Posted on Wednesday 5 July 2006 by Kenny Roda @ 11:18 am
Kenny Roda will be writing a weekly blog on Cleveland Scores covering the entire Cleveland sports universe. Check back often for his updates!
10) No other team can offer more years and more money than the Cavaliers. Five years and around $80 million depending on what the new salary cap is.
9) The mother of his son, his mother and now grandmother to his son, family, friends and inner circle are all from this area and have homes here. Does he really want to move them all?
8) Owner Daniel Gilbert is sinking a ton of money, not only into the team’s roster to surround LeBron with better players, but he’s also putting a lot of money into the arena and is building a new state of the art practice facility in Independence for LeBron and the team.
7) The Dwayne Wade rivalry that is developing in the Eastern Conference. D-Wade is one up on “The King” as far as championships go and being the competitor that LeBron is, you know that doesn’t sit well with #23.
6) The New Jersey Nets and LeBron’s good buddy and favorite musical artist, Jay-Z, are capped out and don’t have room to sign LeBron right now.
5) The New York Knicks currently suck and Kobe wants to prove he can do it alone in Los Angeles with the Lakers.
4) LeBron can go down in Cleveland sports history as the greatest athlete this city has ever seen and will be lauded as the savior of a city tortured by sports and he did all this by staying at home in Ohio right out of high school.
3) LeBron realizes that at the end of this new contract he’ll either be 26 or 27 and will still be in the prime of his career and will be eligible to sign another huge contract, either with Cleveland, or if they’re not winning, with any team that he wants to.
2) Even if he signs on July 12 for that reported 5 year deal around $80 million, he can always force a trade if the Dannys, Gilbert and Ferry, don’t put a winner together.
1) Did I mention the Cavaliers can give him the most money out of any team in the NBA? I want to believe that LeBron wants to stay here and bring a winner to his home state, but if I’ve learned anything from guys like Jim Thome, Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez, it’s a business and in this case Cleveland can offer the best monetary deal. So if LeBron is like all the other athletes today, and lets hope he’s not, but just in case he is, then advantage Cleveland is the money department.
Also listed under: LeBron James, Kenny Roda
Lebron James should stop B-S-ing and get to signing the deal (Verbally Agreeing to terms of the contract) . I think that there are a few reasons why Lebron has yet to publicly announce that he is signing the extension.
Number 1 last week the Cavaliers had their press conference announcing their two draft picks. Lebron showed up un announced to support his new teammates. Lebron did not want to be a side show when the CAVALIERS were introducing Brown and Gibson. It was interesting to know that Lebron and Brown played together on various High School All Star team and already have a good relationship.
Secondly we just had the fourth of july long weekend and I think that it is reasonable to believe that He was spending time with family just like everyone else was doing. But really all it would take is one phone call his agent to Ferry and everything will be done. COME ON ALREADY Lebron it is not that hard to say Ill work for 80 million especially with you being the last person in the great draft class of 2003 to say you are going to sign the deal.
Lastly the Lebron Situation as we can now call it is holding up getting Drew Gooden under contract. I think that it would probalbly be best is we find someone that wants Drew and sign and trade him. Would I be upset if Drew came back to Cleveland? Not at all, but I really need for him to get better defensively. I also need for Drew to show up every night and bring solid double double production. I think the CAVS rotation at power forward is above average with Donyell, Anderson and Drew Gooden. Man if we could roll those three guys into one player that would be premium but we cant do that so we have to work with what we have. Each player brings different types of game to the floor. Adding another banger, someone like Danny Fortson or even a healthy Tractor Traylor or Reggie Evans would greatly improve the toughness of the team. All in all Lebron is the biggest piece to the puzzle and once he signs on the dotted line hopefully Danny Ferry the coaching staff and front office can put together and team around Lebron to challenge for the NBA Championship for years to come.
Are you the guy on Cleveland Rants? If so, then keep up the good work. I heard the show the other night…. I must say, I think you guys can inject some life into WKNR 850. Fresh material. Thanks for the thread.
Hey, give it up chump! Rome and Mike & Mike and…Roda! Haha, what a frickin’ joke you are.
How about a grammar check…? I’ve never seen so many run on sentences! Who are you; how did you get a running blog on this website?
