Can There Be Any Doubt that Pat Riley is the 2010-11 NBA Executive of the Year?

Although being courted by the Miami Heat, which included an airport greeting by LeBron James prior to his meeting with Heat president Pat Riley and team owner Mickey Arison, Los Angeles Lakers free agent point guard Derek Fisher has decided to re-sign with the two-time defending NBA Champions.

In a statement released on his website, Fisher summarized the reasons why Los Angeles will remain his home for the immediate future.

“My free agency was a time for me to reevaluate my position in the league, reflect on my accomplishments individually and as a teammate, and determine what new goals I want to achieve in the future. Many reports were completely false. Numbers reported were guesses and true "sources" were few and far between.

I took time to consider all my options, many not reported in the media. I listened to every coach, every general manager, even potential teammates in order to make the right decision and I thank every one of them. At the end of the day, there's one person I could not turn away from. Kobe Bryant asked me to stay but supported whatever decision I made. He and I have played together for 11 seasons, came into the league together as kids, and has been loyal to me even when others had doubts. We have won five championships together.

I have decided to continue with Kobe, continue with our teammates and the fans of Los Angeles. While this may not be the most lucrative contract I've been offered this off season, it is the most valuable.

I am confident I will continue to lead this team on and off the court. Let the hunt for six begin...”

Score one for Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers, and Derek Fisher for electing to continue being a leader in Los Angeles rather than become a follower in Miami.

However, the Heat quickly rebounded from Fisher’s rejection with two crucial signings to provide support for the trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

According to ESPN.com, free agent power forward Udonis Haslem signed a five-year deal with Miami Monday worth around $20 million; more than $10 million less than he could have gotten had he accepted offers from the Dallas Mavericks or the Denver Nuggets.

"I would be changing my DNA if I left just for money," Haslem said.

Haslem averaged 9.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Heat last season and in his seven-year career, all spent in South Beach, the 6’8” Florida product has posted 10.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest.

In addition, the Heat also signed Washington Wizards free agent swingman Mike Miller, who averaged 10.9 points per game in 54 games last season while shooting 50.1% from the field and a blistering 48.0% from three-point range.

Now that Miami is set at the wing positions, Pat Riley will now focus on signing players that will help beef up the Heat’s front court, anchored by Haslem and Chris Bosh, as well as bringing in a veteran point guard as he attempted to do with Derek Fisher.

In any case, it can never be understated how important it was to re-sign a banger like Haslem and a shooter like Miller, which should only further confirm that Riley is the early favorite, by far, for next season’s NBA Executive of the Year Award because like it or not, thus far, he’s done a masterful job assembling the new look Miami Heat.

Click here for additional evidence.

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LeBron James Serves as Airport Greeter for Derek Fisher’s Meeting with Heat

As reported here, Los Angeles Lakers free agent point guard Derek Fisher met with Miami Heat president Pat Riley Saturday afternoon.

Fisher's preference remains to re-sign with the Lakers, but he felt the need to explore his options and listened to Riley's pitch as Los Angeles general manager Mitch Kupchak continues to work on an offer that is satisfactory to the five-time NBA Champion.

Prior to his meeting with Riley and Heat owner Mickey Arison though, Fisher received a warm welcome at the airport from a team representative that could heavily influence his decision to relocate from Hollywood, California to ‘Hollywood East’.

According to ESPNLA.com, newly signed Heat small forward LeBron James met Fisher at the airport and gave his own pitch as to why the 14-year veteran should join forces with ‘Miami Thrice’.

It was a short meeting as James was at the airport to board a flight to New York to attend the wedding of Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony, but James clearly went out of his way to wait for Fisher to arrive and meet with him for a few minutes.

Guess Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh weren’t available, huh?

In any case, Fisher reportedly received a $2.5 million offer for next season from Los Angeles. Miami could likely offer Fisher up to $4.5 million, based on its available cap space even after signing James, Bosh and Wade.

Kobe Bryant, a 1996 NBA Draft classmate, has publicly stated, in no uncertain terms, that the Lakers need to re-sign Fisher, who is a locker room leader and an emotional metronome for the passionate two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP.

