Vancouver Metro Basketball League

By Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden

BC calls out CB

Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo hinted last Monday on Toronto sports radio The Fan 590, that his former all-star Chris Bosh may have checked out for Toronto a lot longer than before he signed in Miami as a free-agent this summer. Colangelo suggested that Bosh came back from last year’s NBA all-star weekend a changed man, and that Bosh may have been listening to the many voices that surrounded the soon to be free-agent in Dallas that weekend. Colangelo went on to say this.

“I’ve talked so much about those voices that could have been speaking to him at all-star (weekend). I think it’s pretty obvious now what some of those voices were.

“Whether he was mentally checked out or just wasn’t quite into it down the stretch, he wasn’t the same guy and I think everyone saw that. It’s just no one wanted to acknowledge it.”

Colangelo is pulling no punches with the Bosh situation, and he shouldn’t. After achieving a franchise record 29 wins entering the all-star break, Toronto only managed a mere 11 wins in the second half of the year. Colangelo points out that much of the second half collapse had to do with an ankle injury Bosh sustained on February 17^th which Bosh missed six games. However, the Raps number one player was cleared by the Raptors medical staff, but Bosh insisted that he miss the full six games. Makes one wonder how long this Miami Thrice idea has been in fruition? Or at least how long Bosh had been dreaming of leaving Toronto. Colangelo is straight shooter and the signs were there from Bosh throughout the season. Bosh was on way out from the day he arrived back from the all-star game and it was just a matter of playing out the season before he jumped ship.

If you think about it Bosh has just kept the long-standing Toronto Raptors all-star tradition alive by checking out in your free-agent year in search of greener pastures. Didn’t work for Vince Carter (came close once) or Tracey McGrady, however, either of them joined a juggernaut of a team like the one being assembled in South Beach. Bosh will get his ring and will be a major contributor, but don’t expect a congratulatory phone call from Bryan Colangelo when he eventually does.

The key to CP3

New Orleans Hornets all-star point guard and one of the most beloved persons in the city of New Orleans, Chris Paul, wants out of the city that has embraced him so firmly. Don’t believe Hornets GM Dell Demps, who claims that he’s confident that Paul wants to remain with the Hornets. The truth is this. Demps, the Hornets new GM, now has to fan down a potential fire with his franchise player. Paul wants to win and the Hornets aren’t a winning team. The new ownership and GM did very little to re-tool their line up this off-season and have shown Paul that they aren’t committed to winning, something Paul wants more than anything else. Well, maybe winning and the potential to play in the world’s greatest city while forming a gruesome three-some of their own. Paul wants to hit the bright lights of New York City to join forces with Amar’e Staudemire and current Denver Nugget and good friend, Carmelo Anthony. The first piece is in place with the off-season signing of Amar’e, and now the courtship of Paul begins for the Knicks. The Hornets sent out a memo league wide this week warning teams of tampering with Paul, which only proves that their biggest chip may or may not be available, but if he is (hint hint) that they’ll be the ones who’ll be doing the contacting. Holding their cards close to their chest? You could say that. Personally, I think it just shows who’s actually going to run this thing, and that’s Paul. However, the Hornets don’t want this to turn into a LeBron type of situation. The Hornets need Paul and Paul needs the Hornets if they want to get this done to accommodate both sides. The wheels you can bet are now in motion between New Orleans and New York. The Knicks have Amar’e locked in, next it’s Paul, and then next summer, it’s Anthony. Miami Thrice beware.

Shoot Around (raining buckets!)

- The Raptors off-season acquisitions of Linas Kleiza, Leandro Barbosa and David Andersen are proving one thing. That this team is bound for another lottery pick and that they’ll be lucky to win 35 games this season.

- A fan at a Cleveland Indians game last night got booed out of Progressive Field for wearing a LeBron James Miami Heat jersey. The fan had to be escorted out of the stadium by security, though, It didn’t help that said fan was taunting and whooping on the crowd. It makes me wonder what’s going to happen when LeBron’s Heat make their first appearance in Ohio this year. Could there be a riot? Makes me cringe to think about, but man do I ever want to be in attendance that night.

