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Nigel Tufnel
07-25-2010, 12:07 AM
Clicked on this article out of complete boredom and with complete indifference....but read it and was pretty impressed. It may be a little melodramatic, but I think there is a lot of truth to this article....I guess I didn't realize how intertwined James' company had become with the inner workings of the NBA. I don't think the NBA is headed in a very good direction. The one thing its got going for it is that if this issue with James' Management Company goes too far (I'm thinking it already has) and gets ridiculous, Stern probably has the backbone to do something about it. If this was baseball, it would become an utter mockery (if it isn't already)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-paulfuture072310

GuyFawkes38
07-25-2010, 12:25 AM
I don't know. I have to disagree with the article.

It shouldn't be surprising that Chris Paul is unhappy in NOLA. It's a really cheap organization that's unwilling to spend the cash to be competitive. The city probably shouldn't have an NBA franchise.

And I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that top NBA players want to be in larger markets with a better chance to win.

I think when it comes down to it, a lot of people are uncomfortable with the entire concept of free agency. I have trouble understanding that perspective.

PM Thor
07-25-2010, 12:28 AM
Honestly, I don't really buy it. Every year or two, a "franchise" player wants out of where they are, Paul is simply the latest one of a long, long list to do so. Is there a connection to James and his cohorts? Yeah, maybe, but the writer is connecting the dots a little too conveniently to suit his own opinion on the matter. He's connecting the two biggest stories in the NBA, making a gigantic conspiracy out of it, and quite frankly I don't think the people involved are smart enough to pull it off, if it was their intention.

I HATE dayton.

Nigel Tufnel
07-25-2010, 01:09 AM
He's connecting the two biggest stories in the NBA, making a gigantic conspiracy out of it, and quite frankly I don't think the people involved are smart enough to pull it off, if it was their intention.

I HATE dayton.

I guess I'm not surprised that Paul wants out of NO...I get that...but, I am of the opinion that his "All American" reputation may be affected by this. At the same time, he did know who is owner was when he signed his last extension.

I guess the thing that opened my eyes most about the article was the involvement of CAA in the NBA.

If this company isn't smart enough to put a strangle hold on the NBA, I don't know who is...

CAA is thought to be the top agency in film[16] due to its film industry client list which includes Meryl Streep[17] Sandra Bullock[18], Steven Spielberg[14], Tom Cruise[15], Brad Pitt[15], George Clooney[15], Will Smith[19], Julia Roberts[15], Will Ferrell[15], Tom Hanks[15], Reese Witherspoon[15], Jerry Bruckheimer[19], Vince Vaughn[20], James Cameron[21], Drew Barrymore[15], Robert DeNiro [15], Jennifer Aniston[22], Jamie Foxx[23], Sean Penn[15], Tobey Maguire[15], Robert Downey, Jr.[24], Keanu Reeves[25], Bruce Willis[26], Jim Carrey[14] Daniel Craig[27], Cameron Diaz[15], Scarlett Johansson[28], Kate Winslet[15], Hilary Swank[29], Nicole Kidman[15], Cate Blanchett[15], Penelope Cruz [30], Ron Howard[18], Brian Grazer[31], Ashton Kutcher[32], Natalie Portman[33], Oliver Stone[34], Anne Hathaway[35], Sarah Michelle Gellar[36] Noah Ringer[37], Zac Efron, Keke Palmer, Justin Bieber, and Jake Gyllenhaal[15]
[edit] Music

CAA dominates the music touring business, winning "Booking Agency of the Year" in eight of the last ten years and every year since 2002[38]. CAA's notability in the music industry is a product of their roster of top billing acts including Justin Bieber, Andrea Bocelli,[39] Bruce Springsteen[40], Sting[41], Usher [42], Mariah Carey[42], Radiohead[43], Carrie Underwood[44] , Green Day[42], Bon Jovi[43], Jonas Brothers[14], John Mayer[42], Tim McGraw[15], AC/DC[42], Marilyn Manson, Faith Hill[43], Ludacris[45], Miley Cyrus[46], John Legend[47], Justin Timberlake[48], Shakira[42], Stevie Wonder[42], Christina Aguilera[42], Keith Urban[42] and Alanis Morissette[43].

Tours booked by CAA[49][50] include High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Warped Tour, American Idol and Taste of Chaos.
[edit] Sports

The Sports Business Journal has called CAA "the dominant sports agency in the United States"[51], and has recognized CAA Sports as the Agency of the Year in 2009[52] and 2010[53]. CAA Sports clients include David Beckham[15], Peyton Manning[15], Eli Manning[14], Derek Jeter[15], LeBron James[15], Cristiano Ronaldo[54], Novak Djokovic[54], Tony Hawk[14], Jimmie Johnson[14], Dwyane Wade[55], Tony Parker[55], Sidney Crosby[15], Carmelo Anthony, LaDainian Tomlinson[56] Tony Romo[56], Shaun White [57] and Georges St. Pierre . Other clients include the PAC-10 Conference ,[58] Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium,[59] FC Barcelona [60] and the International Olympic Committee[61].
[edit] Television

Notable for putting the deal together for Oprah Winfrey's cable channel, OWN ,[62] CAA's presence in the television industry is defined by clients of Winfrey's stature such as Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Simon Cowell,[63] David Letterman,[64] Ryan Seacrest,[63] Jeremy Piven,[65] Glenn Close,[66] Alec Baldwin,[15] Kate Walsh,[67] Ellen Pompeo,[68] Eva Longoria Parker,[69] Gary Sinise,[70] John Krasinski,[71] Kiefer Sutherland,[72] Katie Couric,[15] and George Stephanopolous ,[73] as well as the creators or executive producers of dozens of shows including American Idol,[63] the CSI franchise,[15] Two and a Half Men,[74], Grey’s Anatomy ,[75] House,[76] 30 Rock,[14] The Amazing Race[77] and Lost.[15]


I wonder if the landscape of professional sports is going to take another interesting turn...

Xman95
07-25-2010, 11:06 AM
There's a reason Maverick Carter and Worldwide Wes had a power struggle when it came to LeBron. Carter knew that if William Wesley was able to control LBJ's inner circle it was a big hit to LRMR and a big win for CAA. Even though LBJ was with CAA, LRMR was still calling the shots. Wes and CAA were obviously trying to change that.

Now it seems LRMR is working on Paul. Right around the time of "The Decision" there was talk that Paul was going to hire LRMR as his agency. That goes along perfectly with what the Yahoo article gets at. LRMR views Paul as a piece of a larger puzzle: having power/control in the NBA. Of course that would turn out just as well as "The Decision" did.

Unfortunately these kids don't realize that they are hurting the product that they're trying to control.

smileyy
07-25-2010, 04:13 PM
When it's clear you need two top-15 guys or three top-25 guys to win a title, and you're the only top-15 guy on your team, with few chances to add another, it's pretty logical to look elsewhere. That's just the reality of the way NBA-level basketball works.

golfitup
07-25-2010, 08:58 PM
Anyone who goes by the name "Worldwide" or "Maverick" is by default an enormous d-bag.

PM Thor
07-25-2010, 10:14 PM
Anyone who goes by the name "Worldwide" or "Maverick" is by default an enormous d-bag.

Chicken dinner for the winner.

This whole situation makes me think about the agent angle. How many "big" agencies are out there nowadays? How intertwined are they really? Will we ever really know?

I HATE dayton.

DC Muskie
07-26-2010, 06:43 AM
I have never heard the word "brand" more then in the last few months and entirely in reference to 25 year old basketball players.

Good God does the NBA suck.

GuyFawkes38
07-26-2010, 07:16 AM
I have never heard the word "brand" more then in the last few months and entirely in reference to 25 year old basketball players.

Good God does the NBA suck.

I still love the NBA. And I think there's a lot of reasons to like NBA players. The top American NBA stars genuinely love to play for team USA in FIBA/Olympics. Additionally, IMHO most NBA players come across as more polished and likable than hockey, MLB, or NFL players.

but yeah, this free agency summer has been a PR disaster. I'm not sure exactly how, but this summer has gone very, very wrong.

Cheesehead
07-26-2010, 08:06 AM
This is exactly why i don't watch very much of the NBA. Great athletes playing not so great basketball. Give me a college game any day of the week.

I will occasionally try to watch a former XU player and some of the playoffs but other than that, I pass on an NBA game when flipping throught the channels. It's pretty boring.

DC Muskie
07-26-2010, 09:13 AM
The top American NBA stars genuinely love to play for team USA in FIBA/Olympics. Additionally, IMHO most NBA players come across as more polished and likable than hockey, MLB, or NFL players.

