Lebron: “I think I’m happy in Cleveland…”

THERE! that settles it.hes staying in cleveland.now can we stop with all of the LEBRON to new york nonsense.lets move on

“Im staying in Cleveland, there I said it” sounds pretty convincing to me…

The bad thing is I believe him…..we should just find out if that Melo trade is still possible, draft a PG and get camby and try our best. Think about it the only real franchise 2010 players are D Wade and Lebron the others are just supporting stars like Joe Johnson, Amare, Bosh.
Hey,
Curry/Jennings
Ill Will
Melo
Lee
Camby
with Nate, Gallo and say danny green coming off the bench sounds pretty good.

Melo, are you serious? Why the hell would the Nuggets try to trade him now?

You got to see trades BEFORE these players get succesful, it’s sensless to believe that teams will trade their players when everything’s good. You got to gamble, Donnie Walsh did it with Jermaine O’Neal.

I said check didnt say it would work.

I still, very much, like our chances…

I don’t know where you see the thing is settled. he could be excited about being in Cleveland now and be excited to join the Knicks in 2010.

and do you know what Donnie Walsh thinks of our chances ? …

cause really, his next year moves will depend on that.

The real question is would a Curry/Jennings, Joe Johnson, Ill Will, Bosh, Camby lineup win us a championship?

Well, look at it this way. He’ll have Gallinari and whoever he drafts this year (either a great pick, or a later in the 1st if he makes a deal and trade down) who would be key pieces to fit with Lebron. We also have Chandler, although I’m starting to get a feeling that if Eddy doesn’t respond he may have to use will to dump Curry and get that 2010 pick. That, of course, is speculation.

He also knows that he has to add some veteran defenders who would be cheap pieces that could be here long term.

It’s going to be an active off season and they only have to get to .500 to be a playoff team.

Say they win 42 games and give a 2 or 3 seed a run for their money in the playoffs next year and find a way to move curry.

That would guarantee a top tier free agent with Lebron.

they’d have serious momentum and it’s not that far-fetched.

That’s what I’m afraid of

If D-Wade and Lebron re-sign with their teams, the best we can hope for is Bosh/Johnson. I don’t see them as game changers (they don’t have a bad supporting cast today actually), they will never lead us to a championship

So if that’s the case, forget about having cap space in 2010 and trade our expiring contracts for average players with bad deals and draft picks … I know this is gonna make you all mad, as that is exactly what the previous management did, but I don’t see any other way to have a chance to being a contender …

But I do believe that a guy like Donnie can get an inside track of Lebron and Wade intend to do

Lebron has said that he grew up a big Yankees, Bulls, Cowboys, Florida State and Ohio State fan. I think it’s knit picking to assume he doesn’t like Cleveland because he wasn’t a Cavs fan growing up. You also can’t assume he wants to play for the Knicks only because he is a Yankees fan, because then you would have to assume that the Bulls are the front runners followed by the Mavs and Knicks. Just wearing the hat or being a fan doesn’t mean much; I mean CC Sabathia wore a Yankees hat to a NBA game WHILE HE WAS PLAYING FOR THE INDIANS, then this winter, he tried in all of his power to not come to the Yankees until he succumbed to the fact that nobody wanted to offer him a contract. Lebron was just a front runner growing up. He just like the attention this story is getting.

I’m not convinced next year’s results will have such an impact on Lebron’s decision.

Look at the Celtics turnover. KG accepted to join them once they got Ray Allen. The fact that they sucked the previous season wasn’t a factor.

Sure, KG was not exactly on a winning team at the time …

So yeah, getting rid of Curry and Jeffries is the key. We then would be able to sign Bosh or Stoudemire, which would be convincing enough for James. As you say, I’d sacrifice Chandler or our pick to achieve this.

You know J-Knick we forgot all about Dirk but I think Mark Cuban will die before he lets Dirk go.

Damn right !

but hopefully Gallo is the next Dirk

All that may be true- although I’m not saying that he doesn’t like cleveland bc he didn’t root for the Cavs. Just saying all the hub about how he’s a lock to stay home doesn’t jive with me bc he doesn’t seem a salt-of-the-earth clevelander.

that’s all.

And it still doesn’t justify what he won’t say, “I luv it here too much to leave. I was born here, I will end my career here.”

add to that the NBA dream of Lakers/knicks- kobe/lebron and I like our chances and will until (if) he says he’s staying put.

then I’ll shake it off and move on.

