Saturday Slam: How much can Dwyane Wade help the Cleveland Cavaliers?

After clearing waivers following his release from the Chicago Bulls, Dwyane Wade signed a one-year, $2.3M deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. While Wade is in the twilight years of his career, he's still a very good NBA player, averaging 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 steals in 60 games with the Bulls last season. If the Cavaliers know how to use him right, Wade could make a huge impact on their quest for another NBA championship.

Like I said above, the key in all of this is for the Cavaliers to use Wade the right way. They can't expect him to play more than 30 minutes per game. They have to use him as a spice, giving him somewhere between 24 and 30 minutes every night while also resting him when appropriate. They need to find this balance between keeping him lubricated and in some sort of rhythm while also not overworking him and jeopardizing his ability to be effective in the playoffs, which is when they really need him.

While Wade has tailed off a bit, he should still be able to play well alongside LeBron James. The two of them really fed off of each other's energy while they were in Miami, especially in the transition. When you have two guys like that out on the wing, you're pretty close to unbeatable.

Once again it's on @DwyaneWade!! 👑 ⚡️

— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 29, 2017

Health is probably the biggest thing the Cavaliers need to worry about as a collective whole. Isaiah Thomas (hip) isn't expected to be back until January, so it's not like Wade is the only guy whose health needs to be monitored. This team can absolutely contend for a championship. The pieces are there, it's really just a matter of everyone finding a way to stay healthy, which is easier said than done.

If Wade is able to stay healthy and give the Cavaliers the maximum level of production that he is capable of, he's an absolute steal given how much money he's getting paid. Wade is a three-time NBA champion who knows what it's like to play with LeBron. The two of them have been through a lot and know what it takes to win a championship together. Given the moves that the Boston Celtics have made, there's really no reason to not like this move for the Cavaliers.

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Tomahawk Tuesday: Golden State Warriors put Donald Trump in his place

For reasons that I will never understand, President Donald Trump decided to take on the Golden State Warriors, saying that Stephen Curry's invitation to the White House was being withdrawn due to his hesitancy to visit.

Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017

In response to our Mickey Mouse of a president, the Warriors released the following statement.

Statement from the Golden State Warriors: pic.twitter.com/6kk6ofdu9X

— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) September 23, 2017

 "While we intended to meet as a team at the first opportunity we had this morning to collaboratively discuss a potential visit to the White House, we accept that President Trump has made it clear that we are not invited. We believe there is nothing more American than our citizens having the right to express themselves freely on matters important to them. We're disappointed that we did not have an opportunity during this process to share our views or have open dialogue on issues impacting our communities that we felt would be important to raise. 

"In lieu of a visit to the White House, we have decided that we'll constructively use our trip to the nation's capital in February to celebrate equality, diversity, and inclusion; the values that we embrace as an organization." 

I have not been shy about my dislike for Donald Trump. I think he's an absolute buffoon and a total embarrassment to what our country is supposed to stand for. He has zero regard for free speech, defends all forms of hatred, and only cares to be president to his base, tuning out the 65% of the country that disapproves of his job.

What's even worse is that President Trump delights in fomenting hatred and making our country even more divided. The fact that we have the President of the United States picking fights with a professional basketball team is just mind boggling to me. I don't know if words can convey just how unprecedented and embarrassing this is. If there was something I could do to give Donald Trump a new brain and a new heart, I would. Unfortunately, he'd have to visit the Wizard of Oz to make that happen.

In contrast, the Warriors stand for freedom of speech, equality, diversity, and inclusion. On a national stage, they showed President Trump how he should be doing his job, which is to care about all Americans regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. I just wanted to take the time to applaud the Golden State Warriors for taking a stand against Donald Trump and reminding him that he doesn't represent those of us who did not vote for him.

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NBALord.com Podcast: Carmelo gets traded; LeBron slams Trump

                                          (Doug Pensinger. Getty Images) 

On this week's episode of the NBALord.com Podcast, I address Carmelo Anthony getting traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, LeBron James' comments about Donald Trump, and more. Click here to listen to the podcast.