I couldn't disagree more with these two statements.

Do you really care about the FIBA/Olympics? You must be the only person.

I especially like the part of where they come across as more polished and likable then NFL and baseball players. It's almost like you actually don't watch any sports.

Xman95
07-26-2010, 09:28 AM
I especially like the part of where they come across as more polished and likable then NFL and baseball players. It's almost like you actually don't watch any sports.

It took that post for you to figure that out??? :D

GuyFawkes38
07-26-2010, 03:29 PM
I couldn't disagree more with these two statements.

Do you really care about the FIBA/Olympics? You must be the only person.

I especially like the part of where they come across as more polished and likable then NFL and baseball players. It's almost like you actually don't watch any sports.

It's difficult to objectively quantify which sports players are more likable and "polished".

But endorsements provides a good start. The top NBA players make more from endorsements than the top MLB and NFL players (just look at the numbers here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/fortunate50-2010/index.2.html For example, Amare Stoudamire (an above average but not great NBA player) received about the same cash in endorsements as Brett Favre!!!!).

NFL fans love to boast about how awesome their league is. But they couldn't care less about most NFL players once they step off the field. I was just pointing that out. The NBA is more of a star/player driven league (there's a reason why attention hungry NFL wide receivers dream of playing in the NBA). In that sense, NBA players really do have to care about their "brand" more than an NFL or MLB player.

D-West & PO-Z
07-29-2010, 09:47 AM
It's difficult to objectively quantify which sports players are more likable and "polished".

But endorsements provides a good start. The top NBA players make more from endorsements than the top MLB and NFL players (just look at the numbers here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/fortunate50-2010/index.2.html For example, Amare Stoudamire (an above average but not great NBA player) received about the same cash in endorsements as Brett Favre!!!!).

NFL fans love to boast about how awesome their league is. But they couldn't care less about most NFL players once they step off the field. I was just pointing that out. The NBA is more of a star/player driven league (there's a reason why attention hungry NFL wide receivers dream of playing in the NBA). In that sense, NBA players really do have to care about their "brand" more than an NFL or MLB player.

NFL players wear helmets. Pretty simple. Average fans wouldnt know most of the players if they walked past them on the street. Antonio Gates is one of the top 2 TEs in the league, would you know him if you walked past him? Helmets are why NFL players aren't big in endorsements. It has nothing to do with them being less "liked" and less "polished".

sylvester
07-29-2010, 12:24 PM
...but, I am of the opinion that his "All American" reputation may be affected by this.

I know you are not calling him an "All American" but there is absolutely nothing All American about Chris Paul. He is a whiny bitch. And a cheap shot artist. And a flopper.

Honestly, he is close to Bruce Bowen in the idea of being smooth, to the average viewer, yet a jackass on the court with borderline dangerous moves (that is moreso Bowen, Paul just ups the "jackass" component). Yet he always takes that "it wasn't me" look when the whistle blows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F3tptzEWmM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf5qlEsD_Lw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJcFa2oA5IU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znAA4mLU0II&feature=related

sylvester
07-29-2010, 12:34 PM
I couldn't disagree more with these two statements.

Do you really care about the FIBA/Olympics? You must be the only person.



I definitely enjoy watching FIBA and the Olympics. What is greater than American Pride? The NBA finally understanding how to assemble a winning team and assemble a system that produces solid teams of veterans and the up and coming generation, who will be playing this year, is really exciting to watch. It is great basketball with the best talent on the planet.

D-West & PO-Z
07-29-2010, 12:50 PM
With LeBron, Wade, Kobe, Bosh, Boozer, Melo, Howard and others not participating this team looks questionable. Looking at the current list of 15 I think 3 guys would make the team if all the best players decided to play (Durant, Rondo, Rose). I mean Kevin Love is on the team? Seriously? Hopefully the team can gel and play as a team because the talent just isnt there compared to the team from 2 years ago.

GuyFawkes38
07-29-2010, 02:05 PM
NFL players wear helmets. Pretty simple. Average fans wouldnt know most of the players if they walked past them on the street. Antonio Gates is one of the top 2 TEs in the league, would you know him if you walked past him? Helmets are why NFL players aren't big in endorsements. It has nothing to do with them being less "liked" and less "polished".

true.

