The Cleveland Cavaliers and owner Dan Gilbert released a letter earlier tonight that criticized LeBron for being a coward. After 7 years of turning the Cavs from nobody’s to one of the leagues top 3 teams, this is the reaction LeBron receives. The Cavaliers went from last to first in the NBA in merchandise and ticket sales during LeBron’s era. The Cavs in return gave Lebron the necessary pieces he needed to get a ring. Delonte West, Shaq, Antwan Jamison, and Anderson Varejao were all overpaid and not up to the challenge. For Cavs owner Dan Gilbert to speak in such a way to a person that has financially done the most any person can do for a franchise is disrespectful and out right WRONG. The fans of the Cavaliers should be upset with the ownership, and the Cavs organization itself, by failing to bring in the pieces to assist LeBron’s quest for a ring. Because they have overspent while trying to please James and win the first title by any of Cleveland’s three pro sports teams since 1964, the Cavs are strapped with a few big contracts that have eaten up salary-cap space and prevented them from making roster moves to improve the team. Is LeBron to blame for the contracts the team gave out as well?

Two years ago, Kobe Bryant complained on television and radio, that he was unhappy with the Lakers and wanted them to trade Andrew Bynum. The Lakers magically got Pau Gasol, kept Bynum, and then brought in Ron Artest. Great management and great coaching trumps skill, just ask the San Antonio Spurs how they won so many rings. Kobe bitched and got what he needed. In many ways the Cavs failed the city and LeBron. Many will critize LeBron for not sticking with Cleveland, but with a limited amount of years left the Miami oppurtunity was too much to pass up.

Joining his 03′ draft classmates in Miami proves that in this age of money over everything, there are still those that will sacrafice personal gain for the better of the group. “At this point, D-Wade, he’s the unselfish guy here,” James said. “To be able to have Chris Bosh and LeBron James, to welcome us to his team, it’s not about an individual here. Because if that was the case, D-Wade wouldn’t have asked us to join him or we wouldn’t have asked him if it was OK to come down here. It’s not about individuals. It’s about a team.” Lebron’s legacy is contingent on the ring just as all NBA players legacies are based.

Now, it’s up to Riley to build around his three superstars. Miami retained room to sign Bosh, Wade and James, but lacks significant salary cap space to fill out the remaining roster.  The Heat have agreed on a trade that will send Beasley to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who can absorb Beasley’s contract into their salary-cap space. Minnesota, according to sources, will complete the trade by sending Miami a second-round pick in 2011. The Wolves and Heat, sources said, have also agreed to swap an unspecified future first-round pick. The Heat need seven more players to fill out their roster. They drafted De’Sean Butler, Jarvis Varnado and Dexter Pittman in the second round of June’s NBA draft.

I look forward to the remaining players Riley is able to coarse into joining the south’s version of the Big Three.

LeBron James will sit down with Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America” on ABC (Friday, 7 a.m. ET) to discuss the ins and outs of one of the most talked-about free-agent decisions in NBA history.

After weeks of speculation and TMZ-like reporting, LeBron James chose to join Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, in Miami.

“I can’t say it was always in my plans, because I never thought it was possible,” James said on a made-for-LeBron live show on ESPN. “But the things that the Miami Heat franchise have done, to free up cap space and be able to put themselves in a position this summer to have all three of us, it was hard to turn down. Those are two great players, two of the greatest players that we have in this game today.”

LeBron leaves behind Cleveland , a city rich with sport let downs. Many Cavalier fans will make LeBron into the enemy, but the organization itself should be blamed for failing to put together a better team over the past seven years.

Pat Riley is the true star this off-season. He was able to convince two(James, Bosh) of the top ten players in the NBA to join his All-Star Wade. Now Riley will convince other players to join them for a cheap.

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The Boston Celtics agreed to a deal with Jermaine O’Neal. O’Neal’s contract is reportedly for the midlevel exception, about $5.76 million in the first year of a two-year deal. A six-time All-Star, O’Neal has averaged 14 points and 7.5 rebounds in a 14-year career for Portland, Indiana, Toronto and Miami. With the Heat last year, he averaged 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 28 minutes.

