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LeBron James announced on national television Thursday night that he is signing with the Miami Heat
The free agent NBA superstar forward has spent his entire career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he’s decided to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach.
It’s a gathering of two superstars in LeBron and Wade and a star in Bosh.
The three know each other’s games quite well and familiar with their strengths and weaknesses.
New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that the team has acquired the draft rights to center Jerome Jordan from Milwaukee in exchange for cash considerations. Jordan was selected by Milwaukee in the second round (44th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft. He is expected to play for the team’s entry in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, NV. Per team policy, the financial terms were not disclosed.
Jordan, 7-0, 253-pounds, played four seasons at the University of Tulsa, averaging 11.3 points on .567 shooting from the field, and 7.4 rebounds and 2.50 blocks in 133 games (119 starts). He was selected to the Conference USA All-Defensive Team each of the last three seasons and earned Second Team All-Conference USA honors as a senior after averaging 15.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.34 blocks in 35 games (all starts). He is the only player in Conference USA history to record at least 800 rebounds and 300 blocks, and is the all-time Conference USA and Tulsa leader in blocked shots. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica and moved to the United States as a high school junior.
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New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that five-time NBA All-Star forward Amar’e Stoudemire has agreed to terms with the team. As per club policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed.
Multiple media outlets reported that the contract is for five years and around $100 million.
“When I arrived here in New York, our goal was to create enough flexibility to sign the elite players in our league that would enable us to build a championship caliber team,” Walsh said. “Signing Amar’e represents the first step in that process. Amar’e gives us one of the premiere frontcourt players in the league whose numerous abilities and familiarity with Mike’s system make him an outstanding fit for us.”
Stoudemire, 6-10, 249-pounds, has career averages of 21.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.40 blocks and 34.3 minutes in 516 career games (499 starts) in eight NBA seasons with the Phoenix Suns. The Lake Wales, FL-native has been named an NBA All-Star five times and holds playoff career averages of 24.2 points and 9.2 rebounds in 52 playoff games (all starts). Selected by Phoenix with the ninth overall selection in the 2002 NBA Draft, Stoudemire was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003 and has been named All-NBA four times, including a first team All-NBA selection in 2007.
“Amar’e is one of the most talented players I have ever worked with and I’m excited to welcome him to New York,” Knicks Head Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He has thrived in our system and will be a great addition to our team.”
In 2009-10, Stoudemire started all 82 regular season games and averaged 23.1 points, 8.9 points and 34.6 minutes while shooting 55.7-percent from the floor in earning All-NBA Second Team honors. Stoudemire finished the season ranked 10th in the NBA in scoring and seventh in the league in field goal percentage and led the Suns to the Western Conference Finals.
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The Orlando Magic have signed free agent guard Chris Duhon, General Manager Otis Smith announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed. We’ll add contract details later today to this page.
“Chris (Duhon) provides depth, leadership and stability to our backcourt,” said Smith. “He takes care of the basketball, defends well and can hit the open shot. We’re very happy to add Chris to our team.”
Duhon (6’1”, 190, 8/31/82) played in 67 games (59 starts) last season with New York, averaging 7.4 ppg., 5.6 apg. and 2.7 rpg. in 30.9 minpg. He led the Knicks in assists and was tied for fifth in the NBA in assists-to-turnover ratio (3.44, 378-110). Duhon led the Knicks in scoring twice and in assists 38 times. He scored in double figures 23 times, including a season-high 25 points on Dec. 4 @ Atlanta, and also recorded 10-plus assists four times.
Originally selected in the second round (38th overall) by Chicago in the 2004 NBA Draft, Duhon has appeared in 446 career NBA regular season games with Chicago and New York, averaging 7.7 ppg., 5.1 apg. and 2.6 rpg. in 28.5 minpg. He has shot .362 (553-1,526) from three-point range and .797 (554-695) from the free throw line. Duhon has also played in 21 career playoff outings, averaging 4.7 ppg., 2.8 rpg. and 2.6 apg. in 22.0 minpg.
The AP reports:
Carlos Boozer is headed to the Chicago Bulls.
