LeBron & Shaq: A Closer Comparison Than Anyone Thinks

Miami Heat's superstar LeBron James has a major decision to make this offseason. He could opt out of his contract and try to get a restructured deal with his current team or move on to another team. Many people believe if James leaves Miami, he will get absolutely crushed by the media, and people will criticize LeBron of being a front-runner, not wanting to face a challenge. Personally, LeBron wants to win as many championships as possible.  Shaquille O'Neal was the first modern day player to do this begging the question, "Why aren't more people comparing LeBron's career arc to Shaquille O'Neal? If LeBron decides to leave, their arcs become eerily similar.

Obviously, people do not compare LeBron and Shaq because they are two very different players. LeBron doesn't play in the post like O'Neal, and Shaq is the interior player of this generation where James will be known as the wing player of the generation. It is so easy to compare James to Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant because they play the same position. Although if we go through what happened in their careers, James is much more comparable to what O'Neal through his career. Shaq was never considered a front-runner, why should James?

Maybe it is the hatred and disdain of James which causes it, but Shaq should have gotten the same sort of criticism. If anything, O'Neal's antics were far worse than anything James did so far in his career. Shaq forced his way out of Orlando and Los Angeles because he fractured relationship with guards, Anfernee Hardaway and Kobe Bryant. James might decide to leave when his contract is up, isn't that his given right as a professional athlete?  It is not like LeBron is napalming the entire franchise before he leaves the franchise. LeBron is moving on to see what's next for him.

What's weird about comparing the early arcs of Shaq and LeBron is with O'Neal, he left Orlando after four years while James left Cleveland after seven. O'Neal moved coasts from Los Angeles to Miami after seven years and if James decides to leave, it will be four years. Therefore by their eleventh year, both players were on their third franchise if James heads out of South Beach. There are a lot of different options for LeBron including a return visit to Cleveland, Los Angeles Clippers or Houston Rockets are probably all on the table for The King. It would add to the eeriness if LeBron chose Los Angeles making the arcs of him and O'Neal even more similar.

Personally, I think it is a 50/50 thing whether James leaves or not. People will obviously hammer LeBron for his choice if it is not with Miami. There will probably be a jersey burning like what happened in Cleveland. But at the end of the day, what people have to realize is this has happened before with the best player in the league. No one was better than O'Neal after Jordan left the league, and he bounced all over the league. We really shouldn't make a big deal about James leaving but it will inevitably happen given all of the different media outlets ready to pounce on James.

Charlie.

Manufactured Melo to Miami Story

In sports, politics and entertainment where rumors run rampant, there are always those rumors which hang out there. Like everyone knows the rumor, but no one really runs with it.  Sometimes, they don't run with it because there isn't enough evidence for it to be fact. Other times, it realistically could happen, but the chances of it are so unlikely. Honestly, the rumor of Carmelo Anthony headed to the Miami Heat is a combination of both. People like to dream every now and again, and this is what happening with the discussion about Carmelo to Miami.

Never say never, but this feels like a 10 percent chance of something like this actually happening this offseason. It might be less than that. Carmelo doesn't feel like the type of player whom would be okay with being the second or third banana on a team. Sure, he could win a championship, but it always seemed like Melo wanted to do it his own way. Granted, this was the same sort of stuff written about LeBron James when he ended up joining up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. But Melo really wants to share the ball that much? It is hard to see it happening truthfully.  

The other part of it as The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre pointed out, the best contract offer Miami can put on the table is four years and 48 million dollars.  That's all.  Melo would probably be taking at least a 50 percent pay cut to play for the Heat. Are you sure he is going to do that all for the chance at a championship?  Charles Barkley and Karl Malone did those sort of things at the end of their careers to get a ring. Gary Payton did the same thing as well multiple times, and Reggie Miller said on Dan Patrick this week had the Boston Celtics called in June at the tail end of his career, he would have too. If Carmelo is still ringless by his 15th year in the league, I could see him joining a superteam, but not in the prime of his career for 50 percent of the cost (The obvious juggernaut at this time 15 years down the road will be the Milwaukee Bucks). 