David Lee has agreed to a sign-and-trade worth $80 million dollars over six years with the Golden State Warriors.

The deal will send Lee to the Warriors for Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf and Kelenna Azubuike among others.

The other two members of the Free-Agent Summit chose to make their decision known a day earlier on ESPN as well.

Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade will join forces in Miami. No contract details have surface yet, but with the signing deadline tomorrow the numbers will be made available.

Chris Bosh leaves the Toronto Raptors where last season, Bosh registered career highs in scoring (24 points per game), rebounding (10.8 average) and field-goal percentage (51.8).

“We’ve wanted to play with each other and we have a golden opportunity to do that. We’re going to take advantage of it,” Bosh said on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”

Wade, 28, said it was difficult to turn down the chance to play in Chicago, where he grew up. But in the end, an opportunity to play with the 26-year-old Bosh and build a title contender in Miami with the two in the prime of their careers won out over his desire to play in his hometown, Wade said. “Now we can get on the pace of building a championship,” he said.

The Heat have only four veterans on their roster, along with four second-round draft picks, and they need to find at least five warm bodies with the remaining $12 million in cap room they have.

The Los Angeles Clippers have selected Vinny Del Negro as their new head coach, sources close to the situation said on Tuesday. For the past two seasons, the 43-year-old Del Negro served as Chicago’s head coach, where he strung together consecutive 41-41 seasons along with two first-round playoff appearances before being fired on May 3.

The Clippers are undergoing a rapid transformation both in the front the office and in the locker room. General manager Neil Olshey will begin his first full season as the club’s general manager. The team will feature at least three rookies — 2009 No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin, Wake Forest forward Al-Farouq Aminu and Kentucky guard Eric Bledsoe. The only two players on the current Clippers roster older than 21 are Baron Davis and Chris Kaman.

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Carlos Boozer is getting out of Utah, agreeing to a five-year, $80 million contract with the Chicago Bulls.

Boozer averaged 19.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game for the Utah Jazz last season, his sixth with the team. In his eight-year career, he has averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest.

This fan-made video is so low budget that Pat Riley could have in fact done this, if he he is able to operate imovie on a mac.

With the start of the NBA’s free-agent period just three days away, details are starting to emerge about the meetings LeBron James will hold with potential suitors Thursday, when all parties can begin talking.

According to sources and media reports, the meetings with James will take place in northeast Ohio near — but not at — his suburban Akron home. The Bulls, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers are expected to make pitches to James. There also was talk Sunday that the Dallas Mavericks, who are over the salary cap and only could acquire James through a sign-and-trade, want to make a presentation as well.

The Knicks have the most cap space of all the teams. They can get $34.15 million under the projected cap of $56.1 million. Next up are the Bulls, who can get roughly $29.1 million under the salary cap, followed by the Heat ($27.6 million) and the Nets ($27 million).

Just think if LeBron was to have cameras present, he could turn the entire process into a critically acclaimed reality show. Or LeBron could have each team compete in challenges (VH1 style) and prove which one really is up to the task of aiding James to a championship. Each team that proved its worth, would stepped down and receive a game ball, meaning they were still in the running towards~proving their love to LeBron. Teams that failed would be told by LeBron “You have fouled out, please return to the locker room and collect your things”. ” I have no love for you”.

This show would squash the entire Summer lineup on ABC by the way!

Twenty-two NBA teams, including 11 that appeared in the 2010 NBA Playoffs, will compete in this year’s NBA Summer League. For the second consecutive year, a team of NBA Development League Select players will also participate in the action taking place at the Thomas & Mack Center and the COX Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Marketing partners included in the event are adidas, EA SPORTS, Gatorade and T-Mobile.

This year’s event will feature the Washington Wizards, who won the top overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Other participating teams with top five selections in this year’s draft include the Minnesota Timberwolves(fourth overall pick) and the Sacramento Kings (fifth overall).

Additionally, 10 of the top 14 picks are expected to participate in Las Vegas this summer.

Joining the above-mentioned teams scheduled to appear in Vegas this summer are the Dallas Mavericks,Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Hornets, Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers,Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards.

