According to Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com, Team USA is in negotiations to hold training camp in New York City instead of Las Vegas in August. An exhibition game could also be hosted at Madison Square Garden. Team USA still plans to conduct a mini-camp in Las Vegas in mid-July, but there is a strong possibility that several key members of the team who will be unrestricted free agents this summer will be excused. The New York portion of training camp is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 10-16. The team is expected to attend induction ceremonies in Springfield, Mass., when the members of the original Dream Team are going into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.
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Start up the conspiracy theories again. Many have discussed the idea that a handshake deal was made last summer between LeBron, Wade, Bosh and Carmelo that they'd all do everything they could to wind up on the same team. Maybe it was on a night like the one pictured at left, after the crew got "massages" late at night. It appears they've all supported a push to go to New York for the summer which is a pretty good start...
Asked before the Lakers played the Knicks Friday night if the Cavs would be a playoff team without LeBron, Artest didn’t hesitate. “Actually I thought about that [Thursday],” Artest said. “If you take LeBron off that team, no. They’re not. They’re nothing. Not that they’re nothing, they’re still human beings. But you take him off that team, no. I guess that’s why they got me, to take him out of the game. [Thursday] it didn’t work. They got us this year, so all we can do is move on from that and see what happens in the playoffs.” The today, Harvey Araton of the New York Times tweeted, "I agree with Artest....Cavs without LeBron might be worse than Knicks. That's how good LeBron is" They're all correct. Mo Williams can ball and Sideshow Bob is a rotation player on a playoff team as are a couple others, but they are all made exponentially better by the open looks LeBron gets them. Even on the defensive end, LBJ erases mistakes with blocks and deflections all game long. The Knicks beat Cleveland without LeBron handily, if for no other reason than Mike Brown would have to do some actual coaching for the first time in 5 years and he's not particularly good at that. Araton's succinct comment put it best "That's how good LeBron is" and he's only getting better. As Bill Simmons wrote earlier this week for ESPN, the King has not come even close to reaching his full potential yet and the ceiling for LeBron's talent remains downright scary.
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We began posting the Vegas Odds in February 2009. Back then, a $100 bet paid $170 if LeBron went to the Knicks and $175 if he went to the Cavs. Only a year ago, Vegas essentially considered it a toss up. Since that time the odds have dramatically shifted in Cleveland's favor. However, for the first time in 3 months, the trend has stopped and begun ever so slightly to change direction. For the past three months $100 bet on the Knicks paid $400, but now that same $100 only pays $300. Meanwhile Vegas has seemed to settle in on -300 or betting $300 to $100 as the right number for bettors who think LeBron stays home. Cavaliers -300 Knicks +300 Nets +700 Pistons +1200 Maybe it's the better play from Chandler and Gallo that increased some of the money being bet on the Knicks and forced Vegas to lower the odds. Maybe it's the better coaching and play of the team overall. Or maybe Vegas realized they could still generate the same amount of action without offering such steep odds and decided to limit their exposure. 3 to 1 are still long odds, but there was a certain other New York team facing 3 to 1 odds only 2 days ago. Today that team is getting ready for the AFC Championship game. Unfortunately for the Knicks, Nate Kaeding won't be able to help them on July 1, 2010.
