Tribe bats go quiet in 4-0 loss to Rays
July 11, 2010Akron, Ohio Removes “Home of LeBron James” Sign
July 11, 2010
The Collusion – that’s what AP and Cavs beat reporter Tom Withers was calling the arrangement that came to fruition this past week in Miami. Spike Lee was calling it a conspiracy, articulating that we were all hoodwinked and it was rigged: “It was laid out. This didn’t happen by happenstance. They made people look like idiots. They had the thing planned out two years ago.”
Brian Windhorst, in a piece that sportswriters have been heralding since last night, delivered the excellent and detailed reporting which has provided a base for these collusion, and potentially tampering, accusations in an A1 Plain Dealer story this morning. Journalism and reporting have been discussed nearly as much as the players themselves in the past few weeks. Windhorst’s triumphant reporting, something he calls only the “tip of the iceberg,” details a plan hatched and honed over the past four years to unite the 3 stars in their 2010 summer of free agency.
In the free agency championship celebration of Friday evening, Chris Bosh let it slip that the three had been talking about their unification for months. He quickly caught himself and amended it to “weeks.” Alonzo Mourning, a Heat rep, articulated on Friday “I knew this was going to evolve a while ago. We knew a long time ago. We did our due diligence on our recruiting trip, and we had a good feeling about this. When we came back, we knew that it pretty much was going to evolve in our favor.”
Windhorst details the plan that began in 2006 when all three were members of Team USA playing in the World Championships in Japan. It was a successful trip both on and off the floor, giving them comfort and confidence that a partnership, even if far-fetched, could work. During the team presentations at the IMG building this month, Windhorst referred to the strong relationship that Heat owner Micky Arison’s son, Nick, had developed with both James and Bosh. The report this morning discusses how this relationship was started in Japan at the same World Championships where Nick Arison was an intern for Team USA and hit it off with the players as both a friend and confidante.
A string of subsequent events only strengthened the bond between the 3 players and the potential for what happened this week became greater. They each decided to preemptively accept 3 year extensions with their teams, enabling them to become unrestricted free agents now as early as 2010. They successfully completed anOlympics run in China which was another confidence booster for them that it could work on the floor. In addition to playing together overseas, all 3 had now come under the roof of the same agency, Creative Artists. It enabled a greater free flow of information between the 3 and their agents as they attempted to make their free agency moves based off each other.
Pat Riley filled the vacuum and provided the landing spot for the plan to come to fruition. Windhorst details the powerful persuasive pull that Riley began to wield over James – most notably after a discussion last November which resulted in James’s decision to change his jersey number from 23 to 6. The announcement of this decision came shortly after Riley had arranged a sit down for James with Jordan in South Beach.
When this summer arrived, Riley and the Heat had positioned their salary structure as the one place where all 3 could join together and still make near max money. Riley’s presentation at the IMG building was a persuasive and simple reinforcement of what James, it appears, had already desired and planned with Bosh and Wade. Windhorst detailed a late June meeting in Akron:
Getting all three together was really only possible in Miami, and Wade pushed the topic. Despite being discouraged by Commissioner David Stern and perhaps breaking tampering rules again, Wade flew with Bosh to Akron to meet at James’ house in the last week of June. Still under contract with the Heat, Wade got the other two to the brink of a deal to join up.
All the players still met with teams just to make sure they wanted Miami. Wade and James were interested in Chicago, where there was a chance two of them could match up and play with rising star Derrick Rose. But Wade stayed strong to Riley’s plan and kept tugging on James and Bosh.
It all adds to the general distaste, anger, and disillusionment that not only Cavs fans, but many sports fans across the country, are expressing after this week’s events. Riley is clearly a persuasive dealmaker but one certainly gets the impression that his actions were not always above board and that slithery does not only apply to his hairstyle. I imagine there is per se tampering in this story but whether or not it will be addressed by David Stern, or much less proved by anyone, is a more difficult leap.
