NBA Rumors Round-Up
Rumors: LeBron Addresses Comments to Wade
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated10 Oct 2023
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According to an apparently scrubbed version of the exchange that isolates the dialogue by reducing background noise, James seems to say, “Like I said, if we aren’t better this year, we’re gonna reunite again and do some bigger and better things, alright?” Wade responds affirmatively.
James commented on the speculation on Wednesday, saying it was about getting together off the court and not about leaving Cleveland or playing with Wade again.
“I’ve seen the clip, just like you’ve seen the clip,” James said. “I don’t know exactly what I said at the beginning, either. I know I said, ‘We’ll get back together and do some bigger and better things,’ but it had nothing to do about basketball. I mean, if I was going to tell him that, I’d tell him the night before. Come on, guys. I’m not stupid. I know I didn’t go to college but I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t say that on Christmas with a hundred cameras around. I would have told him the night before at his house. But, it’s just me so I get it; I get it. But it had nothing to do with leaving here and reuniting with him. It had everything to do with just talking about other things more than just basketball. Everybody gets so involved in basketball; our friendship — obviously you guys know — is bigger than basketball. So, you know, our last four years couldn’t be bigger and better even if we did get back together. But, whatever. It’s crazy.”
Via Real GM
James shouldn’t be surprised by now with how much he easily he can cause a ruckus on the internet. This isn’t the first time, and it very likely won’t be the last. As easy as it is to read too deeply into his comments, though, he does make a great point that if he were really talking about something so serious and definitively, he’d do it at a time when he didn’t know for a fact that Wade was mic’d up and that everything he was saying was being recorded.
James does have the option to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and earlier this week Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported that James wouldn’t hesitate to leave if he didn’t like the state of the franchise at the end of the season. That, combined with this easy to misinterpret footage, created a fire storm, but it’s just too early to make too much of it.
Now, if James is taking meetings with other teams this summer and truly exploring his options, then there should be reason for alarm in Cleveland. But, for now, the potential for James to stay long-term is still there, as long as this team can meet expectations.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James missed his second straight game because of soreness in his left knee, sitting out his team’s 98-80 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. But he wants it known that he’ll be around for the Cavs for the long haul.
James was also scratched Tuesday because of the knee, which previously caused him to sit out a game Dec. 11 in Oklahoma City. He re-aggravated it on Christmas Day in Miami while jumping over a row of courtside seats while trying to track down an outlet pass from Kevin Love.
Even though James was not required to speak to the media because he was out of the lineup, he made himself available to answer a slew of questions in the locker room prior to the Bucks game about his health and the controversy surrounding his commitment to staying in Cleveland beyond this summer.
“It’s been hurting pretty much all year,” James said of his left knee. “I’ve been playing with it and it goes away and comes back. So, the one in Miami kind of re-aggravated it when I came out of the game in the third quarter.”
One of the most common themes among the most disappointing teams in NBA history has been bad luck with injuries, and certainly so far the Cavaliers have not had a lot go their way when it comes to guys staying at full health. Their top three players, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, have been out of the lineup sporadically throughout the year and starting center Anderson Varejao is out for the year with a ruptured Achilles.
All three of their top guys are projected to be All-Stars this season, really limiting their opportunities to get rest throughout the season without sitting out games as James and Love did in a blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
For a team that is lacking chemistry and still trying to find their way under a first-year NBA head coach in David Blatt, who is reportedly on a seat that is heating up by the loss, this is a trend that has to turn quickly, otherwise they will join field for most disappointing teams ever.
Before the Los Angeles Lakers boarded their charter flight on Christmas Eve to play the Chicago Bulls the next day, they got a surprise visit at the airport from Steve Nash.
Nash has been away from the team since Oct. 23 when it was announced that he would be sidelined for the season with a back injury. At the time the Lakers said the door was open to
Nash staying with the team in some capacity, but he stayed away. That could change soon.
“I think so,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said when asked if he thought this was the first step toward Nash returning to the team in some capacity. “I think so.”
Nash understandably needed some time to his own to cope with the fact that his Hall of Fame worthy career has come to an end. He came to the Lakers with such high expectations, but was never able to make much of an impact because of injuries. He gave it all he could, but simply couldn’t withstand the trauma that playing professional basketball puts on the body.
However, he drew the ire of some Laker fans after he posted pictures of himself playing golf. He calmed their anger with a public statement, but could be closer to earning their good graces again by serving in a mentor role with the team as they have made it clear they would like him to.
Nash is actually expected to be a lead recruiter for the Lakers even in his post-playing days. As a star player who came in and struggled, he was still treated with the upmost respect and professionalism by the franchise. Nash has grown to love life in Southern California and is expected to remain there in retirement.