Tickets for the 2010 NBA Summer League are on sale and can be purchased by calling 702-739-FANS, through UNLVtickets.com or by visiting the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office and UNLV Ticket Outlets. All general admission tickets are $25 for the day; seniors and children (3-12) are $15 for the day; and children two years and under are admitted free of charge.

A complete broadcast schedule will be released at a later date.

Schedule after the jump.

2010 NBA Summer League Game Schedule:

Friday July 9

COX Pavilion

1 PM – Denver vs. Dallas

3 PM – Houston vs. Phoenix

5 PM – Detroit vs. LA Lakers

7 PM – Golden State vs. New Orleans

Saturday July 10

COX Pavilion

1 PM – Toronto vs. Phoenix

3 PM – LA Lakers vs. Denver

5 PM – Detroit vs. Golden State

7 PM – Dallas vs. Houston

Sunday July 11

COX Pavilion

1 PM – New York vs. Denver

3 PM – Portland vs. Houston

5 PM – Washington vs. Golden State

7 PM – Miami vs. New Orleans

Monday July 12

COX Pavilion

1 PM – LA Lakers vs. New York

3 PM – Sacramento vs. Detroit

5 PM – Dallas vs. Milwaukee

7 PM – Washington vs. LA Clippers

Thomas & Mack

3:30 PM – San Antonio vs. Minnesota

5:30 PM – Phoenix vs. NBA D-League

7:30 PM – Memphis vs. Atlanta

Tuesday July 13

COX Pavilion

1 PM – Denver vs. Chicago

3 PM – Cleveland vs. NBA D-League

5 PM – Milwaukee vs. Memphis

7 PM – Portland vs. New Orleans

Thomas & Mack

3:30 PM – Houston vs. Toronto

5:30 PM – Sacramento vs. LA Lakers

7:30 PM – Golden State vs. Miami

Wednesday July 14

COX Pavilion

1 PM – Denver vs. Houston

3 PM – New York vs. Toronto

5 PM – LA Clippers vs. Chicago

7 PM – Sacramento vs. Minnesota

Thomas & Mack

3:30 PM – Atlanta vs. San Antonio

5:30 PM – Cleveland vs. Phoenix

7:30 PM – Detroit vs. Miami

Thursday July 15

COX Pavilion

1 PM – LA Lakers vs. San Antonio

3 PM – Golden State vs. Phoenix

5 PM – Washington vs. Dallas

7 PM – LA Clippers vs. Portland

Thomas & Mack

5:30 PM – Atlanta vs. Milwaukee

7:30 PM – NBA D-League vs. Memphis

Friday July 16

COX Pavilion

1 PM – Detroit vs. New York

3 PM – Toronto vs. Sacramento

5 PM – Washington vs. New Orleans

7 PM – Memphis vs. Minnesota

Thomas & Mack

5:30 PM – Cleveland vs. Chicago

7:30 PM – Milwaukee vs. Miami

Saturday July 17

COX Pavilion

1 PM – New York vs. Washington

3 PM – Miami vs. Cleveland

5 PM – LA Clippers vs. San Antonio

7 PM – Minnesota vs. Portland

Thomas & Mack

3:30 PM – Toronto vs. New Orleans

5:30 PM – Sacramento vs. Chicago

7:30 PM – NBA D-League vs. Atlanta

Sunday July 18

COX Pavilion

1 PM – Cleveland vs. Milwaukee

3 PM – Chicago vs. Portland

5 PM – Dallas vs. Sacramento

Thomas & Mack

1:30 PM – San Antonio vs. Memphis

3:30 PM – Atlanta vs. Minnesota

5:30 PM – LA Clippers vs. NBA D-League

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

All Times listed are local Las Vegas time.

(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Heat needed a win to continue the series and to continue watching Dwayne Wade in a Heat uniform. In the previous three games Wades 2nd and 4th quarter production was down. In Game 4 Wade put the Heat on his back and single-handedly(he yelled at his right hand) and outscored the Celtics 19 to 15 in the 4th. Wade scored 46 points, 30 in the second half — both franchise records — and the Heat beat the Boston Celtics 101-92. Quentin Richardson’s 20 points were the most by a Heat not named Wade this whole series. Dwyane Wade’s 46 points Sunday are the most scored against Boston in a playoff game dating back to 1991. Wade is only the fourth player since 1991 to score at least 40 in a playoff game against Boston, and the first since LeBron James scored 45 on May 18, 2008.

Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with 23 points. Garnett had 18 points and 12 rebounds,Paul Pierce scored 16 and Ray Allen added 15 for Boston, which was bidding for its first 4-0 sweep of a series since 1986. “It’s not a big deal,” Rondo said. “We just have to close it out now in five. We’re confident.” Celtics 3-1

49FT.! (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

LeBron James nailed a 22-foot fadeaway from up top just before the halftime buzzer, then he hit a pull-up 49 foot jumper to end the 3rd quarter. That about sums up this game! James finished with 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. The Cavs shot 12-25 from deep, and got 12 points from Jamison, and 19 from Mo Williams.

After an impressing win in Game 3, the Bulls returned to their Game 1, and 2 form shooting 37% from the field. Bulls were 4 of 12 on 3-pointers, Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah both scored 21 apiece, and Noah had 20 boards. Noah had the first 20/20 game in franchise playoff history. Noah told reporters after Game 3 that “Cleveland Sucks”.and  he will be the focus of fans in the Quicken Loans Arena in Game 5! Vinny Del Negro seem to be LeBron-struck saying after the game “It came down to LeBron.” “We could not control LeBron.” Cavs 3-1

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Manu Ginobili refused to wear a mask for Game 4 and instead wore a HUGE bandage across his face. A liitle more fabric and he could have been an Argentinean Darkman. The Spurs Big Three(Duncan, Ginobili, Parker) combined 9-34 shooting. Tim Duncan on his 34th birthday had 4 points on 1-9 shooting. George Hill gave Duncan a great birthday gift with 29 points, on 11-16 shooting. Richard Jefferson scored 15 points and Antonio McDyess had 10.

Caron Butler got to play in the second half in this one scoring 17. The Mavs lead by  as much as 14, but the Spurs defense forced them into tough shots and then the flagrant fouls began. Eduardo Najera was ejected after hooking a hand around Ginobili’s head and sending him belly flopping to the floor. Then DeJuan Blair fouled Jason Kidd hard as he took the ball to the basket, drawing a Flagrant 1. Officials rang up three flagrant fouls. Just more fuel on an already intense Texas rivalry. Only eight teams have come back from being down 3-1 in a best-of-seven series. Uh-Oh Mark Cuban! Spurs 3-1

(Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Utah Jazz are the team without key players. Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur are both injured, but in Game 4 you wouldn’t have noticed they were missing anything. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer combined for 55 points,  18 assists, and 17 rebounds. Cj Miles had 21, Wesley Matthews had 18 points, and Paul Milsap had 12. If these three combine for 51 points, the other team is going to lose!

The Nuggets head back to Denver for Game 5, facing elimanation. The abscence of George Karl has to be the reason for many of their struggles, but the Nuggets poor defense is truly to blame. They only had 13 assists, but 18 turnovers. Carmelo Anthony had 39 points and 11 boards, and 9 turnovers. Chauncey Billups fouled out with 3:46 left in the 4th and seems flustered having to guard Deron Williams and lead the team. Has anyone seen Chris Anderson?(2pts, 0 boards,0 blocks)If Nuggets can’t get three great games from JR Smith, Chauncey Billups, and Kenyon Martin, this series is over. That last sentence looks unbelievable.  The referees ruined this game with call after cal,l leading to 77 combined free throws. Jazz 3-1

(Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)

I can’t help but feel bad for Dwayne Wade. If you didn’t know, Dwayne Wade likes to look cool. So far this playoffs he and the Heat are just that, only in a bad way.

