LeBron James says he's 'not superior to anyone'

By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press

June 14, 2011

MIAMI - Everyone wanted the circus to end. That is, until the circus actually ended.

Such is life for the Miami Heat now, heading into the offseason.

A season of intense scrutiny, criticism, attention and intrigue ended without a championship, and while getting out of the spotlight for a while this summer may be of some consolation to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, nothing will completely soothe the fact that Year One of the Big Three ended with a loss in the NBA finals.

"There was really no way to prepare for a season like this," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Tuesday, after Miami gathered for its exit meetings.

Even at the end, James found his some of his words overly dissected and, he said, misinterpreted.

His offseason began with a clarification of something said after Sunday's night's season-ending loss to the new champion Dallas Mavericks, when part of his answer to a question about people being happy to see the Heat lose included the phrase "they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems."

On Tuesday, James tried to clean up the mess he inadvertently created.

"Basically, I was saying, at the end of the day, this season is over and with all the hatred not only myself, everyone else has to move on with their lives as well," James said. "They have to move on with their lives and their day-to-day, good or bad, and I do, too. At the end of the day, I've got to move on with my life. So it wasn't saying that I'm superior or better than anyone else, any man or woman on this planet. I'm not."

James' fourth-quarter offensive struggles in the finals are still a talking point, even with the series now over and Dallas celebrating its crown. There were some reports Tuesday that he had skipped the team meetings for a vacation in the Bahamas. Privately, some team members told him at times during the season to stop paying attention to news reports about the team entirely.

"I always feel like LeBron does a great job of dealing with things," Wade said. "No one, no athlete gets scrutinized more than he does, for good or bad things. And I always commend him for the way he handles it. A lot of people can say a lot of things about him, but if you're not in his shoes, if you don't go through the things that he goes through than you don't understand, you don't know how you would react to things and respond."

James and Wade are both planning trips to China this summer, along with some charitable events and camps. The uncertainty over the league's labor deal - the collective bargaining agreement expires in about two weeks, and a lockout could start as early as July 1 - could make certain aspects of the summer more difficult than usual. Bosh will have some stressful moments as well: He's got a wedding planned for next month.

No one was thrilled to see it end, but Tuesday, they all said they enjoyed the ride.

"I had fun with this season. That's what it's about," James said. "There are times when you don't always have fun because losing is never fun, pitfalls are never fun, but at the end of the day, the game of basketball should always be fun when we approach the court from the bus to the locker room to the plane. It's definitely up there with one of the best seasons I've had as far as individually and as a team. But, no, I won't have enough fun until I'll be able to hoist that trophy."

Williams enjoys taking shots with Cavaliers, at his doubters
Arizona star claims he's best choice for top pick, promises to make immediate impact

By Jason Lloyd
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Wednesday, Jun 15, 2011

Derrick Williams spent Tuesday in Cleveland and Kyrie Irving was here last week. That signals the Cavs' preparations are turning serious with the 2011 NBA Draft a little more than a week away.

Irving and Williams are considered the top two prospects in this draft, although Irving is expected to be the Cavs' choice with the No. 1 overall pick June 23.

The team has held preliminary discussions with the Minnesota Timberwolves to try to acquire the No. 2 overall pick and remain aggressive in trade talks, but for now hold the first and fourth picks.

There is a chance Williams could be around when the Cavs select fourth, but only if things break just right. The Timberwolves would likely have to select center Enes Kanter second and the Utah Jazz would have to take point guard Brandon Knight third, but it might be difficult for the Jazz to pass on Williams if he is available.

Williams' trip to Cleveland on Tuesday was his first. ''Just got done workin out for the Cavs,'' he wrote on his Twitter account Tuesday afternoon. ''Went well!''

Williams did not work out for teams at the draft combine last month, but made two things clear: He views himself as a small forward (not a power forward) and he believes he should be the top pick in this draft.

''I think I'm the most NBA ready guy who can step in and make an immediate impact,''' he said, adding that his goal is to be rookie of the year. ''Whoever does choose me, they're
making the right choice. Whoever doesn't, I'll try to get back at them.''

Williams averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds at Arizona last season. He shot 57 percent on 3-pointers, which is part of the reason he is so adamant he's a small forward and not a post player. Many teams around the league disagree and view him as a power forward.

Williams tortured Irving's Duke team in the NCAA Tournament, scoring 32 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while capturing the attention of the basketball world. It was arguably his finest game.

''He torched us,'' Irving said of Williams. ''Watching him live was a great experience. He's a great player. I think his transition to the NBA game will be easy.''

Irving was limited to 11 games in his freshman season at Duke because of a toe injury and also skipped the workouts at the combine. He keeps downplaying the thought of going first overall, but it's clear where his intention lies — the Cavs are the only team for which he agreed to work out.

Irving told Fox Sports radio in Charlotte, N.C. Tuesday that he did the same drills in private for the Cavs that he wouldn't do at the combine in Chicago.

''I'm 100 percent healthy,'' Irving said Tuesday. ''I wanted to wait until my private workout to show what I could do.''

Williams certainly isn't lacking confidence.

I'm over LeQueen now.

I'll still root for him to get the short end of the stick, but I really didn't want him to get a Ring this season.

His true feelings toward fans came out after the Finals. Let him go off into his own world.

GO CAVS!

I don't know why, but Williams scares me. I think between him and Kyrie, I think Williams is more likely to pull a LeQuit again on Cleveland after he plays through his first contract.

The only way that Williams is on the Cavs is if they get the 2nd pick or he falls.

No comparison between Irving and Williams. They are picking Irving.