"We need to have him back, it's as simple as that," Bryant told ESPNLA.com’s Dave McMenamin at his Kobe Bryant Skills Academy on the UC Santa Barbara campus. "It's not a question of if he will be back; it's a matter of when.

"I don't care what [the cost] is. ... They need to work that out and get him back because his significance to our ballclub and to me cannot be understated."

All signs point to Fisher re-signing with the team where he has won every single one of his championships; however, there is no question that Pat Riley will pull out all the stops to acquire a player who will provide stability and tremendous veteran leadership to the most hyped collection of talent in league history.

So the rivalry has begun without a single second of basketball played; with Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers on one side and Pat Riley & ‘Miami Thrice’ on the other, ‘Hollywood West’ versus ‘Hollywood East’.

Derek Fisher is the ultimate prize this time around. Will the NBA Championship be soon to follow?

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Credit ESPNLA.com

Cleveland Washes its Hands, Stores and Walls of LeBron James

No city and organization were impacted more by the departure of LeBron James than the Cleveland Cavaliers and the city of Cleveland.

In response, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert appointed himself spokesperson for the masses with an incendiary letter in which he called James’ announcement “a cowardly act of betrayal” and guaranteed that the Cleveland would win an NBA Championship before the self-titled ‘King’ did in South Beach with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Furthermore, Gilbert’s Fathead LLC, a company that sells life-size wall stickers of LeBron James in a Cavaliers uniform, slashed the prices of the memorabilia from as much as $99.99 to $17.41; which, by no coincidence, is the birth year of Benedict Arnold, one of the most notorious traitors in American history.

The healing process for Cleveland continued Saturday, but with much less fanfare than Gilbert’s boisterous demonstrations to express his displeasure with the most controversial member of ‘Miami Thrice’.

According to ESPN.com, workers began dismantling the 10-story-tall iconic image of LeBron James on a mural in downtown Cleveland, a billboard that dominated the city's skyline for years but is being taken down now that the NBA’s two-time reigning MVP has taken his talents to Miami.

"We are removing the LeBron James Witness mural in downtown Cleveland and expect the process to be completed within a few days," Nike spokesman KeJuan Wilkins said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

As further evidence of Cleveland’s desire to completely wash their hands of ‘The Chosen One’, merchants are selling No. 23 jerseys at discounted rates in an effort to get rid of the inventories for James and businesses are offering perks, like free beer, in exchange for a James jersey or T-shirt.

What has this world come to when a basketball player, who merely exercised his right to seek employment elsewhere, ignites the passion of millions with whom he has absolutely no personal relationship?

Truth is, the blame for this fiasco rests with the fans and the media who placed James on a gradually loftier pedestal from the moment he was selected by the Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.

As the old adage goes: “Don’t hate the playa, hate the game.”

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Knicks Agree to 3-year, $25 million Contract With Raymond Felton

The New York Knicks have quickly bounced back from the heartache
LeBron James’ defection to Miami caused by dipping back into the most talent-laden free agent pool in NBA history.

On the heels of finalizing a sign-and-trade deal that shipped All-Star power forward/center David Lee to the Golden State Warriors for Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Randolph and Ronny Turiaf, Knicks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh dispelled rumors of his impending retirement and went about the task of upgrading the engine of head coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense.

According to NYDailyNews.com, the Knicks have reached an agreement in principle with Charlotte Bobcats unrestricted free agent point guard Raymond Felton. The contract is believed to be a three-year deal worth approximately $25 million.

Felton, the fifth overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft, averaged 12.1 points, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game for the Bobcats last season and, in five seasons as Charlotte’s starting point guard, Felton has posted 13.3 points, 6.4 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.

Equally as important though is the fact that Felton has proven to be extremely durable since he entered the league, appearing in at least 78 games in each of the past five years.

In addition to being an upgrade over former Knicks point man Chris Duhon, who signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic recently, Felton will be a nice complement to small forward Danilo Gallinari and newly signed power forward Amar’e Stoudemire.

While far from being a playmaker/scoring threat of Steve Nash’s caliber, Felton is more than capable of finding Gallinari for a fair share of open looks and Stoudemire for a bountiful of thunderous dunks while penetrating to the basket to create his own offense in D’Antoni’s high-scoring system.

