Center Shaquille O'Neal made his preseason debut for Cleveland on Tuesday night, looking good in a 92-87 win over Charlotte at Quicken Loans Arena. But most of the talk after the game centered on Delonte West's continued troubles and Bobcats coach Larry Brown's frustration with replacement officials.
A source said after the game that West will not be at Cavaliers practice Wednesday, and it's possible his absence could continue beyond that. The source said he will be in the Washington D.C. area Wednesday to address legal matters concerning his Sept. 17 arrest in Maryland after police said he was pulled over for speeding on a motorcycle while carrying two loaded handguns and a loaded shotgun in a guitar case.
Every Tuesday this offseason, two of our NBA experts will go at it with a Debate in the Paint. This week, the topic is LeBron James and what he should do next summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
LeBron James is no fool. Starting this season with uncertainty over his pending free agency would doom the Cleveland Cavaliers, bury them under a sea of unhealthy rumors.
Accentuated by Shaquille O'Neal playing alongside him, basketball would become more circus than serious in Cleveland this season.
The Cavaliers traded for Shaquille O'Neal a week ago, but his introductory press conference didn't happen until Thursday afternoon. And for the most part, it was worth the wait. As we've come to expect when Shaq gets in front of a microphone, there were plenty of interesting and entertaining quotes that came out of his first meeting with the Cleveland media.
Shaq kicked things off by flashing the picture to your right, claiming that when he received the initial call from Cavs' GM Danny Ferry, he had to Google him, and when he did, this was the one of the first things to pop up.
Nice way to break the ice, Big Fella. Here are some more highlights from Shaq's first official day as a Cavalier.
This is the time of the year when NBA executives earn their salaries, making the decisions that often determine the success or failure the following season.
They make the trades, draft the players, and sign the free agents that set the stage. They can make or break a season long before it actually begins. The winning and losing generates the enthusiasm or leads to the apathy that surrounds your favorite team, but it's the executive decisions now that can give you a glimpse into the future.
The general managers usually sleep well during a season while the coaches fret every minute. In the summer, the GMs don't sleep at all, and with good reason today. When the economy is booming, NBA owners can be a little forgiving when things don't go their way. In an era of economic hard times, dwindling ticket sales and shrinking salary caps, there is no room or patience for mistakes. Here are five GMs on the hot seat in a very hot summer.
We turned the 10-minute cooling off period after the Magic-Cavaliers Eastern Conference finals into a 10-hour cooling off period. But there was some mulling to be done.
Which is what the Cavs will be doing all offseason, by the way.
He was a half-hour late for his MVP coronation, which, in the broadest context, was infinitely excusable. Isn't LeBron James years ahead of his time? As he reminded us Monday afternoon during the ceremony, held at his request inside his old high school in Akron, Ohio, only six years have passed since he received his diploma on the same stage.
I've been reading GQ since I was 16 years old, and I still remember the first issue I ever bought. It was April 1995, and the cover asked a question I hadn't yet realized needed to be answered: Can Grant Hill Save Sports?
In hindsight, Hill could barely manage to save his own ankles, and yet somehow, some way, sports has persevered. (14 years and counting!)
This month, LeBron James graces GQ's cover, but instead of burdening him with the fate of athletics as a whole, they asked a simpler question: could a team of writers and editors beat LeBron James in a game of five-on-one?
It's hard to believe now, but once upon a time the Central Division was a powerhouse. As recent as 2006 it sent all five of its teams to the playoffs, and in 2007 it featured the top three records in the East. But last year? Only two made it to the postseason, including the disappointing Cavs, who followed up their NBA Finals appearance by winning five fewer games than the season before and failing to score as many points as they gave up.
Can the Central regain its luster in 2008-09? Well, the Pistons are still the Pistons, which means their ticket to the postseason is already punched, and the Cavs are tagging along for the ride so long as LeBron James is around. The Bulls, Pacers and Bucks will still bring up the rear, but at least there's honest-to-goodness hope they're headed in the right direction after making a series of offseason moves. Let's take a look at the most compelling storylines.
There has been lots of debate about Elton Brand"stiffing" the LA Clippers this past week. Some say he owed nothing to the team (or Baron Davis, if he did coax him to signing there); some feel he's a first class jerk.
Many people bring up what Carlos Boozer did to the Cavaliers a few years ago. Boozer had a *wink wink* deal with them to let him become an unrestricted free agent and then he'd resign with them (they could have kept him for $695K that season, but the Cavs were generously going to lock him up for $39M over six seasons). Once Boozer lost his restricted tag, he bolted to Utah.
And what do these two have in common? They both went to Duke.
Coincidence? Maybe. However, that fact isn't lost on a lot of people ... including those at the Hardwood Paroxysm who goes as far as calling these two "a-holes". And before you get your panties twisted, the guy who wrote that is a Duke die-hard.
In Jennings' case, he may not be able to qualify to get into 'Zona. Back in the day, that was either a sign that the kid would go into the NBA or head to a JUCO for two years, get his grades up, then head to a Division I program.
The problem now is that the NBA won't let high schoolers enter the draft and the NCAA is cracking down (a bit) on JUCO schools and grade point averages. This could be the best deal for a guy that can't get into an elite college program to show off his wares.
But is it really? Jennings is the anti-point guard in Europe. They like guys who facilitate a team, work the ball, play good defense and not be a scorer. While Jennings is an awesome passer, he is flashier than they tend to like and he's that scoring-type of lead guard.
Also, European teams aren't as down with playing youth that much. The Charlotte Bobcats just drafted Alexis Ajinca with the 20th pick in the draft a few nights ago ... and he doesn't get much playing time with his French team. NBA teams could be scared off by his lack of development and he plummets down the 2009 Draft.
Every Tuesday this offseason, two of our 
The Cavaliers 
We turned the 10-minute cooling off period after the Magic-Cavaliers Eastern Conference finals into a 10-hour cooling off period. But there was some mulling to be done.
I've been reading 
There has been lots of debate about 
This news that Arizona recruit 