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Walt Clyde Frazier has said that he can show LeBron why he should come to NY next year. Good read by Tommy Dee of TheKnicksBlog.com. They better make Clyde part of the recruiting process, he's the epitome of what it means to be a Knick. The coolest Knick that ever slipped into the uniform has a message for LeBron James: Hang with me and you'll see why you should call New York home after this season. "I told LeBron all he has to do is come to New York and walk around with me for one or two hours and he will see why he should play in New York," Knicks legend Clyde Frazier told us on TheKnicksBlog Radio on Tuesday. "I have been retired 30 years, there is nowhere I can go in the city where people don't know me. People show admiration, respect. That's all he has to do, just walk around with me for a couple hours in the city and he will see why he should be in NY." James saw it earlier in the year when the Cavaliers were in the Big Apple on the same day the Yankees held their World Series parade. It's a recruiting measure like no other, except for a man who reached legendary status thanks to his Game 7 performance in the 1970 NBA Finals against the Lakers. To me, it's the greatest, most clutch performance of all time. Why? Because the Knicks were playing without a healthy Willis Reed, and because it was the ultimate moment at the pinnacle of the season on the big stage of the Big Apple. 36 points, 19 assists. Let me say that again for you younger fans who love stats and started watching in 1999: 36 points 19 assists. There have been World Series perfect games (Don Larsen), clutch home runs (Scott Brosius), huge shots (Allan Houston) and epic goals (Stephane Matteau), but when you think of great New York performances when it was all on the line, there's Mark Messier, Joe Namath, Phil Simms and Clyde. But Frazier's individual dominance may just rank on top. And Frazier knew that the Knicks had the upper hand before the game even started, when Reed famously limped out of the locker room. "There's an adage that says a man reveals himself in many ways," Frazier told me the other night. "They didn't have to open their mouths. I could tell from their body language that we were going to win." What he may never have realized, however, is just how much that game made him the Knicks legend that he still is today. As far as he's concerned, it's been a dream ride. So would LeBron instantly become the biggest athlete in the history of New York should he change addresses? "No question about it, because of what he has already accomplished, and just think, he still has not reached his prime," Frazier said. "So he would definitely be catapulted as the biggest player in the NBA. Right now, he will not pass Kobe as long as Kobe is in LA and LeBron is in Cleveland. Kobe has the rings in addition to that, but still, it is the magic of the name." We'll see what James will decide to do, but if I'm the Knicks, I make sure Clyde is part of the recruiting process.
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UPDATE: A Nike spokesman has announced the below shoe is a fake and not a Nike product. It is available on ebay if anyone wants to bid on the now infamous "LeBron Hoax Air Max." Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/reason_for_hope_TicvKV1in1vflgouey... Another tease for Knicks' fans or an indicator about LeBron's immediate future? The new shoe from LeBron James -- the Nike Air Max LeBron VII Hardwood Classic edition -- are New York's colors and inscribed with tantalizing clues from Nike and James. "[T]he newest, yet-to-be released kicks are not only a bright orange and blue - the colors of the New York Knicks - but turning over the shoes also reveals an I "LOVE" NY message on the outsole, and inside on the insole is an L23 styled question mark," writes The Cleveland Leader. "There's no doubt about the message that these shoes are sending." Indeed, the message itself seems to be doubt. In any event, James has a new sneaker that is likely to cause another stir and more marketing buzz for Nike. Cleveland.com says "LeBron's latest move will sound the New York alarm again. The new Nike Air Max LeBron VII Low will be released soon." You think? Of course it will, it's basically a Knick shoe! Has a player ever flirted this much with another city?
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Good read from Aaron Torres via Bleacherreport.com: Aaron Torres is a journalist whose work has been published by Sports Illustrated Online and syndicated by USA Today and AOL.com. To read all his work, including this article in its entirety , please visit him at www.aarontorres-sports.com ) It’s led to the sabotagization (Yes, I just made up that word, how do you like it?) of the New York Knicks for the last 18 months and counting, and even led LeBron James to get a temporary restraining order against the media. It’s the NBA’s, “Summer of 2010.” And much like the commercials, it’s apparently where “Amazing Happens.” During this upcoming summer, the scope of the league could and likely will change forever. In no particular order, here are some of the guys who will be free agents, and will probably be available to the highest bidder: Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki, Ray Allen, Manu Ginobili, Joe