More Injuries for the Browns?
September 19, 2008The Browns Will Win If…
September 19, 2008Ouch. This one stings a little bit. This subject matter is so overwhelmingly exhausting, and frankly, I’m tired of talking about it and writing about it. But here I am doing just that, and I have to, because when a player whose star shines as brightly as Dwyane Wade joins in on the ‘LeBron to NY in 2010’ rumors, well, you have to sit up and take notice.
I brush most of these comments off with a grain of salt, but coming from Dwyane Wade, a close personal friend of LeBron’s, it sticks to my back a little more than usual. Ken Berger of Newsday had a chance to talk with Dwyane Wade recently, and Wade made some pretty straightforward and frank comments about the dreaded (for Cleveland) summer of 2010. As Berger writes,   Â
“But neither is Wade the hobbled shell of himself who limped through as much of the Heat’s 15-win season last year as he could stand. He was the best, most consistent, most pleasantly surprising member of the Redeem Team. He redeemed quite a bit, actually, and will continue to do so all the way until he joins the star-studded free-agent class of 2010.
He claimed not to have heard a Knicks fan shout, “Come to the Knicks!” from the spiral staircase above where Wade was holding court on Wednesday. It was a rare nod to the fact that LeBron James will not be the only superstar on the free-agent market two summers from now.
“We know that 2010 is a big year,” Wade said. “I’m a part of that year, so I know it’s a big year.”
Many, myself included, have referred to that as the “Summer of LeBron.” Wade is well aware. He laughed off the snub as though he knows something the rest of us don’t.
“The Knicks are not worried about me,” Wade said. “They’re worried about No. 23, and he’s in Cleveland.”
LeBron is LeBron is LeBron, and no matter what Wade does these next two seasons, LeBron will continue to generate headlines about what jersey he will wear next or which borough he will call home.
But I am here to tell you that based on what he did with Team USA, and what he knows is at stake for the most important years of his career, Wade — not LeBron — could be the prize catch of 2010 that nobody is talking about.
Yes, Riley recently crowned Wade the best player in the world partly for selfish reasons; Riles always knows who puts the butter knife to his bread. But there is a ring — or five — of truth to those words.
It was Wade, not Shaq, who carried the Heat to the ’06 title. And it was Wade, not Kobe or LeBron, who carried Team USA.
Two years is an eternity in the NBA, and though Wade, 26, is entering the prime of his career, he still must prove that his body is up to the journey. Manu Ginobili was among the NBA stars who left Beijing hobbled, and the toll of international play could catch up to others, Wade included.
But if Wade can maintain the otherworldly level he re-attained in the Olympics, who’s to say Donnie Walsh wouldn’t look at No. 3 and No. 23 in two years and choose the smaller number?
“First of all, No. 23 is 23 years old,” Wade said. “He’s young. He’s very young. He’s one of the best players in the game and you only could see him getting better. I’m in a good market in Miami. He’s not in a good market in Cleveland, marketing-wise, so it just makes sense that everyone wants to see one of the best players in one of the best markets.
“Kobe’s in one of the best markets already in L.A. Everybody wants LeBron in a great market, and that’s why they already put him in a New York jersey. It’s going to be a lot to decide for him. So I just get all the attention off me and throw it on him, so it’s easy.””
Wow, Dwyane, how do you really feel? In all seriousness, though, and maybe I’m overreacting a bit here, but when do you ever hear a superstar slam another market in which a player plays? For my recollection, this is fairly unprecedented. Wade takes an open and piercing shot at Cleveland.
I know, I know, we always complain when players don’t speak their minds, and then we tell them to shutup and just play basketball whenever they actually say something, so I’m not going to rip Wade to shreds for this, but I do wish he had a few of his facts straight.
His comment about how he’s in such a great market and Cleveland is stuck in the abysmal market of Cleveland isn’t quite true. Yes, Miami is a larger market than Cleveland, but not by much. Look at the rankings of US TV Markets. There’s Miami-Ft Lauderdale at #16. Not exactly the premiere market Wade makes it out to be. What market is one spot below Miami, at #17? That’s right, Cleveland-Akron (Canton).
Take a look at Forbes’ ranking of NBA Team Valuations. The Cavaliers are ranked 7th in the NBA, 2 spots ahead of the Miami Heat. Obviously, we’re not naive. I realize that LeBron is pretty much the sole factor for this, but the point I keep trying to tell everyone is that in today’s society that we live in, with internet, communication, cable TV deals, national TV deals, etc, the Cleveland Cavaliers are able to provide LeBron with the exposure he needs. The Cavs rank 5th in the NBA in revenue, and are 4th in the NBA in operating income. Last year LeBron was third in jersey sales, behind Garnett (who changed teams) and Kobe.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the need to be in a traditional “big market” isn’t as important today as it was 10 years ago. With creative marketing that takes advantage of modern technology’s ability to reach millions (or really, billions) of people in mere seconds, exposure can transcend the population of the city you play in. This isn’t to say LeBron won’t leave Cleveland, but I just want to point out that Wade’s argument doesn’t hold as much water as one might think.