We are being told by Windhorst and others that this is just the tip of the iceberg and there are many more sordid details behind how this arrangement came together. There is simply too much money, power, and league future on the line here to imagine that some sort of address or penalty will be issued. Stern may enact some sort of prospective rules to avoid this sort of collusion in the future, but that is little consolation to Northeast Ohioans who are the guinea pig collateral damage in this unprecedented arrangement set in motion over four years ago.
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49 Comments
so abusrd
this will all get swept under the rug. no one will care outside of cleveland sports fans once they start winning.
i see them winning 4 rings in a row easy. and they will suspenseful go after the fifth in a row as the whole nation watches. can they do it? every bandwagon fan will jump on board most of them not even realizing LBJ used to even play for Cleveland.
we should have known. LBJ told us plain as day. all he cares about is winning.
@2 LBJ told us a lot of things. Many of which turned out to be lies.
The owners will impose heavy fines in the next CBA for ANY contact outside of one’s own team or national activities.
Who cares if they are friends? This is business. If deals can be made between players then collusion rules have no teeth.
They made owners very angry by showing the owners are powerless. You don’t piss off billionaires.
Collusion is brutally hard to prove in court… but’d be fun to make the players and Riley miserable with court appearances, etc. It’d come off as extemely bitter (and I’m not really the bitter type). Still, I’d just love for Bosh and LBJ to waste a good chunk of their 20’s and cash in the courts.
And Windhorst has been insanely good.
@Bridgecrosser – What would Chuck Norris do?
Lebron signs for less money, takes back seat to wade, earns millions for charity & becomes a villain…? Society is all screwed up. Haha
Thanks Brendan (and WFNY) for your excellent ongoing reporting throughout this whole debacle
While it would be fun to drag Bosh’s and He Who Shall Not Be Named’s asses through court, what of it? Collusion is soooo hard to prove.
@Trey G
First of all, he really didn’t take less money… with the sign and trade and the florida tax laws, hell up keeping millions more than usually.
Secondly, if LeBron colluded with the other two than yes, he should be villified. It compromises the integrity of the league.
the NBA has no credibility to compromise
Ok, can we move on from “He Who Shall not Be Named” (nice, oribiasi). I would like to know if the Sam Amico tweet about the Cavs pursuing Marvin Williams and Josh Childress for Mo and Shaq has any footing?
I do not want to give Mo up for those guys. I want Mo to play with those guys. Unless they throw in Josh Smith or Al Horford; No thank you.
I don’t want to give up Mo for those guys either. Mainly because I don’t want to give up on Mo yet. I think he’ll be better without LeBron. I want Mo to come out and kill it next season.
Laura, I just read some of Mo’s tweets from these past few days. He seems determined, Gilbert’s statement pumped him up. If we could somehow keep Mo and get Childress and Marvin Williams I think we have to pull the trigger. We may have to move Delonte, for those guys or Al Jefferson. I’m fine with that, Delonte is our second best trading chip, second to JJ.
I wouldn’t move JJ either. Unless that is the deal breaker for Al Jefferson. I still think JJ is our center, we so desperately need.
Completely agree about JJ. He’s a solid, young talent.
My feelings on losing Delonte should be well known by now. I will be devasted but I understand. I’d get over it eventually.
Yeah, DWest is a solid player. Fits in well.
A little aside, why isn’t Sasha Kaun on our Summer League roster? Is it because he isn’t under contract?
Collusion may be tough to prove but you don’t have to go to court to prove tampering.
You know who says whether it was tampering or not? Stern. You know who’s probably annoyed as much as the owners over all this? Stern.
If the owners are mad, Stern’s mad. And when you have billions of dollars you want the respect that goes with it. These three made themselves bigger than the league and tried to circumvent the spirit if not the letter of the anti-tampering rules.
They did much worse than steal. They tried to show up the owners. So they may get their rings, but karma will be headed their way.