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Skyhook Sunday: How dangerous are the Oklahoma City Thunder after landing Carmelo Anthony?

On Saturday, the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks, giving up Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a 2018 second round pick. For the Knicks, they finally get to build around Kristaps Porzingis and free up tons of cap space (approximately $26.5M per year over the next two seasons). As for the Thunder, they get a player who could be the missing piece to a championship run.

After getting Paul George to pair with Russell Westbrook, the Thunder were already cooking with gas, but now that they've landed Carmelo Anthony, they have a legit "Big Three" capable of doing serious damage in the playoffs. Last season, Anthony averaged 22.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game; Paul George averaged 23.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals; Russell Westbrook averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, the first triple-double average since Oscar Robertson in the 1961-62 season.

While the Golden State Warriors still have to be favored to come out of the West, the Thunder might be their biggest threat. Not only do the Thunder have the talent to give the Warriors a scare, they should have the mindset as well. Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony just want to win a ring. They'll be more than willing to sacrifice and share the wealth to accomplish their ultimate goal.

Perhaps what's most scary for the Warriors is the fact that Westbrook appears to have a vendetta against Kevin Durant for the way he left Oklahoma City. There's nothing more scary in today's NBA than an angry Russell Westbrook. When he's angry at you, you don't stand much of a chance. With Paul George and Carmelo Anthony on his team, he'll be capable of doing even more damage than before.

The bottom line with this Thunder team is that they definitely have the pieces to win an NBA championship. It may take some time for them to gel, but once they click, they'll be scary. Even if they don't go all the way this season, they'll make the season a lot more compelling.

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Saturday Slam: What will the New York Knicks do with Carmelo Anthony?

The biggest question on the minds of every NBA fan right now is what will the New York Knicks do with Carmelo Anthony? According to ESPN, Anthony is willing to waive his no-trade clause if he can get traded to either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Oklahoma City Thunder. He was also willing to go to the Houston Rockets, but that ended up not coming to fruition.

On Wednesday, I wrote about the New York Knicks now needing to be Kristaps Porzingis' team, but of course, the Knicks may not heed my warnings and instead hang onto Anthony through the season. The key thing to understand is that the Anthony has a MASSIVE contract that pays him $26.2M this season and $27.9M the following season. He won't hit unrestricted free agency until 2019 and at that point, a team will be able to sign him for a lot cheaper. To take on that contract for two seasons is only worth it if you truly believe adding Anthony makes your team a legitimate championship contender.

The good news for Anthony (and the Knicks), is he could make both the Cavaliers and Thunder legit championship contenders. LeBron James needs a true sidekick with Kyrie Irving gone, while the Thunder are at least one man short of giving the Golden State Warriors a serious run for their money.

The Thunder to me is the more intriguing destination for Anthony because he'd give them a big three that includes Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Together, Anthony, Westbrook, and George would form a very exciting trio that would make basketball in Oklahoma City great again (sorry, I couldn't resist!). I don't know if that trio would be capable of winning a title, but I'd sure like to find out! As for the Cavaliers, I think that would be a better destination for Anthony since he'd have less competition to deal with. The Cavaliers is the safer team for Anthony to go to, but the Thunder is the more intriguing team since that situation is much more of an unknown.

While I don't know for sure what will happen with Carmelo Anthony, the overall vibe is that something will go down. It's just a matter of when. It could happen this weekend, it could happen right before the trade deadline, etc. It's almost like Donald Trump's impeachment: Everything indicates it's going to happen, but we just don't know when it will happen, exactly.

                                         (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) 

Ultimately, the New York Knicks would be wise to trade Carmelo Anthony, but they need to make sure they get back as much for him as possible. He's a very valuable asset to have and you don't want to give away an asset of his magnitude for nothing. Personally, I think Carmelo Anthony will be with the Knicks through training camp and a trade will happen sometime close to the trade deadline. I could even see him getting shipped out in a last second trade deadline move.

