2009-10 NBA Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland hasn't won a championship in any major sports since before the Super Bowl was even created. Shaq was brought there to deliver a ring for Lebron, but will this be the last year the King will be there? Can Delonte West avoid hiding guns in guitar cases this season or is he this generation's J.R. Rider? A lot of pressure is on the Cavs to go out and dominate every night, but is the pressure too much? Here is my 2009-10 NBA Preview for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Additions/Subtractions - Cleveland made one of the biggest trades this off-season by acquiring Shaquill O'Neal from Phoenix. They made the trade without sending any contributors. They have all the pieces from last year, minus Wally Szczerbiak, who's contract ran out. They added Leon Powe from the Celtics and Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, and Rob Kurz all hope to make the team. I look for J.J. Hickson to get some minutes this year, since he had a year under his belt and he could be a nice addition to the rotation.

2009-10 Expectations - The Cavs are the NBA Championship or bust this year. They cashed in all their chips and this could be their last year with Lebron James on the roster. They can't allow it to become a distraction, especially since Delonte West's actions were enough to derail a team alone. They will need Mo Williams to become a more consistent offensive threat if this team wants to live up to their potential this season and get a ring on their finger. Shaq and Zudruna Ilgauskas are a nice two-headed monster at the center position and can match up with any team in the NBA. If the Cavs play up to their potential, it's their championship to lose.

2009-10 Prediction - I don't want a lot of hate mail from Cleveland fans, but I don't forsee a title in their future. They will coast in the regular season, but they will have to go up against Boston and possibly Los Angeles in the NBA Finals and it's going to be a tough. Shaq had a miracle season last year just by staying healthy and I don't see that happening this year. A lot of pressure is on him to produce and deliver Lebron a title. If they don't get a ring this year, Mike Brown could see his way out and Lebron could even leave for a better chance at a championship. I would like to see Cleveland win the title this year, but even though they look very good on paper, I am not sure if they will be able to do it.

2009-10 Win Total - 65-17

22 Sports People You Must Follow On Twitter

I was apprehensive to join Twitter because I knew that I would become addicted to it. I was out with some friends, about a year ago, and my friend talked me into signing up with her phone. I just posted a few “tweets” and then that turned into multiple “tweets” and now I’m on there all the time. I have around 1700 followers and it fluctuates daily. My Twitter name is @sweetbob and you can follow me by clicking here.

Here are the 22 sports people that you must follow on Twitter.

Bill Simmons - @SportsGuy33 - He’s extremely popular writer on ESPN and I love his writing and podcasts. He is very active on Twitter and sends out a lot of hilarious links. He was also apprehensive about Twitter, but now he seems to be addicted.

Mike Freeman - @realfreemanCBS - He throws in comedy with sports insight. He often RTs his @ replies with a funny remark. He's a must follow for every level of sports fan.

Chris Bosh - @chrisbosh - Chris Bosh is a basketball player for the Toronto Raptors. He has a great sense of humor and often asks for help on his Twitter for things to do in different cities that he travels to.

Eric Stangel - @EricStangel - He's the lead writer on The Late Show with David Letterman, but mostly tweets about sports. He often tweets out pictures of famous New York Yankee mustaches and asks his followers to guess who's mustache it is.

Hasheem Thabeet - @HasheemTheDream - Thabeet was just drafted in the NBA by the Memphis Grizzlies. He is very active and tweets about getting ready for the season.

Sports Bloggers - @sportsbloggers - This is a twitter page that posts anything from sports blogs that tag their tweets with “#sblog.” It’s a nice twitter account to follow for the latest posts on some of the best sports blogs.

Will Leitch - @williamfleitch - Will Leitch was the founder of the sports blog, Deadspin.com. He now works for New York Magazine and is the Emeritus at Deadspin. I needed to add him to this list because I just bought his book, “God Save The Fan,” at Half-Price Books, it’s a good read.

Jon Heyman - @SI_JonHeyman - He is a sports writer at Sports Illustrated. He is very active on Twitter and gives out links and tidbits that are worthy of a follow. I love his writing and sometimes he gives out a little information of what he is working on.

Skip Bayless - @RealSkipBayless - I have made myself clear that I don’t like Skip Bayless. I have even written posts dedicated to his idiotic banter. I follow Skip Bayless for possible material to bash and to see what great player he will decide to bash and belittle.

Chris Mortensen - @mortreport - I know that Jay Glazer can scoop the pants off of Mort, but I still follow him. He gives out some information that is worth reading, even if it pertains to the College Baseball World Series.