- For a guy that eats Vaseline on a you tube video, Stephon Marbury isn’t as dumb as you’d think. Marbury has resigned for two more years to play with Shanxi Zhongyu of the Chinese Basketball Association. Marbury played 15 games last season for Shanxi, earning an apparent $100, 000 for half a season’s work. Pretty far off what he made in his NBA days, but here’s where Marbury is set to earn some real money. As part of the current deal, the ownership of Shanxi Zhongyu will create a company to produce and sell apparel and shoes from the point guard’s “Starbury” brand. The company will also open three Starbury shops. China is quite the market to tap into for the 33 year-old former all-star and his brand.  Steph may have made some mistakes in his life, but this can’t miss. Just tell the Shanxi ownership group to keep him away from the web cams.

The 2nd Annual Kitsfest event in Vancouver is set for August 20-22, 2010 with 12 men’s basketball teams competing for the championship (www.kitsfest.com)

In addition to many of the local streetballers and a few out-of-towners in the line-ups, you’ll see several familiar faces from the  Metro Basketball League here in Vancouver.

Keep an eye out for high flying performances by some of the Metro Basketball League athletes, including:

Andrew Sturgeon
Clayton Crellin
Sherlan John
Clint Lomax
Jason Birring
James Hudson
Mark Starkey
Lonzell Webster
Greg Washington
Jamie Robinson
Jesse Tupper
Tommy Nixon

By Clint Lomax
The year Michael Redd was drafted, Milwaukee’s big 3 at the time (Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson, Sam Cassell) fell one game short of the NBA Finals. This effort gave hope to Bucks fan’s that Milwaukee was back, and ready to contend for a title. Unfortunately for the Bucks, they would only make the playoffs four out of the next eight years. All four of those appearances resulted in first round exits. From his 3rd season in, Michael Redd had improved his scoring in the next 4 years. In the last few years he has been hit by the injury bug, which for some players is unavoidable yet they are labeled unjustly in my opinion. Now that the Bucks have absolutely loaded every gun in their arsenal with young up and coming talent, the question a lot of people are asking is….Do the Bucks still need Michael Redd?

I won’t speculate on that subject because I compare Michael Redd’s situation loosely to the Grant Hill situation in Detroit. I feel that Michael Redd has done everything he can to make the Bucks successful. Yet I’ve heard grumblings that he could not raise his game when it has counted. Even with the slew of talented guards he has played with including: T.J. Ford and Damon Jones 03-04, Mo Williams 04-05 (which I think is a low blow in my personal opinion, ask Lebron James about that), T.J. Ford and Mo Williams 05-06, Mo Williams and Earl Boykins 06-07, Mo Williams, Ramon Sessions, Ivey 07-08, and Luke Ridnour, Ramon Sessions. None of these guards can be attributed to a deep run in the playoffs on any other team in the league (unless you count Mo Williams with Clev’s 2nd round exit).

With that said, let me list some of the players that make up the 2010-2011 Milwaukee Bucks (as of 7-26-10). Drew Gooden, Keyon Dooling by way of free agency. Re-signing John Salmons. Trading for Corey Maggette (GS) and John Brockman (Sac). Getting injured stars Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut back are huge. Not too mention the future all star guard Brandon Jennings with players like Carlos Delfino, Ersan Ilyasova, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (say that three times fast. Plus the three rookies they drafted in Larry Sanders, Darington Hobson (at 6’7” and a lefty), and Keith “Tiny” Gallon (6’9” 300 lbs). Insiders are saying two of these three may help this coming season! (If your are squeemish, don’t look at this next video with Andrew Bogut)!

The main thing keeping them out of the top 5 next season is The Bulls! Orlando, Boston, Miami, and Atlanta are the consensus top 4 in the east right now. The main reason Chicago bumps them from top 5 is that they are not only adding offense, but defense too. Carlos Boozer, C.J. Miles (Utah) and Kyle Korver are key to the Bulls offensive firepower, but signing Ronnie Brewer (Utah) gives them a defensive minded player in the mold of a Raja Bell. Even though the Bulls are thin at center, Noah, Gibson, and Boozer should be productive and a force in the Central Division.