For the sake of the blog post, if Melo did end up in Miami, I think it could be a situation where too many cooks in the kitchen. While I understand this was the concern when the Big Three formed together years ago, it feels a lot like the 2004 Los Angeles Lakers team. They added Karl Malone and Gary Payton leading people to believe this team would be unstoppable with Kobe Bryant and Shaquile O'Neal. This Laker team still ended up in the NBA Finals before getting housed by the Detroit Pistons, but they fractured all sorts of relationships leading Shaq to Miami. That's what I feel would happen. One or two guys would out after a year because there were way too many alphas in Miami. 

This is one of those stories that the media will keep pushing for the next month until Anthony signs with a team. The NBA is probably praying to everything holy that this doesn't happen because there is little parody in the league right now, and Miami adding Melo would only make matters worse.  

Charlie. 

Knicks Land the Big Fish for Head Coach

Last week, we talked about Derek Fisher being a possible candidate for both the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers coaching job. It seemed like he was the favorite for two of the biggest professional franchises in all of sports. Fisher is the latest of the new trend of basketball players coming right off the court going from a basketball jersey to a suit coat in a matter of months. Fisher decided to take over New York Knicks job. He will need to convince their superstar to come back to the Big Apple plus why Fisher made the smart decision to not deal with Kobe Bryant or the Western Conference.

Fisher will be announced as the next coach of the New York Knicks today. He will be the seventh coach since the departure of Jeff Van Gundy (Technically, eighth but Herb Williams coached the team twice). Fisher will inherit an interesting array of talent with some question marks about the impending free agency of their star player Carmelo Anthony. Fisher and Anthony never played together in the league, but the assumption is there will be no issue with Melo joining Fisher if he intends to come back to the Knicks. Many people believe Carmelo will be back for another dose of the Knicks because they can pay him the most amount of money. But you have to wonder 'what if?'

Say the Knicks somehow lose Melo, what does New York do from there? Knicks would probably make a run at Kevin Love if he is still available. Additionally, they would probably look into Russell Westbrook after the season is over. If we are really looking far down the road, Kevin Durant is up in 2016, and it is not a sure thing he will be back with the Thunder. Losing Melo would not be the worst thing in the world. Their roster would be in shambles, and they would need to replace the scoring yet New York could be better off with the guys available in the future. Melo is definitely a better player than Love, but 100 percent of the time, you take Westbrook or Durant over Anthony.  Step one of the Knicks offseason is done, and now, they have to bring Anthony back to Madison Square Garden.

Fisher decided against coaching former teammate Kobe Bryant, and that's a great decision. Even though you will have Phil Jackson breathing down your neck, it is much better hearing from him, one of the greatest coaches of all time versus someone still in the league. Bryant would think he owned the team and would not listen to Fisher at all plus influence the other players to go against Fisher. Their relationship would easily head for an iceberg at some point. Additionally knowing the Lakers roster is in more flux than what's going in New York, it made sense for him to take the New York job. Dealing with Jackson and maybe Melo on a daily basis seems less stressful than having Kobe in his ear for the full-time he is employed with the team.

The other problem with the Lakers job is the Western Conference. Getting into the playoffs is far more difficult than it is in the Eastern Conference. New York can easily get into the playoffs as an eighth or seventh seed annually, ask the Milwaukee Bucks. Los Angeles does not have that same sort of luxury. New York media and the fans will not be satisfied with first-round playoff appearances consistently,  but if the Knicks can find their way into the second round a couple times mixed with another playoff appearance, Fisher will be considered royalty by the fans and media, the toughest judges of this Knicks team.

Fisher inherits more problems than Steve Kerr or Jason Kidd, two first-time coaches, just starting out their coaching career, but with a guy like Jackson by his side, it will make the transition much easier.

Charlie.

Lakers & Knicks' Desire for Derek Fisher

Every professional sports organization can be copycats at some point. There are teams always wanting to replicate what the successful teams are doing in order to make themselves successful. Sometimes it works out for them, and other times, it turns into a dumpster fire because there are bigger problems with the team. The latest trend in the NBA is hiring players fresh off their playing stint to be NBA head coaches without any experience. NBA believes coaches can be fine coming right off the roster. The latest candidate has been Oklahoma City Thunder's point guard Derek Fisher as he is wanted by New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. 

