Back in the day the Lakers had players like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy and the Celtics have had Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. All hall of famers and all NBA champions more than once in their careers in Los Angeles and Boston.

These kind of teams don’t come around very often, but when they do they are always in the championship conversation. Most recently we saw the Celtics do it again by bringing Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to Boston to play with Paul Pierce. That trio turned into a winning combination as they one a title a couple seasons ago. Then the Lakers countered the next season winning a title of their own with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom.

These two teams have been going at decade after decade and the next big move for the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers might be bringing in LeBron James.

I know, this scenario sounds insane with both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James on the same team, but it seems like it could be possible as both Kobe and LeBron have said they would entertain the opportunity and what a combination they would make.

Besides Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan playing on the Chicago Bulls together, which resulted in six NBA championships, have I ever seen a combination of two players that were arguably one and two in the league in terms of the best in the NBA.

Even though the Jordan and Pippen combination was as lethal as we have ever seen in the NBA, Kobe and LeBron would easily top them.

Is this combination in Los Angeles a stretch?

Without a doubt it is a major stretch, but if Kobe and LeBron want to dominate the NBA for the foreseeable future then this is something that must happen.

This season the Cavs came into the season with a new sense of purpose with another superstar in Shaq to compliment LeBron James. At first, the combination of Shaq and LeBron seemed like a winning combo after they handled the Boston Celtics in the first half of the first game of the season, but then the Celtics turned it on in a way that only Boston can and beat the Cavs in Cleveland as LeBron James and company started their season off with a 0-1 start.

In the previous season the Cavs were almost unbeatable in Cleveland as they had only lost twice at Quicken Loans Arena all season long. That was a feat that only the Boston Celtics had done all the way back in the Larry Bird era, but with the Cavs lockdown defense and LeBron’s production on offense the Cavs were virtually unbeatable on their home floor.

This season on the other hand has been another story altogether as the Cavs have really struggled to start the season as they have already lost three times in just seven games so far. Not only is that surprise that the Cavs would start off so poorly with Shaq in the mix in Cleveland, but the Cavs have also lost two of those games at home.

Have the Cavs lost the winning touch?

It is really starting to look that way as they seem to just be a good team opposed to the great team they were last season.

Obviously it is way too early to speculate whether or not the Cavs are still title contenders, but it is definitely a concern as other teams like the Boston Celtics (7-1), Miami Heat (5-1), Orlando Magic (5-2) and even the Atlanta Hawks (5-2) all have better records so far this season.

Like I said though, it is really early in the season, but if the Cleveland Cavaliers woes continue I wouldn’t be surprised to start hearing talks of trade involving Shaq. Who knows how far the Cavs would have to fall in order for Cleveland GM Danny Ferry to start shopping O’Neal, but it really wouldn’t surprise me if Shaq ends up finishing the season with another team if the Cavs continue to struggle.

At first glance this is an absolute steal for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they get that player that might be able to convince LeBron to stay in Cleveland before he becomes a free agent next offseason and every team starts throwing an insane amount of money at arguably the best player in the NBA today.

Back on July 13 the Phoenix Suns made quick work of Ben Wallace by buying out his contract and freeing up space on the Suns roster. Now the Suns have made the same decision with Sasha Pavlovic as they have agreed on a buyout with the 25 year old guard that played five seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

No real specifics were mentioned about the Pavlovic buyout, but one might think that the Cleveland Cavaliers might think about resigning Pavlovic.

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The only problem I see is that just getting Shaq isn’t enough to keep LeBron James in Cleveland for the long haul. Having Shaq in the middle definitely improves the Cavs considerable both on offense and defense, but how many years does he really have left. One? Two or maybe even three?

It was a great move getting Shaq, but compared to the Orlando Magic getting Vince Carter or the Boston Celtics getting Rasheed Wallace it is pale in comparison. Both of those guys don’t have many years left in them either, but they have plenty of playmakers on both of those team where it really doesn’t matter.

Not only will the Magic and the Celtics be better next season, but it is looking like the Miami Heat might be as well. The Heat, much like the Cavs, are doing everything possible to keep their superstar Dwyane Wade from leaving town when he becomes a free agent next season. They are trying to sign Lamar Odom, Allen Iverson and make a trade for Carlos Boozer. Now that sounds like they are trying to build a contender compared to the Cavs just getting Shaq and calling it even.

Will LeBron James sign a contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers? Most likely, but with the amount of money that is going to get thrown at him next offseason from the New York Knicks amongst other teams that have been saving their pennies, the Cavs could be in for a world of hurt.

The Cavs are without a doubt doing the right thing in trying to sign LeBron as quickly as possible, but compared to what he could make if he waits for next Summer the only person that would lose out signing now would be LeBron.

Not to say that Varejao isn’t a great player or isn’t worth the $50 million, but to think that a guy that has averaged more than eight points a game in his career is going to make that amount of money over the next six years is a little ridiculous. He is not a dominant rebounder, he is not a dominant scorer, but he is a good low post defender and the Cavs are a better team with him rather than without him.

There were plenty of other great big men out there that were available like Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess, but the Cavs decided to throw their money at their loyal big man and fan favorite Varejao.