More importantly, though, I wish Wade wouldn’t degrade the city of Cleveland. At the end of the day, though, he isn’t really saying anything new. We all know the stakes, we all know that NY wants LeBron in 2010, we all know the NBA wants LeBron in NY, we all know everyone outside of Cleveland wants LeBron in NY, we all know the media DESPERATELY wants LeBron in NY. It just makes me feel uncomfortable hearing another superstar of Dwyane Wade’s caliber openly condemning LeBron’s current situation in Cleveland.
I guess this pretty much puts an end to all of our dreams of Dwyane Wade coming to Cleveland in 2010 to play with LeBron, though, huh?
28 Comments
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. LeBron is going to do whatever he wants to do. If he has his head set on getting out of Cleveland, he’ll leave. That decision isn’t going to be impacted by what others say about Cleveland, it’s going to be impacted by what LeBron feels like he can do while playing in Cleveland. I honestly don’t think that he’s made up his mind yet. I think the next two years on the court will go a long way to determine what happens.
Lebron already a global icon playing in lil cleveland. It don’t matter what bron do to me. You only live once so do what you wanna do.
I’m not so convinced LeBron will ‘do what he wants to do.’ There are a lot of rich suits around him that would benefit from him being in NY and I AM 100% convinced that they’ll do ‘what they want to do.’
LeBron wants a championship. If we give him one or two here, he’ll stay. Else, he’s gone.
/$.02
I get what you guys are saying about LeBron, but what about what Wade said? Am I the only one who’s a little uncomfortable with a superstar so openly slamming Cleveland? Perhaps I am…
Cleveland compared to New York is not a market. It just isn’t….I don’t think he was slamming Cleveland in general.
I’m not Danny Ferry, so I can say this out loud. After thinking about this whole Lebron-to-NY-or-Cleveland-or-Timbuktu issue, I began seeing this pragmatically…it goes as such:
If I were Danny Ferry, I would start planning a 2010-2011 season with LeBron and without LeBron.
Don’t react just yet. Honestly, this issue seems to be putting too much power in one guy’s hands. Believe me, I would LOVE to see LeBron in Cleveland for more years. I would love that he stay there forever. But you know what I want even more than LeBron? A championship. Shoot, a DYNASTY. If that can be accomplished without LeBron, Mr. Ferry, have at it.
There are quite a few teams out there who have recently won Championships without a Global icon as their centerpiece player, however, as this articles highlights, the Miami Heat are exception to that statement.
Which brings me to another point. Just how effective are superstar players? Sure Jordan brought alot of hardware to Chicago, but look in the past, and what I see are lots of team-focused teams winning championships. Detriot…I guess Billups is star, but it seems that the Pistons focus more on working as a team rather than having Billups do all the work. Celtics, same idea. Spurs, same idea.
Finally, another thing I noticed is the number of times I see the following headline :Even though X team lost (ie Cavs/Lakers), star player Y (LeBron/Kobe) broke a new record in scoring. I wonder if I should be a amazed at that or angry that its ball-hogging.
Anyways, I think Ferry and Gilbert’s best option is focusing on winning a championship. And they need to ask, do you need a Superstar or a team to win a championship?
as far as Dwyane Wade goes, I couldn’t care less. Atheletes get paid lots of money to play a sport, not speculate on current affairs, politics, the state of the union or NAFTA.
$20 says D-Wade thinks NAFTA is NASCAR’s minor league. or the North American Football Tackler’s Association.
***YAWN*** Wake me up with Lebron actually talks about where he’s going. Until then, I’m not going to pay any attention to it. I’ll just skip right over reading any stories that look like they might be about Lebron bolting. No offense to the WFNY writers.
How great would it be though if Lebron just decides to stay, and better yet, plays his entire career in Cleveland, winning championship after championship. I’m almost tempted to print out every national media article about Lebron leaving, and then when he doesn’t, I’ll proceed to wipe my posterior with them, and mail them to their original authors with a note that says “Yeah, good call on that one.”
Yea i don’t even worry bout it. Alot can happen two years. I could be dead in two years, the world could be in peril by then. It ain’t no reason to be worried bout it
But yet you still took the time to comment Gabriel. 🙂
In all honesty, this post wasn’t intended to be another LeBron to NY story….It was supposed to be more about Dwyane Wade saying Cleveland doesn’t deserve LeBron and that Miami is a far better market than Cleveland. I think both of those statements are false.
