Dwyane Wade
With the 2010 Free Agent buzz dominating all NBA discussions, Vegas has jumped in with their opinion on the top 5 Free Agents: Cavaliers -150 Dwyane Wade Heat -400 Chris Bosh Knicks +300 Amare Stoudemire Knicks +220 Carlos Boozer Jazz +300 These odds allow gamblers to put their money where their mouth is, while also splashing a dose of reality into all the speculation out there. Vegas is again shifting on LeBron, this time with the Bulls inching closer. Wade staying in Miami is as close to sure to a sure thing as you can get at -400. While Bosh, Stoudemire and Boozer still seem to be anyone's guess given how contingent they are on where LeBron lands. We'll continue to update any changes, which are sure to come as July 1st arrives and the official recruitment begins.
|
|||
ESPN.com Reports: Dwyane Wade has a big decision to make on where he'll sign this offseason. And before he makes his choice, he said he'll talk it over with fellow big-ticket free agents LeBron James and Joe Johnson. Wade told the Chicago Tribune that he's not sure when the three players will talk, but they've been discussing their futures informally for a while now. "[Free agency] has been three years coming," the Miami Heat superstar told the Tribune. "We've discussed it prematurely, at different times. [But] you don't know what guys are thinking and where they're going. I think we'll all sit down, and before one of us makes a decision, all of us will have spoken to each other and [listened to the] thinking. "A lot of decisions [will be based on] what other players are willing to do and what other guys want to do. So it's not just a 'me' situation here. We all have to look and see what each other is thinking." James, coming off back-to-back playoff disappointments with his home-state Cleveland Cavaliers, will be the most sought-after free agent this summer, but Wade should be a close second. Free agency begins July 1. One team that could have a problem signing Wade is his hometown Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have money to spend this offseason and are expected to be one of the main suitors for James, in particular, but will their perceived disloyalty to former stars cost them a chance at the coveted players in the 2010 free-agent class? LeBron Tracker "I think the biggest question that you think about has to be loyalty," Wade told the Tribune. "I know one thing about Miami: It is a very loyal organization. I see what they do with their players when their players get done with the game of basketball . . . how loyal they are. I don't know about the Bulls." In particular, Wade questions why Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, who led the Bulls to six NBA championships, are no longer with the organization. "I see Michael Jordan is not there, Scottie Pippen is not there . . . You know, these guys are not a part," Wade told the Tribune. "Things like that. So that is probably one of the biggest things for me, because I am a very loyal person." Jordan recently became the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bulls, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets and Wade's Heat have the most financial flexibility to add a prime free agent from the 2010 class, which also includes the Toronto Raptors' Chris Bosh and the Phoenix Suns' Amare Stoudemire.
|
|||
If you didn't catch the game, I recommend checking out the highlights of last nights Cleveland vs Miami game. LeBron and DWade are #1 and #2 in scoring this year. In February alone, they have exchanged the title of League Leading Scorer six times. James took the lead with his 55 points in Milwaukee last week and Wade took the title back with a 50 point outing Sunday versus Orlando. LeBron had the right attitude when asked about it: "For the fans, if they are excited about it, then yeah, it will be fun to watch," James said. "For me, I just want to win basketball games. We’re trying to get the No. 1 seed. The scoring title, it means nothing to me."
ESPN.com was very interested in the their scoring battle. They ran three separate polls about LeBron, DWade and Kobe. Here are the results. Who will finish as the NBA's leading scorer this season?: Who is the best scorer in the NBA?: Which star has the best running mate?:
|
|||
Marc Berman of the New York Post spoke with Dwyane Wade about the potential of teaming with LeBron in New York in 2010 and D Wade did not shy away from the topic: Wade went on to say that New York has its pros and cons; one of the cons being the cold weather. He also acknowledged that they both enjoyed playing together under Mike D'Antoni and Coach K in the Olympics. Now these are some good quotes, but let me settle this right now: Dwyane Wade and LeBron James will play together in 2010 for 1 night in Dallas during the All Star game, other than that its just not happening. Both Wade and Bron are franchise players. They've taken their teams to the Finals at a young age, Wade completing the job with some help from a past his prime Shaq. Now, I don't know if anyone else has noticed this about players in the NBA, but there's a little thing called ego that many of them have. Wade is simply too good to play second fiddle. He will not be happy if the headlines read "LEBRON LEADS KNICKS TO 10th STRAIGHT WIN WITH 40 POINT EXPLOSION; WADE GETS 20" People will say, "He was fine with it during the Olympics." True, but that was a redemption mission those players were one for one summer. Things change when its a 5 year odyssey. |
|||
The Miami Herald reported last week that Kobe Bryant thinks it is a possibility that both LeBron and D-Wade would sign with the same team in 2010. Although he did not explicitly state that team to be the Knicks, the Knicks will be one of the few- if not the only- team that will be able to sign two big name free agents to max contracts in 2010.
LeBron has said of Wade: "[Dwayne Wade] is like the brother I never had. He has always proved doubters wrong. You don't want to play a team in the playoffs that has a guy [like that] that can take over."
|
|||
The report states: 'Though it would be surprising, Kobe Bryant said he could see Dwyane Wade and LeBron James signing with the same team as free agents in 2010, with the Knicks having the cap space to do it. "Why not?" Bryant said. "They played well together at the Olympics."'