People who are upset are just jealous. I would rather people be honest and say… We wanted to see Lebron struggle in Cleveland and then wins title sometime down the road if he can. The fact that you feel he’s taking the easy road to win the ultimate goal just pisses you off. I’m not a Cleveland or Miami fan. But at least I’m an honest one. So stop your crying. The fact these guys chose to come together and win titles is aweso
E in this day and age.
Regardless of all that is being said, this is happening. This is the reality of the NBA today. And Stern is probably thrilled with this because of the marketing dollars that this will generate not to mention the ratings EVERY nationally telivised Heat game will get. NBA fans dont like to watch a team win, they like to watch the superstars. Case and point, the 2005 NBA Finals featured the Detroit Pistons (who reached 6 consecutive Eastern Conference Finals and won an NBA Championship) and the San Antonio Spurs (the winningest team of this decade who have a few recent championships of their own) and this was the lowest rated NBA Finals in recent History. The bottom line is its a business and this trio however absurd it may be is a money train for Stern and the NBA. Imagine a finals that showcased in a seven game series Kobe, Lebron, D Wade, Chris Bosh and Shaq who I hear is on his way back to Miami. Stern isnt mad…Hes thrilled.
the worst part is that he threw the series vs celts to he could start free agency early. Just watch the vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUtUFl8LS-0
And by the way, this will affect “The King’s” Legacy. MJ, Magic, Bird, Kobe, and even D Wade won a champioship without an “All Star Team” If this is what it takes for Lebron to win one, and he most likely will with this team, than so be it, however he will never be put in the same category as these greats who were able to make their TEAM win. Dont get me wrong, Lebron is probably the greatest all around player that I have ever seen, but a winner he has not yet proven to be, and when and if he does win, many will now say that he couldnt have done it without his “All Star Team”. Kobe had to prove he could do it without Shaq and he has twice. I guess we will see what happens. At least it will be entertaining. And just for the record, I predict the Los Angeles Lakers will 3 peat this year and all of you who doubt me can remember this day, bookmark this sight, and shoot me a congratulatory email next June when the Lakers defend their crown. Just for the record, I am a die hard Pistons fan and we are gonna suck for a while. 🙁
2010 Miami Heat Starting Five:
PG – Allen Iverson
SG – Dwayne Wade
SF – Lebron James
PF – Chris Bosh
C – Shaquille O’neal
This has actually been discussed. Why not right. Shaq and AI will play for league minuimum.
I’m not mad that Lebron wanted to leave, I’m just pissed off at what a snake he’s turning out to be. Rather than tell them of his plans he let the organization believe they had a chance to keep him around. It’s not just Cav’s fans, most credible outlets are coming out saying what a low life he turned out to be. Windhorst is one of the best beat writers in the country and it’s only a matter of time before he moves on to something national.
Also, ‘Trey G’ and ‘Shamrock’: You two are aware that this IS a Cleveland fansite? Are you logged on here simply to post comments bashing Cleveland fans and their teams? It’s depressing that you have so much time to sit on random sites and throw mud at people, I guess when you’re unemployed and live in your mother’s basement you have time for pretty much anything though…
Trey G…you sir, are an idiot. Yes, people are upset about him leaving for greener pastures. However, most people are even more upset about the fact that he dragged the fanbase in front of national television and dumped us like a backup prom date.
Also, he played up the hometown hero crap for all it was worth for 7 years just to leave after finishing with the best record two years in a row. Say what you will about the playoffs versus the regular season…LeBron left a top contender for a top contender. For all intents and purposes, it was close to a lateral move.
Plus, as is now coming out, he’s been planning this for years, all while playing up the hometown hero bit and saying that he would bring a title to cleveland. That was his stated goal, and he left before the job was done. If championships, no matter how unbalanced, were his only goal, he should have signed with a team in the italian league.
What a chump. He could have had it all with just one title in cleveland. Now, his hometown won’t even claim him.