It seems like Fisher would be an ideal fit to be an NBA head coach. Fisher is a guy who has the respect of almost any locker room. He always seems to have the ear of the players. He is trusted, but Fisher needs to pick the place where he can mold minds versus trying to get his virtual peers behind him. My point when Jason Kidd got hired by Brooklyn was it concerned me with all the veterans, and how Kidd would be seen as just a former player, not a coach. Fisher will get the chance to influence some of the younger players although he could have some trouble with the old stalwarts of the team. 

Kidd ended up being okay, but it was a rocky start to the season with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and other veterans. Would the same thing happen to Fisher?  The odds of it happening in New York is way higher. The Knicks only have three players under the age of 25.  They also have J.R. Smith. I know people are worried about Carmelo Anthony, but if I am Fisher, do I really want to coach J.R.?  He is a hell of a player at times, but he can be one of the most frustrating players in the league. Fisher would also have to deal with Amar'e Stoudmire's playing time. Finally, the whole Anthony leaving the Knicks should be a concern as well with taking the New York job. 

It is hard to tell whether having Kobe Bryant as your top player in Los Angeles would pay off as it would be like having an extra assistant coach, or if Kobe would dictate all that happened on the court essentially becoming too involved with Fisher. The two have a good relationship, but it could become a scenario where Kobe sticks his hands into way too many things. Lakers might be going through a transition, but Fisher will get a youthful team compared to New York which is nice. Look at how many players rallied behind Mark Jackson due to being younger players. The one drawback with the Los Angeles is the pressure to win in the Western Conference plus the additional pressure to be the kings of L.A. with the success of the Clippers of the past couple years.

Is there a chance Fisher says 'Guys, I am going to keep playing for another year or two?'  I think there is a microscopic chance of that happening given the positions open. If say, Milwaukee and Orlando were the jobs open versus New York and Los Angeles, Fisher would definitely think more about staying on another year with Oklahoma City. But these are two premier jobs with a great way to start building your coaching legacy, there is no way Fisher says no to both of these teams if offered the job to play another year. Even Brett Favre thinks that's a bad idea. 

There are good and bad things about taking the New York or Los Angeles job. Fisher will probably burn a bridge at some point, but it wouldn't surprise me if he is a head coach next season. 

Charlie.  

An Open Letter to NBA Draft Prospects About Milwaukee

One of the more depressing parts of the NBA Draft is how many prospects do not want to go to Milwaukee.  I decided to write them an open letter to them.  

Dear Dante Exum, Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker and anyone to whom this concerns,

I know you don't want to go to Milwaukee. No one really does as an NBA player. Even in the early 90's, this was a problem with one of the most famous Draft Day moments with Todd Day going MILWAUUUKEE... Damn (Kevin Hunt is the man, 'All we do is drink cheese and beer' is a gold line), but truly, this is a great city with a bright future and the opportunities could be endless. But once again, I understand why Milwaukee doesn't sound as alluring as some of the other lottery picks.

Not every year do you see Los Angeles Lakers, winners of 16 NBA Championships or Boston Celtics, winners of 17 NBA Championships although did you know the Bucks have a championship under their belt in 1971?  Los Angeles and Boston are nice, but truth be told, the Lakers could be a mess for awhile plus Boston might be a year or two away as well. The same could be said for the Bucks, but they have a wealth of young players to not only play with but also hang out with in Milwaukee.

I realize Milwaukee gets a bad rap for the lack of a nightlife scene and that's probably accurate for an NBA player. There aren't swank clubs that only the elite hang out at meaning you will probably run into some fans attending a night club here. Just don't throw any bottles, okay. And yes there are no strip clubs downtown and don't be fooled by Arts. But the fact of the matter is there are a bunch of young guys to hang out with off the court like John Henson, Brandon Knight and Giannis Antetokounmpo whom are all under the age of 24. The nightlife might not be there, but at least you are not walking into a situation where you are the only rookie without many other young players.