The X-factor in all of this is how will Bogut and Redd mesh with this new infusion of talent? Also how will Scott Skiles attack with his new batch of toys. My homeboy Sherlan John (Co-Founder of Moult Athletic) was the first one to alert me of the Bucks potential resurgence! He has also adopted the Bucks battle cry from the previous playoffs…..”FEAR THE DEER”! LOL! That is classic!

I’m also on Twitter @mjlover23

The Richmond Olympic Oval will host the West Coast Basketball Classic on September 11 and 12. Register to play and learn more at http://www.westcoastclassic.ca

By Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden

If you had the first overall selection to build an NBA franchise around and could take any player in the league right now just who would you take?
LeBron James? Can’t go wrong there, right?
Kobe Bryant? A lot of bling on those fingers.
Dwyane Wade? Ya, he could work too, however, my pick would go to the youngest player to have ever led the NBA in scoring and who’s on the verge of becoming one of the NBA’s best ever scoring sensations. His name is Kevin Durant.
I can feel the heat on my back right now (no pun intended), about how King James, Black Mamba and Flash would all be better picks then the 21 year-old lanky kid from DC, but let me present my argument why KD, when it’s all said and done, may be considered better then all three of these NBA megastars.
Durant scored 30.1 points-per-game last season making him, as mentioned, the youngest player in NBA history to lead the league in scoring, which is astonishing when you consider it. At one point in the season last year Durant scored 25 points or more for 29 games straight. The kid is a flat-out scoring machine, but it doesn’t stop there. Last year KD set a career high in rebounds (7.6) and has raised his assists totals gradually through his first three seasons in the NBA. Plus, his defence is beginning to come around. Now just think about this. At 21 he’s not even close to hitting his prime. Now that’s scary.
Heading into the FIBA World Championships next month in Turkey, Durant is considered to be the star of the young USA squad that’s headed to the games. Even with all the accolades the always humble Durant doesn’t even consider himself to be a lock to make the team. Seriously! You think James, Bryant or Wade ever considered that they weren’t headed to Beijing in ’08? Not likely. This is the biggest key to why I feel Durant’s legacy could transcend the aforementioned big three. He’s that good, and the crazy thing is, he doesn’t even know it yet.
Yes, Durant has a long way to go before he’ll have the chips that Kobe has, but as of this moment he’s just one ring behind Wade and tied with James. When it’s all said and done will Durant end up with more hardware than James, Bryant and Wade? Only the future can determine that and the future is bright for Kevin Durant, superstar.

By Clint Lomax

I was sort of surprised when I found Thompson Park as easy as I did. I had expected to be lost for a ½ hour instead of the 10 minutes it turned out to be. Unmistakable by the arched design at the front of the establishment; the many tents popping up in my wake were a dead giveaway that I had arrived. I flashed back to the last time I played at Thompson Park, which was at the Mad Game Tourney back in the early 2000s. Felt a little funny playing the 25th anniversary of the Dolphin Park Tourney on a two court property, but I hadn’t played in the Dolphin since 2005.

Initially, I thought my assignment would be to relieve our big men for a brief minute or two, just so they could go back out and dominate. As game time loomed, it was evident that we were going to be short on “height” till Saturday. On the tip, it was evident that we were in for a knockdown drag out on the boards vs Aman Heran’s Athelite Squad. I’d say the average height for our team for that game was 6’1”, and the average height for the Athelite team was 6’6”! Even though we lost by 9, I was proud of my team for two facts. 1) That we didn’t lose by double digits, and 2) our team battled on the boards like the other team was the hunted. It immediately gave me some relief that the next day would yield positive results.

