On the day that LeBron officially became a free agent, Byron Scott has accepted the Cavs vacant head coaching position.  I must say I'm relieved to hear that the Cavaliers decided to go with Byron Scott, and not Brian Shaw.  This is a great hire for Dan Gilbert, as Byron brings a level of NBA coaching experience, as well as success, that Shaw and even Izzo could not offer. 

It was a pretty interesting situation, as there were reports that Shaw was soon to be named the Head Coach.  Apparently they rescinded on that, and made the right decision to go with Scott.  Even Byron's agent thought Shaw had the job, as he had sent out a congratulatory e-mail through several news outlets.  That turned out not being completely accurate, and the Cavs re-opened talks with Scott. 

Byron Scott is far better suited to coach this team than Shaw, and Cavs fans should be excited about what he brings to the table.  He has previous head coaching experience with the New Jersey Nets and New Orleans.  You have to look at what he did in getting the Nets to the NBA Finals.  He took a mediocre team to the NBA Championship.  The fact that he has a great relationship with Chris Paul, who the Cavs may or may not still be interested in going after, doesn't hurt his case either.  LeBron and CP are best friends, and Paul and Scott are tight.  It makes sense that he would come to Cleveland to join LeBron. 

It might be awhile before anyone knows where LeBron is going to play, and I respect Byron for agreeing to become the coach without even knowing whether he will resign.  That shows that he is committed, and isn't entirely worried about whether The King stays or not.  He's going to keep the Cavaliers in title-contention for years for to come.  Besides,  LeBron has said that he would like to play for a former NBA player: Scott fills that role.  He played 14 seasons, and won 3 championships with the Lakers.

LeBron James is staying in Cleveland.  He's not going to either of the teams he's listening to offers from today, that being the Knicks and Nets.  Although Jay-Z probably will present a good argument for him going to the Nets; LeBron won't want to play in New Jersey for the next two years until the team can move to Brooklyn.  Playing in Newark for 2 years isn't exactly an upgrade from Cleveland.  He's not going to New York either, because they simply flat-out suck every year.  Oh, and one of their top targets Joe Johnson is going to sign a 6 year, $119 million contract with Atlanta.  He's not even that good, definitely not worth $20 mill a year. 

LeBron and Dwayne Wade are not teaming up in Miami either.  Both players like to have the ball at the end of the game, and neither of them will want to sacrifice millions of dollars to play together.  It's an interesting idea, one that ESPN has ignorantly latched onto, but it's not happening.  LeBron wants to be the man on the team he plays for.  Sharing the spotlight is not a suitable option. 

So that pretty much leaves Chicago as the only possible option where LeBron would leave.  They have a few nice pieces there including Derrick Rose, but I don't see him leaving.  Thibodeau is a mirror image of Mike Brown and he won't want to play for him.  It all adds up to the Cavs getting Bosh in a sign and trade, and resigning LeBron.  You don't leave the team that had the best regular season record for the last 2 years, won over 60 games, and is consistently a championship contender.  LeBron has to realize that our early playoff exit was his fault, no one else's.  If he hadn't disappeared in the last few games of the series, we could be talking about a Cavaliers championship right now. 

Also, he has to realize the stain on his legacy that will result if he ditches Cleveland after failing to win a championship.  He's from the area, and knows that we desperately need a title in this town.  He wants to win a ring, and he's going to do it here.  The Cavaliers are going to start making moves left and right and Byron Scott is just Step 1.  I love the move, and so does LeBron.  LeBron James is Underrated

                                    

We've arrived at the halfway point of the countdown, and only 10 remain.  It's no surprise that the "Reign Man" makes the list at #10, as Shawn Kemp is one the greatest and most unforgettable Cavaliers of all-time.  Although he had his share of problems, and didn't quite live up to the expectations, like several others he makes the countdown for his sheer dunking ability.
  
The legendary Shawn Kemp was born in Elkhart, Indiana in 1969.  He balled at Concord High School, and after graduating signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Kentucky.  The story of why he didn't end up playing for the Wildcats is priceless.  Allegedly (likely), he was kicked off the team before the start of the season for pawning two gold chains for $800, that belonged to his teammate Sean Sutton.  Have to admire his entrepreneurial mindset.  He transferred to Trinity Valley Community College in Texas, but it was too late in the season for him to play.  After one semester, Shawn Kemp at 19 years of age declared himself for the 1989 NBA Draft. 

At 6 ft. 10" and 280 lbs, the Seattle Supersonics drafted Kemp in the 1st round with the 17th overall pick.  He quickly made an impact in Seattle, and was instantly one of the elite ballers in the Association.  He was one of the NBA's premiere dunkers, and could jump out of the building.  The Reign Man was the youngest player in the league, and arguably the most exciting.  Halfcourt alley-oop connections from Gary Payton to Shawn Kemp became the norm.  GP and Kemp were an unreal duo, and their team was pretty successful. 