It’s nice to know most commentators actually read the article first.
People used to slam the market when KG was in Minnesota (I can’t even think of the city off hand, how’s that?). I usually nodded my head when I read it, because I consider it below Ohio. Great if you’re living there and happy, but sorry I’m not interested.
I don’t think you should take it to heart when people say things like that about Cleveland. Especially here, it’s such an off-hand comment. Interesting about Miami’s size. The thing I’ve wondered. If it’s all about marketing, why doesn’t anyone mention Chicago, Philly, Dallas (prob because their teams don’t completely blow). They’re all top markets too.
Thank you Swig.
I think it’s because Chicago, Philly, and Dallas aren’t clearing payroll for 2010. Not that they don’t still have time to do so, but that’s just my best guess.
With your introduction I thought we were about to read one of LeBron’s friends leaking something about LeBron’s mindset right now. There is nothing here but Wade’s own musings. Who cares what he thinks? The Cavs can pay LeBron significantly more in salary, and I can’t turn on the tube without seeing his mug on a national ad, so how much does the local market matter? Maybe he’ll leave, maybe not, but isn’t all this “oh my gosh, what did this guy say?!” stuff a little paranoid?
Waiting, LeBron is a FREE AGENT after 2010!!?? Why didn’t I get the memo about this?
Perhaps. I just don’t recall ever hearing a player comment on another market like this, that’s all. I found it to be rather unprecedented. If everyone is cool with other players taking shots at Cleveland in the press, well, then so be it.
“Waiting, LeBron is a FREE AGENT after 2010!!?? Why didn’t I get the memo about this?”
The thud you just heard was my head hitting my desk. Please, please, please read the posts before commenting. This isn’t about LeBron being a free agent, it’s about a player, a superstar none the less, making disparaging remarks about another market. If you find that to be no big deal, I’m fine with that…..but please comment on that, then, and not an unrelated issue.
Wade is simply stating the truth in a pretty straightforward way, as you pointed out. It’s a harsh reality of the situation, but there’s nothing the Cavs can do about it. He will make more money in a big market, and quite frankly, his legend would grow 10 fold as the East Coast media would praise him all day and night – something that doesn’t happen as much in Cleveland (sure he gets attention here, but not like he would in NY).
The only thing that works in Cleveland’s favor is if they build a winning team around him, and the fact that LeBron loves Akron. They’re on the right path in building this team, but still have to continue to make smart decisions.
Wow, Rock…I think you’re overreacting way, way, wayyyy too much here. When I first read the title and your intro, I was expecting Wade to call Cleveland a glorified landfill filled with fat losers and bringing up the burning river.
But he didn’t do that once. Not once. In fact, what he said was…the truth.
I love Cleveland. It’s where I grew up. It’s where I learned to play and follow sports. It will always, always have a special place in my heart. But my heart along with the heart of other Clevelanders and transplanted Clevelanders isn’t the same. When you leave Cleveland, you see the city in a different light. Marketing-wise, Cleveland isn’t a good market at all. Seriously…is Cleveland a place where celebrities matriculate?
I know that this is surprising coming from me, of all people, because I am one of the people who thinks that he can’t possibly get any more popular. Winning a championship is what will do it for him. But you have to take off the wine-and-gold colored glasses for just a little bit – just 60 seconds – and imagine him winning a championship at the Q in Cleveland or a championship at the Garden with the Knicks. Remember, the Knicks are to NY what the Browns are to Cleveland. Despite their tortured past and recent trend of suckiness, they are the closest in their cities’ hearts.
Bringing a championship to the Garden? Hey, I’m as diehard a Cavs fan as any – and if you know me, you know that. But bring a title to the Garden, and you’re above Jordan. Win more than one there, and you’re literally God. One Knicks title would mean more to NY than 10 Yankees championships or a Giants Super Bowl. Trust me, I have family there and go there every summer. When I think about this objectively, I feel even more scared for 2010.
All of that is fine. It is what it is.
The question is, though, when do you ever hear players ripping on another market? I’ve never seen it before. Plus, to reiterate, Miami is barely a better market than Cleveland. The Cavs are a more visible franchise than the Heat are right now. So to say Miami is a good market and Cleveland isn’t is what I have a problem with.
Well, that isn’t entirely true. Miami is a better market for marketing than Cleveland by a long shot. They get celebs down there to visit. Celebs have homes there. Companies have parties and product launches there. MTV even had one of their stupid awards shows down there. None of that stuff ever happens in Cleveland. I am not delusional.