Day two brought reinforcements but also unexpected battles of attrition. With our 6’8” young-legged reinforcement in Herm, we had an 11 man roster. Mostly built of quick, saavy, and rugged guards: Gramae, Tyler, Lonzell, Nedim and G-dub. The rest of us fell in to place behind these 5 guys with major contributions from Kuba, , Mark Starkey, Jessie and Reese A.K.A. Shannon Brown! The first game vs Reign (an Olympia, WA based team) were short handed but more than capable. With some early sharp shooting from NBA range, we found ourselves getting buried from beyond normal outdoor launch pad range. Yet with that early adversity, the scrappy Vancouver Metro team fought back. With the help of solid offensive/defensive rebounding and a bunch of fast break points, we were able to wear The Reign down in the end to escape with a single digit victory.
<

Something that I didn’t remember seeing before at any Dolphin Park Tourney was a Women’s Division! Not just any old women’s division, but a highly competitive group. Local players from SFU, University of Washington players, and at least one player that was drafted to the WNBA battled it out right alongside their male counter parts. As I rest for the next battle, I noticed a familiar sight. The local residences were filling in to get ready for the battles that were yet to be played. One of the long time staples at all Dolphin Park Tourneys are the residents! Not to mention the beer garden contingency.

The second match of the day was against a familiar foe in Runnin’ Rebels led by Steve Lee. Steve is the founder of the West Coast Basketball League that has been going strong for a number of years. As a member of the X-Men, I have participated in that league for number of years winning the Title in 07. I gave as much of a scouting report as I could on the team they were fielding, and I paid dividends early. Our running style was a problem for their big lineup, but they used their length to keep the game tight. After a few unnecessary elbows and eye level swings, my “Inner Artest” came out briefly in this contest. After I was able to get my point across, the young legs on our team took over and pushed the lead to double figures. Even though we claimed victory, it was a shaky one that had our margin shaved to 4 in the end. After the game, handshakes were exchanged and a brief conversation with a former teammate of the X-Clan in Virgil brought things back to earth.

In our third game vs the N.W.O., we were out of sorts missing our only big man to his birthday party plans. Losing by 9 at half really got us to focus in and pull out a win. With the help of their best player getting a 4th foul and adding a technical foul to give him his 5th, sort of gave us an edge. However, they still had a 6’8” post guy and good guard continuity going, which kept us down by 7 late in the game. Late in the game, an N.W.O. player dropped one of our players, and was called for an intentional foul. This was the break we needed, because after that came an onslaught of fast break points that gave us the lead with less than 1 min left in the game. Down 3 with less than 30 seconds left in the game, the N.W.O. desperately catapulted several 3 point shots to no success. At the final horn, Vancouver Metro escaped with a 3 point victory and a berth into the final day’s playoffs!

At 38 years and 359 days old, my body was giving me all kind of signals telling me to stay in bed! I counted 4 foot cramps the night before, even after stretching 2 separate times before I went to bed the previous night. I felt a little better knowing we were getting out 6’8” guy back today, and I brought along my wife to watch her old man try to enact some semblance of his former basketball self. Our draw in the first round of the playoffs drew the legendary Meralomas squad. Known for years as an elite band of collegiate and professional athletes, they had been successful for over a decade in just about every league or tournament they have participated in. This band of ballers were all young, but ultra athletic! From the tip it was a dog fight! Back and forth the scoring and aggressive defense shifted momentum on almost every possession. The Meralomas were starting to creep away with the game until I was confronted with another “semi Incredible Hulk” moment. This one lasted a little longer than the one from yesterday, but it had the same effect on my team. We rallied in the middle of the 2nd half to take the lead, but it was still within a 2 point margin late in the game. With a few clutch layups and margin boosting free throws, we were able to pull out the victory by the skin of our teeth. After the game, I had made some new friends with my “jekyll and hyde” transformation. I guess I could of made new friends without that, but the bizarre behavior may have reminded them of Dennis Rodman or something!
<

In the semis, we would go up against the X-Falcons who had won this tourney 2 out of the last 3 years. This team led by Randy Nohr also had notable names on the team such as: UBC great Kyle Watson, Eli Mara (top high school phenom), Andrew Sturgeon, Clay “Clark Kent” Crellin, and another Dolphin Park legend in Navi to name a few. The experience at the guard position was evident and they took full advantage of it early. However, our young group of scrappers would not die, and matched every spectacular bucket made by the X-Falcons with a fast break bucket of our own. In the end, the X-Falcon veterans were too much for our upstart band of bandits. Yet the positive that we could take from this hard loss was that we only lost by single digits. The X-Falcons had been blowing everybody out by double digits, and it sort of lessened the blow of being eliminated without our full team intact.