Howdy Roda, I like most fans in the Cleveland area thought it would be a no brainer and Lebron would sign with the Cavs. However since Lebron has not made a decision yet I am now getting worried. I even hear a rumor that Lebron and Larry Hughes were not getting along and that Larry was asking to be traded. Have you heard that rumor? Do you think that Minnestoa would take Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes and Luke Jackson for Kevin Garnett.
Hey Kenny… great insight. Personally, I am very curious to see what happens with Drew Gooden. I believe he would be adequate if we keep him. If we trade him, I sure hope we get a good PF who has some toughness. Either way, I still think we are second in the East to the champs-the Heat. The Bulls are not playoff tested at all. After that series with the Pistons, I believe we are. That is why I give us the edge over the new look Bulls. As for LeBron–don’t worry! He will sign.
On Another note, I have seen on ESPN.com that D-Jones is on the market. What do you think we could get for him? Are we still shopping Luke Jackson? I sure hope Ferry can improve this team!
You make great points with your top 10 reasons, and i’m sure Lebron will stay in Cleveland. How about this though. You said today on the radio it all depends on what Danny Ferry does with the Cavs. Why doesn’t Lebron take a little pay cut. Now i know this will never happen, but what’s the difference between 80 million and say 70 million. That helps Danny Ferry have a little more money to resign or go out and get a couple of new guys. It’s not like the 10 million will kill Lebron. I mean he is just making ends meet with his paychecks from Gatorade, Nike, Sprite, Bubble Yum, and whatever else Lebron is in. I know this will never happen, but it is just a thought. Keep up the good work.
Arturius - good point about the 4th of July weekend. Lets hope that’s what’s holding things up. Also good stuff about Gooden.
Evan - no that’s not me on Cleveland Rants, but thanks for listening and I’ll pass on the kind word to Neil and Les.
Mike - Always a pleasure to hear from you.
altruism - sorry about the grammer. I know i ain’t real good wid it.
Tim - From what i’ve heard, Minnesota has to get a true superstar and other
all star type players to even listen to offers for K.G.
Ryan - Lets hope Amon Ones is on the trading block and we can find a sucker of a G.M. to take him off our hands. As far as Luke goes, I think the only team that would take him considering he’s been under the knife twice already is Portland. He’s from that area and the have extra point guards right now.
bellballer - Forget hometown discounts…that doesn’t happen in Cleveland with star players, only with stiffs like Aaron Boone and Z.
Kenny,
I agree with your blog 100%. This contract doesn’t come down to anything other than $$$$. If LBJ did turn down the deal he would still be a Cavalier for 2 years, so when you look at the numbers the smart play is to take the 80 million, and figure out where to go from there. If the Cavs keep progressing, then he stays, if they faulter the next 2 years, then you find out why you give your agent that 10% cut of everything. Plain and simple. It would be both financial suicicde not to sign as well as making him possibly hated for 2 years that he would be stuck in Cleveland.
I believe with a poster above in that he has been spending time with his family as well as this little hold up is also causing buzz. Buzz is always good when you know in the end you are going to be a hero. PR Baby! That is what we are seeing here.
Kenny,
So I too hope that we can find a sucker GM to take “The best shooter in the universe.”
But back to Gooden… I know you want to get rid of him. What possible trades have you heard that could invovle him? What would your preference (realisitically) be?
Kenny though I can not stand that you are a Pittsburgh fan, and though you ruined my last Rome tour stop with your Big Ben Jersey. I do enjoy listening to the Road man. You bring it.
Now enough commenting. Lebron will be gone in 2 years. If Lebron signs the contract on the dotted line ( and he will) he will be gone in 2 years. Now I know this may come as a shocker to the city of Cleveland and send many to the local pubs, but Cleveland is in need for a sign and trade. There is no player more valuable than The King. The possibilities would be endless. We could piece together a solid team for the trade of the king with a contract already done. Lebron will be joining his friend Jay-Z soon, it is inevitable. He needs the big city lights and all of the fame. That is the way this kid is. It is not a bad thing it is just something Cleveland can not offer. And will never be able to offer. This city can not allow for another great player to leave us high and dry. Every time it happens we are forced to rebuild and the city is left with no hope. Get what you can because the clock is ticking down.
Kenny has usual your right on with yout top 10 reason’s. People are so paranoid in this city, just about anything and everything will be said till the day he sign’s. Keep up the great job.