That being said, like you Rock, I am surprised that Wade would make a comment like this. In a sport like the NBA where every player can be paid in pretty much every city, it would seem to me that a guy wouldn’t be talking about any other markets. You never know when Utah, Cleveland, Minnesota or Indiana is going to have TONS of cap space to pay you with.
Its not the size of the market – it the wealth and prestige of the market that Wade was talking about. If you polled the country and asked where you would want to live, a strong majority would pick Miami. That is what I think Wade was eluding to when talking about the markets. Miami is younger and more affluent. Population size doesn’t matter.
“I guess this pretty much puts an end to all of our dreams of Dwyane Wade coming to Cleveland in 2010 to play with LeBron, though, huh?”
I wouldn’t want him anyway. By 2010, his body will be even more broken down (think Penny Hardaway) from all of the “falls” he takes on “fouls”. If Wade took the hits that LeBron takes, he would’ve retired by now.
The size of the market absolutely matters. Nobody cares that New York and Chicago are cold weather cities, and that’s because of their sheer size. If LeBron goes to NY, that’s 8 million people who might want to buy LBJ shoes and jerseys.
But, I guess Cleveland should just pack up their bags and get rid of their sports teams since nobody seems to think living in Cleveland and playing in Cleveland matters.
How devastating will that be if Lebron leaves though? Seriously? Lebron out of Cleveland? I’m going to hate the day I hear it.
I think LeBron wants to WIN more than anything.
If he goes to NY and loses then the media will be on him more than ever. The Skip Baylesses of the world will say it’s his fault and that he’s not a champion.
If he wins a ring in Cleveland with NO other all-stars on the team, it will be UNPRECEDENTED. He will get ALL the credit (even though Mike Brown’s defense is half of the equation). And it’s not like we’ll be hearing about the East being weak or anything like that. The top teams in the East are just as good as the top teams in the West.
If 2010 rolls around and LeBron can play with Mo Williams (IN HIS PRIME), Boobie Gibson (ENTERING HIS PRIME), JJ Hickson (Starting Low Post Threat), and a few glue guys (not to mention another stud low-post scorer acquired this year at the trade deadline) then why would he want to play with a team starting at ground zero? Who will he run with in NY? In NJ? He will play his prime years on horrible teams and probably get them to the playoffs and maybe out of the first round – but NEITHER of those teams play any defense and they have no solid prospects. NY would have to lure 2 veteran studs the way Boston did to try to lure LeBron – and even then, they would be paying him much less than Cleveland can.
If the Cavs spend the next 2 years getting bounced in the 1st or 2nd rounds – then i think Bron will leave.
“Waiting, LeBron is a FREE AGENT after 2010!!?? Why didn’t I get the memo about this?”
im about 99% certain that bambino was being sarcastic..
either way. Whatever to dwayne. im glad i read this article though it was really just surprising to hear that come from wayde.
thought he was classier than that.
MIA a better market than Cleveland? Maybe, maybe at first bare glance of 16 vs. 17. But then let’s consider the true nature of the two markets.
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, as a metropolitan area, is slightly bigger than Cleveland’s immediate metro. But then move to another part of Florida. You go to the panhandle or far north Florida, you get Hornets fans because they’re southern and they don’t consider Miami and Orlando real southern cities anymore. You move outside the region and you start to compete with Orlando, which has a larger area covered, and in much closer proximity to Tampa Bay, which itself is a sports market with no basketball.
Now Cleveland itself may no longer be the shining metropolis it once was on its own. But where is the nearest basketball market? Detroit. That means that not only Cleveland and Akron-Canton, but the Youngstown-Warren Steel Valley, divided between the Browns and Steelers, are united behind the Cavs (trust me, I grew up in Warren my whole life). Meanwhile, the market continues to extend down to Columbus, where only the NHL has a pro-sports hold, and I live here now. The Cavs are followed heavily in this city too, itself a larger city than Cleveland proper. The Cavs’ appeal even extends into places like Dayton and Springfield, usually under the Cincinnati sports umbrella but due to the Cincinnati Royals’ nonexistence, the Cavs are followed there too. The Cavs are even followed in Toledo and its surrounding area, that black sheep city of Ohio where Cavs fans share ground with Pistons followers.
So don’t tell us our market’s not that big. It is, because it extends through almost all Ohio outside the immedicate Cincy metro and even parts of western PA. Who follows the Heat outside of deep south Florida? GO any north and you’re in Magic country. Go south and you’re in Havana. (By the way, guess who comprises a huge population of south Floridians? That would be retired New Yorkers who I guess Wade is speaking for, because they sure as hell don’t care about the Heat either.)