Trey G,
I’m upset that he put on this image of a good guy. He never pulled a Kobe, Roethlisberger, Arenas, DWest. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Then he completely did a 180 and held this primetime spectacle to break all of North Est Ohio’s hearts. It’s very disappointing. I thought he’d have more class. He can leave, that’s fine. I knew it was a possibility. But going to Miami to be a sidekick is a joke. He would have had Championships in Chicago, Cleveland, and IMO New Jersey; eventually. But he took the easy road and told the nation that this Miami situation will be a “Challenge”
Challenge #1- Kourtney or Khloe?
Challenge #2- How am I to score 30 pts?
Challenge #3- Do I have to speak Spanish down here?
Challenge #4- SPF 50 or 75?
Challenge #5- Do I get sun burned?
Challenge #6- Why did I behave like a coward to begin with?
Challenge #7- Will Ohio ever forgive me?
Answers- Kourtney; not likely; ci; 50; yes; scared to go my entire career without a ring; eventually
I just love all these people who claim to understand why Cleveland fans are upset. You don’t know me.
I don’t care that LeBron is gone. I’m just pissed about how he did it.
Dwayne Wade is so much smarter than LeBron. He convinced LeBron to totally give up his home town and his legacy so he could become one of the best side-kicks ever. It only enhances Wade’s image.
Rich- Wade convinced Bosh and LBJ that joining him would be a good move for their careers/image. He is a master of Psychology.
I would also like to add that this LBJ (Loyalty Betraying J@ck@SS) spectacle shows us what’s wrong with the mindset of the NBA. Rings. Rings do not dictate a career. Derek Fisher is not a better Point Guard that John Stockton or Mark Price. Robert Horry is not a better Power Forward than Karl Malone.
All these players hear about is Championships, and they think that without (multiple) rings, they will not be remembered in NBA history. It’s sickening. When LBJ is retired and trying to get a front office job to pay off his multiple debts he’s accumulated in multiple states from his multiple estates and multiple Rolls Royce’s. It will dawn on him, “It’s not about rings, or banners. It’s about a legacy. A relationship with fans. My family and friends. It’s about the ups and downs of the organization I spent my career with because the ride is way more important that the destination.” But he has ruined any chance at attaining that legacy in Cleveland. And that’s what upsets me most.
The biggest part with tampering is that Cleveland traded El BJ. That will allow Stern to walk away from this unless the other owners band together and put a hell of a lot pressure on him, something that I just do not see.
But MattyFos…why stay in cleveland to cement your legacy as the greatest cav and most successful hometown hero in pro sports history when clearly, you already believe everyone in NE Ohio worships you.
Any normal person would love to be the guy that’s recognized by the PA announcer at a tribe game in the year 2050 as the greatest local pro athleter ever and the man that broke the curse for his hometown…but not lebron. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know what he gave up.
But hey, what can you expect from a front-runner that grew up rooting for the yankees, cowboys, and bulls.
Mattyfos…you are spot on with your comments about legacy.
It’s all beginning to make sense. But the think I still don’t understand is, why would he quit in the playoffs?
Sadly, Stern won’t do a thing about this. Why? Lebron might be villified in Ohio, and right now his Q rating is at an all time low w/the sports fans in this country. But where are the majority of NBA fans nowadays? What’s the biggest new market opening up for the league in the next decade? It’s overseas (specifically, CHINA). And judging from my (admittedly anecdotal) contact w/various friends who are non-american nba fans, the Heat are going to be WILDLY popular. Foreign fans never rooted for teams to begin with; when the NBA began its int’l push in the 92 olympics w/the Dream team Stern made the conscious decision then to market star players and not franchises. So while Cleveland might be more important to Lebron for everyone here, all the people who bought Cavs jerseys and Lebron Nikes outside this country are now going to be buying Heat gear and become Heat “fans”. And remember that oft-reported fact about how Kobe was way more popular in Beijing in 08 than lebron was b/c of his rings? Well, foreign fans aren’t going to care if Lebron wins his with wade and bosh or not, they’ll lionize them regardless.
