Cavs to replace Lebron with Josh Childress

• thedynasty1998

  

  Completely agree with that. There is absolutely no reason to bring in a guy like Miller or Haywood without Lebron. Sure they might make them a little better of a team, but they are not competing for any championships this year.
• enigmaax

  dude - Seems like we're just nitpicking semantics. I don't have you confused with anyone - my original response was to the statement that I interpreted one way - that the Cavs couldn't do anything because of LeBron. You jumped in from there.
  
  They could've talked to other free agents. They would've known if there was any interest, with or without LeBron. It appears that they didn't do that. That is on management, not on LeBron. LeBron announced his decision the FIRST DAY that contracts could be signed. That week prior to the 8th was specifically set aside for everyone - players and teams - to explore options without signing contracts. Neither of us knows who the Cavs could have gotten because the Cavs didn't go after anyone. Other teams had backup plans if they lost guys or didn't get the first guy they wanted. Cleveland didn't. And now people want to hang that on LeBron instead of management, who gets paid to make those moves.
• thedynasty1998

  

  I agree with both sides of this little debate. Were they handicapped in terms of being disadvantaged in terms or offering someone else? Yes. Should management have let that stop them from coming up with Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D? No. That is on management, not Lebron.
  
  But to blame Lebron is unfair, because he got the process over with as quickly as possible and it's not like the Cavs were in that unique of a situation, as there were others awaiting word from Lebron or other big name free agents.
• Lovejoy1984

  

  thedynasty1998;422160 wrote:I agree with both sides of this little debate. Were they handicapped in terms of being disadvantaged in terms or offering someone else? Yes. Should management have let that stop them from coming up with Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D? No. That is on management, not Lebron.
  
  But to blame Lebron is unfair, because he got the process over with as quickly as possible and it's not like the Cavs were in that unique of a situation, as there were others awaiting word from Lebron or other big name free agents.

  
  If everything we've heard is true, that this has been the plan for a while. He certainly finish the process as soon as possible, he drug it out, and I imagine part of it was the same reason DWade went on those other visits to hamstring the competition.
• jordo212000

  

  thedynasty1998;422160 wrote:I agree with both sides of this little debate. Were they handicapped in terms of being disadvantaged in terms or offering someone else? Yes. Should management have let that stop them from coming up with Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D? No. That is on management, not Lebron.
  
  But to blame Lebron is unfair, because he got the process over with as quickly as possible and it's not like the Cavs were in that unique of a situation, as there were others awaiting word from Lebron or other big name free agents.

  
  I agree that management should have had a backup plan (Grant should not have appeared clueless at the post-Decision press conference). However I cannot agree that Lebron got the process over with as "quickly as possible." In fact I'd say he did the opposite of that. All the other key free agents had declared their intent long before Lebron's TV special. After Lebron stuck Cleveland, the Mike Millers and Tony Allens of the world were left. He definitely put them in bad spot. And like HighRoller said, this was probably intentional by the 3 Kings. They probably did not want other players banding together in a similar way, plus they got intelligence by going on those other visits. Some people think D-wade was acting as a spy for Pat Riley
• thedynasty1998

  

  HighRoller74;422165 wrote:If everything we've heard is true, that this has been the plan for a while. He certainly finish the process as soon as possible, he drug it out, and I imagine part of it was the same reason DWade went on those other visits to hamstring the competition.

  
  I'm sorry, but I don't buy for one second that they were all set on Miami from the start. Lebron recruited Bosh to Cleveland. Wade was thought to be considering Chicago. I do think they all talked about it, but I don't think that they all decided until after Bosh decided on Wade and Riley knew he could ship off Beasley.
• thedynasty1998

  

  jordo212000;422171 wrote:I agree that management should have had a backup plan (Grant should not have appeared clueless at the post-Decision press conference). However I cannot agree that Lebron got the process over with as "quickly as possible." In fact I'd say he did the opposite of that. All the other key free agents had declared their intent long before Lebron's TV special. After Lebron stuck Cleveland, the Mike Millers and Tony Allens of the world were left. He definitely put them in bad spot. And like HighRoller said, this was probably intentional by the 3 Kings. They probably did not want other players banding together in a similar way, plus they got intelligence by going on those other visits. Some people think D-wade was acting as a spy for Pat Riley

  Wade and Bosh didn't commit until the day before Lebron. I think Boozer was just a day before them. Let's not pretend that 1-2 days is an eternity.
• KR1245

  

  enigmaax;422129 wrote:dude - Seems like we're just nitpicking semantics. I don't have you confused with anyone - my original response was to the statement that I interpreted one way - that the Cavs couldn't do anything because of LeBron. You jumped in from there.
  
  They could've talked to other free agents. They would've known if there was any interest, with or without LeBron. It appears that they didn't do that. That is on management, not on LeBron. LeBron announced his decision the FIRST DAY that contracts could be signed. That week prior to the 8th was specifically set aside for everyone - players and teams - to explore options without signing contracts. Neither of us knows who the Cavs could have gotten because the Cavs didn't go after anyone. Other teams had backup plans if they lost guys or didn't get the first guy they wanted. Cleveland didn't. And now people want to hang that on LeBron instead of management, who gets paid to make those moves.