Molly Qerim – @MollyQerim_ESPN - I first saw Molly Qerim on a fantasy football program on ESPN. She was playing the “Sage Steele” role with Matthew Berry. She is beautiful and well-spoken. She is now involved in Mixed-Martial Arts programming at ESPN.

Jason McIntyre - @thebiglead - He writes at TheBigLead.com. I read The Big Lead almost daily and it’s a great sports blog. He gives out interesting links and is very active. He also keeps be updated on soccer scores while I’m at work, thanks Jason.

Jamie Mottram - @jamiemottram - Motrram is a sports blogger that is based in the Washington D.C. area. He runs MrIrrelevant.com and SBNation.com and works with Yahoo! I read his blog very often and his tweets are informative and entertaining.

Will Brinson - @willbrinson - He is a sports blogger over at AOL Fanhouse. I have been reading his stuff for awhile now and I think he’s great. He is active on Twitter and gives links out to some of his work and others that he wants people to read.

Amy K. Nelson - @AmyKNelson - I have been a fan of Amy K. Nelson since I saw her on First Take. She knows her stuff! I have read some of her articles and she is making a name for herself at ESPN. She is also a sports crush of mine…Shhhhhh!

Deadspin - @Deadspin - Deadspin.com is in my favorites on my computer at home. I read the site daily and it made a name for itself by having an edge with no access and a little bias. They tweet links to material on their site and most of them are worth a click.

Hugging Harold Reynolds - @HHReynolds - He was the mastermind behind the “Blogs With Balls” conference in NYC last month. I was unable to attend, but I read nearly every post that explained what happened. I am a big fan of his site, HuggingHaroldReynolds.com and go there daily. His tweets are great and he re-tweets a lot of good material.

Jenn Sterger - @jennifersterger - We all love Jenn Sterger, right? She tweets about sports and what she has been doing. She also posts a lot of twitpics of things that she has done like the Indy 500 and photo shoots. Just for that reason alone, she’s worth a follow.

Jimmy Traina - @JimmyTraina - Jimmy works at Sports Illustrated and helps deliver the “Hot Clicks” section over at “Extra Mustard” at SI.com. He has linked to a couple posts of mine, for that I’m thankful. He has a great sense of humor and tweets about the funny videos and the Yankees.

Matthew Berry - @MatthewBerryTMR - Matthew Berry is a fantasy analyst over at ESPN. He helps do the Fantasy Focus podcasts and videocasts on ESPN.com. He gives out a lot of fantasy advice on his Twitter, often responding to questions asked to him via the program.

Gunaxin - @Gunaxin - Gunaxin.com is a great site for sports, beer, babes, and humor. I read it daily and I’m now a contributor to the site. They often tweet links to new material and is very active. They have a staff of contributors that get content up on Gunaxin.com on a regular basis.

Shaquille O’Neal - @Shaq - Shaquille O’Neal is the King of Twitter. His tweets helped put Twitter on the map, even if they are often misspelled. Shaq can be a polarizing figure, but he won a lot of people over with his down-to-earth humor and accessibility. He’s definitely worth a follow.


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Post-Draft Rumors: Shaq To Portland?

The Draft is the unofficial start to the off-season for the NBA. After the dust settles and the draft day trades get finalized, you start to hear rumors of players opting out, trades that didn't happen, and rumors of players on the move. The post-draft activities is no different from past years, all of the above is happening.

After Shaquille O'Neal was traded to Cleveland, he mentioned that there could have been a trade that sent him to Portland. He told Steve Kerr that he didn't want to play in Portland, so all the talk stopped there. The deal was proposed back in February, before the trading deadline last season. How would that trade work? Cleveland made the trade work with expiring contracts that totaled near the total of Shaq's salary. Portland didn't have cap space then, but had the expiring contract of Raef LaFrentz is now off the books. If the same trade would have been proposed a couple of weeks ago, it would have been difficult for Portland to make it. Martell Webster and Joel Pryzbilla could have been sent, but it's all clearly speculation and not sure if the final numbers would have worked out.

Hedo Turkoglu finally sent word to the Orlando Magic that he will definitely opt out of his contract. He would be the prize of this year's free agency class, but he could try and see if they can settle on a long-term deal to stay in Orlando. The trade for Vince Carter could have sealed Turkoglu's fate, there may not be enough money to sign their post-season stud.

Is he or isn't he? The rumors have been swirling about where Amare Stoudemire will end up. Rumors were circulating that Stephon Curry was going to be part of a deal that sent Stoudemire to Golden State, but Don Nelson has been vocal that Curry is staying in Oakland. We should know more this week about the fate of Amare Stoudemire.