Johnson, Tracy McGrady, Rudy Gay, Richard Jefferson, and yes, even Kwame Brown and Louis Almundson. That’s a lot of guys who could make a lot of difference in a lot of ways. But ultimately, they’re all chips that are going to fall into place after the biggest dog gets fed. And that’s what we’re all waiting for: Where will LeBron James end up? We’ve all heard the scenarios, so I’m not going to waste a lot of time on them. But again, in no particular order, here’s how the LeBron James 2010 Sweepstakes could shake out: The New York Knicks can offer LeBron a ton of money, plus the cap space and roster flexibility to pretty much put together a supporting cast of his choice. Not too shabby. Plus, he can do it in America’s biggest city and in the world’s most famous basketball arena. The Miami Heat can offer James a whole lot of money to play alongside one of his best friends, and one of the game’s best players in Wade. There’s no income tax in Florida, plus LeBron would be playing in, well, Miami. And if the city is anything like the Will Smith song of the same name, who could blame him? (Ok that’s a little bit of an exaggeration and a joke, since I’ve been to Miami, and can most definitely confirm that the city is indeed like the Smith song, except about 42,000 times cooler.) LeBron can go to the Clippers and play in Hollywood, with a group of fun young players (Eric Gordon anyone? How about Blake Griffin?) and an excellent point guard in Baron Davis, who just needs a swift kick in the butt every once in awhile to get him going. And for LeBron, a guy who already has some Executive Producer movie credits on his resume, being in Los Angeles might be a bigger deal than you think. Finally, of course, LeBron can stay in Cleveland, win a lot of games for a long time, and hope and pray that his front office somehow figures out how to put together a better supporting cast. Staying in Cleveland of course, is a most definite possibility for James, who grew up just a few hours outside the city in Akron. All these cities and scenarios sound feasible, and again, I’m not going to waste our time speculating, since neither, you, I, nor virtually anyone else knows how LeBron is leaning. However, there is one scenario that I haven’t discussed, and purposely left out, because it has zero percent chance of happening. I hate to say it Nets fans, but it’s true. There’s no way LeBron is coming to New Jersey. Nada, zip, none, and maybe even less, if there’s a percentage smaller than zero that I’m unaware of. Now look, I didn’t write this article just to knock a franchise when it’s down. I’m better than that, and so are the Nets, who quite frankly aren’t as awful as they may seem to outsiders. But someone needed to say it. Which is what I'm here to do... (To read the remainder of this article, please visit Aaron at www.aarontorres-sports.com )
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Per Mike Lupica, NY Daily News: You can try to out-debate me on this, give me your own reasons why you think he will stay in Cleveland even though he's never going to win there. Or why you think he will go somewhere else looking for a championship. But more and more I believe the guy is coming, which would only be the modern, hoops version of Babe Ruth coming to town. And not just because I want this to happen, the way everybody else around here does who loves basketball and remembers what the Knicks and pro basketball were still like at Madison Square Garden. That was before James L. Dolan became the big boss of the place and turned it over to Isiah Thomas and we ended up with the lousiest decade in the whole history of the place. So the Christmas column is a little different today. It's not what we want this year. It's what we want next year: LeBron and some other big player from the Free Agent Class of the Summer of 2010. A guy I know from sports, a mogul-type, one who knows the NBA and knows the business side of sports even better, was talking the other day about the possibility of LeBron coming to the Knicks. He is not a New Yorker, by the way, and is not a Knicks fan. He just thinks the whole thing makes sense, and not just for the Knicks and for the league. "I am hearing," the guy said, "that Nike wants LeBron in New York even more than ever, because of Tiger." He was referring to Tiger Woods. Maybe you've heard about him. The guy said: "And the reason they want it more than ever is because they know Tiger is going to continue to regress. That there's going to be a void to fill, even when he comes back and starts winning." He went on to say that he has heard a theory floated that LeBron might even take a lot less money than he could get out of the Knicks - and a lot less than he could get out of the Cavaliers if he stayed in Cleveland - to ensure that the Knicks could sign another free agent, to be a real Scottie Pippen for him. Or maybe even two free agents. The guy said, "You think LeBron doesn't know how easy it would be for him to make up whatever he lost in salary in marketing? Come on. This is a smart kid." Then he pointed out that LeBron wouldn't just be breathing life back into the Garden, and back into pro basketball in New York. He would also come to town showing that he was willing to take a bit of a haircut on the money because that's how badly he wants to