I will not believe that LeBron is staying in Cleveland until he signs an extension with them. That said, I will not believe that he is coming to NY until he signs here. But while he is under contract, he will never say that he is going to leave. He just won’t do that. He cares about personal success, but he is not self-centered enough to throw his team (which is dominating) under the bus.

No offense, but I think you are choosing to ignore the obvious and look for signs you want to see. It’s a common cognitive bias when people who want something to happen look for the signs favorable towards that outcome and limit and condition signs of the alternate outcome.

I think you are ignoring the signs of: him being from there, building a new mansion there, and him practically saying everything but “I’m staying in Cleveland” (which of course would be a bonehead move). You are taking his desire to become a billionaire as a sign of coming, however you condition his other desire of wanting to win multiple titles by writing articles about how the Cavs are a bunch of crappy players with Lebron. You are conditioning the fact that the Cavs are the favorite to win a title this year, and the Knicks have Gallo and D-Lee or/ Nate. I mean I don’t know about you, but the Cavs core of Williams and West is actually pretty good, surly not much better or worse than what the Knicks have or will have.

I get that it helps your blog and all of that if Lebron comes, but the signs are definitely there which point to him staying. I don’t think it’s fair to ignore them, and condition every single one of them.

No one should ever make a promise to stay anywhere. He wants to win, and if a team like, say, the knicks, presents him with an opportunity to win multiple championships he has to be open to that. Committing to ‘cleveland for life’ right now at age 24 is just bad business and irresponsible.

Also, Kobe made 39 mil last year, total, and LeBron made 38 mill so i think we can drop the hole ‘big stage big market’ thing.

Only one thing will bring LeBron or here: A Championship Roster: Depth, heart, youth, defense, and devotion.

Random lineup that doesn’t include LeBron (its healthy to do this because we really might not get him or Wade.)

Curry
Chandler
Galo
Jamison
Bosh

I think they could do serious damage

Im with Chris on this one. But we should really start looking at other options.

I don’t ignore any signs I’m taking a stand as to how I feel about the situation.

I’ve said many times that I don’t think Lebron knows at this point. Nor should he. He’s focused on a championship.

But I think lebron is coming here for a million reasons. Read the Mark Messier theory, read NBA marketing dream, and read that he wants to be a billionaire. So you just contracted yourself. You’ve chose to believe what you want to believe about me while ignoring the facts.

Getting back to the Cavs vs knicks. It’s simple. I’ve never said the Cavs have “crappy” players at all. I just can’t get over just how good lebron is and how much confidence they are playing with. And i’m saying that the gap between the knicks level of talent and the cavs level of talent can be closed closer than everyone, including you, think.

no offense taken, and this isn’t to placate my blog, it’s how I really feel as someone who’s studied this game for nearly 20 years.

If memory serves me correctly, weren’t the Oilers asking Messier to take a pay cut to stay on a team that was planning on rebuilding? That is a much different set of circumstances then the Cavs who will be coming off 2 good seasons, sitting on a boatload of cap room to bring in free agents, and they have the ability to offer Lebron $30-something million more than the Knicks. The Messier thing is different because he was traded, but the fans in some aspects couldn’t blame him. That won’t be the case if Lebron leaves Ohio. How can a guy turn down more money, a solid-proven foundation in his hometown- and still expect to live there and do charity work there (something he said he will do no matter where he plays).

And the crappy players reference I was using was in response to your blurb last week entitled “Their Chemistry is Ridiculous, but the Cast isn’t all that Special” where you broke down the Cavs roster, pointing out that there is nothing special about it. But there is something special about it, they won 66 games! That roster and foundation’s future is just as promising as DLee or Nate and an unproven Italian with back problems. Even if they draft Curry, what makes him any different than Daniel Gibson? Both are undersized guards who are known for nothing more than a streaky outside shot and an inability to get to the hole. That’s my point. Yeah Cleveland doesn’t have another Superstar on roster, but let’s not act as if the Knicks have stockpiled 3-4 future hall of famers waiting for Lebron.

You think you are smart don’t you. Yea they won 66 games but how many games would that supporting cast have won without Lebron. They won 66 WITH Him. Take Lebron away and the cavs are another sorry east team.
Just look at Mo and Delonte both have been in the league for a while but have only been noticed when they got to The Cavs with a superstar.

The story goes, as told by Paul Coffey, that messier walked out of a bus for a game while with the oilers, looked up at the sky in Manhattan and said, “Ah the big Apple and all I want is a little bite.”

