I’ve been a sports fan for a long time and I’ve seen great players come and go. What I’m trying to remember is if I’ve ever heard a great player complain as much as LeBron James does. It started with there not being enough time off for the All-Star break. The NBA gave in and made the All-Star break a week long. I think that with this extra time James took a trip to Miami instead of spending that extra time with his family which is what he said when he cried about the break being extended. James also complained about back to back games and playing three games in four days. Now under the new CBA these issues have been address. So expect an even longer NBA season starting next year when the new CBA kicks in. Then earlier this season James started kicking and screaming that the Cleveland Cavaliers needed a shooter. So Cavaliers general manager David Griffin managed to swing a deal with the Atlanta Hawks for one of the best shooters in the NBA Kyle Korver. When things didn’t turn around right away after they acquired Korver the excuse James gave was that they hadn’t had any practice time together. The Cavaliers have now lost five of there last seven games and you knew that James would have an excuse or at least something to cry about and he didn’t disappoint. James has squarely placed the blame on Griffin and has now said that the Cavaliers need a play maker. James called the current Cavaliers roster “ill-equipped” and then later tried to back pedal on Twitter saying “I not mad or upset at management cause Griff and staff have done a great job, I just feel we still need to improve in order to repeat…if that’s what we wanna want to do”. James posted this in two separate tweets and the spelling is all his; so don’t blame that one on me. James is looking for the Cavaliers to add a back up point guard to lighten the load on himself and Kyrie Irving. The Cavaliers do have other point guards on there roster. Cleveland has Kay Felder there 2nd round pick from 2016 as well as DeAndre Liggins who is in his 4th NBA season. Now you have to ask yourself if it’s the general managers fault that James had the Cavaliers over pay his friends and now there in a tight salary cap spot even with the increase the NBA just had. It’s clear that James doesn’t want to see Felder or Liggins on the court; so they’re as good as done with the Cavaliers. Now the Cavaliers are still on top of the Eastern Conference at 30-13, but there lead is down to just three games over the Toronto Raptors. The more you listen to James talk you actually have to wonder if this is just a guy trying to cover his rear end in case the Cavaliers don’t make it to the NBA finals.
So where are the Cavaliers going to get a back up point guard. I’m sure James would love to see Cleveland go out and get his buddy Chris Paul. Paul is currently out after having thumb surgery, but I don’t think that Cleveland could get Paul’s salary under the cap unless Irving is headed the other way in the deal and that doesn’t solve the Cavaliers problem. James’ other buddy Dwayne Wade isn’t a true point guard, but I’m sure the Chicago Bulls would part with Wade’s teammate and true point guard Rajon Rondo. Rickey Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves name has come up in trade rumors; so maybe he could be an option for Cleveland. There could also be a players like Goran Dragic of the Miami Heat or Tim Frazier of the New Orleans Pelicans available. The question is which one if any of these players James would accept as a teammate. Then of course the Cavaliers would have to make sure they could make a deal with the salary cap. Of course with what the Cavaliers are paying in luxury tax penalties now; would a little more even matter?
The Washington Wizards arrived dressed in black funeral wear for what they openly labeled a grudge match against the Boston Celtics Tuesday night. Bradley Beal scored 13 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to help the Wizards extended their home winning streak to 14 games with a 123-108 victory over Boston. John Wall had 27 points while Markieff Morris register a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. This was a bit of revenge for the Wizards from the Last time these two teams met which ended with a Boston 117-108 victory. That game featured five technical fouls and ended with Wall and Jae Crowder getting into a verbal confrontation that almost started a brawl. That prompted the Wizards to show up to Verizon Center on Tuesday wearing all black, funeral themed clothing. Wall’s apparel consisted of a designer T-shirt beneath a varsity style jacket as he arrived. Beal who came up with the idea showed up wearing an oversized black winter trenchcoat complete with hood and matching scarf. He would later have his best offensive night since that game in Boston. There was no blow up between the teams this game, but there was some action on the Boston bench as Marcus Smart got into an argument with Boston’s assistant coaches in the 4th quarter. Celtics coach Brad Stevens explained that the argument came from Smart wanting to go back into the game, but was on an minute limit for the half.
The rivalry in more interesting between these two teams since they’re both have good seasons. Boston is currently 3rd in the Eastern Conference standings at 26-18 while the Wizards are currently 5th in the Eastern Conference standings at 25-20. Maybe there will end up being a playoff series between these two teams.
Believe it or not we’re getting close to the start of baseball spring training. Pitchers and catchers report starting February 13th with all players being in camp by February 20th. So ready or not it’s almost time for baseball.
Sports Time Radio 