The Knicks would be smart to play this out for as long as possible and make sure they get what they can. Unlike the Kyrie Irving situation,  Carmelo Anthony isn't making the same type of stink about staying put, so it's not like his presence will create bad vibes in the locker room or anything. They can be more patient with this one and see what offers come their way.

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Wednesday Windmill: The New York Knicks need to be Kristaps Porzingis' team

                                         (AP/Julie Jacobson) 

As NBA training camps are set to open in the coming days, the New York Knicks still have Carmelo Anthony and it's unclear whether or not he'll remain with the team though the season. So long as Anthony hangs around, he'll remain the face of the Knicks franchise and Kristaps Porzingis will continue to be viewed as part of the future as opposed to the present. That needs to change starting now.

With the 'Melo era not yielding the type of fruit that the Knicks were hoping, it's time for the franchise to turn over a new leaf and start afresh with Porzingis as their centerpiece. During his first two seasons in the league, "Godzingis" has proven his worth as a franchise player, averaging 16.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. Unlike Stephen A. Smith, I have been on the Porzingis hope train from day one. When I watched film of him in preparation for the 2015 NBA Draft, he reminded me of a 7'3", 240 pound Andrei Kirilenko capable of doing virtually everything on the floor.

With Porzingis solidifying himself as a legitimate star in the NBA, the Knicks need to start putting all of their resources into building a quality team around him. The first step towards doing this is to part ways with 'Melo and get back whatever you can for him. So long as 'Melo hangs around, the Knicks will continue to be in no mans land, looking ahead to a Porzingis era while not yet totally ridding themselves of an era that has been a failure.

The failure of this current era doesn't fall on 'Melo. From day one, he has done his part to help this team get back to relevance. The problem is that the Knicks never figured out a way to put the right pieces around him. Now that it's too late to put a contending squad around 'Melo, the least the Knicks can do is trade him to a team that has a shot at winning a championship.

When looking at the New York Knicks, it is clear that Kristaps Porzingis is their franchise player for the future and that they need to start building around him. The longer they hang on to 'Melo, the longer they put off the next chapter of their franchise. It's that simple.

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Tomahawk Tuesday: Don't sleep on the Portland Trail Blazers

Last season, the Portland Trail Blazers traded Mason Plumlee to the Denver Nuggets for Jusuf Nurkic and unfortunately were not able to reap the immediate benefits of the move due to Nurkic suffering a non-displaced right leg fibular fracture at the end of the season. During the 20 games that he played in a Trail Blazers uniform, Nurkic averaged 15.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game, making an immediate impact and helping the team lock up the 8th seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

With a healthy Nurkic, the Blazers finally have a quality low post player to pair with their dynamic backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. The real question is how good will this Blazers team be if they are able to keep their core trio healthy? While it's somewhat a tricky question to answer given all the moves made during the offseason, I think it's safe to say that this Blazers team has all the pieces to get back to the playoffs and possibly win a series pending on who they draw in the first round.

The real think to keep an eye on is what the Blazers do with the excess of power forwards that they have to pair with Nurkic. Ed Davis, Jake Layman, Meyers Leonard, Caleb Swanigan, and Zach Collins can all play the power forward position and it is unclear which of those guys will get the bulk of the minutes alongside Nurkic. There are good odds that the Blazers will trade one of those guys for a quality backup point guard to give their roster a bit more balance. Which one gets shipped is what remains to be seen.

Probably the other main thing to look for with this Blazers team is how ready they are mentally to take that next step. They've been hanging around for the past couple of seasons but have not yet found a way to really give a contender a scare. Lillard and McCollum are at a point of their careers where they should start to make some serious noise in the playoffs. While the addition of Nurkic is huge, it is still up to those two guys to carry the load for this team and take them to that next level where they can actually threaten to reach the conference finals.

Overall, the pieces for success appear to be in place in Portland. They have a fantastic back court and a big man to give them scoring and interior defense down low. They just have to find a way to balance out their roster a bit and build on the success that they had towards the end of last season. While I'm not yet ready to make a prediction on how deep this team goes, I am ready to say that this is a team that deserves our respect and attention as we head in to the 2017-18 season.

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