win. "I'm not saying this is going to happen," my guy said. "I'm just saying it starts to make more and more sense that it could." LeBron James isn't going to win a championship in Cleveland. I believe he is with the wrong general manager and playing for the wrong coach. We thought he was getting close to a title when he made the Finals for the first time, against the Spurs. Only now he starts to move away from one. And who thinks Shaq is going to help him get there? A month ago, I thought Donnie Walsh had no shot at LeBron, none, forget about it. But lately the Knicks have become a team their best and most diehard fans want to watch. In the short run, as you try to imagine LeBron in New York, you can see him actually wanting to be able to kick the ball out to the Italian kid, Danilo Gallinari, because you can see how the Italian kid might end up being the best shooter in the gym one of these days. Or there is David Lee, who plays like a champion every night, no matter what the score. If there is a way to keep Lee. There is Wilson Chandler. In November there seemed to be no hope for this season. The year ends differently. Michael Jordan had Chicago, Kobe has L.A., why not New York for LeBron? He clearly does have a fascination with the big bad city, and with the Yankees. Maybe that "27" on the sneakers after the Yankees won the Series really was more than an instant message. LeBron is smart, which means he understands that as big as he has gotten, and as fast as he has gotten there, the only way he becomes as big as he wants to be is by winning it all. And maybe coming here and having at least one big player come with him is the best way. Kobe has won four times now and has now taken dead aim at Michael's six titles. He is as much a star as he has ever been, rehabbed his image more than you thought he could, by winning. Tiger didn't become as big as he was by being some kind of immortal as a husband and father, that was just a corporate hustle and a lie. He did it by winning, by eventually being seen as more of a winner than anybody we have right now, more than Roger Federer in tennis, or his buddy Derek Jeter. So let LeBron come to New York and the Garden and try to win here. I am going to believe this will happen until he signs with somebody else. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2009/12/25/2009-12-2...
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ESPN did a story regarding the future outlook of all the teams in the NBA using some crazy math, long story short, they say odds are against the Knicks and Donnie's master plan of rebuilding. ESPN Reports: 21. New York Knicks | Future Power Rating: 465 PLAYERS-----MANAGEMENT-----MONEY-----MARKET-----DRAFT The assumption for the past year or so has been that the Knicks' future is really bright. But a closer examination reveals that assumption may have been little more than wishful thinking. Yes, the Knicks have a lot of money to spend in 2010 and an owner, James Dolan, who is eager to write the checks. Yes, New York is one of the top player destinations in the NBA, for the city itself, for the MSG atmosphere and for the endorsement possibilities. Yes, they have the most player-friendly coach in the league, Mike D'Antoni, whose fun, up-tempo style of play is something many players crave -- and D'Antoni also has strong personal relationships with potential free agents LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Chris Bosh, thanks to his stint as an assistant coach on Team USA. And yes, GM Donnie Walsh is a legend who, once upon a time, helped turn the Pacers into a championship contender. But here's the problem: The Knicks' current roster is a mess, and it won't be easy to fill in all the potholes, even with an expected $25 million in cap room. Our assumption here is that New York won't land LeBron James (if that changes, they'll shoot up these ratings) and will probably have a summer haul more akin to what the Pistons did last summer. Two solid free agents would be a start. But what about the supporting cast? Danilo Gallinari looks promising. Wilson Chandler is a contributor. Jordan Hill might help down the road. David Lee and Nate Robinson could also be part of the core, but both are unrestricted free agents next summer and their future with the team is seriously in doubt. Factor in this, as well: Utah owns the Knicks' 2010 first-round draft pick, likely a high lottery pick. (Ouch!) So all in all, it's unlikely we'll see the Knicks' fortunes change as dramatically as some expect from 2010 to 2013. Playoff team? Plausible. Contender? Not so much. First, I do like the call out of *if* LeBron comes this changes dramatically. The thing that bothers me about this is they basically list all the reason players will come here in 2010 and in 2011, and then say "but they probably won't come" and give no explanation. Doesn't make much sense to me. The list out the draw of the city, the endless supply of money, the most cap room in the league, one of the most player friendly coaches in the league who has strong relationships with the top free agents, and some promising young players... Those are some pretty compelling agruments, maybe they don't factor into the voodoo math, but I think they will play a large role in 231 days.
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