Heat fans slowly made there way into American Airlines Arena, donning black t-shirts for the Heats “BlackisBack” campaign. The crowd draped in all-black looked as though they were attending a funeral, and in many ways they were. Just like in the first two games Wade was dominant, but Dwyane Wade’s numbers have fluctuated heavily in each of the Heat’s three playoff games. Wade averages 23.3 ppg, 70% fg, and 50% 3-point shooting in the first and third quarters. His numbers in the second, and fourth quarter arent very Wade-like 6.3 ppg, 36.4% fg and 11.1% 3-point shooting…ouch! This is largely due to the immense amount of work Wade has to do on the offensive end of the court. Dwayne Wade has been the only Heat to score more then 16 points in any of the three games. Jermaine O’Neal is 5-31 shooting.

Not sure many people expected the Celtics to sweep the Heat, but that has become a strong posibility. Paul Pierce went all 2008 playoffs in Game 3, scoring 32 points and hitting the game-winner from the spot he hit against the Bulls in the first round last year. Celtics 100, Heat 98.

The Heat are down 3-0 to the Boston Celtics and without an immense miracle their playoffs are over. “It hasn’t really set in yet,” Wade said. “Down 3-0 hurts. This team’s good. They’ve got a lot of veteran guys who step up to the billing.” On the bright side at least more then three Heat scored in double figures. Celtics 3-0

Dirk Nowitzki made good on his vow after the Game 2 loss to hit the looks he got last time, scoring 35 points, but the Dallas Mavericks are dealing with some sort of internal beef. Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle benched Caron Butler, and Shawn Marion for the entire second-half, choosing to keep Jason Terry and J.J. Barea in the game.

Manu Ginobili got elbowed in the nose by Dirk, brekaing it early in the third quarter. Five minutes later bandaged up Manu returned, he  then scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth to lead the Spurs to a 94-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. Spurs 2-1

(Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Jazz have every reason to be down in this playoffs, but the play of Deron Williams has out weighed any disadvantage. Deron Williams had 24 points and 10 assists as the Jazz took the series lead over the Nuggets. Williams fell one point shy of joining Michael Jordan (first round, 1989 playoffs) as the only players in NBA history to have 25 points and 10 assists in each of the first three games of a playoff series. Utah’s Paul Millsap had 22 points and 19 rebounds, both playoff career-highs. He was 9-for-9 in the first half. Milsap had never shot more then seven shots in a playoff game.

Denver relied on Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony offensively throughout Game 3, but Melo’s foul trouble canceled their chances. “What I’m most disappointed at is that we failed to compete tonight as a team,” Anthony said. “I think the Utah Jazz have done a good job making some adjustments defending me. When I get the ball I see two guys, three triple-teaming me. It’s not just one guy on me.” Utah 2-1

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

• No KG for the Celtics, no problem. Ray Allen shoots 7-9 from long range finishing with 25. The “Ticket Stub” Glen Davis fumbled to the rim for 23 points.
• Celtics have won the last three games they played against the Heat without Garnett.
• The Heat aren’t making a good case to keep Dwayne Wade in Miami. Every Heat player not named Dwayne shot 18-59! Wade finished with 29 points on 11-18 shooting.
• Boston outrebounded Miami 60-37
• In the first half the Heat had just one offensive rebound and took just four free throws while Boston tried 16. Celtics 2-0

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

• Grant Hill and Jason Richardson combined for 21-27 shooting for 49 points. They are a combined 66 in age.
• Steve Nash ad 13 points and 16 assists, 12 at the half.
• Suns have not lost two in a row since Jan. 26
• Blazers need a good dose of the Rose Garden to reclaim the magic from the first game. Marcus Camby blew easy layups and Andre Miller finished with 16 points after getting 31 in Game 1. Suns-1/Blazers-1

• Kobe seemed determine to put on a show, maybe it was the critics or his Dad sitting court side. Kobe had 39 points in a game the Lakers were trying to lose.
• Ron Artest’s defense on Kevin Durant was stellar once again, but he has to start making open jumpers, going 2-10 from the field with 5 points.
• Pau Gasol was nearly unstoppable with 25 points and 12 assists.
• Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 32 points and Russell Westbrook added 19, making all eight of his free throws.
• Thunder squandered points early on missed dunks, and layups. Heading home will be comforting but alas, the end is near for the Thunder. Lakers 2-0

2010 NBA Playoffs Bracket