Overall, the 25th Anniversary of the Dolphin Tournament was a success as I expected it would be! Shout outs to Bruce Watson, Bira Bindra, T.J. Johal, Tony Wong-Hen, and all of the other volunteers and sponsors that helped make this tournament possible. Want to acknowledge a few of my 206 buddies that made the trip: Brent Merrit, Reggie Paul, Ed Haskins, Antione, J.T., Al Snow, Shep, and Jeff Day. To the ones that couldn’t make it: Jamal Crawford, Brandon Roy, Rozelle (Jailhouse) Ellis, Tim (Buckets) Ellis, Damon Williams, Will Conroy, Nate (The Great) Robinson, and Brent Williams. Hope you guys can make it next year. One last group of people I want to mention: Ben George (former Byrne Creek Secondary Player of the Year), Jordan Yu, Chad Warren, Virgil, and a number of other people I hadn’t seen in a while. It was good to see all of you again, and it was good to be seen. See you next year, hopefully in a “Coaching Capacity”!

By Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden

This past weekend marked the 25th anniversary of the Dolphin Classic Basketball tournament which was held this year at the Thompson Community Center outdoor courts in Richmond, BC. If your not familiar with Dolphin, it’s probably the best summer basketball tournament in all of western Canada with some of the best ballers from the pacific northwest coming to play.
I joined the Metro League team for Saturday’s games, sitting on the bench playing the role of coach while the boys competed in some very close, high octane games. The first thing I noticed at Dolphin was the level of competition and how good it was. Every team was competing with one another with only a handful of games being a blow out. The Metro team, led by player/coach Mark Starkey, lost their opening night game on Friday night in a close battle with Athelite which was captained by Vancouver Titans guard Aman Heran. The one loss on Friday meant that the Metro team needed to run the gauntlet from this point on if they wanted to win it all and Saturday the boys went to work on reaching that goal. I arrived to Thompson CC an hour or so after the Metro team won their morning match up against team Reign, which put the Metro team back in the running for that chip. With a few hours to kill before Metro’s next game I sat back and took in a few games while enjoying a cold brew in the beer garden which is located dangerously next to the courts. The games that I took in were unbelievable. Close, scrappy, and exciting are just a few ways to describe the action. Let me put the play into perspective. You have pros, college and top high schoolers all playing on the same court. It’s Vancouver’s version of Rucker Park in New York City. The level was that high with dunks, blocks, elbows the whole nine going down. Each team scrapped it out with one another, but once the final buzzer sounded the respect amongst the teams shown through. Everything was left on the court, which impressed me the most.
The Metro League team played their third game of the weekend on Saturday afternoon, versus the Runnin’ Rebels which was led one of the Dolphin organizers Steve Lee. The game was tight throughout with the game going down to the final minute before the Metro team pulled it out giving them a 2-1 record going into their final round robin game later that night. Between that game and Metro’s final game of the day I got a chance to watch the UBC T-Birds team play, which surprisingly enough didn’t fair too well in this tourney. Here you have the team that was ranked #1 in Canada throughout the CIS season last year, losing in a summer basketball tourney. That’s how good this tournament is. Metro League had their final game of the round robin versus a team called NWO which featured Metro League All-Star Igor Dutina. Dutina was on fire early but couldn’t control his emotions, picking up a few early fouls and technicals which resulted in him fouling out in the first half. NWO picked up the slack and gave the Metro Leaguer’s a run for their money with the game going down to the final buzzer, before Metro pulled out the win.
I didn’t go on Sunday, the final day of the tournament, which featured an exciting dunk contest and three-point shoot-out and of course the quarter, semi and final games of the day but I did feel that I got a strong feeling for what this tournament is all about. If you get a chance to come out next summer, do so. The crowd, atmosphere and level of play is unparalleled for summer basketball tournaments in western Canada. Truly one of the best and a can’t miss for any basketball lover. I know I’ll be there next year, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll suit up for a run. However, don’t count on me leaving my spot from the Metro League bench.