Kemp played for the "Dream Team 2" in 1994, when the USA went on to win the Gold at the World Basketball championship.  Some say his career peaked during the 1995-1996 season, when Seattle won a franchise-record 64 games, and made an NBA Finals appearance.  He also led the league in rebounding for the 3rd straight year.  Unfortunately, the NBA championship dreams were dashed due to a matchup with Michael Jordan and the 72 regular-season win Chicago Bulls.  The series did go 6 games, but MJ was not about to be denied. 

After the Finals, Kemp thought he was due for a raise.  For reasons unknown, Seattle instead gave an unknown scrub Jim McIlvaine a 5 year, $35 million contract.  The entire Supersonics fan base was enraged, as was the Reign Man.  The growing tension with management resulted in the blockbuster trade that sent Kemp to the Cleveland Cavaliers.  He promised he would not report to training camp if he was still a Supersonic.  He cut off all communication with the team, and even refused phone calls from Gary Payton. 

The Cavs acquired the 5-time all star from Seattle along with point guard Sherman Douglas from the Milwaukee Bucks.  In turn, the Cavaliers sent All-star PG Terrell Brandon, Tyrone Hill, and our 1998 first-round pick to Milwaukee, who sent their All-Star forward Vin Baker to Seattle.

He became a rich man when he got to Cleveland.  Management made him the 5th member of the NBA's $100 million club when they offered him an extension.  Reports were that the deal was worth around $107 million for 7 years.  He appreciated the gesture of faith.

Shawn Kemp's tenure as a Cleveland Cavalier would only last from 1997 to 2000, and his career was on the downside.  We welcomed him with open arms, and were excited to have a player who was at least once an All-Star.  Wayne Embry after the Cavaliers signed Kemp, "Cavs owner Gordon Gund has made a commitment to get the team back in contention for an NBA championship.  We all look forward to many exciting years of Shawn Kemp leading the Cavaliers."

He battled weight problems, and wasn't exactly the "Reign Man" anymore.  During a preseason exhibition game, he left the bench when he saw teammate Vitaly Potapenko get punched by Minnesota's Clifford Rozier.  He was suspended for the season opener, and was fined $107,000.  Give him credit for sticking up for his teammate.  He appeared in 80 games that season, and led the Cavaliers in scoring with 18 points per game, shooting almost 45% from the field. 

The Cavaliers were ready to relieve themselves of his enormous contract, and traded him to Portland after the 1999-2000 season.  It was all downhill from there; It appeared that his time in Cleveland would be his last mildly-respectable campaign.  His weight became a serious issue, and he struggled with cocaine and alcohol addictions.  His season ended early when he entered drug rehab.  It is also well documented that he fathered 7 children by 6 women.  Kemp was arrested several times for marijuana possession, and his NBA comeback attempt did not look likely. 

He has done some positive things in his life, let's not forget.  In 1989, he dressed up like Santa and gave out food and toys to poor children.  As of late he has turned things around somewhat, and in April of 2008 he donated $70,000 to the YMCA in his hometown of Elkhart.  "My family and I are happy to give back to the Elkhart community and support the YMCA’s campaign to help local kids,” Kemp said in a statement. “The Elkhart YMCA is where it all started for me as a basketball player and Elkhart will always be home to me.”

Shawn Kemp is a Cavalier and NBA great.  The sad story of his decline does not take away from the fact that he is widely considered one one the Association's most electrifying dunkers of all-time.  He is currently playing with Premiata Montegranaro, a team in Italy.  Cleveland got to witness some of the last days of this legend, and we should consider ourselves pretty lucky for his time here.  The Reign Man will not be forgotten.  Shawn Kemp is Underrated

                    

Every year, the NBA Draft boasts a few special players who have the unenviable task of restoring a franchise to glory, or at least providing for a little much needed excitement.  This year's edition was no different.  There are always a few surprises, and sometimes good college players can fall into the 2nd round.  A few picks are always obvious.  Others, not so much.  Let's start with the overall #1 pick, John Wall.

The Washington Wizards were the team lucky enough to land the #1 pick this year.  Everyone automatically predicted they would draft Wall, and they didn't deviate from the assumption.

John Wall played one year at Kentucky under John Calipari, and was the consensus best player in the NCAA.  Wall had an incredible season and brought a level of relevance to Kentucky that had been missing for quite some time.

Although the Wizards already have Gilbert Arenas, not selecting Wall would have been inexcusable.  He reminds many of Derrick Rose, with his quickness and hops.  John Wall will have a great opportunity to turn around a franchise in Washington who struggled desperately last year, missing Arenas due to suspension and then the trade of Jamison to the Cavaliers.  In my opinion, Wall is one of a select few players who have the ability to come directly out of the draft and make a huge impact. 

The 2nd pick belonged to the Philadelphia 76ers, who selected Ohio State's Evan Turner.  Evan has the ability to play point guard, shooting guard, and also small forward.  He was a 1st team All-American, 2010 Player of the Year, and was the leading scorer in the Big 10 for consecutive years.  Turner is 6 feet 7 inches, and weighs in close to 210 lbs.  Basically, he has the body for an NBA player.  Alongside Andre Igoudala, Turner has the capability to Turn-In a big season for the 76ers.  When all is said and done, he might end up being a bigger impact player than Wall.