Like it or not, this is the new reality of a globalized sport. Look at the EPL, and realize that’s where the NBA is going to be in a few decades.
@29 You don’t have to be a genius to take advantage of weak minded individuals.
Wade dangled “Nice weather and bikini clad women” in front of two children like we dangle string in front of kittens.
Bosh wasn’t going to go to Chicago unless Wade did. Once Bosh went LeBrA$$ followed like the sheep he is.
And no, LeBrA$$ is not one of the best players ever. Talent, yep. Heart of a winner, Nope. He told us he had the heart of a winner, but a winner leads, doesn’t follow.
@34 – can you leave a team because “its all about winning” if your team just won the championship? the loss was necessary for him to have his excuse…
It’s like the more things begin to come to the light and make sense, the more confused I become.
@28 That’s what a couple years of college gets ya. I’m bummed that he left, all along I honestly felt like he was going but I kept telling myself no because of how he acted pre July 9 (D-Day 2.0). What kills me is what brother Matty brought up. “Challenge”?
On a brighter side I was at a local Giant Eagle today and they had a pop cooler full of Vitamin Water. So I took a look and thought about buying one until I saw this face plastered on a sticker on the door. I proceeded to nicely peel the sticker off and hand it to one of the cashiers who had a Cavs pin on her apron. She asked me what this was for and what to do with it and I told her to throw it away, burn it or do whatever the hell you want. Just don’t put it back up. She asked me why I took it off and I then explained that he is a heartless, egotistical ahole.
He didn’t owe Cleveland anything. People are acting like he left in the middle of his contact. He was a free agent. At that point he was technically not a Cav anyway. He didn’t owe them a phone call. All these people need to stop crying. Be grateful you got to see him play and that he played for your team. All this bashing Lebron is crazy. Be single handedly doubled the net worth of your team and your downtown area. So your pisses that he left… But he didn’t owe you anything other that the 7 years you paid him for. Period! That’s why they have contracts.
Chris Rock says, “LeBron is rich, but the team owner is wealthy.” The history of sports is filled with stories of owners manipulating players and then casting them aside due to injury or age. These player didn’t succumb to temptation of the biggest contract and instead decided where they want to live and work. They don’t have as much money as the wealthy owners who pay their salary, but they did get to choose where they want to work.
All the crying is ridiculous. If he stays around and injures his knee, the Cavs would have dumped him like spoiled milk. LBJ didn’t want to play in Cleveland from the start. He was just unlucky enough to get drafted by them. Hometown boy or not, Cleveland is a pit compared to this country’s marquee cities. He fulfilled his contract, and played hard while he was there. I can’t believe how selfish Cavs fans are. You think he should have continued to play for your crappy franchise in a crappy city/state with a crappy owner and no help? He made the right choice, as a matter of fact, anywhere but there would have been the right choice. Your owner came out after the fact and publicly ridiculed him for things that should have been addressed far before this free agency period. This just further proves the Cavs are a second-rate franchise that was propped up by LBJ and no one else. Now Dan is committed to winning? Where was all that passion when your team was actually relevant? How in the world did you let your biggest star ever get away? Look at the ownership and stop hating LBJ for their shortcomings.
Trey G-
He actually owed us respect. Which he showed us none one his decision day.
none of you fools posting anti-Cleveland comments get it.
if LeBron wanted to leave – really, intended to leave – all he had to do is say so. At his earliest possible convenience. He could have still had his recruitment tour, but merely told the Cavs they were out of the running. They could have pursued an all-star free agent, decided on rebuilding. Etcetra. But instead they guessed, and tried to keep LeBron.
lets put it this way, Al, Trey. You guys have jobs (probably). If you wanted to quit, you would put in your two weeks notice. LBJ didn’t even put in his two hours notice. Giving notice is a basic respect to your employer. So they can hire a replacement, and you get a good reference and a future opportunity to rehire. Instead, he shafted his franchise, RIGHT after Boozer and Stoudemire went elsewhere.