Messier knew, financially, that if he stayed in edmonton that they’d never be able to surround him with capable talent to win championships so in a way he outgrew Edmonton- his hometown and finances were a big part of it. I’m not comparing cleveland to edmonton in that fashion because I think cleveland is sound. I;m saying that once Lebron wins in cleveland, like Messier, he’ll be looking for a greater challenge.

messier asked sather to trade him to NY because he was intoxicated by breaking the jinx and the city in general. The NHL, when the rangers were good, economically was at an All-Time high.

Don’t underestimate the business of all this.

So now that you’ve admitted that I didn’t call them “crappy,” which I appreciate, let me again stress that the surrounding cast minus James would, at best, be an 8th seed maybe less.

Lebron is that good. Their surrounding cast is playing with incredible confidence brought to them by James. I;m not comparing Lee and Nate to what the cavs have, I’m saying that closing the gap between the talent which would be that much better if and when lebron were to come, won’t take as long as people think.

Talk to me after next season.

I’d rather see a healthy Gallinari hit a game-winning buzzer beater in his face with Knicks fans throwing tomatoes when he gets out of the building.

he didnt say that

that was knicksblog, saying if he said that.. it would be settled.

I think hes staying with Cavs unless the “Andrew Smith Theory” ends up working, lol, and if some of you dont know what im talking about thats basically the thought that the decision isnt LeBrons, maybe its Leon Roses’ (His Agent), Maybe Its David Sterns decision, I highly doubt that its anybody but his, but I wouldn be surprised to hear ‘rumors’ that David Stern gives LeBron a call during the sumemr of 2010, but I still think thats unlikely.

And, hypothetical question: lets just say…. Wade & James re-sign THIS summer, do we build now, and pick up some free agents or still wait for JJ, CB4, or Amar’e?

the whole money argument is silly.

there is no way. absolutely no way that he will make more money total, over the course of the rest of his life, if he spends his career in a Cleavland jersey opposed to a knicks one.

He is building a LbJames brand. There is so much more then what he will be paid on the court. When all is said and done, I bet less then 5% of his net worth will have come from his playing contracts.

Wrong in my opinion, Maurice Williams is a legit All-Star and he should have been selected ahead of Jameer Nelson and Ray Allen. He had averages of 17.2 points and 6.3 assists when he left Milwaukee – that’s pretty good in my opinion and he’s still young.

Anyways, I don’t think that is the argument. The Knicks WILL have a more talented suporting cast to offer but is it really necessary in his opinion to leave for that reason – considering the fact that his team already has the best record in the NBA? They already have a young All-Star point guard and they’ll have a lot of capspace. The Knicks do have a lot of comparative advantages and they’ll have a better supporting cast to offer but the Cavaliers are in a great position as well.

We tank… trade everybody for a couple of lottery picks… and wake up in 2013.

Kobe was also on trial a few years ago and lost a bunch of his sponsors.

TOMMY,you are being more optimistic than realistic.lets just suppose LEBRON and WADE are out of the question.now what do we do?pERSONALLY i dont care now about cap space,lets just make the goddam team better

The way I see it, I’m being very realistic.

OOO Thanks for clearing that up. I misread and thought he said that.
Well put those homemade Lebron Knick jerseys back on people.

great point. Kobe makes “only” 16 mill in endorsements. he makes almost half as much as lebron in that respect.

according to SI.com, Jeff, lebron made 40 million total to Kobe’s 35

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/specials/fortunate50/2008/index.html

if he came here he would get big money from american express and several another high end corporate sponsors like Tiger woods. Plus a nice bump from Nike.

Mickelson is number 2, I would think that Lebron would want to challenge Tiger.

I dont think any of it will matter until the Knicks can get a point guard or a good second scoring option. I’m sorry I dont see Wilson Chandler as being anything more than a “glue” guy who does a lot of things well, but doesnt excel in any particular facet of the game. the Knicks need a good point guard to run the team before anything else

Ok, so he pretty much is almost the highest paid athlete in the world, in Cleveland. Do you think he will make a switch to a new team because ‘he wants to challenge tiger?’ Or do you think the quality, youth, and depth of the team (ability to win titles) has more to do with it?

No one is saying he won’t make some more money in NY, I just think that it is insignificant. I truly believe basketball is the only deciding factor for him. He will be the face of the NBA for the next 10-15 years no matter where he goes. Jordan could have done what he did in Denver or even Toronto and still have been just a famous/rich. OK, maybe his net worth would be a little less, but look at the guy; who cares? He is a global icon and he will be doing expensive endorsements for the rest of his life.