By Clint Lomax

a>This will be an ongoing series of articles, laying the ground work for a long lasing hate fest for Lebron James. Lebron now joins the ranks of Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Woods, Albert Belle, Chris Brown, Michael Vick, Floyd Landis, Lance Armstrong, Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudamire, Mel Gipson, Terrell Owens, Bill Romanoski, Floyd Mayweather, Josh Koscheck, Ron Artest, Michael Richards, Isiah Thomas, Bob Knight, Al Davis, scott Boras, Shawn Merriman, Rasheed Wallace, Roger Clemons, Robert downey Jr., Jerry Jones, Plaxico Burress, Latrell Sprewell, Michael Jordan, need I go on???!!! Can’t believe I came up that many off the top of my head! LOL.

I thought at first you would need to have a laundry list of evil deeds including: felonies, domestic violence, steroid use, firearms violations, assault and battery, theft, and other jail-able offenses. After the now infamous airing of “The Decision”, I guess I was wrong. He went from being the “Savior of Cleveland Sports” to a traitor, Benedict Arnold, a coward, a liar, and the worst man in Cleveland history surpassing when Art Modell moved the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. Wait (sound of a long record skip)… Lebron is worse than the man that took a WHOLE FRANCHISE AWAY FROM CLEVELAND???? Last I looked, The Cavs were still a franchise.
Let’s dissect this a little bit. Born in Akron to a single mother (which is a story in itself with the new man suing the James over paternity fraud), who worked to give everything Lebron wanted and couldn’t afford. Was it a mistake? Spoiling your child is not a crime, but it can be detrimental to that child in the future. The man has been called a legend even before he finished the 8th grade. Scouted by the NBA since he hit high school, some scouts said that he could have gone to the NBA after his junior year of high school! At this point, Lebron hasn’t reached 18 years old yet. It was evident from an early age that he was always trying to please other people. Before “The Decision”, there were your typical haters that just hate to hate. My opinion of when his “Global” quest to be a billionaire athlete is when things really took a negative turn. The firing of Aaron Goodwin in favor of starting a marketing company named LRMR Marketing. The members included: Lebron, Randy Mims, Maverick Carter, and Richard Paul. When Goodwin was let go, Lebron was the fourth highest paid athlete. Biggest thing to note here is that he was 22 when he made this decision.

I will leave it here, because this is part 1 in about 1,000! This isn’t going to die anytime soon!

Attention Miami Heat. Lakers don’t scare

By Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden

At six o’clock tonight the basketball world will all grind to a halt as the games highest profile player will make his decision on to where he’s headed to play next season. Where ever LeBron James decides to go the foundation of the NBA has already shifted with the Miami Heat loading up, signing two of the top free agents in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to play in South Beach. The foundation of the L could shift even further if James was to sign with Miami, being the third piece of an incredible, possibly unstoppable threesome of Wade, Bosh and James. However, one team that may have a say in just how unstoppable Miami could be resides on the other coast of the NBA and that’s the reigning back-to-back champions the Los Angeles Lakers. Throughout this whole fiasco (and let’s face it, it’s a fiasco), the Lakers have spent their time waiting in the shadows, saying nothing, doing nothing, just waiting and watching. Even if LeBron was to sign in Miami, the Lakers still have to be considered the best team in the NBA. Yes, the Heat big three will trump the big three in Boston, but the Lakers got the big four and beyond. Kobe, Pau, Artest and Odom combined with one of the best benches in the league are still the biggest force in the L. As much as Wade, Bosh and James would get all the headlines, the reality is Miami won’t have the depth (or cap space), to compete with the Lakers. If LeBron goes to Miami, I think it’s a guarantee that the Heat will be in the finals next season, however, don’t count on them beating LA.

By Clint Lomax

By Clint Lomax A.K.A. Mjlover23

Three years ago, Lebron James was 22 years old. Somewhere in that time, he came through with a Herculean type performance in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs Detroit in double OT! He went from “mesmerizing” and “overpowering” to “wet behind the ears” and “not ready to be coroneted” after his team was swept by San Antonio in the 2007 finals. Immediately after that loss, ESPN almost immediately began the “Summer of 2010” campaign. With increased ratings, ad revenue, and web traffic in mind, this campaign was nearly a daily pounding of speculation on what he was going to do with free agency.
Fast forward to today.

