actually watching NBA playoff basketball.
Whether it's the pace -- game, two days off, game, three days off, game -- or the matchups, this season's games make us pine for the days of the tape-delayed 11:30 p.m. Friday night telecasts, when it seemed like Calvin Murphy was always at the free throw line and Dick Stockton was at the mike.
I will agree with his point about the pace. The pace does go off-kilter for me at times. Other than that, these playoffs haven't been the most thrilling, but they are the NBA playoffs and real fans of the NBA will enjoy them regardless. As I have said before, I wish we could get back to the time when every game didn't need an "angle" to be interesting and the mere entertainment of the game being played was enough. That's my old person rant for the day, but things weren't always perfect in the good old days, but I feel as if the media believes no game is complete without an angle that doesn't have to do with the specific matchup on the court.
In a word, this season's playoffs have been brutal. Of the first 12 series, just one went the full seven,
I guess an NBA playoff series can't be interesting unless it goes the full seven games. I remember there being some excitement in the Oklahoma City-Los Angeles Lakers series and it only went six games, so I would say Tim Keown is wrong about this statement. A series doesn't have to go seven games to be considered exciting.
and that one -- Hawks-Bucks -- was probably the most forgettable seven-game series ever.
Well that's only because the Hawks-Bucks games involved teams from Milwaukee and Atlanta and not any important NBA cities like Los Angeles, Boston, New York, or Dallas. If these games were played by any of the teams the media tends to favor, it would have been an exciting seven games series. Alas, it did not happen and it was forgettable in the eyes of Tim Keown. I would bet he didn't watch more than one game of the series, so I am not sure we can trust his opinion.
Should Atlanta and Milwaukee even be able to have NBA teams? Why even have NBA teams in cities that are so boring?
The average margin of victory through the first two rounds (63 games) was 12.5 points, a figure that was admittedly skewed somewhat by the Magic-Hawks abomination.
See? Get rid of that team in Atlanta. They are an abomination. Contract the Hawks and Bucks and hold a draft for their players among the other 28 teams in the NBA.
The final four holds some promise, or at least we can still hope. Jeff Van Gundy's words on the grim spectacle of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals rang true -- that's going to be a long, hard slog. And Game 1 of Suns-Lakers, a matchup that should work, didn't start well.
Yet here we are a few weeks after Tim Keown has stated the LeBron James free agency sweepstakes is more exciting than the playoffs and we have two series that are pretty exciting. So now the excitement Tim Keown craves is here. Though I am sure Tim Keown won't consider them exciting playoff series until they have gone seven games.
Here's an idea: Split the screen and show the games on one side, without sound, while the other half is taken up by talk of LeBron.
Here's an idea: Let's not do this. If the intent is to make sure nobody watches the Eastern Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals and the NBA Finals then this would be a great idea. Otherwise, how about we just watch the games that are being played and shut up about LeBron James until the time comes when he actually has to make a decision?
Call in various guest speakers -- the traditional screaming heads,
Known as Tim Keown's co-workers at ESPN.
sociology professors, influential people from Worldwide Wes' past pixelated with voice distortion to prevent identification. I'm convinced we're one or two more blowouts from someone making this a reality.
The sad part is I am somewhat convinced ESPN would think about doing this. As the NBA Finals start and James' pending free agency gets closer, it wouldn't shock me if there were periodic "LeBron updates" during the game.
Oh, and a special guest appearance by John Calipari, via Twitter.
If LeBron's handlers want to ruin the peak of LeBron's career they will find a way to get Calipari to coach him.
Before I go for the day, I wanted to share with everyone the abortion of a title for an article I found. It is about Derrick Character and his past troubles as he gets ready to enter the NBA Draft. What is it called?
"Character issues could come back to haunt New Jersey's Derrick Caracter in next month's NBA Draft."
It's not a half-bad article if you are looking for background on Caracter, but that title is absolutely terrible. What's next regarding bad puns in article titles in relation to the NBA draft?
"Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors does his opponents no favors on the court."
"Ohio State NBA draft pick sees ship he can sail on in Philadelphia and looks to turn-er around toward less stormy seas."
"James Anderson may have a normal name but his basketball skills are anything but ordinary."
It's so obvious to make the title of an article about Derrick Caracter to involve a play on the word "character." That's weak.
in Keown's defense, the Hawks/Bucks series only went 7 because the Bucks were missing their best player and the Hawks are a Potemkin 50-win team. still, the Thunder/Lakers series was great, Suns/Spurs was pretty exciting for being a sweep, and Cavs/Celtics was entertaining.
ReplyDeleteas for LeBron, it may not even matter what team and players he goes to. in my opinion it would take a coach like Phil Jackson or Pat Reilly--someone with the authority and pedigree to make him get over himself and take his game to the next level--for LeBron to lead a team to the championship. Phil Jackson has gotten ten championships with Jordan, Kobe, and Shaq, the three most self-interested superstars of our generation, so I think he'd be able to get something going with LeBron. the problem is that Reilly runs the show in Miami and Jackson's got a sweet gig in LA. LeBron might prove me wrong (he might even find his own Phil Jackson) but ultimately I wonder if it's worth it for any team.
I personally enjoyed the Hawks/Bucks series and I see what you are saying. I found it interesting he thought a series had to go 7 games to be interesting.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Suns/Spurs and Thunder/Lakers series. It hasn't been a great playoffs yet, but that's ok. They can't all be great.
I agree about LeBron. Jordan has zero and Kobe have zero rings without Jackson. Shaq has one and that was w/ Riley. I think it doesn't matter too much where he goes because if he chooses a team that isn't contending, he'll just be where he is now. My personal opinion is that he should get a real coach, someone he can't walk over, but that would go against what his handlers what.
It's a catch 22. If he hires a coach that won't tell him what he wants to hear, then he may have a better chance of winning a title...but he wants to be able to have pull over the coach, which means he can't get a guy like Riley or Jackson.
I don't think he should coach LeBron, but I wonder when Mark Jackson will get a chance to coach. He seems to have his shit together. I would love to see James go with Phil Jackson, because I think they could win a title together...Riley would also be good. Mike Brown just won't cut it. I don't think LeBron can push his ego aside and have a strong coach on his side.