Cleveland Cavaliers Thread 2008-09

[CG]

i following James all seaso long and my god if he continues his carreer like that we surely forget MJ.What a player.Again MY GOD

[Lebron23]

Cavaliers defeated the Hawks last night, 97-82. Cavs are leading the series 3-0.


LeBron is simply phenomenal with 47 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, joining Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA postseason history with 45-10-8 in a playoff game.

[Zhang]

Cavaliers adds Chinese investors

According to Associated Press news:
The Cavaliers' new business partner is a huge multinational corporation with billions in assets
According to multiple NBA sources, the team's central new Chinese investor is New World Development Company, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate. It has over $21 billion in assets in hotels, convention properties, department stores, telecommunications, infrastructure projects and even financial services mostly in Southeast Asia.
New World owns a string of Marriott-brand hotels in Hong Kong, Beijing and Manila along with other brands that would be familiar to Americans, including a Hyatt. They are known in mainland China for their department stores in 17 different cities.
Huang, who has been working with the Cavs on Chinese sponsorships for the last two years, was able to assemble the buyer group when he learned part of the team was available.
The Chinese investors will have the second-largest percentage of team ownership behind Gilbert, who will remain as majority owner and will retain the final say on all matters with the franchise.
The investment will not be finalized until it is approved by the NBA's Board of Governors, especially the other 29 owners. The next meeting won't be until the fall but votes on ownership change can be done by proxy.

[Lebron23]

Charlie Villanueva to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Villanueva will be a restricted free agent, and he already told ESPN radio that he has his eye on the Cavs.

''I understand the situation Milwaukee is in financially,'' Villanueva said. ''They don't want to go over [the luxury-tax level]. Whatever team decides to make the best offer, I'm going to think about it.

''Cleveland definitely is not a bad spot. I've played with LeBron. I played with LeBron in the McDonald's All-America Game, and we played well together. Is there a possibility? Yes. Will it happen? Time will tell.''

http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2009/06/cleveland_cavaliers_afternoon_14.html

[LordOfLeyte]

Besides, MJ won his NBA Title at 7 yrs pro, maybe next year LeBron, 7 is a lucky number.

[Lebron23]

Michael Jordan thinks New York needs LeBron more than LeBron needs New York.

LeBron James remains on the mind of every Knick fan hoping this season's MVP becomes a free agent in 2010 and packs his bags for New York.

But Michael Jordan, the ultimate Knick killer, threw a wrinkle in the die-hards' wishful thinking Friday afternoon, essentially saying don't hold your breath - or think James can make the Knicks instant contenders.

"He's made his mark in Cleveland. I know New York fans would love to have him, but you need a lot more components than just one player," Jordan said after playing in a celebrity golf tournament at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, L.I., leading up to next week's U.S. Open there. "He's done a heck of a job in Cleveland and they deserve to have him there. He's from that area.

"In terms of the game itself, small markets can benefit from it a lot more than the big markets can. That's not a discredit to New York at all."

Jordan, of course, still went out of his way to tweak Knicks fans.

"You're asking me to talk about the Knicks and I own the Bobcats," he said. "I want to beat you guys every day."

Jordan finished with a 16-over-par 86 to take second in the four-player tournament. It will air June 21 at noon and lead into the final round of the Open on NBC.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger won with an 81, while singer Justin Timberlake (88) and Larry Giebelhausen (101) - a police lieutenant from Arizona who won a contest to play alongside the celebrities - both trailed Jordan, who admitted to being out of his element.

"The doubt creeps in there a lot more than it did on the basketball court. On the basketball court I never thought about it," he said. "When you step outside of your field, it's a whole different atmosphere; you become human, you become normal, and you deal with the expectations and effects of being normal. And I was nervous."

He also said he was surprised by the ovations James and Kobe Bryant received at the Garden over the winter, attributing their historic performances to "no defense, no defense."

On Feb. 2, Bryant scored 61 points and set the Garden's single-game scoring record. Two days later, James had 52 points and what appeared to be a triple-double until a rebound was later taken away after a league review. Both were serenaded with chants of "MVP!" and given standing ovations.

"It had a lot to do with what they were seeing. New York fans are very respectful for the game," Jordan said. "They recognize talent, but ... back when I played, anytime I'd go in the paint I'd have scratches and the possibility of some stitches. I'm not criticizing the game, but in essence it's not the same Knick team that it was when I played. They recognized good basketball. They're very respectful of the game, but I don't think you can compare the two."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/06/12/2009-06-12_jmicvhael_jordan_enters_james_games.html

[Lebron23]

Sources: Shaq-to-Cavs talks ongoing

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ESPN.com news services

Talk between the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers of a trade that would have Shaquille O'Neal playing with LeBron James next season has not gone beyond the preliminary stages and no deal is imminent, two executives with knowledge of the discussions told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard.

The clubs have not spoken within the past few days, but sources say talks of a possible trade involving O'Neal, Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic never completely died after it was first discussed in February.

O'Neal, 37, will make $20 million next season in the final year of his current deal, while Wallace will make $14 million in the last year of his contract and Pavlovic $4.9 million with only $1.5 million guaranteed.

The salary swap is close enough to make the trade work under the salary-cap guidelines, and the Suns would save $10 million in the transaction -- $4.5 million in salary and $5.5 million in luxury-tax payments.

They could save even more money if Wallace takes a buyout, a possibility that was raised when Wallace said he was considering retirement after the Cavs' Eastern Conference finals loss to the Orlando Magic.

If the Suns acquired him and bought out his contract for less than face value, they could lower their actual expenditures, although the full amount would still count toward their luxury-tax total.

Cavs GM Danny Ferry and Suns president Steve Kerr, former teammates in San Antonio, are good friends who speak often, and a possible Shaq trade has always remained on the back burner.

Cleveland aggressively pursued O'Neal in February, offering Wallace and Pavlovic. Phoenix was not interested in Wallace because his contract was not expiring and instead wanted Wally Szczerbiak.

Eventually, Phoenix pulled out of the deal because it wanted to see if the trio of O'Neal, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire could make a deep playoff run under then newly-hired coach Alvin Gentry.

Now convinced that they are no longer contenders, the Suns fully intend to move one of their big contracts. With Stoudemire being a young building block and Nash a local icon, O'Neal, whose salary is the largest on the team, makes the most sense.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4257421

[Lebron23]

Cleveland Trading for Antawn Jamison, Mike James, and the 5th overall Pick?

While plenty of media outlets are speculating about a potential deal between Cleveland and Phoenix, we've heard some talk of a possible trade between Cleveland and Washington actually. The deal would essentially be a cost-cutting move for the Wizards, sending Antawn Jamison and filler (Mike James) to the Cavs for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. Wallace seems likely to retire, and Pavlovic is on a non-guaranteed contract for next season. It's not clear whether the Wizards would need to surrender the #5 pick. Jamison is attractive to the Cavs since he's exactly the type of combo forward they were missing to match up with Orlando's Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu.

http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/Jonathan-Givony/#Word-on-the-Street-June-16th-3263

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStories.asp?lc=NBA&c=1&TEAM_ID=&PLAYER_ID=&hd=20090616#STORY_19574