The hour long special dubbed “The Decision” will air on ESPN at 9pm est/6pm pst. How much of this was ESPN begging to get the exclusive announcement, Lebron’s personal hands on ego, and/or the master plan of Maverick Carter. Carter is the CEO of LRMR Innovative Marketing & Branding. I will be writing a full article on Mr. Carter later today or sometime this weekend. Mr. Carter is a subject that may make you feel good, bad, or indifferent about the rise to his current position. Anyway, Lebron ultimately owns this situation as it unfolds today. However, I’m reminiscing about a previous PR snafu that happened about 3 years ago. If you forgot about that I’ll give you a hint…”Terrell has 25 million reasons why he should be alive.”

Speaking of career altering missteps, this may be one of the biggest in Lebron’s career. No other free agent has ever garnered attention of this magnitude. I’ve read that this is more like the press conference on which university he was going to choose…that he never had. The suspense is the only genuine thing about this whole process. Even with all the rumors and speculation going on, the one thing that we know for sure is that we don’t know what he is going to do. Let’s run down the potentials from about a week ago to today:

-NJ Nets – With a new billionaire majority owner and the mega superstar Jay-Z, the Nets have all facets of the Global Entertainment angle sewed up. The Nets had decent cap space, but with the big pockets that organization has now they could make any move they wanted to make it work. Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Derrick Favors, and Lebron sounds like a formidable lineup but not a championship lineup.

- NY Knicks – The Knicks had enough cap space for two max players. With their pickup of Amare, Lebron James would have meant the end of their playoff drought at the very least. Wilson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Toney Douglas, Gallinari, Tracy McGrady, Al Harrington, and Eddie House still leave you needing to maneuver a little bit. Who am I fooling???? NY would have to maneuver a lot to make this team into a contender! I think the media scrutiny would rip into Lebron too much to bring a title to NY. Can anyone name the last big time FA that “WILLINGLY” went to NY and flourished? Don’t worry…I’ll wait!

- Chicago Bulls – They were the front runners from the very start! They had the cap room, the young talent, and a new defensive coach. The problem is that the Bulls would still need a legit both ends post player. The signing of Boozer is not the championship piece needed, plus the Lebron/Boozer combo was tried before and didn’t show signs of working long term. The beginning of the end was when rumors of Wade backing out of Chicago as an option surfaced. No Wade, no Lebron.

- Clev Cavs – Cleveland is the obvious, but not so obvious choice here. Hometown guy, economy booster, feel good story, etc. The media is so in love with the hometown hero playing his whole career in his home state. I challenge anyone to name 10 players in the last ten years that spent their whole career with the same team! Now everybody is asking a 25 year old to stay on a team that is in the state where they haven’t had a championship in 46 years…..IN ANY SPORT! Everybody’s view of what he should do is what they want him to do, instead of what he should do. Which is put himself in the best situation to win multiple titles. We know Danny Ferry added: Mo Will, Shaq, and Jamison. I have never wanted to anoint Ferry as one of the top GMs. Partly because he played at Duke (when I hated Duke), but mostly because he is a bargain shopper on a team that should have top talent. I’m sure would of loved to have Ben Gordon, Brandon Bass, and/or Trevor Ariza instead of Mo Will and Anthony Parker. They already have shooters off the bench; they needed more playoff experienced players which Mo and Parker are not. Cleveland still has the inside track on getting him back, but where do they go after they get him? Shaq is being shopped, and I know Ferry isn’t going to go out and get a Rondo type PG that Cleveland needs.

