The prospects of NBA fireworks loomed on the US Independence Day holiday weekend as speculation grew on Friday about the future of four-time league most valuable player LeBron James.
James, who four years ago left the Cleveland Cavaliers in a messy divorce to join the Miami Heat, is a free agent and his representative has been quietly meeting with select clubs about the future of a player widely regarded as the world’s best.
James’s agent, Rich Paul, met with three teams in the past week in his Klutch Sports offices in Cleveland and fielded a call from another to listen to their pitches, according to a report on the league’s Web site.
The Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers have all touched base with Paul, and representatives of the Los Angeles Lakers are heading to Ohio for a meeting, according to reports.
Another splash could be even sooner in the making, as high-scoring free agent forward Carmelo Anthony is weighing options including maximum contracts offered by the Lakers and the New York Knicks, with whom he averaged 27.4 points last season.
Anthony can earn up to US$95 million for four years from the Lakers, while the Knicks can pay Anthony US$129 million for a five-year deal under NBA rules.
The developments have turned up the pressure on the Heat to find ways to augment their roster despite severe salary cap restrictions, and encourage James to stay following a humbling loss to the San Antonio Spurs in last month’s NBA Finals.
The NBA’s balance of power could well be at stake.
In four seasons in Miami along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who joined together with the Heat as free agents in 2010, James reached four successive NBA Finals and claimed two rings.
When James first hit free agency four years ago, the process created a media frenzy and the highly publicized sweepstakes led to the versatile forward agreeing to reveal his selection during a 75-minute nationally televised special called The Decision.
“I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat,” James said at the climax, setting off euphoria in South Florida and angry despair in Cleveland, where some fans set fire to replica James jerseys.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert issued a scathing open letter to fans moments later, calling the move “selfish,” “heartless,” “callous” and a “cowardly betrayal” — which may require a reconciliation for James to even consider returning to the team near his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
The Cavaliers, who were 33-49 last season, have assembled a promising core of young players on high draft choices accumulated since James’s departure, including point guard Kyrie Irving and this year’s No. 1 overall pick, Andrew Wiggins.
“I think LeBron made a huge mistake with that Decision crap,” Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said. “He’s a great player, a great person. I hope he goes back to Cleveland.”
“Those fans in Miami are not real fans, those fans in Cleveland are real fans. I’ve always hoped he would go back to Cleveland. That would be a great way to finish his career,” Barkley added.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB