Given the chance, Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert might follow in the footsteps of his fellow Detroit entrepreneur, Michael Ilitch Sr.
Ilitch is founder and owner of Little Caesars Pizza. He also owns the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. He was in negotiations to purchase the Detroit Pistons, as well, before he backed out of talks.
Rumors won't go away that Gilbert is interested in buying the Indians. However, a well-placed source said the Tribe isn't for sale.
Gilbert, a billionaire, purchased the Cavs from the Gund family for a reported $375 million in 2005. He already owns several minor sports teams in the Cleveland area, including the Lake Erie Monsters, Cleveland Gladiators and Canton Charge.
The Dolan family purchased the Indians from the late Richard Jacobs for a reported $320 million in 1999. It's unknown what the Indians would be worth today, but it would likely be in excess of $500 million.
The Dolans have not placed a for sale sign in front of Progressive Field, but insiders seem to think it could happen in the near future.
Stay tuned.
Strong words
Don't expect agent David Falk to join the John Wall fan club any time soon.
In a recent interview with Washington Post columnist Mike Wise, Falk weighed the pros and cons of the Wizards point guard to Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving. Continued...
Before we go any further, rarely does an agent talk about a player like this, especially on the record. Perhaps, Falk has some kind of ax to grind.
However, everything Falk says is true, in my opinion. Wall was the No. 1 selection in the 2010 NBA draft, while Irving was the top pick in 2011.
"(Wall) doesn't have a feel for the game," Falk said. "You can develop your jump shot all you want, but if you don't know how to play more than an up-and-down game by the time you're about 20 as a point guard, the chances of learning are very slim. I don't see it happening."
Falk said Wall is a bigger, stronger, faster and is a better athlete than Irving.
"Now, who's a better player?" he asked. "Kyrie Irving.
"John Wall will never be as good as Kyrie Irving was in his first week in the NBA. You want to know the reason why just nine teams have won an NBA title in 40 years? Because if both of them came out today, 99 percent of all general managers would still take John Wall instead of Kyrie Irving. They'd take the athlete over the ballplayer. And they'd be wrong."
LBJ's tear
Heat forward LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score at least 30 points and shoot at least 60 percent from the field in six consecutive games. His streak ended last Thursday when he scored 39 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He launched a 3-pointer with 1:03 to play in the blowout win. Had he not taken that shot, he would have finished 14 of 23 from the field (60.8 percent). However, after the miss, he ended 14 of 24 (58.3 percent), thus ending his streak.
"He's playing at a different level," Irving said. "It just shows what a great player like that can do over the course of his career. He's made so many changes every year and continually gotten better."
Irving, who will be playing for the Eastern Conference All-Star team on Sunday night in Houston, wouldn't say how he wants to improve. Continued...
"I'm not sure yet," he said. "We'll see after the season. I'll go into coach's office and he'll tell me. I always have it in the back of my mind, but I just don't tell anyone."
There's no question where he needs to get better: Defense. The same thing happened to James, who was mediocre on defense early in his career. He decided after his third year that he needed to get better on defense and became one of the league's best defensive players. Perhaps, the same thing can happen for Irving.
Irving had better skills than James when the pair came to the Cavs. But what Irving doesn't have is being built like a Mack truck. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound James still dishes out punishment. The 6-3, 191-pound Irving takes it.
Rumor mill
-- Irving isn't the only weak defender on the Cavs. Half the team doesn't get it on defense. Unless that changes, it could eventually cost Coach Byron Scott his job. Gilbert desperately wants the team to hang its hat on the defensive end. Scott talks a good game, but the results have not been there.
-- The Celtics and Clippers have discussed a trade that would send future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles for guard Eric Bledsoe and center DeAndre Jordan, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Perhaps that's what Garnett was talking about when he said this week that this would be his last All-Star appearance. Garnett has two years and $23.5 million remaining on his contract after this season. "Y'all don't know what I know," he said. You're right, KG. We don't. Even if he was traded, that wouldn't prevent him from going to the All-Star Game. The Clippers probably wouldn't deal those two players for Garnett, according to ESPN. The 6-11 Garnett, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, could retire after this season.
-- If Garnett is dealt, it might make sense to move Celtics forward Paul Pierce, as well, before Thursday's trade deadline. GM Danny Ainge needs to revamp that team and shed some of its high-priced stars. Some quality youth needs to be added.
-- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak insists he won't trade center Dwight Howard. Howard could bolt from the Lakers this summer in free agency. If he decides to leave, Kupchak could get involved in a sign-and-trade at that time. It doesn't appear as if Howard has meshed with Lakers stars Kobe Bryant or Steve Nash.
-- Howard's agent, Dan Fegan, has joined forces with Happy Walters at Relativity Sports. It could evolve into a powerful union.
-- Forward/center Nerlens Noel is no longer being considered the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft. The 6-11, 216-pounder tore his left ACL last week and will miss the rest of his freshman season at Kentucky. ESPN insider Chad Ford now thinks Kansas swingman Ben McLemore could be the top pick. He said McLemore continues to show upside as a jump-shooter and elite athlete. If he enters the draft, Noel might not drop past No. 5. Noel had 12 blocks in a recent game against Ole Miss. Wonder what Cavs GM Chris Grant would do if Noel is still on the board when it's time to make their first pick? Continued...
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Information for the NBA notebook was gathered by personal interviews and from other beat writers around the league.
Source: http://news-herald.com/articles/2013/02/16/sports/nh6562806.txt
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