Maverick Carter who has attended Western University of Michigan and University of Akron a total of three and a half years is the CEO of LRMR. It’s hard to believe a man without a college degree or a shade of experience is in charge of the most marketable player in the NBA. What is he doing with it though?

“Don’t be afraid if you see an opportunity to go and give it shot. You can finish school later; it’s always there” – Maverick Carter.

We’ve seen your shot Maverick and it’s worse then LeBron at the free throw line. ‘The Decision’ was the biggest public relations fall out since Tiger cheating on his wife. The sad part is this was a marketing stunt in order to gain his popularity. In fact, according to recent studies LeBron is now the most hated man in all of sports. Since, LeBron has dropped several spots in the NBA popularity list. Tiger has lost a lot more then LeBron has so far, but do not think Nike has a lot to gain by this decision. The next Jordan, just became the next sidekick. To make matters worse their number one shoe brand in basketball, Jordan, called him out. If Nike wants to keep his image, they may be considering dropping LeBron all together; like the Olympics team thought about doing with LeBron due to his lack of respect.

The negative image results did not stop there. Maverick’s and any marketing firm’s job is to keep their clients image in tact. The pulled ESPN article about LeBron in Las Vegas is still surfing the web and will not be removed from archives anytime soon. Him wishing the waiter was a waitress in panties not only had to hurt Savannah Brinson, but more fans as his squeaky clean image is being tarnished. It was once again Maverick’s idea to have LeBron host at a night club for a quick payout.

The late newspaper ad thanking Akron may have helped his image to some, but it was just another slap in the face to Cleveland fans. Quickly trying to save face by LeBron thanking Cleveland a few times at his bikeathon in Akron was only tarnished by his newest GQ article saying he “hated Clevelanders growing up”.

The poor business decisions do not stop here, but only begin. The rookie Maverick Carter is trying to make a name for himself after seven years of hiding in the shadows of LeBron and the Cavaliers, while the all stars in the business are laughing at every move he makes. What will be the next mistake by Maverick Carter?

According to reports, the Cavaliers have come to terms on a two-year deal with former Denver Nuggets small forward Joey Graham that is worth a reported $2.1 million. The second year of the deal is believed to be team option.

Graham averaged 4.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game last season with the Nuggets in 63 total games(18 starts). Graham was drafted by the Toronto Raptors and served his first four seasons as a Raptor, averaging 6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game throughout his career.
At 6-7, Graham is a decent defender. He’s not that great offensively, but works hard on both ends of the floor. With the Cavaliers needing another small forward outside of Jamario Moon, Graham seemed like the best option available in the free-agent market.Its currently unknown if the Cavs will start Graham or bring him off the bench.

Graham was courted by four other teams, including the Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets.

The NBA road hasn’t always been kind, especially to Cavaliers’ former second round draft pick Daniel “Boobie” Gibson. Gibson, who helped lead the Cavaliers to their first NBA finals trip in two major games against the Detroit Pistons was living the dream as a second year player. Gibson broke loose in 2007-2008 for the Cavaliers, after his rookie season of just posting 4.6 points, 1.1 assist, and 1.5 rebounds per game for the upcoming Cavs. However, his next season is when things got interesting.

With little talent around former Cavaliers’ leader, and two-time MVP award winner LeBron James in 07-08′, the Cavs turned to an offensive power house by his lonesome in Daniel Gibson, and Gibson didn’t let them down.

Averaging career highs of 10.4 points, 2.5 assist, and 2.3 rebounds per game, along with 43 percent shooting from the field, and 44 percent shooting from 3pt range while getting 30.4 minutes per game. Gibson also won the rookie/sophomore MVP award that year when he set the joint on fire and set an NBA record with 11 3-pointers, finishing the game with 33 points and taking the honors.

After the Cavs’ dreams were shattered in the NBA finals by getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs in four physical games to witness, Daniel Gibson took a step in the wrong path by spraining his toe, and not allowing Gibson to produce the numbers Cav fans were accustomed to seeing from the 24-year old standout from Texas.

He didn’t get much support from former Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown either. With LeBron James’ big 2010 free agency period awaiting in just a few seasons, the Cavs had to act fast and get James some healthy players. Adding Mo Williams and Delonte West were the factors of Gibson’s setbacks, but even when healthy it was a uphill battle to returning to where he previously was.