Isn't that a big weakness for people like me who don't have a team to follow? If Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Brett Favre are on, I try to catch their games. But after those 3, the NFL doesn't really have "great" star players that I feel like I need to catch.

I know it's easy to blow that criticism off. The NFL is huge. Who cares about star players like Tiger Woods and Lebron James, who are extremely unlikable.

But I do think it especially matters internationally, where fans just want to see great, legendary players, not teams. The NBA is partly in a much better position internationally than the NFL because it has so much star power.


Edit: just wanted to add, it feels like the star power of the NFL is declining. Not too long ago the NFL had Barry Sander, Steve Young, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Jim Kelly, Jerry Rice etc.... Running backs have much shorter careers now. That hurts greatness. There's much more parity now, which seems to reduce the number of great, star players.

smileyy
07-29-2010, 02:36 PM
With LeBron, Wade, Kobe, Bosh, Boozer, Melo, Howard and others not participating this team looks questionable. Looking at the current list of 15 I think 3 guys would make the team if all the best players decided to play (Durant, Rondo, Rose). I mean Kevin Love is on the team? Seriously? Hopefully the team can gel and play as a team because the talent just isnt there compared to the team from 2 years ago.

You're not going to get many playoff-contending players playing in the FIBA world championships. It's putting even more miles on guys who already have a lot of miles on them -- Kobe and Wade in particular. I mean, Kobe's only 31, but he's already put in 14 NBA seasons, along with another 2.5 seasons worth of playoff games.

I'd call the World Championships more like a testbed or tryout area for the Olympics. Durant will be on the '12 Olympic team, and there's a good chance Rose and/or Rondo will be a point guard there. This is giving them exposure to the international game.

golfitup
07-29-2010, 02:40 PM
Anyone who goes by the name "Worldwide" or "Maverick" is by default an enormous d-bag.

I'd also be very remiss if I did not include anyone referring to himself as "King." What is Lebron the "king" of? I don't know.

smileyy
07-29-2010, 02:43 PM
Great athletes playing not so great basketball. Give me a college game any day of the week.


The average college game to me is above-average athletes (usually) passionately playing above-average basketball.

There's just a huge talent jump between the NBA and NCAA D-I basketball that makes the game markedly different. In the NCAAs, hardly takes 15-17' jumpers, because you're better off shooting a 3 if you're shooting from that range. In the NBA, pretty much everyone besides your center can hit an open 15' shot, and often even he can do that. In the NCAA, you can double-team more often, because even if you can get the open guy the ball, he probably can't do a whole lot with it.

That makes the floor spacing so much different, and the defenses in the two leagues reflect that. They're playing on the same court, but everything in the NCAA is packed inside, whereas there seems to be so much room in the NBA halfcourt (to be fair, the longer 3-point line does create a lot more space inside the arc).

Sure, a Clippers/Timberwolves NBA game is pretty unwatchable, but so is a game between two bottom-tier SEC teams.

smileyy
07-29-2010, 02:49 PM
I'd also be very remiss if I did not include anyone referring to himself as "King." What is Lebron the "king" of? I don't know.

Well, it's not like he gave himself that nickname. Of course, he also embraced it.

What is he the king of? The NBA. Duh. Rookie of the Year, 2-time MVP, 2-time All-Star MVP, 4-time All-NBA first team, 2-time All-NBA second team, 2-time All-Defensive team. A career PER that ranks second only to Jordan, and above Shaq (to be fair, he hasn't had a decline phase, which makes Jordan all the more impressive).

I mean, say what you will about his departure from Cleveland, but you can't deny that he's the best player in the NBA, and on a career track to be top-5 all-time, likely top-2, with an outside shot of being the best ever.

Every owner in the league would give a kidney, maybe 2, to get him onto their team. So yeah, he's King of the NBA.

smileyy
07-29-2010, 02:59 PM
Edit: just wanted to add, it feels like the star power of the NFL is declining. Not too long ago the NFL had Barry Sander, Steve Young, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Jim Kelly, Jerry Rice etc.... Running backs have much shorter careers now. That hurts greatness. There's much more parity now, which seems to reduce the number of great, star players.

It's also easier to recognize stars who have been, rather than stars who are right now.

Half of Steve Young's career was over before he was anything more than Joe Montana's backup.

