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By: rahat huq
First, as, at the time of writing, it still shockingly hasn't become outdated, check out our podcast from last night discussing the Chandler Parsons situation. I thought for sure news would break last night, rendering much of that conversation obsolete.
For now, we sit and wait. Would Lebron really leave for the World Cup without announcing his decision? I can see it. Why does he absolutely need to announce within the week? I get that he's holding up the rest of the league, but should that really matter? He shouldn't rush his own timeline just to convenience others who have hinged their decisionmaking processes upon him. And he hasn't even made a spectacle of this. It's our own fault for staking out at his house, interpreting the coding on his web site, and speculating upon his every move. This has only seemed to drag out because we've created that situation by holding our breaths. In reality, it's been just a few days.
I honestly think the only person who really looks bad right now is Chris Bosh who is proving he doesn't have the stones to make an adult decision for himself. I get that Bosh wants to play with the greatest player in the world, and who wouldn't? But he's holding up the Rockets who are working on a timeline to keep Chandler Parsons. If he gives them a 'no' too late in the game, they might not have the breathing space to enact contingencies. Some might point out the inconsistency in my beliefs: how can I decry Bosh's indecisiveness while defending James? The difference here is that Bosh has a standing offer from the Rockets who are up against a time crunch. The only parties waiting on James are ones with whom he has no privity (ie: other teams around the league, free agents, waiting to spend cash).
Still, we've known all along that Chris Bosh wasn't an alpha-dog and that's fine and well. We'd still love to have him and he'd fit beautifully onto this team.
The latest was that Dwyane Wade was on a plane with Lebron James last night, headed back to Miami. The speculation goes naturally that Wade's presence is as a closing pitch for Riley. This really begs the question as to how Wade can hold any positive sway at all. If I'm James, the mere sight of Wade is reinforcement to the belief that I have to get the hell out of South Beach. Can the guy even walk at this point without pain?
I see a tweet right now, as I write this, that Chris Broussard "reports that Lebron still hung up on Gilbert letter." You want Machiavellian? A great way to stick it to Gilbert after that embarrassing spectacle would be consternate like this, leading everyone to believe you're coming back, and then at the last second go back to Miami claiming you just can't bring yourself to play under that guy after what he did. Would Gilbert respond with another letter?
Lastly, the big news yesterday on the Rockets' front was that they actually had not received the signed offer sheet from Dallas until mid-afternoon. Recall that the 72-hour clock does not start ticking until receipt. When it was reported earlier in the morning that Houston actually did not have the contract in hand, I speculated upon whether Morey would dodge service. This gave rise to many procedural questions. Could the Mavs serve anyone on Houston's staff or did it have to specifically be Morey? Did the Texas Rules come into play? A reader suggested if Morey were to, say, get on a plane headed to India, the Mavs could motion for alternative service with the league. Some suggested publication of the contract as notice. Ultimately it was revealed that the league had altered its rules, after the Knicks' shenanigans a few summers back, to now allowing the sending team to serve the contract via electronic mail. So there you go. Grunwald and Knicks' officials evading of the Rockets in Vegas, regarding the Lin contract, still stands as my favorite NBA story of all-time.
Houston is on the clock.