This is about basketball and nothing else, in my opinion.

And i agree with your chandler analysis, slevy. He could be great for us, but never a centerpiece. 18-7-2-1 is where i see him leveling off, but as an elite defender also (which there is no number for). If we got Curry though, and he ends up doing well, i think a young core of Curry Galo and Will would be pretty enticing to some free agents.

We shouldn’t have a ‘LeBron Wade or Bust’ attitude. There are plenty of great players to be had. If we Develop a young, extremely smart and skilled PG (Curry or maybe Rubio), Galo gets healthy, Chandler continues to improve, and we get an allstar PF/C to play P&R with our PG (amare, bosh) we will already be looking at homecourt advantage in the first round, i believe. That roster still has room for another piece or 2. What if our next piece is someone like a Jamison. A Jamison Amare front court is as good as it gets for and MD system. We won’t necessarily be able to pull off a boston type gathering of hall of famers and win a quick ring… In fact, that doesn’t even sound too exciting for me. I would prefer to develop our own young players and draft picks into a team over time, and pick up extra pieces along the way. I am not going to be hugely dissapointed if we dont get LBJ or Wade, i am still going to be extremely excited about the next few years.
We really need to acquire a first rounder for next year… its more important than most of the stuff we fantasize about.

Keep in mind that by 2011, there will be a plethora of new, young all-stars, maybe even a couple supserstars, who have yet to be identified as such.

Here’s my 2010 plan-B team if LBJ stays in Cleveland.

Curry
Joe Johnson
Chandler
Villanueva
Birdman

Bench: Nash, Rooster, Blatche

7th or 8th seed at best … this team is worse than the actual Hawks

meaning no lottery picks, no championships and years of disappointment

I think you guys are betting a lot on S Curry … if he’s that good he’ll be gone comes the 8th seed

If we don’t get either Dwyane Wade or LeBron James, the only thing the Knicks can do is :

GET FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS. And hopefully the Knicks will be in the same position as the Detroit Pistons in 2003 when they had the nerve to draft Darko Milicic ahead of Carmelo Anthony (I think they got it from the Memphis Grizzlies).

Anthony Randolph and Danilo Gallinari would be a great duo playing at the forward spots, that’s another option. Considering the fact that he was Chris Mullin’s pick (and his cloudy relationship with Don Nelson earlier in the season), maybe the Knicks will be in a position to trade their lottery pick – a player Don Nelson really wants – for Anthony Randolph.

*instead of Carmelo

He wants to be a billionaire athlete. Tiger owns madison avenue and ALL the major high-end corporate sponsors. Lebron has Nike. It’s branding 101. what has american Express done for Tiger? It’s given him the vibe of superior class and greatness.

That’s marketing and branding.

And by the way, Lebron is no where near the richest athlete in the world. Not yet anyway.

this is where you have to be careful. “Air Joran” could have existed in Denver or Cleveland but those black and red sneakers were the start of his brand. He was great, they had the “can you fly” tag, but they were really good looking shoes.

It all worked and that started michael as the brand that no one will ever match, unless lebron takes over manhattan.

Personally I have doubts about Lebrons level of commitment to becoming a billionaire athlete, it’s putting the cart before the horse at this point, he’s got win first before he can think on that level and when he starts to win is really going to risk a good thing to chase this idea of becoming a billionaire athlete? Not so sure…sounds like youthful optimisim IMO… I wouldn’t hedge my bets on Lebron being a Knick, it’d be nice but it’s quite a long shot at this point…

7th or 8th seed at best??? We were almost an 8th seed with our lineup now! I say this team is a solid 4 seed in the east, especially if the Celtics and Pistons continue to deteriorate. Curry(if as good as we hope), Wilson, Galo and Villanueva would be a killer young nucleus. The only hole is the 5 spot, which is a hard hole for a lot of teams to fix.

The Knicks would never win a championship with that lineup, and they would lose a lot of flexibility/valuable draft picks. I’d much rather see them tank considering that.

The only goal is a championship, is being a 4th seed that important in your opinion?

hu ? are you a fan of the knicks or another team ? we finished second to last !!

sorry not buying your team but I don’t see locked down consistent all-star players (nash excluded) in it. You need to have at least one to go to the Finals

I agree anyway that if lebron and wade re-up with their teams this summer, we’ll have to make some bets. But even if there is only a slight chance we get one of them, we must give it a go and follow the plan

I want a star in NY. I don’t want to just hope that Gallo, Chandler or Curry (if we draft him) will become ones.

Are you really expecting a championship team to be built out of Zekes mess in 2 years? Without Lebron or Wade or a player of that caliber? I’m sorry but that’s wildly unrealistic. Walsh is good, but not that good. I’d be filled with joy if they make the playoffs period. I think all our daydreaming made us forget the hole we’re in as a franchise.

And why does this lineup cause us to lose draft picks?

We are almost ut that hole we have two horrible contracts, and missing a star player and Shot Blocker.
Like I have reiterated time after time Walsh wants Camby back and with Camby, someone like Joe Johnson
(who isn’t really a star just a really good player) next year and a good PG like Jennings or Curry we have a pretty good team

“hu ? are you a fan of the knicks or another team ? we finished second to last !!”

Were you watching the same season as everyone else or were you just watching the standings? We were in the playoff hunt for a while until a late nose dive. It’s the friggen Eastern conference. We were 2nd to last but only 9 games out of the 6th seed!

“sorry not buying your team but I don’t see locked down consistent all-star players (nash excluded) in it. You need to have at least one to go to the Finals”

Joe Johnson is an all-star. And I think in MD’s system Charlie V can prove to be an all-star. He’s a taller, younger Al Harrington who would be deadly in a run and gun system.

I never said this is the championship team, but I think everyone you would consider an all-star is either unattainable or won’t be an all-star in 2 years. Half of this years All-stars are on the wrong side of 30.

Pretty much every young talent is under lock and key and we don’t have picks to make things worse. We’re not gonna pull a miracle here. Who would be in your lineup? CP3, Roy and Dwight?

We are almost out of the hole, but then we gotta fill that hole and build a team on it. We’re missing a lot more than a shot blocker and a star. We need a PG and we need a bench along with unloading Curry (close to impossible) and Jeffries. We need a 6th man if Nate is gone and we need a rebounder and post scorer if Lee is gone.

Shedding weight like Walsh is doing is only bringing us back to neutral. We still have an entire team to rebuild, because as I see it, all we have are 2 small forwards.

If you take the knicks record after Z-Bo and Jamal were traded, you’re much more like a 28 Wins team. FACT. I mean, have you already forgotten how the knicks were embarassing at some HOME games ??

Joe Johnson has been a non-factor in the playoffs this year. And he has a very talented supporting cast with Bibby, J Smith and Horford.

I don’t look at potential lineups but at scenarios :
- there’s a slight chance Lebron or Wade sign with the knicks in 2010 : we go for it and maintain 20 M$ cap space. Even if it means giving up on Lee, Robinson, Chandler or the pick if we get rid of Big Eddy
- there’s no chance (either because they sign an extension or Donnie has the inside track) : forget cap space, resign Lee, Robinson and try to get the most of the expiring contracts.

@ Circlelimit

The Knicks would have made the playoffs with Zach Randolph, do you really want the Knicks to settle for that? Is that enough in your opinion?

And you automatically lose lottery picks if you make the playoffs, and that would be the case in your scenario!

“If you take the knicks record after Z-Bo and Jamal were traded, you’re much more like a 28 Wins team. FACT. I mean, have you already forgotten how the knicks were embarassing at some HOME games ??”

Do you realize you’re reinforcing my point not refuting it? The Knicks are terrible. They STILL were in the playoff hunt until a late-March collapse. FACT. My aforementioned line-up is more than adequate for a 4 or 5 seed by eastern conference standards.

“Joe Johnson has been a non-factor in the playoffs this year. And he has a very talented supporting cast with Bibby, J Smith and Horford.

Those points are beyond irrelevant. You’re gonna slam a player because of recent games (where he’s had some great defenders on him) and because of his talented team mates? That makes no sense.

I’m not picking Joe Johnson out of preference, I’m picking him out of availability. If you have a plan to wrangle a better 2-guard not named Wade, then please let’s hear it. Is Ben Gordon your all-star?

“I don’t look at potential lineups but at scenarios :
- there’s a slight chance Lebron or Wade sign with the knicks in 2010 : we go for it and maintain 20 M$ cap space. Even if it means giving up on Lee, Robinson, Chandler or the pick if we get rid of Big Eddy”

Any Knick fan with half a brain know this is the prime scenario. The point of my original post (and much of this thread altogether) was a line-up without LBJ, Wade or Bosh.

“- there’s no chance (either because they sign an extension or Donnie has the inside track) : forget cap space, resign Lee, Robinson and try to get the most of the expiring contracts.”

