It really is annoying. People discount the Rockets in the Lebron chase despite the fact the Houston is BY FAR Lebron's best chance at winning multiple championships yet they want to talk about the Clippers who have said that Blake Griffin is "untouchable" meaning the only way they'd even have a chance at Lebron would be an insane sign and trade with Miami or them trading away their entire roster without taking any salary back. It's pretty obvious that there is some national media bias going on here.
I dont know why..but Houston is not glamorous from a national perspective. No one says "lets go to vacation ...in Houston!" So it's easier to report about LA, Chicago, Miami, NYC.
It's disgusting how true this is... and even more disgusting that it actually means something to the players..
How Dallas has squeezed themselves into the short list of cities that garner national media attention is beyond me. Houston has a larger population, is more diverse, has more of an international influence, and has more global appeal than Dallas will ever have. However, in the eyes of the national media, Texas begins and ends with Dallas.
It's kind of funny though if you look at the size of the metro areas and the radio market rankings DFW and Houston are neck and neck but TV rankings have Houston way behind, it makes you wonder about the methodology that goes into TV market rankings.
It's based on tv market penetration, households with televisions, etc. I could be wrong on this, but I also think that in general, Dallas does better than Houston in sporting event ratings when non-local teams are involved. Houston normally falls at the bottom.
Chris Broussard said on ESPN 98.7 he heard from people close to the situation that Lebron had 5 destination preferences in no particular order. 1. Brooklyn 2. Cleveland 3. New York 4. Houston 5. Miami He also said when the source gave him that info, that Broussard himself was surprised that Houston was a preference because he wasn't sure if Lebron would want to play with Dwight.
If that is true at all then he's either staying in Miami or going to Houston. The other 3 are terrible.
Houston is missing their Spoiler and Spoiler . You know like on the pancake/waffle boxes: Just add water! Marc Stein: Just add Dallas! Just add Dallas to any story!
J.R. is right. With Marc Stein being a top NBA reporter for ESPN and his Dallas connections, Dallas is almost always inserted into the narrative.
Broussard should be surprised that NY and Brooklyn are in the discussion. Unless LeBron takes Tom Penn's suggestion (from the HERD this morning) that LeBron take the 3M exception that NY has available to them, no way LeBron can get there. Ditto with Brooklyn. Listen to Windhorst. Windhorst says the key points for LeBron are "ready made teams" and teams that are willing to give Lebron rest (less minutes to extend his career ala Tim Duncan). Houston is tailor made for this, not so much those other teams.....even if LeBron could get there financially.
There's one thing that was mentioned some months ago in regards to Battier than might tempt Lebron as well. Battier was talking about how Lebron always likes to read the stats sheets that Battier reads, and Battier would always complain how bare they were compared to what Morey gave him. I tend to think Lebron would be the guy who would want the full break down on everything that 99% of players wouldn't be able to take in approach. I'm also pretty sure we can give him a pretty clear blue print for Lebron to play 70 games x 33 minutes and still win 60+ (which can lead to scaling back over the years to ~30 as mid level players get added)
Assuming this is true(we are talking Broussard here), let's analyze these teams: 1) Brooklyn - I don't see how this happens. They don't have the cap space, assets, or draft picks. And LeBron ain't taking a massive paycut. 2) Cleveland - This all comes down to how much LeBron wants to play there. They'd be a much better team with him, but unless they parlay that #1 pick into a veteran star player, could they be a contender? 3) New York - Like Brooklyn, this is a longshot simply because they don't have the means to make it happen. They're too busy figuring out how to keep Melo from leaving to worry about adding LeBron and his salary. 4) Houston - Assuming Lin and Asik can be moved, the Rockets would be able to add LeBron(provided he takes less money than the Heat can offer). Like Cleveland, it comes down to whether or not he wants to come here. 5) Miami - Obviously they have the inside track, but it's gonna rest heavily on what Wade and Bosh do and whether or not LeBron believes the title window has already shut. I still think he winds up staying with the Heat.
Bill Simmons @BillSimmons ยท 8m Hey NBA teams - Norris Cole averaged 4.6 PPG in the playoffs and had a PER of 7.2. Any interest in trading backwards in the draft for him?
Really interesting the teams on that list. Seems like he is either picking for location or for sentimentality, and then you have HOUSTON, clearly only on the list because he knows it's the smartest basketball decision. It's a no brainer to pick Houston, tbh.
The question is....Is adding Kyle Lowry (if they can) to that HEAT core, enough for LeBron? Does that put that team over the top in the East for the next 3 or so years?