But if Felton isn’t up to the challenge, Chris Paul and Tony Parker will become available in next year’s free agent market.

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Bulls Sign J.J. Redick to 3-year, $20 Million Offer Sheet

While the Miami Heat have dominated the headlines for the past couple of days, the Chicago Bulls have quietly made moves that should have the Eastern Conference and the rest of the NBA taking notice as well.

In addition to signing former Utah Jazz teammates Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver to give them a significant inside presence and dynamic outside shooting respectively, the Bulls have set their sights on stealing away a key member of the other prominent basketball team in Florida.

According to ESPNChicago.com, Chicago has signed Orlando Magic restricted free agent J.J. Redick to a three-year, $20 million offer sheet. The Magic have seven days to match the contract.

The 26-year-old Redick, the 11th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, enjoyed his best season with the Magic last season by putting up 9.6 points per game in an average of 22.0 minutes off the bench.

Redick’s hard-nosed defense, hustle and three-point shooting would be a welcome addition to the Bulls as they continually attempt to match the Miami Heat’s tremendous quality signings with a solid mixture of quality and quantity signings of their own.

The trio of James, Wade and Bosh will assuredly be the talk of the town from now until the start of the 2010-11 NBA season, but if the Bulls can sign Redick they will have quietly filled out a roster that should give ‘Hollywood East’ all they can handle.

And in the long run, it’s quite possible that the Bulls and the other former suitors for LeBron James might look back on his rejection as a blessing in disguise.

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Derek Fisher to meet with the Miami Heat

With South Beach becoming the center of the basketball universe after LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh agreed to sign with the Miami Heat, the curiosity has been piqued of the remaining free agents about the potential dynasty being put together in the ‘Sunshine State’.

In fact, the interest is at such a high level that even a member of the defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers can’t resist taking a peek.

According to ESPNLA.com, Lakers free agent point guard Derek Fisher is scheduled to meet with Heat president Pat Riley on Saturday.

Fisher's preference remains to re-sign with the Lakers, but he feels the need to explore his options and listen to Riley's pitch as Los Angeles general manager Mitch Kupchak continues to work on an offer that is satisfactory to the five-time NBA Champion.

If it were up to Kobe Bryant though, Fisher would have been locked up by the Lakers well before any meetings were scheduled with other organizations.

"We need to have him back, it's as simple as that," Bryant told ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin at his Kobe Bryant Skills Academy on the UC Santa Barbara campus. "It's not a question of if he will be back; it's a matter of when.

"I don't care what [the cost] is. ... They need to work that out and get him back because his significance to our ballclub and to me cannot be understated."

Although Fisher will listen to what Riley and the Heat have to offer, the Lakers are confident the 14-year veteran will eventually re-sign with the organization.

However, Mitch Kupchak would be best served not to allow this situation to linger because Riley has proven to be extremely persuasive when push comes to shove. Just ask Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.

Click here to read more about 2010 NBA free agency on Examiner.com.

Heat trade Michael Beasley to Timberwolves; Offer Free Agent Mike Miller 5-year Contract

In the aftermath of LeBron James announcing his decision to form the ‘Biggest Three’ in South Beach with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Miami Heat president Pat Riley wasted no time in beginning to put the pieces around the trio that is expected to be the foundation of the next great dynasty in the NBA.

According to ESPN.com, the Heat agreed to a trade that will send small forward Michael Beasley, who averaged 14.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last season, to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a second round draft pick in 2011. In addition, the teams have also agreed to a swap of unspecified future first-round picks.

This transaction, whose goal was to clear salary cap space on Miami’s roster, paved the way for the Heat to reportedly offer free agent swingman Mike Miller a five-year contract worth between $27-30 million.

As a member of the Washington Wizards last season, Miller averaged 10.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest while shooting 50.1% from the field and a robust 48.1% from three-point range.

And it is certain Pat Riley will continue the tireless search for additional players to fill out a Miami roster that will become the most marked team in the league even though Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are the two-time defending NBA Champions.

But with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on board, it shouldn’t be too difficult a task for Riley to sell the appeal of playing for the Heat.

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