Cavs still debating No. 1 pick

By Marc J. Spears, Yahoo! Sports

Eight days before the NBA draft, Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott told Yahoo! Sports the franchise isn’t close to deciding whether to use the No. 1 pick on Duke guard Kyrie Irving or Arizona forward Derrick Williams.

The Cavaliers have the first and fourth picks in the June 23 draft in Newark, N.J. Who they decide to take with the top pick could be determined by whether they decide to pursue another guard like Kentucky’s Brandon Knight or Connecticut’s Kemba Walker at No. 4 – or whether they receive an enticing trade offer, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Cavs also have workouts scheduled for early next week that will factor in their decision.

“The main reason is we want to do our due diligence on the other guys as well,” Scott said on why a decision hasn’t been made. “We have a few more workouts we want to get in before we really want to start evaluating on who we think is the best possible pick at No. 1 and who we think is the best at No. 4. So, by no means, has anyone in our organization who has been to our workouts said, ‘Derrick Williams is our first pick’ or ‘Kyrie Irving is our first pick.’

“We’re all keeping an open mind and understand we have a few more workouts to go through. Both of those guys are very, very good basketball players in our minds. Both are going to have a long career, but no way are we set on a guy.”

Scott said one of his friends called recently to suggest the Cavaliers draft Williams first and Knight fourth. Such a move would be risky because Knight is getting consideration from the Utah Jazz with the third pick. Sources said Cleveland has already worked out Turkish center Enes Kanter and Texas forward Tristan Thompson, and has heavily scouted Czech Republic forward Jan Vesley and Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas. They also have a workout scheduled with Knight.

“When you have to go through the process of re-loading with what we’re doing as a basketball team, it’s always great when you can start with two of the top five players in the draft,” Scott said. “They’re going to be young. Hopefully, they’re going to be hungry. We feel that there are 10, 12, 15 guys in this draft that are going to be very productive in this league if not next year, two years down the line or something.

“You’re going to have some guys that are going to surprise people in this draft. I don’t think it’s as weak as everyone says it is.”

Irving worked out for the Cavs in Cleveland last week while Williams worked out on Tuesday. Scott said he also was impressed with both players after having dinner with them.

Irving averaged 17.5 points and 4.3 assists as a freshman for Duke while playing in just 11 games because of a toe injury. Scott also was positive about Irving’s size (6-foot-3, 190 pounds).

“He has his head on right,” said Scott, who coached the New Orleans Hornets before he was hired in Cleveland. “He reminded me so much of my initial contact with Chris Paul(notes). Kyrie was a lot like him. The thing that stood out to me when I met him was he was a lot bigger than I thought. He’s a good-sized point guard. He’s 6-3 and a legit 6-3, not 6-feet or 6-1.

“In our general conversation, he was a very, very intelligent young man and a very mature young man. He has a lot of confidence in himself. He didn’t answer like, ‘Uh, well.’ He answered pretty matter of fact. That impressed me about him.”

Williams averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds as a sophomore with Arizona last season. Scott believes Williams (6-9, 250 pounds) can play both forward positions.

“Very strong, great athlete, can get his shot off as well,” Scott said. “He’s a guy that people say is a tweener, but I think he can play both. He’s going to obviously have to get better on the defensive end, but he’s just a great athlete, and if we were to have him, he’d give J.J. [Hickson] and those guys a run for their money [at power forward].

“He’s a very good kid as well, very mature. He had a good understanding of himself and the game.”

WindhorstESPN Brian Windhorst
2 players you can talk to Cavs about now: Ramon Sessions & JJ Hickson. Andy Varejao not available for just a draft pick.
1 hour ago

WindhorstESPN Brian Windhorst
Most execs see this draft same way: 2 impact players then a bunch of role players + gambles. Everyone now just looking for best bet.
1 hour ago

WindhorstESPN Brian Windhorst
Cavs going to draft Kyrie Irving with 1st pick. They're scheming to figure out how to get D. Williams but Irving is top of their board.
1 hour ago

When Scott makes a mention of Irving to Chris Paul, that pretty much should tell you the Cavs first pick.

I would also interpret the comment about Williams and JJ as a indicator that Hickson is very much available in the right deal.

BTW- Lots of speculation that there might be a flurry of trade activity before and after the draft, pressured by the uncertainty of the new CBA.

I like picking the BPA for the Cavs with their picks, but I like the idea of Irving and a center(Kanter) over Williams. Got to have size in the middle to win in the NBA. And maybe Hickson would be improved being on the court with a top point guard.

Q: Is there really any doubt at #1 with Kyrie Irving or is this all a smokescreen when it comes to the Cavs talking about doing something with that pick like Enes Kanter potentially being the #1 guy?

A: I think you have to take your hat off to Chris Grant and Cleveland. They have every single player in this draft thinking that they are going to get picked by Cleveland at #1. They are doing an unbelievable job at putting smoke out there and telling media, players, agents, other teams exactly what they want them to think they are going to do but really the only people that know is Cleveland. At the end of the day though, I would be shocked if they passed on Irving, but they are doing their due diligence. They are trying to get every prospect in for a workout including Brandon Knight and Kanter and Derrick Williams. And if that takes telling these guys they are considering them at #1, then they will do that.

Draft Express Podcast - Jonathan Givony and Rick Kamla

The stew thickens as the Cavs bring in Kanter for a second workout.

It's fun having the Cavs in the thick of the action.

Probballdraft Probasketballdraft
The Cavs are very active in discussions on trade front. Want to acquire another lotto pick or young veteran but unlikely to include Hickson.
25 minutes ago



Probballdraft Probasketballdraft
Hearing the @Cavaliers are exploring Rudy Gay deals again. Don't be surprised if CLE also talks with Atlanta about a deal.
30 minutes ago
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