A Letter to Danny Ferry: The 2009-2010 NBA Preview

To Danny Ferry:

We are on the eve of another NBA season and I wanted to throw some kudos your way. Picking up Shaquille O'Neal instantly turned our weakness against Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic into a far more even matchup. I like the athletic size you picked up in Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker.

The Cavs improved the most in the East this off-season. The Magic killed them with tall three point shooters that were on for five out of six games. The Magic moved three starters from last year's squad. Hedo Turkoglu signed with the Raptors to play along side Chris Bosh. Courtney Lee was moved to New Jersey to get Vince Carter.

The Celtics added Rasheed Wallace, a three point shooting power froward that called 72 wins for the Celtics. Atlanta and Miami improved too but won't tap into the top three this year. No, the East is a three team race and I like where you improved the Cavs in regards to where the Magic and Celtics tried to improve.

Out West is a two team race. The Lakers added the talented/crazy Ron Artest and the Spurs added Richard Jefferson and DeJuan Blair. Also, Manu Ginobli should be healthy this season and that will make a huge difference.

The Nuggets are close, they lost a few games to the Lakers just by not making plays. The Mavericks might be a surprise team. The Trail Blazers are also young and talented but the West is loaded again. As stacked with good teams as the West is, there is a big gap between the Lakers and the rest of the conference. The Spurs did what they could to bridge that gap but the Lakers are still the favorite.

The Cavs look to be the favorite in the East this season and it is very exciting. This is the big news to me. As for the news about LeBron James I have some advice for you about that.

Make him the best possible offer and leave it on the table. He is under contract through this season and you have put a championship cast around him. James might be able to deliver a title to Cleveland this season. As a Cleveland fan, to dream of any type of dynasty is silly when our teams have not cashed one in for a long time.

The Browns were like the team of the 1950s in football.

We have seen it all in Cleveland and we can smell LeBron's act from a mile away. We know what keeping options open means.

This is what I want from LeBron James. I want him to lead the Cavs to the finals and I want him to lead the franchise to the title. After that he is free to do as he pleases. If he brings a ring to Cleveland then he can go to New York with my blessing.

He can spend the rest of his career chasing that second ring as history remembers Kobe Bryant as the best player in the post Jordan NBA.

You have put the team together, you have left an offer on the table for King James and he is making this into an issue. Let him twist in the wind for a bit here. Let him put that mansion in Akron up for sale. Let him where Giants hats to Browns games.

As long as this guy brings us a ring this year, let him act the fool somewhere else in 2010-2011. There is no better situation for him than in Cleveland if he wants to be a contender for a number of years. The Knicks and Nets are both far from contending so go ahead and chase the global icon carrot in the Big Apple.

It is a one year window for Cleveland and you have given us Cav fans a lovely view. This LeBron storm cloud is finally on my nerves.

Sincerely,

Dan Smith

PS tell LeBron that it is always sunny in Philadelphia while he twists in the wind with that lucrative deal on the table the whole time.