- Miami Heat – The Heat were in the driver’s seat as soon as Wade chose not to go to Chicago. With Bosh having the same agent as Wade, you already knew how that was going to shake out. The issue that people keep thinking is the truth when it is not is that there are not enough balls on the court for all three of them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Lebron is and always will be a “PASS FIRST” guy! Probably to his detriment right now, because he is title-less because of it. Once you trade Beasley out to get Lebron in, that’s when the fun will begin! There will be a truckload of 2nd tier specialty players begging to play with the New Big Three! Not only that, but you never know when Pat Riley is going to bogard the coaching duties like he did when Shaq came to town. Championship coaches give you the best chance to win year in and year out. The only reason he would go to Miami is because of the pressure to stay in Cleveland. The loss in potential salary means less to players like Lebron than you think. Especially when you have super duper endorsement deals.

In my opinion, the wait and suspense is a little bit much. However, if I was 25 years old in his position I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing. At 25, I thought I knew everything when I really didn’t know anything. Put yourself in his shoes. Factor in being 25 years old (if you are older than that, this won’t work if your 25 or younger) and the following:
- You’re the most physically imposing player at your position in NBA history
- You have your most trusted friends and relatives in your inner circle, and they are solid (for the most part).
- You are stinking rich.
- You are guaranteed a future nine figure contract with opt out power in the last 2 years of your contract.
- You have your own clothing and shoe line (that need to be redesigned like a buddy of mine pointed out to me on FB).
- You pay for next to nothing that doesn’t involve high end cars, jets, and houses.
- You are VIP almost anywhere in the world, and I don’t mean strictly nightclubs.
- You are 6’8” 270 lbs, and have a body that looks like it was chiseled out of marble.

What would you do….if you were 25 years old?

By Clint Lomax

Many people are called “Giants” for the great things that they do. Manute Bol was not only one of those people at 7’7”, he was more like a super hero! His humanitarian efforts in his home of Sudan are not nearly as publized as they should have been. I’d say in some ways understated! In his ten year NBA career, he donated the MAJORITY of his $5.8 million salary to his home land ($3.8 million est. which is about 65%). Unheard of in this age of mega millionaires that for the most part help a lot of people, but not nearly to the extent of Manute’s magnitude.

Manute was born in 1962 in Sudan, son of a Dinka tribal chief. His height was attributed to his dad being 6’8”, and his mom being 6’10”! One of the famous stories of his youth was killing a lion with a spear while tending to cattle. He was discovered while playing in Sudan for a few teams, and was convinced to come to the U.S. in hopes of a professional basketball career. After running into trouble at his first attempt at playing collegiately, but landed at Division II University of Bridgeport. Once established at Bridgeport…the legend of Manute Bol began!

Drafted by the Washington Bullets in the second round of the 1985 NBA draft, he led the league in blocked shots with 397. Not only did he set the rookie record for blocks in a season, but set a career high 5 blocks per game. He still holds the record for second and seventh most most blocks in NBA history! He was traded to the Golden State Warriors in 1988, and that is when his 3 point barrage started! While leading the lead in blocks with 345, he shot a career high 91 3 pointers! The more miraculous achievement is that he made 20 of them! The feat is not memorable for a guy that height shooting 3s. It was the sight of his signature “catapult” delivery, and then the unbelievable feat of his attempts going in!

His more famous teammates in Charles Barkley and Chris Mullin had nothing but the utmost respect for the gentle giant. Bol and Barkley constantly played pranks on each other while Bol was in Philly. “It was an honor and a pleasure to play with Manute. He was a wonderful guy,” said Barkley. “Man, I remember every moment with him,” Mullin said. “Every moment was an event with Manute.” “He’d been through so much in the course of his lifetime. He had seen so much. He taught me a lot about life, just listening to him and his stories and what he’d been through.”

Life after the NBA found him signing a one day contract in the Central Hockey League, eventhough he couldn’t skate. He also signed on to fight William “The Refrigerator” Perry on the Celebrity Boxing show. All in the name of fundraising for his war-torn country of Sudan. Misfortune followed him in 2004 when his neck was broken in a car accident. Plagued by liver disease for several years, he finally lost is battle to the illness on June 19th of this year.

His contributions not only to the game of basketball and his teammates, but to his country is immeasurable. We should all strive to be as selfless as Manute Bol. The world would be a better place.

R.I.P. Manute Bol
October 16, 1962 – June 19, 2010