An appreciably well-wired roundball entrepreneur believes LeBron James will re-up with the Cavaliers for three years, a possibility he almost certainly would not entertain had Mike Brown been retained — something GM Danny Ferry fiercely advocated doing, hence his resignation.
Should no championships be churned out during that time frame, my source is convinced LBJ will bolt for Jay-Z’s Brooklyn with a clear conscience, figuring he gave Cleveland a full decade.
With that in mind, it’s hardly surprising to read Michigan-melded Dan Gilbert supposedly reached out to Michigan State’s Tom Izzo. Obviously, the owner hopes to manufacture a multitude of incentives, beginning with an adored coach and pray LeBron finds him irresistible.
Of course, why would Izzo, John Calipari, Tubby Smith (would turn pro in a jiffy, I’m informed if presented the opportunity and he meets David Stern’s age requirement) or any college/NBA person owning a reputable job and solid leverage get suckered into hooking up with a collection of Cavs minus its marquee?
After all, while Gilbert is attempting to line up his lures in a row, others are busy trying to tempt Odysseus, err, LeBron with ingeniously decked-out sirens that are bound to have the Cavs and the competition screaming “conspiracy” and guaranteed to push cap circumvention to its legal limit.
Here’s a perfect example of the wily maneuvering already in the DreamWorks:
An impeccable source reveals David Geffen is hot to buy 51 percent of the Clippers. Friday night, the billionaire co-founder of the zaftig film-making company, had dinner in Los Angeles with Donald Sterling to discuss just that.
Anybody who knows Sterling can’t imagine him selling controlling interest of anything he owns, much less turn over the decision-making of his showcase property.
“He’ll take the Clippers to the grave with him,” is the considered opinion of one and all. “They’re his entree to Hollywood’s galaxy of stars. You have no idea how Donald gets off swaying on the sidelines with demi-celebrities 41 nights a year.”
For the sake of argument, surely Sterling must understand, by giving way to Geffen, his constellation, which often IS dying in the corner of the sky, would greatly illuminate and increase in value — should the record-company big shot be able to recruit LeBron like he signed Bob Dylan and the Eagles.
In fact, Geffen has been deep in the hunt for quite some time. My source claims he told Sterling he can deliver LeBron as long as he’s calling the shots.
Maverick Carter, who sits at the right hand of James in all business ventures, was next to the Lakers’ bench alongside Geffen.
Meanwhile, Saturday night, Stern and Sterling had dinner. The first topic of conversation had to concern the owner’s payment stoppage to Mike Dunleavy after he was fired as GM long after being let go as coach.
To date, the Clippers have not furnished grounds for such action nor has an arbitration date been set. At least one high-profile member of the coach’s association, which filed a potent grievance with Stern, is encouraging a boycott of the franchise.
Sources disclosed Stern is angry Sterling again has embarrassed the league. Apparently, he’s been promised the situation soon will be resolved, and that Dunleavy will get his money (nearly $6M) over the length of his contract that has one year remaining.
I don’t know this for a fact, but my source suggested Stern’s meeting “more likely centered on whether Sterling would be willing to sell 49 percent of the team and how much it’d take for him to give up control.”
No immediate comment from either LeBron or Larry King on any of this.
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Sam Presti, who yesterday celebrated a third anniversary as Sonic/Thunder GM, making him a rising free agent according to my records, claims he’s perfectly happy in Oklahoma. However, a Northwest source claims he interviewed in Seattle (home of Portland owner Paul Allen) for the Blazers’ job. Oh, that’s right, the job’s taken. Kevin Pritchard owns one year on his contract but he and everyone else (I do believe the Post had it months ago,) believe he’ll be fired immediately after the draft.
James and Jay Leno both deny having a hand in any of this.
Yesterday, Mark Jackson met with Hawks ownership after being interviewed initially by GM Rick Sund and assistant GM David Pendergraft, who confided to staff members they were immensely impressed. Still, from what I hear, Jackson needed to mesmerize the owners to beat out Atlanta assistant Larry Drew. Dwane Casey remains a viable candidate.
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Lakers must make the following adjustments in Game 3 tonight:
Most important, Kobe Bryant stop playing off Rajon Rondo.
“When you don’t fear their jumper, they make you pay by hitting jumpers,” underlines column contributor George Caballero. “But Rondo has found a different way to make them pay — with offensive rebounds, because there’s no one close enough to box him out.”
Moreover, the ridiculous room Rondo is being accorded allows him far too much freedom to operate around screens, and too much opportunity to pick up steam, leaving Kobe & Co. on their heels with no time to react properly.
Second, why would the Lakers cheat off Ray Allen so much as one centimeter? Who are they doubling down on, Paul Pierce? That’s why they got Ron Artest; he’s supposed to handle him one-on-one. Kevin Garnett? Get serious! Kendrick Perkins? You’re delirious! Come on, Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, someone other than Kobe, has to be able to tailgate Allen as he zig-zags cutting-edge picks!