Ever since then, his numbers have taken a hard hit and got limited to 23 minutes(75 games total)  in 08-09′, and 19 minutes per game last season(56 games total). One of the main believe reasons Mike Brown didn’t use Gibson enough was because of his size, and he was put behind Mo Williams and Delonte West because each gave Brown different type of games and important abilities on each side of the floor. With Williams’ ability to shoot from anywhere on the court and handle the point guard duties, to Delonte West being a tough defender on the other end of the floor.

The worst part was, Gibson shares some of those abilities that Mike Brown really never let him use when finally healthy.

When healthy and when needed to step in for both Mo Williams and Delonte West after both got plugged with injuries, Gibson shined like the star that was once shaved into his head. He helped lead the team to 9 straight victories at the starting one guard spot, and one of those wins coming against the Los Angeles Lakers in Cleveland. After Gibson received the playing time and Williams and West’s injuries healed, the Cavs stored away Gibson like he was an old photo album being tossed into a storage unit.

The Cavaliers, reportedly, shopped Gibson around the league and checked his value. His contract isn’t that hard to move, he’ll be making $4 million this upcoming season, along with $4.4 million the next followed up with a team option year of $4.7 million. Gibson’s contract isn’t impossible to move, and according to some sources the Cavs did have some heated discussions involving Gibson, but the Cavs ended up asking for a little more than teams were willing to offer.

This off season? The talks began, considering everybody on the team was up for grabs with the team headed into the rebuilding stage after the LeBron James fallout. But the Cavs are now aiming to keep Gibson and use him within their plans for next season, and it’s a very smart decision by the Cavs, and head coach Byron Scott.

So there you have it, the NBA is a strange game. For Daniel Gibson, with the way the off season has went he will finally get a full season to prove himself and get a decent amount of minutes per game. Nobody could be more thrilled and ready for this than the sharp-shooter himself.

Reunite? Not likely: The Cavaliers have reportedly had interest in their former first round draft pick, Shannon Brown. Brown, who has been with the Lakers for the past two seasons is a free-agent, but reports state both sides would like to agree on some deal sooner or later, and it’s unlikely the Cavs will make the best fit for Brown.

On his 27th birthday, the guard was scheduled to begin his first day of home detention on Monday after pleading guilty to weapons charges in Maryland.

It didn’t end there. The exclamation point came when the Cavaliers traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with point guard Sebastian Telfair, for guard Ramon Sessions, center Ryan Hollins and a second-round pick in 2013.

It wasn’t a matter of whether West would be traded. It was a matter of when. The 6-foot-3, 180-pounder dragged the Cavs through much drama during the 2009-10 season.

It started with his arrest in September 2009 on six weapons charges, which included a loaded shotgun in a guitar case, an 8 1/2-inch Bowie knife and .357 Magnum strapped to his leg, according to reports.

A Prince George’s County (Md.) Circuit Court judge last week sentenced West to eight months of home detention, two years of unsupervised probation, 40 hours of community service and psychological counseling.

By then, however, the Cavs were dead set on moving him. He missed practices, games and flights this season, much of it stemming from being bipolar.

When he was playing at a high level on the court, the Cavs could put up with much of the other things. When his play suffered, it was only a matter of time before he was going to be traded or released.

His $4.7 million contract becomes fully guaranteed on Aug. 3. If he is waived before that date, only $500,000 is guaranteed. The Timberwolves are expected to waive him in the next few days.

West has averaged 10 points and 3.7 assists in his six-year career.

Telfair played only four games with the Cavs. He will earn $2.7 million this season.

Sessions, 24, is the key to the deal for the Cavs. The 6-3, 190-pounder from Nevada-Reno has averaged 10 points, 4.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds in his three-year career.

The Cavs decided they needed to upgrade their backcourt after being knocked out of the playoffs last May. Sessions will likely back up Mo Williams at point guard and help guide Coach Byron Scott’s up-tempo offense.

Williams and Sessions were teammates in Milwaukee and remain close friends. In certain lineups, they could play on the court together.

“In Ramon, we’re excited to add a young, multi-dimensional guard, and with Ryan, we’re adding a young, athletic center,” Cavs general manager Chris Grant said in a prepared statement. “We think both Ramon and Ryan are really good fits for this team.

“We’re also happy to add another asset for the future with the additional draft pick. At the same time, we’d like to thank Sebastian and Delonte and wish them well in the future.”