The other thing about Milwaukee besides the nightlife and the franchise is the thought your brand will die in Wisconsin. Wrongo.  First of all, look at Kevin Love. He plays or played pending on this summer in Minneapolis, a little bigger city than Milwaukee, but he built his brand into multiple Taco Bell commercials along with being a must-follow on Twitter. Second, look at what Ryan Braun did before the PED scandal, what Aaron Rodgers has done and it is clear to see if you are as good as the Internet says you could be, the brand will go in a major way in Milwaukee. Plus you will be seen as a cornerstone of the players who saved Milwaukee basketball. Sounds pretty nice, doesn't it?

There will be pressure to win like anywhere else, but it might not be as intense as say Cleveland. The Cavs are picking their third top pick in four years, and with Kyrie Irving, there is a need to win right away. Bucks fans would love to back in the playoffs, but honestly, if they end up in the lottery for a second straight year, it is not the end of the days more so the continuing building process. Now, if they are still there after the second year, it becomes a problem. But right now, Milwaukee is about as low pressure as they come, right now. The microscope will be on because you are one of the best NBA rookies, but the local media will not be breathing down your neck.

All of this letter has been said without talking about the city of Milwaukee. It's a great one with a loving fanbase that will come back in no time. It's already building. Hopefully, you reconsider your stance on Milwaukee.

Signed,

Charlie Tritschler
CEO of SnoTap

No Place For Love in the Twin Cities

Being a fan of small market teams like Milwaukee Bucks and Milwaukee Brewers, you tend to relate with other small markets when they have issues with their star player. Thus when news broke on Sunday morning that Kevin Love will be testing the free agent market next summer and doesn't have much interested in rejoining Minnesota, your heart breaks a little bit.  But the Timberwolves need to do the right thing and trade Love getting as many pieces possible because Minnesota has no one to blame but themselves for the reason why Love hasn't been to the playoffs.

This isn't a small market reason in my opinion for Love. He is doing fine in the Minnesota market as he became the face of the franchise, he has been in Taco Bell ads along with other things like playing on the United States National team. Love is one of the most well-known players in the game, and he could build something in Minnesota with ease yet management has led him array by assembling poor teams year after year. Ricky Rubio never amounted to the player everyone expected him to be when Minnesota drafted him from Spain, and that's a majority of the reason why Love wants to live as he sees this team has no hope in the Western Conference. 

Love also probably doesn't want to start over with a new coach as Rick Aldeman retired this season giving him more ammo for wanting to depart from the Twin Cites. People might call it selfish, but does Love really want to be labeled as a loser for the rest of his career?  I would bet not. It will be the same issue Kyrie Irving will be dealing with shortly. A successful player can only take so much losing before he knows it is time to move on and become a winner. Minnesota fans can hate him as much as they want, but this is more of the fault of David Khan and the ones that followed for not getting him a team Minnesota could carry to a playoff appearance, a place they haven't been since 2004 when Kevin Garnett brought the Timberwolves all the way to the Western Conference Finals. 

Minnesota shouldn't be too broken up over Love's probable departure. Love's defense makes me feel like he will never be a superstar because he cannot carry a team all by himself. Much of the reason why Minnesota didn't make a trip back to the playoffs had to do with the terrible defense of Minnesota and Love in general. He will be a hell of a second banana for a team, but Love doesn't have the defensive prowess to be a superstar in this league. But there will be many suitors to acquire Love this summer and they are all teams we hear about when these sort of things happen in the league. 

The two most interesting ones for Minnesota are Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. The Draft Lottery is tomorrow night with the Timberwolves having some of the worst odds with them likely picking 13th, but Los Angeles and Boston have the fifth and sixth best odds. Minnesota could get two first round draft picks if one of those interested teams wanted to trade for Love. This would be a huge coup for Minnesota especially if either of these teams picked in the top three. If Minnesota could get a player like Joel Embiid or Dante Exum then get a James Young or Rodney Hood in the mid-first round, the future starts getting built quicker instead of being in limbo. Additionally, Love on either Boston or Los Angeles gives them an immediate boost and becomes a fringe title contender.  