Kenny, I couldn’t agree with your 10 reasons more. Cleveland fans just need to relax, we have King James for AT LEAST 2 more years, guaranteed. If he doesn’t sign this huge deal, he is taking a huge risk at never being offered this kind of money again (God forbid) due to a significant injury, etc. (again, God forbid). I have one more quick comment. What are your feelings on Danny Ferry’s agressiveness during this Free Agency? To compare them to the Browns, the Browns were incredibly agreesive during their Free Agency, not necessarily going after the “players and positions they needed,” but also going after the best players available. I’m not saying the Cavs would have gotten Ben Wallace, but did they even try? Allen Iverson is perhaps looking at being traded, but not a single word from Philly that Cleveland has shown interest (and we seriously need a point guard). I’m not saying we can afford an Allen Iverson, or a Kevin Garnett (even though they’ve sworn Garnett isn’t going anywhere), or a Ben Wallace, but if you sit around twiddling your thumbs, you’re only going to watch your division step up and boast their rosters while you sit back and think, “Wow, we could have used a player like that.” I just think Ferry needs to ASSUME Lebron is signing, and play with what money he has, and look at possible trades. I’m not expecting Cleveland to get Iverson, Garnett, or any other expensive players through a trade or Free Agency, BUT THROW SOME IDEAS AROUND AND BE AGRESSIVE!!! Two draft picks aren’t enough to hand us a NBA Championship. Love the show—–Tristan from Akron (Ewpert@msn.com)
I agree with your top 10 reason LeBron will stay with the cavs and i also agree on what triston says. We have to get competitive in the free agency like the browns did. We need a more athletic team than last year to reach the NBA finals and win. They don’t have to be the best players but a player who is very athletic and can make more than half his shots and play Defence would be extrodinary for the cavs and their playoff run. If you think about other teams like the Miami Heat for example you see their starting lineup and you think they are a good team and then they put bench players in like James Posey, Alonzo Mourning, and Gary Payton. all of a sudden your team is much much better. Its those players that you forget about but make a huge impact on the team. We need to get some of those players on the Cavs.
Rick.
I think this is more a ploy to keep his name in the papers. He will say nothing until July 12th and give you that sheepish grin and say, “I told you I was staying.”
In fact he might hold out longer to just get some more pub.
More pub == $$$$$$
i’m going to go on the record and say that as long as they are going deep into the playoffs, Lebron will be for the long run. everything he has done on the court and off the court points to this. gilbert and ferry both have worked hard to make this a respectable organization also.
and, if he does leave us high and dry or we sign and trade him in a couple years, i would say my chances of ever watching another nba are ZERO.
I think LeBron is going to stay here for sure. I am not going to talk about why I think he will stay here, everybody has already done that. Why wouldn’t he stay here? One question that was raised in one of the above replies was that “I even hear a rumor that Lebron and Larry Hughes were not getting along and that Larry was asking to be traded.” There might be some truth to this. I heard a LeBron interview last week and he was asked if he is “Batman”, who is his “Robin”? He answered, “I don’t have one yet”, he quickly back peddled and said, “Hughes, Larry Hughes is my Robin”. What a slap in the face to Larry, now I know how LeBron REALLY feels about Larry. I really don’t care if D-Wade won the title, he is NOT better than LBJ. Just a better surrounding cast. Put LBJ on the Heat and they probably would’ve won 70 games and swept Dallas. We need to definetley get tougher , LBJ knows it and doesn’t see it happening. Z and Gooden are too weak to be in the post. They need to put Z in a weight room and tell him he isn’t allowed to come out until he can bench press his weight. The lack of toughness really came to fruition when Z took that ‘bow from Rasheed Wallace. Where was everybody to take Z’s back? Where was LBJ? Isn’t he the leader of the team? Do you think that MJ, Magic, or Bird would have let one of their players take a hit like that and not do anything about it? LBJ has to quit being freinds with everybody on the court and realize they’re the enemy for 48 minutes, NOT YOUR FREINDS!!! Every team follows it’s leaders and LBJ isn’t the greatest leader yet, sure individually he is fantastic and he does try to include everybody in every game, but he isn’t a bona fide leader. If I would have been out there I would crushed Rasheed on the next play.