Sessions’ best season came in 2008-09 with the Bucks, when he averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists.

The South Carolina native set the Bucks’ record with 24 assists and 20 points against Chicago on April 14, 2008. Sessions scored a career-high 44 points on Feb. 7, 2009, vs. Detroit.

Sessions, whose first name is pronounced “ra-MAHN,” has three years remaining on his contract. He will earn $3.96 million this season.

Hollins, the only 7-footer on the roster, is a serviceable big man. He’s averaged 3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in his career. The 7-foot, 230-pounder from UCLA had his best season of his four-year career with the Timberwolves last year with averages of 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds. He shot 55.8 percent from the field in 73 games.

He has two years left on his deal. He’ll make $2.3 million this year and owns a player option on his 2011-12 contract worth $2.5 million.

Quick shots

- The official numbers for guard Christian Eyenga’s contract: He’ll make $1,020,960 this season and $1,097,520 in 2001-12. The Cavs will own a team option on his deal for 2012-13 worth $1,174,080. The qualifying offer on his 2013-14 contract will be worth $2,119,214.

- The Cavs have interest in small forward Joey Graham, who played on a non-guaranteed deal in Denver last year. The 6-7, 225-pounder played the first four years of his career in Toronto. He was a first-round pick of the Raptors out of Oklahoma State in 2005. His twin brother Stephen played for the Cavs in 2005-06.

- The Cavs have signed Louisville’s Samardo Samuels, a 6-9, 260-pound power forward, to a two-year contract.

The Heat will take a lot of time to adjust. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James are very ball dominant players. James will have a hard time adjusting to letting Wade and Bosh run their offensive plays. We witnessed this last year with James and Shaquille O’Neal, who demanded offensive plays. James will no longer be the one taking the last shot, the leader and it will remain Wade’s team. Wade has made it clear that it is his team. James might not have a problem with this right now, but if the Heat begin losing they may have a falling out. The players may have potentially safe guarded themselves from this by having early termination options in the fourth year of their contract, but things could heat up a lot sooner in Miami then 2014.

The Miami Heat have some severe flaws in their roster, despite LeBron James trying to recruit other players to come to Miami. He has had some success with Mike Miller and Zydrunas Ilguskas. However, with success comes failure. Derek Fisher and several other players have chosen not to join the trio. Their bench is very limited, which in a seven game series deep in the playoffs, teams need a strong bench.

The trio it self with 300 million dollars with 5 dollar shots. James and Wade have never been great outside shooters. Bosh is a solid mid range shooter, but not a guy that can shoot a lot of three’s. James is now without shooting coach Chris Jent, who he held close to him during his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers and did improve his shot. James throughout his career has shot from three point land 33 percent and Wade’s is even worse with 30 percent. Chris Bosh last year shot 36 percent from the perimeter, but on 22 shots. The Heats plan to mend this lack of three point shooting from the trio was adding Mike Miller, who has shot 40 percent in his career and 48 percent last year from the perimeter. However, he will likely be coming off the bench while Wade is taking a rest. Teams without three point range rarely if ever win it all in the NBA. Jordan, Wade, Duncan, and many others were surrounded by good shooters.

Teams that don’t have good shooters usually make up for that with their size and interior. The Heat, however lack that as well. Ilguskas is seven foot, but he’s at the end of his career and is ring chasing. No longer is he the starter he used to be in the NBA. His outside shot and ability to play a lot of minutes seemed to have sloped down last year. Z and Bosh are both softer players in the NBA. Shaq once called Bosh the “RuPaul of the NBA” and Z has never been known to stop physical guys like Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum.

Many people, including Jason Kidd, are saying this is bad for the NBA. I do not believe this is the case. The Heat have not won anything yet and until they win multiple championships in a row this is not a disaster for the NBA. If they don’t win anything, it will actually help the NBA. Many players will see that this is not the easy way out James and Bosh thought it was. If they win one this will still create people to believe a trio of superstars is the wrong way to go. This may potentially be great for the NBA as it will deter others from trying it again. We have witnessed teams with too many stars fail several times. Like the 2003 LA Lakers and 2007-2009 Phoenix Suns. Plenty of teams have tried this and failed, just not of this magnitude of stars.

After signing Samardo Samuels to a contract Wednesday night, the Cavaliers came to an agreement with former 1st round draft pick, Christina Eyenga on a two-year deal worth a reported $2 million with options for years three and four.