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are all-time great quarterbacks on par with the one's you've mentioned. Current running backs are harder to judge due to career volatilty, but Edgerrin James and Marshall Faulk recently completed or are completing careers that are comparable to Emmitt Smith, Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders. Ladanian Tomlinson isn't far behind.

I think it's more a matter of hindsight than a lack of greatness in the NFL.

D-West & PO-Z
07-29-2010, 03:02 PM
You're not going to get many playoff-contending players playing in the FIBA world championships. It's putting even more miles on guys who already have a lot of miles on them -- Kobe and Wade in particular. I mean, Kobe's only 31, but he's already put in 14 NBA seasons, along with another 2.5 seasons worth of playoff games.

I'd call the World Championships more like a testbed or tryout area for the Olympics. Durant will be on the '12 Olympic team, and there's a good chance Rose and/or Rondo will be a point guard there. This is giving them exposure to the international game.

You have to play in the FIBA world championships to play in the Olympics. The current 15 man roster, which will be cut to 12, is the roster that will be used to determine the Olympic team. Kobe, Wade, and the likes will not be participating in the 2012 Olympic games.

Edit: Actually I guess I am wrong. I thought that was the case but it is not.

sylvester
07-29-2010, 04:07 PM
You have to play in the FIBA world championships to play in the Olympics. The current 15 man roster, which will be cut to 12, is the roster that will be used to determine the Olympic team. Kobe, Wade, and the likes will not be participating in the 2012 Olympic games.

Edit: Actually I guess I am wrong. I thought that was the case but it is not.

Colangelo originally stated that playing this summer would be a pre-requisite for the Olympic team, but it was unrealistic to ask that due to contract status of a significant portion of the team. So he backed off that idea and has embraced the idea of this being an evaluation of future TEAM USA starters and obviously strong reserves for the next Olympics.

sylvester
07-29-2010, 04:08 PM
Current running backs are harder to judge due to career volatilty, but Edgerrin James and Marshall Faulk recently completed or are completing careers that are comparable to Emmitt Smith, Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders. Ladanian Tomlinson isn't far behind.


Though they are behind Sweetness, Mr Walter Payton. The greatest ever.

sylvester
07-29-2010, 04:12 PM
Well, it's not like he gave himself that nickname. Of course, he also embraced it.

What is he the king of? The NBA. Duh. Rookie of the Year, 2-time MVP, 2-time All-Star MVP, 4-time All-NBA first team, 2-time All-NBA second team, 2-time All-Defensive team. A career PER that ranks second only to Jordan, and above Shaq (to be fair, he hasn't had a decline phase, which makes Jordan all the more impressive).

I mean, say what you will about his departure from Cleveland, but you can't deny that he's the best player in the NBA, and on a career track to be top-5 all-time, likely top-2, with an outside shot of being the best ever.

Every owner in the league would give a kidney, maybe 2, to get him onto their team. So yeah, he's King of the NBA.

If I wanted to get technical about it, I could definitely say he is not the best PLAYER in the league. The most TALENTED, now that is not even a discussion. Lebron is the most talented in the NBA. But looking back last year I would not say he was the best player...otherwise he would have carried his team farther in the playoffs. Or at least acted like he cared as his team's season closed up.

THRILLHOUSE
07-29-2010, 04:49 PM
Adrian Wojnarowski seems so bitter and angry this summer. His hate of LBJ has become almost comical.

Xman95
07-29-2010, 04:53 PM
Well, it's not like he gave himself that nickname. Of course, he also embraced it.

Actually, I think there's a pretty common belief that he did, in fact, start the King James nickname.

As for what he's the king of, how about douchebaggery?

smileyy
07-29-2010, 07:13 PM
If I wanted to get technical about it, I could definitely say he is not the best PLAYER in the league. The most TALENTED, now that is not even a discussion. Lebron is the most talented in the NBA. But looking back last year I would not say he was the best player...otherwise he would have carried his team farther in the playoffs. Or at least acted like he cared as his team's season closed up.

Sure -- in every composite individual metric, he's the best in the NBA. The only place he (possibly) falls short is in some sort of team-based metric that we really have no clue how to measure except with the extremely coarse metric of "how far did his team advance in the playoffs". And no one knows how to measure more finely that that.

So who would you identify as a better player last year?

