Good morning, New York! And New Jersey! Seems the sun came up today even though that LeBron James fella turned his back on your basketball teams.
↵Lots of strong reaction to LeBron's decision to head to South Beach. None stronger, though, than Cavs owner Dan Gilbert saying James 'quit' on the Cavs during the playoffs.
↵↵↵"He has gotten a free pass," Gilbert said in a phone interview with The AP. "People have covered up for [James] for way too long. Tonight we saw who he really is."
↵Gilbert said James quit on the Cavs during their second-round series against the Boston Celtics, who rallied from a 2-1 deficit to eliminate Cleveland.
↵"He quit," Gilbert said. "Not just in Game 5, but in Games 2, 4 and 6. Watch the tape. The Boston series was unlike anything in the history of sports for a superstar."
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I know that sounds a lot like sour grapes, and may be just that. There is, however, some truth in Gilbert's words. If you watched those games -- and I did watch at least some of them -- you know James had pretty much packed it in and started thinking about the LeBronathon. Shame on him.
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- Good for the Knicks that they have already moved on, dealing David Lee to Golden State in a sign-and-trade. I love the way D-Lee plays, but this could be an excellent move for the Knicks. If Anthony Randolph develops into the defensive force in the middle some think he will, he can be a great piece to complement Amare Stoudemire. ↵
- The New Jersey Nets are trying to move on, too. If fact, they had done so before the big announcement, signing free-agent Travis Outlaw. I know the Nets had to do something, but $35 million for Outlas and his 9.5 ppg average over seven seasons? C'mon, MIkhail, gotta do better than that! ↵
- The Yankees defeated the Mariners Thursday night, 3-1. The bigger news, though, is it seems like the Yankees are on the verge of a bold move to acquire Cliff Lee. The package would reportedly include top prospect Jesus Montero. All I can say to that is wow.' ↵