“I am happy to be here in Cleveland and excited to play with the Cavaliers this season,” Eyenga said. “This is a great opportunity for me and I look forward to playing for Coach Scott and learning from him, our coaches and my teammates.”

Barnes Chooses L.A: Free-agent small forward Matt Barnes received interesting offers in the past week and considered signing with the Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Barnes made his decision within a few days, and didn’t need a one hour ESPN special to make this announcement of where he will be “taking his talents.” Barnes elected to sign a deal with the back-to-back NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Barnes reportedly will receiver a two-year deal worth $4 million from the Lakers. The Cavaliers offered Barnes a starting role with the team and a $7 million dollar contract. But, Barnes selected to fight for a championship rather than get playing time and $3 million more.

Late Wednesday night, the Cavaliers signed Samardo Samuels to a multi-year deal, according to reports.  Samuels agent, David Bauman confirmed the deal.

Samuels is a 6’9, 240 pound power forward that went to college at Louisville. He showed averages of 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game during his first season at the school. He improved his overall game, and averaged 15.3 points, 7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game on 52 percent shooting from the field last season.

Samuels reportedly “shocked” fans and coaches at the school when electing to go into the NBA draft this year. Samuels went undrafted, but played on the Chicago Bulls’ summer league team in Vegas and impressed a lot of scouts and coaches with his play. The Cavs liked Samuels during the draft, but elected to sit back and see what would transpire with him after the draft and the summer league camp.

The deal is reportedly partial guarantee in the first year, but Samuels is likely to make the roster considering the Cavs are in a state of rebuilding, and would be interested in breeding another young big. The Cavs were searching for a guy to add to the team that was young and had potential at the big spot, and they got one in Samuels. Its likely that former draft choice Sasha Kaun is staying overseas for at least one more season, as well.

Samardo joins a list of young players on the roster in JJ Hickson, Christian Eyenga, Danny Green, and Daniel Gibson.

Cavs close to dealing guard Delonte West: According to several sources, the Cavaliers are inching closer to uploading guard Delonte West from the team, and his non-guaranteed deal for a small forward. Sources mentioned the Dallas Mavericks as a likely trading partner, but it isn’t likely the Mavericks would deal Caron Butler or Shawn Marion at the moment, nor would the Cavs be too interested in either.

The Cavs are likely to shop West harder within the next upcoming days before the weekend, considering his deal will become guaranteed within two weeks.

With guys like like JJ Hickson accepting the leadership role this upcoming season, and the promising forward working hard to improve his overall game, inside and out – the Cavs are excited about their chances to still contend for a spot in the playoffs considering all factors.

The Cavs ended the summer league yesterday with a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, but they started the league 3-0 before losing a close game to the Miami Heat, figures, and the Milwaukee Bucks yesterday. The Cavs still had an overall impressive summer league, including impressive play from Danny Green and Cavs’ 2009 1st round draft pick Christian Eyenga.

Hickson led the young trio with 19.3 points per game and 6.3 rebounds in four games for the Cavs in the league, as his new coaching staff and new head coach Byron Scott had a lot to take in in the four games on Hickson.

Scott was impressed by Hickson and the rest of the young bunch in the five summer league games, but Hickson stood out to him. “He’s been working on his jumper and shooting it well,” said Scott. “He can have a breakout year for us.”

Scott also seems positive the Cavs can keep an offensive system up to tempo even without LeBron James running the show.

“When you have a great player like LeBron, it’s easy to throw him the ball and wait for him to make plays,” Scott said. “My system isn’t built for one guy to dominate the ball. We will have a lot of passing, a lot of movement, creating a lot of open shots.”

Scott was also optimistic about playing Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson together, who can form a deadly shooting combo for the guard positions.

“They can flat out shoot,” he said. “When we won 56 games in New Orleans [2007-08], I played Chris Paul [6-0] and Jannero Pargo [6-1] together a lot. I think A.P. [Anthony Parker] can do well in this system, too.”.

But back to the summer league action, Cavs’ 2009 2nd round pick Danny Green looked smooth in the five games. Showing he can be an important piece to the Cavs for their future, the former North Carolina standout averaged 12.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2 assist per game.

Christian Eyenga showed off his athletic ability to jump out of the gym through the five games he played, including 11.4 points, and 4.2 rebounds per game. Eyenga also averaged 43 percent shooting from the field.