Ah so basically you’d resign that horrible 28 win team you trashed earlier in the post? That makes no sense. I’ll take Johnson and Charlie V as starters over Nate and Lee.

I’d resign Robinson and Lee because if cap space is useless, I’d prefer keeping the few assets I have. You need less than a half-brain to get that.

In your line-up, how do you get Charlie V ? he’s a RFA this summer. Tell me what you give Milwaulkee for a SAT, because he won’t sign for the MLE.

and exactly how much money are you gonna give J Johnson ? I’m interested in that.

Your line-up is a list of players you like, without any indication of how you get them. Blatche ? FA in 2012. Birdman ? they said they want to resign him … making no sense is a common disease.

As it stands here now Lee and Nate are knicks so we dont need a rebounder and a sixth man as of now. So like I said all we need is a star and a shot blocker paired with the PG we draft ( Curry or Jennings).
And if Lebron and D Wade are staying in my opinion Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh dont deserve MAX contracts.

so tommy, you truly believe LeBron cares more about ‘becoming a billionare’ than he does about winning? Because of one comment he made in one interview, you assume he will base his whole career around becoming as rich as he possibly can? You think he would chose a tiger like AMEX deal, over a championship?

I don’t think he’s that low.

That situation was TOTALLY different provides a poor analogy. Clearing cap space was the first goal. Z-bo was on the trading block from day Walsh took over. Randolph’s current price tag is more expensive than anyone on the squad I have in 2010, including Joe Johnson (he’s not gonna get $15mil/yr on the wrong side of 30).

I mean, would you rather us tank every year until 2014 until we have a full line-up of lottery picks? That only perpetuates a losing culture and we would end up looking like the 06-07 Celtics.

“And you automatically lose lottery picks if you make the playoffs, and that would be the case in your scenario!”

There is more to a successful basketball team than just lotto picks. Ask The Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Kings and Bucks. You can’t play basketball for the lotto, it just doesn’t work. Playing for the playoffs is not only more honorable, but provides experience. A young nucleus is important, but without the elder statesman on the team, you’re not going to win.

Also, not every lottery class is going to be like last year, there will be busts.

“I’d resign Robinson and Lee because if cap space is useless, I’d prefer keeping the few assets I have. You need less than a half-brain to get that.”

WHAT? Who says cap space is useless if Lebron and Wade aren’t around? Cap space is ALWAYS useful because it provides flexibility, especially before a trade deadline. What’s “useless are pricey, immovable contracts that don’t deliver results because we panicked and thought a player of Lee’s mediocre caliber will never fall in our laps again. Lee is an asset on the pick and roll and grabbing rebounds, but when it comes to everything else, he’s a HUGE liability. You can go on thinking Lee is worth resigning for 10mil/yr, I think most people here would agree that trading Lee while he’s at his peak value is the smart, full-brained thing to do.

“In your line-up, how do you get Charlie V ? he’s a RFA this summer. Tell me what you give Milwaulkee for a SAT, because he won’t sign for the MLE.”

I believe Charlie V is worth good money and could prove too rich for the Bucks small market blood. On top of this they’ll be doing everything they can to resign Ramon Sessions. The Bucks have enough outside shooting with Redd coming back, they could be interested in Lee maybe Nate with his slashing ability and marketability.

I think Johnson’s contract really depends how next year pans out for him. He could go anywhere for 7mil to 14mil/year for 4 or 5 years.

As for Blatche, we can trade for him. Not everyone has to be grabbed in FA. Washington happens to have a clusterfuck in the post with Haywood, Jamison, Blatche, McGee and Songaila. One of them will be on the block.

Birdman is unrestricted, just because Denver wants him back doesn’t mean they’ll get him.

I never claimed my line up to be iron clad, because nothing in the future is iron clad. Regardless, my line-up wasn’t an arbitrary list of players. It was trying to make the best out of a Lebron, Wade and Bosh-less universe.

I’ll admit, my line0up can be improved. Maybe Insert Rudy Gay or Ron Artest, but ten you part with the valuable contracts of Galo or Chandler. You’re being unnecessarily critical without offering any better scenarios. I can assure you, resigning Lee AND Nate for 17mil is not any better.

I’m being “overly” critical to push your scenario to the edge.

Getting Villanueva, Blatche or Birdman has to come with a price, and I don’t see how to use Lee/Robinson to do it. Milwaulkee will want picks for Charlie (they dont wanna resign him for financial issues, so if you give resigned Lee and/or Robinson, that wont help them)

You basically kept our cheap assets and brought in cheap assets from other teams.