There were some other players drafted, who have a chance to make big contributions, but none close to Wall or Turner.  Demarcus Cousins was John Wall's teammate at Kentucky, and he has the makings of a solid NBA power forward at some in point in the future.  Sacramento picked him at #5, but there are still some questions about his motivation and his weight problem.  Once he puts his mind to it, he can be a dominant rebounding PF much like Glen Davis.  Derrick Favors and Wesley Johnson will also be solid, but need time to further develop.   

I liked the fact that Gordon Hayward went #9 to the Jazz, although he might not see a ton of playing time with them this year.  He was one of the feel-good stories in this years NCAA March Madness, and his play at Butler was flat-out impressive.  His last-second heave came within inches of beating Duke in the Championship.  Utah always seems to like having at least a few token white players on their roster, so naturally he was a good fit.

Much was made of Chicago's move to send Kirk Hinrich to Washington.  Their obvious move to make salary cap available was a message to LeBron and the other big-name free agents.  They are now in position to bring in two great players, alongside Derrick Rose and an already formidable Bulls squad.  New Jersey is the other team that has a ton of cap-space, but I really don't see LeBron making that move either.  July 1st is only 4 days away.  Of course LeBron would overshadow the draft, I mean he's basically Brett-Favre status right now.  Even so, LeBron James is still Underrated

No, Eric Snow did not make the list.  In fact, he's probably my least favorite Cavalier of all-time.  I've decided to boycott all the shenanigans currently transpiring regarding LeBron.  I can't handle the daily garbage that comes up on ESPN, in Cleveland, Chicago, New York newspapers.. etc.  Honestly, who cares?  The Cavaliers lost.  I get it.  LeBron is a free-agent.  Sweet.  I'm going to do my best not to mention anything going on related to the free agency rumor mill.  He can sign with any team he chooses starting July 1st.  That's 41 days, 4 hours, 52 minutes, and 33 seconds from now.. not that I'm counting.

So, what this means is that I'm going to need something else to talk about for the foreseeable future.  Obviously, there aren't any games I can talk about.  I'm still watching the playoffs though, and it looks like a Lakers/Celtics Finals rematch of two years ago.  Kobe is on a mission and the Celtics are solid.  That's all I'll say about that.

Anyways, I've come up with a list of my 20 favorite Cavaliers that I can actually remember seeing play in a Cleveland uniform.  You may not agree with my list, but quite frankly.. I don't care.  To be an all-time great Cavalier, you don't need to be considered a great player.  The only thing I really judge is their impact on the Cavaliers organization.     

I left several players off my list, for obvious reasons.  Some of them I just didn't really like, others failed to live up to the expectations.  Here's a few of the players I left off the list:  Robert "Tractor" Traylor, Trajan Langdon, Eric Snow, Kevin Ollie, Bimbo Coles, Mateen Cleaves, Jason Kapono, Carlos Boozer, Delonte West, and Mo Williams all did not make the cut.

So for the next few weeks or so, this is what we'll be discussing.  Why talk about ignorant LeBron free agency scenarios, when you can reminisce about some of the best players to ever adorn the Wine and Gold?  (or Blue, Orange, White, and Black) I actually still love those black jerseys.  There's nothing quite like taking a trip down memory-lane.  LeBron James is Underrated

You knew the Cavaliers weren't going to allow Chicago to win more than 1 game in this series.  Although it was far too close, the Cavs closed out the Bulls in game 5, winning 94-94.  Essentially, here's what happened: the Bulls played tough and mistakenly thought they had a chance.  Mo Williams started the game off with a 3 pointer. 

With 7.8 seconds left, and the Cavs holding on to a 96-92 lead, LeBron shot a free-throw left-handed.  He was dealing with a sore elbow, and this was not a good sign.  A lot was made of this after the game, but I personally didn't read too much into it.  We were a little concerned, but we knew LeBron wasn't about to miss Game 1 with the Celtics on Sunday. 

Antawn Jamison led the Cavs with 25 points, and LeBron almost notched another playoff triple-double.  His 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists were just another example of why he deserved to win the MVP.  Cavs close out the Bulls, and send Joakim Noah a message: don't talk smack about Cleveland.  LeBron's elbow was a major concern after the game, but we all knew it really wasn't going to be a big deal.  (more to come on this closeout game later)  LeBron James is Underrated

The Cavs lost their second home game last night to Chicago 86-85, mainly because of a terrible no-call on the final drive of the game by LeBron James. It wasn't a pretty game, and the truth of the matter is that the Cavs shouldn't have played down to the Bulls level. In addition Derrick Rose only had 14 points. Regardless, LeBron had the ball in his hands at the end of the game, and drove left towards the basket. What happened next was the worst no-call in the history of Cleveland sports. The referee failed to see the clear assault by Joakim Noah on LeBron's elbow. It was so obvious that he didn't block the ball cleanly, and also ran into James' body, while he was busy smacking LBJ's arm. Even though the Cavs allowed them to hang around, the game should have been won on the two free throws that LeBron would have made if the proper foul was called. I hate poor officiating and I hate to see it affect the end result of a game. How do you not make that call? We should have won if not for the blind man wearing a black and white jersey. LeBron James is underrated