The debate about who's the better player - James or Bryant - rages, with the Lakers' Bryant earning another appearance on the NBA Finals stage.
LeBron James (left) and Kobe Bryant (right) during the Cavaliers' 93-87 win over the Lakers in Cleveland on Jan. 21.The NBA Finals begin Thursday night, with the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics competing for the title for the 12th time in their storied histories.
The Celtics hold a 9-2 edge in the rivalry, including a 1959 conquest of the Minneapolis Lakers, followed by six straight Boston title series wins during the 1960s after the Lakers had moved to LA.
Kobe Bryant is, of course, the face of the current Lakers, as he chases his fifth championship. Bryant's excellence during the playoffs, plus LeBron James' and the Cavaliers' conference semifinal loss to Boston, has reversed some observers' opinions in the great LeBron-Kobe debate.
One observer back in Kobe's camp is Gregg Doyel. He writes about James and Bryant for CBSSports.com:
Today, in the aftermath of Kobe's destruction of the Suns, it's clear. If this were a mathematical equation, there would be one answer, and only one answer: Kobe is greater than LeBron. James single-handedly beat the Pistons in Game 5 of those 2007 playoffs, yes, but Kobe single-handedly beat Phoenix for most of a six-game series over the past two weeks. And he did it after James slunk through his final playoff series as a Cavalier, LeBron playing with no direction or zeal, no heart at all.
Whether he's right or wrong about James vs. Bryant, Doyel does come off as a bit presumptuous in referring to James' "final playoff series as a Cavalier." We'll see. We do know James' free agency status will be resolved before it becomes clear who is the better player: James or Bryant.
Plain Dealer Cavaliers coverage includes beat writer Brian Windhorst's highlights from LeBron James' interview with Larry King, and a full transcript of the interview; and an earlier Starting Blocks entry on various analyses' of James' interview with King.
Abdul-Jabbar's opinion
With the pending free agency of James and other NBA stars, Chris Tomasson of nba.fanhouse.com writes about the historical impact of major stars switching teams.
After playing in two Finals series for Milwaukee - and winning one - center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar forced Bucks personnel boss Wayne Embry (later the Cavaliers general manager) to trade him. On June 16, 1975, the Bucks sent Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers, who didn't win a title with him until Magic Johnson joined them for the 1979-80 season. Los Angeles won the championship that season and four more times with Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson and a bevy of other standouts.
Chris Tomasson writes Jabbar's take on James' situation.
If LeBron James changes teams in his prime and with two MVP trophies already on his mantle, it has a chance to end up as the most seismic move the NBA ever has seen. James could leave the Cavaliers as a free agent this summer or a sign-and-trade may be worked out.
"It's all going to depend on where he goes and what the management of the team that he goes to wants to do in terms of getting the right people to play with him,'' said Abdul-Jabbar, when asked if James' exit could end up competing with his move for the biggest team change in NBA history. "People that he played with in Cleveland, it was kind of like Frankenstein's monster. A lot of attractive parts, but they didn't work well together.
"They didn't have time really to build it with a good team with the whole family thing going, where you put the pieces together and they mold. But that didn't happen. LeBron's an extraordinary talent. But unless you put it together with compatible talent, it's not going to work.''
This and that or that
Brian Dulik writes about James' interview with Larry King for the Medina County Gazette and Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. He also explains James' options:
* Until June 30, he can pick up the $17.2 million, one-season option on his current contract with the Cavaliers, or let it lapse and become a free agent. James could have activated that option last summer, but has shown no desire to do so.
* On July 8, James could resign with Cleveland for up to six years and $125.5 million, or ink a deal elsewhere for up to five years and $96.1 million. There is a seven-day signing moratorium at the start of free agency on July 1, theoretically giving all teams an equal chance to negotiate with top players.
* Or he can verbally agree to join another team, but allow the Cavaliers to negotiate a sign-and-trade agreement. That would enable Cleveland to obtain some compensation for James, who could earn the larger, six-year, $125.5 million pact as part of the deal.
On, off, who knows?
The status of the supposed free agent "summit" that would include potential free agents James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson and Amare' Stoudemire seems to depend on who is quoted.
Kurt Helin writes for ProBasketballTalk.com that an overlooked tidbit from James' interview with King is James' feeling that a semblance of such an event could occur. Helin writes:
But not having everyone sit down in one place for a meeting and not having everyone share information as would happen at a summit are two different things. In our modern world of communications, meetings like this are often not face-to-face.
Wade, James and Bosh all share CAA as an agent firm. If you don't think they are all sharing information, you are a fool. They admit as much, saying they are doing it just to get the best deal for their clients. But when those clients leak that "LeBron is going to X, Bosh is going to Y" info to others, it will change the landscape. Others will try to get in with them. If LeBron really wants to play with a particular player, they will talk. If Wade really wants Stoudemire in Miami, they will talk. And so on, and so on, and so on. Everyone will share the information.