I won't deny the mystery of the Celtics series. Was it a lack of caring? Was it an elbow injury? Was it an inability to perform against elite defenses? (Basketball-reference has some good stuff on the latter)

smileyy
07-29-2010, 07:19 PM
Though they are behind Sweetness, Mr Walter Payton. The greatest ever.

Sure, but it's a little bit comical to say "Today's players are worse because they're not as good as the best of all time!"

One could argue, however, that the 80s and 90s NFL had an optimal blend of run vs. pass to produce some of the all-time greats -- Montana, Rice, Payton, Emmit Smith. Without the right mix, you don't get "great" running backs, because the defense is designed to stop the run. And you don't get "great" quarterbacks and receivers because you don't throw the ball enough.

And (credit to Michael Lewis), that mix produced the great pass-rushing linebackers like Lawrence Taylor, because there were enough passing opportunities for that to make a difference.

With more passing one might argue that the ball is spread around more, and great breakouts by receivers don't happen as consistently. Not to mention QBs throwing more incompletions and interceptions.

So you might be able to convince me that there's a magic formula for greatness in the NFL. It is markedly different from other sports due to the team size and systems-and-strategy aspects of the game.

Benxman
07-29-2010, 08:21 PM
Smileyy, you have shown like a bright star in this thread. Your use of a combination of knowledge, logic and reason have been par excellence.
My kudos to you, sir.
GO MUSKIES!
:logo:

sylvester
07-29-2010, 08:27 PM
Sure -- in every composite individual metric, he's the best in the NBA. The only place he (possibly) falls short is in some sort of team-based metric that we really have no clue how to measure except with the extremely coarse metric of "how far did his team advance in the playoffs". And no one knows how to measure more finely that that.

So who would you identify as a better player last year?

I won't deny the mystery of the Celtics series. Was it a lack of caring? Was it an elbow injury? Was it an inability to perform against elite defenses? (Basketball-reference has some good stuff on the latter)

I will get killed for this one, and I am not a Kobe homer, but Kobe. As has been stated, there are some things that are un-measurable. Kobe is a killer and Lebron is not. That is not something that tends to change, but that is what separated them, in my opinion, last year. Kobe was better in the sense that he knows his window is rapidly shrinking (significantly moreso now than during the season). This aids his killer attitude and he has again brought a key, albeit less than stellar, piece to the puzzle for the 2nd year in a row. Last year, Ron Ron, this year, Matt Barnes.

smileyy
07-30-2010, 12:50 AM
I will get killed for this one, and I am not a Kobe homer, but Kobe.

No, that's about the only person that you can get away with picking there :) I won't contest that Kobe knows how to take a good team and win with it. But at the same time you could argue that Pau had an even better playoffs than Kobe, and Bynum was almost as productive.

If you swap Kobe for LeBron, the Lakers cruise through the playoffs. More than anything it was the matchup problems that Pau and Bynum created, with some Kobe there just to drive that knife a little deeper.

But I can't take anything away from Kobe for picking up his 5th title.

sylvester
07-30-2010, 11:30 AM
But at the same time you could argue that Pau had an even better playoffs than Kobe, and Bynum was almost as productive.

If you swap Kobe for LeBron, the Lakers cruise through the playoffs. More than anything it was the matchup problems that Pau and Bynum created, with some Kobe there just to drive that knife a little deeper.

But I can't take anything away from Kobe for picking up his 5th title.

I don't know about Bynum's performance in the past season's playoffs. He was so hit or miss, it was tough to watch him with any expectations. He had several games where he played, a lot, and had nothing to show for it.

27 mins against OKC (Krstic and Ibaka...really) 6 pts and 4 boards.
20 Mins against Utah...0 pts, 4 boards

He really only showed up for Games 1 and 2 against Utah and Game 2 against Boston.

Lamar Odom, now that is a different story. I was telling a friend, let's call them a Cavalier's fan, that there were few NBA FA's that would have made a tremendous difference in the entire season and playoffs for Cleveland either of the past 2 seasons. Lamar Odom was at the top of my list. Imagine the pressure he could take off of Lebron in that system. Instead Gilbert over-valued Anthony Parker and didn't even think of offering a contract to Lamar...and as we all know Odom went back to the Lakers for 32.8 over 4 with 24.6 guaranteed through 3 years. It could have changed everything...Cav's seriously considered champ contenders and Lebron seriously considering staying in Cleveland.