Together, the trio of the youngest core the Cavs currently have showed they can be future assets to the team that is currently in a rebuilding stage, but a stage where they can still contend for a playoff spot with their current roster that includes veterans like Antawn Jamison, Anthony Parker, Leon Powe, Anderson Varejao, and Mo Williams. Each of the players had a big role with the Cavs when they were contending for a championship, with the exception of  Powe.

Now, it seems the Cavs will take a much different approach to this upcoming season depending on future moves with the team. Guys like Hickson, Green, Eyenga and Daniel Gibson will be getting their chances to prove themselves with a full season of young talent being developed and evaluated by head coach Byron Scott.

“I play to win,” he said. “But we also have a chance to develop players.”

No Lowry: After the Cavaliers signed Houston Rocket’s free agent Kyle Lowry to an offer-sheet for 4-years at $24 million, the Rockets wasted little time considering their options with Lowry. The Rockets officially matched the offer one day after the Cavs signed Lowry, allowing Houston to maintain his services.

Sources state the Cavaliers have signed Houston Rockets’ free-agent guard Kyle Lowry a 4-year deal for $24 million. Considering Lowry is a  restricted free agent, the Rockets have the ability to match the offer-sheet and retain Lowry, but have seven days to do so.

According to sources though, the Rockets are planning on matching the offer. But until they do, Lowry is still interested in coming to the Cavaliers.

Lowry is a physical defender, and has good ball control. He isn’t a very good shooter, he’s a career 42 percent shooter from the field and an ugly 26 percent from downtown. But Lowry, who’s in his third year out of Villanova, has the ability to be a good piece for the Cavaliers in their attempt to rebuild with some younger talent after losing James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the same off season to the Miami Heat.

Lowry averaged 9.1 points per game, 4.5 assist per game, and 3.6 rebounds per game on 39 percent shooting from the field last season with the Houston Rockets in 68 games played.

The move could spell the end for Delonte West as a Cleveland Cavalier if Lowry is indeed signed by the Cavs. Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson, and even Anthony Parker could be on the trading market for the next few months for the Cavs as well.

According to Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ agent, Herb Rudoy Ilgauskas will sign with the Miami Heat and re-join former teammate LeBron James. Ilgauskas is reportedly set to sign a two-year deal worth $2.8 million, but the second year will be a player option for the former Cavalier.

Ilgauskas holds the records for most games played in Cavaliers’ history(771), rebounds(5,904), and blocked shots(1,269) and grew on Cavalier fans as the years passed and No.11 stood by the franchise for 14 long years. The Cavs traded Ilgauskas during February’s trading deadline to the Washington Wizards for Antawn Jamison. A few weeks later, Ilgauskas was released by the Wizards and he re-signed with the Cavs after the 30-day process.

For Ilgauskas though, it’s emotional to leave the team and city he’s been around for 14 years and loved, but it was the correct career move to make according to the big fella.

“It was a tough decision for me; very emotional,” Ilgauskas said, “I spent 14 years of my life here. I came in as a young boy and grew up to be a man. Cleveland had a lot to do with that.”

The Cavs offered Ilgauskas a deal and it was on the table, but with the team attempting to hit the rebuilding stage, it was only fair to No.11 to take his chances on winning a championship at his age and at the end of the line in his career.

“Obviously (LeBron) related how much he’d like for me to join him,” Ilgauskas said. “I looked at all my options. When I stepped away from all the hoopla that surrounded free agency, from a basketball standpoint, for me personally, it was the best decision I could have made.”

Ilgauskas averaged 13.8 points per game, and 7.7 rebounds per game for his career with the Cavaliers. He enjoyed two all-star appearances in 2003 and 2005 when he posted 17 points per game and 7 rebounds per game, and in 05′ 16 points per game and 8 rebounds.

“I don’t have to tell you how much I love Cleveland,” Ilgauskas said. “I know I’m from Lithuania, but Cleveland will always be my home. I love the people of Cleveland. But at some point in life, life changes and you have to move on. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be back in the summer. I’m just changing my workplace.”

Whether Cleveland fans act negative towards Ilgauskas when he comes back to town is up the air, but one thing is for sure is that he served his time here and nobody can truly blame him for going for a championship ring at his age. At the end of his career, without question the No.11 jersey will rise above at The Q.