By the way, Kenny keep up the good work. You are the best sports talk personality in Cleveland by far. We shoud be worried about locking you up to a deal to stay in C-Town. Trivisonno is a fat a** and his show sucks!! Even though you’re a Steelers fan, you still do a great job, I am a loyal listener and enjoy listening to you from 3-7
Dad,
The word “Hottie” went out like a decade ago. Please take a hormone suppressant and tone it down, you sound like a dog in heat and I’m tired of getting ridiculed for it. At least act like you’ve gotten a little action since the night I was conceived.
Also, please leave the impersonations to the Frank C. The fact that you are “in character” 90% of the show makes your listener’s ears bleed. Furthermore, Coach Lucas has a throat problem from smoking crack and Charlie Manual has a stuttering problem…..have a little class and stop trying to get cheap laughs from their disabilities. Think about how you feel when our family ridicules your baldness, it hurts doesn’t it.
Thanks again for offering to let me use your car for the summer….but I respectfully am going to have to pass. I know that a gold Trans-maro with an eagle on the hood and “CHA-CHI” vanity plates may have “pulled hotties” back in the 80’s, but I’d rather be seen on a moped. You should really consider selling it. Maybe gay Uncle Gary who bought your Delorean(equipped with Miami Vice soundtrack) last summer could get suckered a second time.
It’s a brand new millenium dad….catch up….you’re missing it.
Cam
Kenny,
Who is the bigger idiot….Ric Bucher or Skip Bayless? I mean I know this is a tough question to answer because their both cleveland haters and both hate lebron. If I had to choose though, I would say skip, based on the fact that on 1st and 10 they had skip and woody do their own all-nba teams and skip bayless had to be the only moron in the world to not have lebron on the nba 1st team… I swear espn only uses the guy because of his stupidity and so people tune in everyday to see what moronic thing comes out of his mouth next. I’ll be looking forward to your answer, take care.
skip bayles is a total fool.
it amazes me that anyone let’s him on the airwaves. he makes more incorrect statements and predictions regarding sports than anyone else that i’ve seen or heard.
Nick & Kay Jay - The P.R. thing can’t hurt, your right. D-Wade got all the pub for winning the title, but who’s getting the all the PUB now? Good points!
Ryan - I’m not sure who for, but Gooden will either be signed and then dealt or signed and stay as a Cavalier. I’m looking into who they might be talking to in a sign and trade. Maybe somebody on the west coast since Gooden is from there.Golden St. reportedly wants to deal Troy Murphy….we’ll see.
El Monz - Your right…why not sign, get the guaranteed money and if it doesn’t work out in Cleveland force a trade. Definatly one of Lebron’s options.
Glenn S. - What can I say baby, It’s the O.I.C. factor. Iguess I can’t really blame the fans of Cleveland for being paranoid.
Tristen & Rick - Ferry doesn’t have alot of money to spend in free agency other than the mid-level exception(right now $5.3 mill) and the bi-annual exception ( right now $1.9). Those could change depending on what number the salary cap is at. Ferry’s best bet may be in sign and trades(Gooden) or straight up trades.
Kessler - I would hope the fact that they got to the 2nd round of the playoffs with a hurt Larry Hughes would show Lebron they’re moving in the right direction and that would be a positive factor in why he should resign. Lebron has to remember it took Michael Jordan 7 years to win his first title. Yeah D-Wade got one in 3, but he had Shaq, something M.J. and Lebron don’t have.
Mike G. - I agree about the whole friendship thing. Come gametime, especially in the playoffs you have to flush that and think of the opponent as th eenemy.
Joe - It’s not even close. The bigger idiot is Skip Clueless!
and last but not least Cam (LOL) - Didn’t you sign in earlier already as
Mike Trivisano….Gotcha!
Thanks for all the repsonses. Next weeks Blog will not be posted until thursday as I am on vacation. By the time I get back hopefully LeBron has signed and everyone in Cleveland can just CHILL OUT!
I see that almost everyone in this page disregards the purposed clause in the Nike contract that says that if Lebron moves to a bigger and flashier city he is going to get a s@!#load of money from Nike. Even though i like the fact that LBJ will stay in Cleveland i think that he should not have signed for monetary reasons only. That is what everyone would do that is the essence of the world we live in today capitalism.
“I see that almost everyone in this page disregards the purposed clause in the Nike contract that says that if Lebron moves to a bigger and flashier city he is going to get a s@!#load of money.”
We know about it. We’re just choosing to ignore it right now!
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I will be staying in cleveland forever……..for free