the Cavs would never dump LBJ. It’s one thing to make meaningless accusations without any base in fact. But when Uncle Dan and Danny Ferry guaranteed Leon Powe his salary for a year in which we weren’t sure he’d be able to play – indeed, we didn’t know if he’d ever play again – you just sound ignorant. Because the Cavs ‘second rate’ franchise already set a precedent with Powe, less than 12 months prior to your baseless comment. Not to mention the struggles of Z in his earlier years. He and we have stuck it out thus far, through 6 major surgeries and him being a ghost of the player he once was.
to continue, Cleveland is far from a dump. It’s a town in a region stricken with incomparable long-term depression. It’s the region that once made your steel and your cars, that you buy from Japan now. That corporations outsourced away from. We, and Detroit, and others, have been taken from again and again. Yet we are a region full of nice people, humbleness, inexpensive living, and great food. We are a younger city here in Cleveland – we export our old people to the same places as our superstar basketball players. We are loyal to a fault, and we hate the people who cheered at Derek Anderson’s injury,
because they give Cleveland a bad name. We are where Jim Thome and Mike Hargrove, among many others, kept their
permanent residence after the Dolans (speaking of an actual second-rate ownership) and the Indians parted ways with them on not the best note – because they wanted to raise their family
here.
so please. You make yourselves sound ignorant. And with the bashing LeBron is getting from the world outside of South Beach, and lawsuits on the horizon, we shall see how much he didn’t owe cleveland. It’s not like we let him live his life as we do all our celebrities – as human beings, not some animal to chase all day with cameras. It’s not like Dan Gilbert and the organization – a first-rate one – kept any trouble of LBJ’s quashed. Gave his friends jobs. Loved him as a prodigal son even as he helped usher in a renaissance for Akron and brought stimulus to Cleveland’s economy.
oh wait. It is. And by leaving, he hurt more than basketball fans.
@44- I was just about to post how its fine LBJ left but he never gave notice and use a 2 weeks notice as an example. So touche my friend. That is exactly the problem. If your working at business A even if you hate that business and really want business B,C or D to employ you, it is still right to notify business A that you intend on leaving. Most cases, that is with a 2 weeks notice. You just dont walk out n your job with a middle finger to the owner of that just employed you. And thats what LBJ did.
LBJ cost this city a big chunk of its revenue. He was our prize attraction. And as far as Gilbert, who has gone all in on casinos and this town, LBJ has cost him so much money he must have been ill when composing his open letter. The loss of over $100m in franchise equity. The loss of draw, investors, visitors for his casino project. The loss of money he spent on dudes like Maverick Carter. The money he spent hushing up any nonsense LB got into in town. Quashing legal issues. All for naught. The millions spent recruiting Byron Scott when he shouldve gotten an interim coach – or not fired Mike Brown.
But hey, we’re all whiners who should get over it, right?
wrong. We are good people who were hurt in a hundred million ways so LBJ can go be Dwyane Wade’s sidekick. And when they don’t win a title in the next four years and terminate their contracts early, hardly able to be in the same room together, the lesson will be learned. And Cleveland will probably welcome the King back with open arms, if he so desires…but he’ll never be invincible in this county again. And he has lost all his credibility.
and by the way, LeBron James is a crappy tipper. Who treats the hardworking people of their hometown like that?
hah. Another fact from a spurned LBJ fan. It all comes out now, because people don’t pull punches after you hurt them. Vindictively.
[…] used his thorough reporting skills and network of NBA sources to become an internet sensation. Windhorst fired his first reportorial shot last Sunday when he started to unwrap the details of how LeBron came to join the Miami Heat through […]
Regardless of all that has happened, the Heat better pray that they win the Championship next season, otherwise, they better prepare for a LOT of questions during the impending lockout in the (near) future.