Lakers and Celtics are among the bevy of teams reportedly interested in Love's services. Some of the names highlighted yesterday were Chicago, Golden State, Houston and New York.  First things first, Golden State and Houston are terrible ideas for Love. They both have massive issues with their defense right now, and they want to add a guy like Love whose one of the worst interior defenders. The Warriors would basically get a rich man's David Lee. New York is still pretty unknown when it comes to their situation. Carmelo Anthony is a free agent, they don't have a Head Coach so let's pump the breaks on the idea of Love to New York although it would be interesting. Chicago might be the most intriguing, but do you really want to lose Taj Gibson? He is likely gone because I highly doubt Chicago will go huge across the front line.

Love could stay in Minnesota and return in October which would be a little awkward although if I am Minnesota, I try to trade Love this summer. There is no reason to trot him out for a half year under a cloud of 'Will Love get traded?' It is detrimental to the team, and Minnesota could move on from Love with a new star.  

Charlie. 

What's Magic Johnson's true involvement in Donald Sterling Situation?

Conspiracy theories can be some of the best cocktail party fodder while at the same time, it can drive you insane trying to figure out a rhyme or reason as to why something happened usually a major event. Conspiracy theories more times than not make the person whose making the case for it look complete crazy leading to all sorts of criticism. But the best is when someone floats out a conspiracy situation that ends up coming true in the end after all. The Donald Sterling situation presents itself to a conspiracy and makes me wonder if Magic Johnson could ever own the Los Angeles Clippers.

Adrian Wojnarowski came out with a story late Sunday night that Johnson and his investment group, the Guggenheim group had been trying to buy the Clippers. He went after their neighbors, the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Buss family rejected their group meaning Magic had to look to the Clippers about becoming the owner and taking over the city once and for good.  Johnson denies he wanted to own the Clippers, but just think about how much of this is all falling into place for him. 

Everyone knew Sterling was a racist before the tapes came out, but it did nothing to cause him to lose his NBA franchise. There is no reason why Sterling should have a basketball team before this issue even happened with his estranged girlfriend Adam Silver meets with the media in three hours, and it seems like Sterling will be suspended b the league with the intent that he sells the team. Several owners have spoken out against his words plus many advertisers have either pulled out for the rest of the games this season or for following year. The latter could be the biggest reason why Sterling loses this team is if the ad money disappears, the NBA nor does the team makes any money. NBA doesn't want to deal with Sterling in the coming years meaning this is the perfect excuse to get rid of them. 

Magic's group features many multi-millionaires and some billionaires as well meaning there are a ton of people whom know what it takes to make business deals happen even if it takes extreme measures. V. Stiviano, Sterling's ex-girlfriend said Sterling asked her to tape what he said allowing him not to forget the different things he said on a daily basis. This makes sense seeing as Sterling is 80 years old and probably senile. It did feel like she baited him a bit into answers, but that's not to be debated here. We all agree Sterling is a racist, but Stiviano pushed him in the direction. What question needs to be answer to clear conspiracy thoughts is Magic's relationship with Sterling's ex-girlfriend. 

If it is the only one time meeting, then it probably was all her doing without any involvement from Johnson. But if they somehow knew each other throughout the years which is entirely possible given Sterling having a relationship with Magic throughout the years. She could have played the tape for Magic and he could have been the leak, not her. That we will never find out, but think about how well of a position Magic is in if Sterling does get the ax.  The league will take control of the team and look towards Magic and his group given all their success with the Dodgers. If people think the NBA would ignore Magic's desire to buy a team, you have no concept of how important and powerful it would be to have one of the best players in league's history to have his own team. 

It also very possible Stiviano got sick of Sterling's shit and made sure he would save the racist things to ignite an outrage. That's the fun part about conspiracies.  You never really know how the outcome will play out in your favor. This is not a hit job by Johnson and his group rather it don't think it is unreasonable to think Magic had his hand somewhere in here. He is one of the most revered men in sports as many see him in such a high regard which leads people to not dig around very much. Johnson denies wanting to own the Clippers, but you cannot tell me he wants a piece of the pie.

Charlie.