Is Ricky Rubio staying in Spain or will he face the cold in Minnesota? A decision should be made in the next few weeks. The New York Knicks are rumored to be working on a proposal to land the talented point guard. If Rubio ends up in New York, you could possibly put an end to the rumor that Steve Nash will sign with the Knicks when he becomes a free agent.

America's White Boy's official NBA team, the Indiana Pacers, are saying that they will be very active this off-season. They drafted Tyler Hansbrough and A.J. Price, but those picks didn't fill any pressing needs for the team. They are shopping T.J. Ford around in hopes of finding another point guard. They have plenty of expiring contracts, but with the state of the economy, don't look for them to be buyers and taking on extra payroll. They are setting up for a run at a few free agents in a year. They need another young scorer to match up with Danny Granger.

A rumor that is starting to gain steam is Ben Wallace will be traded from Phoenix to New Orleans for Tyson Chandler. The Hornets need to get rid of Chandler's multi-year deal and Wallace is in the last year of his deal. He has even said that he may retire, if that is true, the Hornets could buyout his contract and save some money.

With free agency starting on Wednesday, Glen "Big Baby" Davis could be looking for a starting job. He said that he is in a position to make more money and maybe even a starting gig. Davis was crucial in the Celtics run last year and with Garnett's status still up in the air, they should try and work out a deal.

Wondering where Baylor's Curtis Jerrells may end up? It looks like he will be playing for Dallas on their summer league team. He could end up with a spot on the Mavericks or more likely, this is a gig to showcase his skills and possibly land on an NBDL squad.

Other undrafted free agent landing spots...Temple's Dionte Christmas accepted a spot on the 76ers summer league team. BC's Tyrese Rice will be playing for Washington, UConn's Jeff Adrien will be playing for Memphis, and Gonzaga's Josh Heytvelt will suit up for Golden State on their summer league team. Gonzaga's Jeremy Pargo could end up on Portland's summer league, but no official word as of today.

Why "Shaq To Cavs" Could Be Bad For Lebron

The rumor mill is busy tonight with a pending Shaquille O'Neal trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs will send Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace to Phoenix for basically two expiring contracts. Shaq resurrected his career last season and wants to win another championship before he retires. He got into great physical shape, thanks for the Phoenix Suns trainers. This trade is great for Cleveland, but is it good for Lebron James?

Cleveland is Lebron's team from the first day he grabbed a wine-colored jersey. He has been hyped as the "next great player" and a championship would be a given. He has flourished with the talent around him, but never seemed to have enough talent to get him a ring. Lebron has never had a true big man, even though Big Z is a good player, he isn't much of a physical presence in the paint. Shaq will help Cleveland and probably land Cleveland a championship.

Do you remember the talk about Kobe Bryant won a championship with Shaq and didn't win one without Shaq until this past season? All the talk on sports radio and with fans never really recognized that Kobe even won any championships, since they were just with Shaq. Will the same argument be made if Lebron wins a championship with Shaq and then struggles the next couple seasons?

The Cavs do need a big man, it's a no-brainer. The way that Dwight Howard man-handled them and scored at will, even with the offensive post-moves of a toddler. The Cavs need a tall-wing player more than a big man. Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu hurt the Cavs more than Dwight Howard, it's not even close. The backcourt in Cleveland are short and fast, but not physical. If the Cavs made a trade for Vince Carter or maybe even sign Trevor Ariza. A tall wingman isn't available in this year's draft. If Lebron James is Michael Jordan, he needs a Scottie Pippen. It's going to be hard when you 2nd best guard is Mo Williams, a guy who seems to disappear in big games.

If things go rough the first month of the season, expect Shaq to throw out a couple of Tweets that will bash Lebron or Mike Brown. Shaq is a fun-loving guy, but when he's on a contender, he tends to be not so light-hearted. You are always gambling when signing Shaq, I'm not saying that he's like Terrell Owens, but you have to worry a little. The Phoenix Suns training staff is the best in a league and works miracles on guys. If Shaq and Grant Hill play more than 90% of games in a season, you know that they are doing some special. When Shaq leaves the training staff, is he still going to be motivated enough and stay healthy for a full season?

Can a season with Shaq, turn Lebron into a bitter Kobe-like player? If Cleveland wins next season, will Lebron leave and try to win in another city without Shaq? There are so many question marks with this trade. The Cavs are smart and realize that they may only have one season to make a run with Lebron, but I'm wondering if the cons outweigh the pros for Lebron James.