  This is simply not true. Cavs were in contact with a few free agents. There were reports that they had talked to Haywood, Allen, Bosh, Miller and even discussed trades for guys like CP3(which we all know was a long shot) bottom line is that they tried. Lets face it, none of those guys matter without Lebron, the ONLY one that would have helped is Bosh and he had his mind set on Miami from day 1. They went after Paul but the Hornets werent going to bite. Paul was urging Lebron to stay in Cleveland. To say that they Cavs didnt talk to other free agents is wrong. Like I said earlier, its re-sign Bron or blow it up and start over again.
• enigmaax

  HighRoller74;422165 wrote:If everything we've heard is true, that this has been the plan for a while. He certainly finish the process as soon as possible, he drug it out, and I imagine part of it was the same reason DWade went on those other visits to hamstring the competition.

  
  Thats the part where the conspiracy theories get totally blown out of proportion. None of us know the truth, but really, have you ever made a decision that was going to change your life? It isn't always as easy as saying, this is what I'm doing and sticking to it - for anyone. I do not believe they were trying to hamstring anyone. I do believe that they had an idea they wanted to play together, but that doesn't mean they thought it could become a reality. Or that ultimately, it was the right decision. I also believe that LeBron did struggle with the decision for awhile, that he does have a soft spot for Cleveland but in the end he knew his ultimate goal wasn't going to be fulfilled there. Putting together this kind of team is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him, but that didn't mean it was an easy decision. Then once he was comfortable with it, he went back into LeBron the Star mode and played it up for all it was worth.
• enigmaax

  KR1245;422191 wrote:This is simply not true. Cavs were in contact with a few free agents. There were reports that they had talked to Haywood, Allen, Bosh, Miller and even discussed trades for guys like CP3(which we all know was a long shot) bottom line is that they tried. Lets face it, none of those guys matter without Lebron, the ONLY one that would have helped is Bosh and he had his mind set on Miami from day 1. They went after Paul but the Hornets werent going to bite. Paul was urging Lebron to stay in Cleveland. To say that they Cavs didnt talk to other free agents is wrong. Like I said earlier, its re-sign Bron or blow it up and start over again.

  Ok, so they did talk to other guys. Those guys weren't going there unless LeBron stayed. So LeBron's timing had nothing to do with whether they got those guys or not, right? It was simply the fact that he left.
• jordo212000

  

  thedynasty1998;422177 wrote:Wade and Bosh didn't commit until the day before Lebron. I think Boozer was just a day before them. Let's not pretend that 1-2 days is an eternity.

  
  It is an eternity because once those guys committed and Lebron had his special, there was nothing the Cavs could really do to salvage the situation. Like I said my main issue with what you said was that Lebron made his decision as quickly as possible
• thedynasty1998

  

  jordo212000;422218 wrote:It is an eternity because once those guys committed and Lebron had his special, there was nothing the Cavs could really do to salvage the situation. Like I said my main issue with what you said was that Lebron made his decision as quickly as possible

  
  The first day to sign was the 8th, he decided on the 8th. He met with what, 6 teams in 3 days and decided a few days later. Seems pretty fast for a decision of this magnitude.
• KR1245

  

  This is just my opinion but I am on that thinks this was settled awhile ago. Theres too much smoke there for some of these rumors not to be true. Lebron may have helped a litle bit but I dont think he really went hard after other players. This isnt the first year this happened, Ariza was a guy that the Cavs were going after last year but he wouldnt commit because he couldnt get Lebron to do the same thing. Bron had his chances to help the Cavs. One of Windys recent updates "Western Conference executive: "LeBron has done more recruiting in the last five days than he did in the last 3 years." Lebron met Derek Fisher at the airport. I cant remember him ever doing anything like that when he was in a Cavs uniform
• jordo212000

  

  thedynasty1998;422226 wrote:The first day to sign was the 8th, he decided on the 8th. He met with what, 6 teams in 3 days and decided a few days later. Seems pretty fast for a decision of this magnitude.

  
  Well.. yeah the day to sign is the 8th. However other players began committing long before the 8th. Like I said I agree that the Cavs did kind of get caught with their pants down and they shouldn't have. There were clues (him not returning calls) and they should have had a plan B. With that being said, he was the last key free agent to commit/sign
• enigmaax

  jordo212000;422218 wrote:It is an eternity because once those guys committed and Lebron had his special, there was nothing the Cavs could really do to salvage the situation. Like I said my main issue with what you said was that Lebron made his decision as quickly as possible

  
  I don't think it was made "as quickly as possible", but it wasn't unreasonable. It was a BIG decision. It isn't something that should have been made in haste. The question or point that can't be argued because we don't know is whether he really KNEW where he was going or for how long he was actually weighing options. I'm giving benefit of doubt that he hadn't completely made up his mind until that day. I know Cleveland fans won't do this.
  
  The other point though is that Cleveland wasn't going to salvage the situation this year no matter what. LeBron's leaving is a blow and there's no immediate substitute. If he had announced on Saturday, there isn't a person they would've gone after that would have made a real difference in how this year goes for them that they can't get now or won't get sometime in the next few months. There has only been one name mentioned that they "could've offered" (Outlaw) and there's no guarantee he would have even been interested. Big picture, the timing had little impact.
• KR1245

  

  Blow it up. Trade anybody with value for young guys and draft picks. Fuck it. No point in putting a mediocre team on the court and getting stuck with a mid round pick. Try to get multiple 1st round picks and start over.