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A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that the two-time All-Star forward agreed to a deal on Wednesday and is leaving the Utah Jazz after six seasons. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract doesn’t become official until Thursday, did not reveal the terms…
With about $30 million in salary cap room, the Bulls were looking to make a big splash in free agency after back-to-back first-round playoff exits.
Adding Boozer strengthens their standing in the Eastern Conference and maybe makes them more attractive to James.
Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET, Cleveland Cavaliers free agent LeBron James will announce to the world which team he is signing with. The event will be a one-hour special.
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The teams who may win LeBron’s services are the Cavs, Bulls, Heat, Knicks, Nets and Clippers. And I listed those squads in order of who I think has the best shot to get him.
I believe that LeBron’s signing is worthy of being on national television. Simply because everybody cares about it. The world wants to know. So, put it on TV!
That’s it. There’s nothing more to it.
There’s a good chance I will not pay particularly close attention to the early stages of the special. It could be great stuff, but as someone who follows this stuff closely and covers it for a living, I probably already know everything that’ll be said. There will probably be some cool highlights to glance at. I’ll keep it on in the background with the sound up while I work on my laptop or something.
But, I will listen. And when the announcement does come, I’ll rotate my desk chair and stare right at the TV. So will you. And that’s why it deserves to be televised.
UPDATE: It appears LeBron plans on making his decision early, within about 10 minutes. We’ll see!
–Jeff
Frank Burlison of the Los Angeles Daily News reports:
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Some 24 hours after meeting with the star of the most publicized period of free agency in NBA history, the Clippers had another discussion with a member of the class Saturday.
Mike Miller, a 6-foot-8, 30-year-old forward who averaged 10.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with the Washington Wizards during his 10th season in the league, met with team president Andy Roeser and general manager Neil Olshey at the team’s complex…
Miller, who hit .480 on 3-pointers and .501 overall, averaged a career-best 18.5 points per game for Memphis during the 2007-08 season.
Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:
LeBron James’ free agent meetings are in the homestretch, the Cavaliers hoping the focus is on the “home” part.
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The Cavs met with James for around 90 minutes Saturday, making perhaps their final pitch to re-sign him in a meeting that focused on the team’s familiarity with the star and his comfort level with the franchise.
New coach Byron Scott, general manager Chris Grant, assistant general manager Lance Blanks and owner Dan Gilbert were the principals in the meeting. In addition to presentations from Scott and Grant about their plans, sources said the Cavs also planned to show James a cartoon featuring him and his friends as characters.
It was made in a Family Guy style, which is one of James’ favorite shows, and featured some inside jokes related to the team. Those who know James personally know that he loves cartoons, inside jokes and cheap laughs. The central part of the Cavs’ pitch is that they know him the best.
Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times reports (via blog):
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Stoudemire is the more dynamic and explosive of the two by a wide margin. He averaged 23.1 points and 8.9 rebounds last season. Stoudemire, though, played on Phoenix teams that had Steve Nash at point guard. Nash generated a large dose of Stoudemire’s offense through pick-and-rolls, and defenses had to respect Nash’s jump shot and ability to penetrate.
Lee, meanwhile, scored his points while playing with Chris Duhon at the point. Duhon struggled with his jump shot through much of his tenure with the Knicks, which allowed defenses to key on his drives and Lee’s rolls. In response, Lee developed a reliable jump shot.
In economic terms, Stoudemire will make $20 million a season if he joins the Knicks. Lee found a timid market last off-season, when he was a restricted free agent, and ended up staying with the Knicks for about $7 million. He is due for a raise with another organization, but will not approach Stoudemire’s figure.
“We can only surmise how the meeting went from our standpoint, and from our standpoint, it went very well. We approached it in a very honest and direct way, and we felt that their reaction was considerate and receptive.”
“We’re not going to go into any details about the meeting’s specifics. But it was our goal to present tangible and very obvious reasons as to why we think LeBron choosing our organization is his best option: we clearly have the best team already in place for him to join, we have the best city, the best arena, the best practice facility – overall the best situation.”
“By communicating all of that in a sincere way, we accomplished our preliminary goal.”
“Now what we can do is wait and see how it all resonates, plus continue to be comprehensive in our efforts to improve our team for the upcoming season.”
“No matter what, we’re getting at least one great new player this summer: his name is Blake Griffin.”