The Cavs may have tried to sign Wallace or McDyess with similiar money, but obviously they didn’t want to take a chance that LeBron James might be on his way out next season and the Cavs could just turn back into another mediocre Eastern Conference team.

So even though the Cavs don’t get a huge game changer in Anderson Varejao they have kept their defense in the paint intact for the time being.

It is hard to argue that Brown isn’t the Coach of the Year in the NBA this season with a league best 66 wins and a 39-2 record at home. Not only is the man a God in Cleveland now with such an emaculate record on his home floor, but the Cavs look like they are headed straight to the NBA finals!

It took a few years of grooming LeBron James into arguably the best player on the planet, but he has finally done it. The addition of Mo Williams as LeBron’s partner in crime seems to be the missing piece of the puzzle for Mike Brown’s squad.

Although the playoffs are nowhere near over and the Cavs still have a lot of work to do if they expect to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals, this season has been a huge success and as a result the Cavs should be title contenders for the foreseeable future.

Now the Mike Brown has won the Coach of the Year, Cleveland Cavaliers fans will just waiting for the LeBron James to get his much deserved award as this season’s NBA MVP!

It didn’t take long for Z to get back into the swing of things as he came back with a vengeance scoring 20 points and ripping down 11 boards. LeBron James also had a good night, but no surprise there as King James scored 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists to go along with his three steals.

Mo Williams continued to prove his worth as he added 23 points and six assists of his own. It is becoming more and more clear that with Williams and LeBron playing the way they are that the Cavs will definitely give the Boston Celtics a run for their money come playoff time!

Although beating the lowly Los Angeles Clippers is nothing to get excited about, winning 22 straight at home and being undefeated on your own floor is.

The Clippers on the other hand continue to struggle with practically every starter besides Al Thornton sitting on the bench in street clothes. Rookie Eric Gordon has been a pleasant surprise for the Clippers this season, but even with Gordon playing at a high level the other team in Los Angeles is still headed toward a very disappointing season.

Gordon and Thornton were the only two Clippers with notable numbers as Gordon went for 27 points and Thornton finished with 14. The Clippers could be a promising team in the future, but right now really struggling to get anything going with their second unit taking the floor every night.

Last season was probably the closest MVP race in a long time with Chris Paul, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant all very deserving of the award, but just like any individual award in sports there can be only one when it is said and done.

This season on the other hand is the first season since Michael Jordan’s dominance of the 90s that has a favorite that almost everyone can agree on, LeBron James is the clear cut favorite to be this years NBA MVP. Yes, the Dwyane Wade is playing phenominal basketball right now leading the Miami Heat out of dumps and back to contending status and yes, Kobe Bryant is leading the best team in the league right now, but LeBron has brought his game to game to a whole new level.

Not only does the majority of the league and the media think that LeBron James is this season’s MVP, but even last season’s reigning MVP and candidate for this season’s award Kobe Bryant also believes that LeBron is the man up to this point in the season.

When ask who he thought was the MVP so far Kobe Bryant had this to say:

“LeBron,” Kobe said. “Leave me alone about that stuff.”

Obviously Kobe doesn’t like answering that question and I can’t blame him, but there was no hesitation in his answer. He also went on to say this about his friend LeBron:

“I’m a big fan of his, obviously,” said Kobe. “I just think the world of him. Playing with him this summer [at the Beijing Olympics], and seeing his work ethic and what he’s about, I just think he’s terrific.”

Kobe may not like admitting that LeBron is the man this season, but you can tell he has tremendous respect for the Cleveland Cavs superstar.

Coming into this match up both LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were playing some great basketball as leaders of arguably the two best teams in the NBA.The Cleveland Cavaliers have always seemed to have the edge over the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant since LeBron James came into the league in 2003, but on MLK (Martin Luther King Jr.) day in Los Angeles it was a different story altogether.

Even though every single Lakers fan held their breath when Kobe Bryant dislocated his ring finger in his shooting hand like two minutes into the game, Kobe went to the sideline got his popped back into place and put on a show. It wasn’t the typical 30 or 40 points performance we are all used to seeing from the reigning MVP, but he did great job getting his teammates involved with 12 assists and some key shots with LeBron in his face.

LeBron James did get the scoring edge over Kobe with 23 points to Bryant’s 20, but both of these struggled shooting the basketball all night with both players only hitting 9 shots a piece. At the end of the game Kobe said that was the most pain he has ever had to play through so only hitting 9 out of 22 shots made sense, but LeBron on the other hand just couldn’t get his game going as the Lakers limited his penetration in the paint forcing LeBron to take difficult shots through the game.

Although the score doesn’t show it with the Lakers beating the Cavs by 17 points, 105-88, this game was pretty close all night long. Both teams went on runs through out the game, but it was Kobe and the Lakers in the end that turned out to be the better all around team.

The Lakers did win the this battle, in my opinion of the two best teams in the NBA, but the way LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are playing I see this match up between the Lakers and Cavs becoming a heated rivalry as LeBron and company continue improve.

Kobe Bryant kind of rejuvenated the cool athlete commercials last year promoting his Hyperdunks by jumping over an Aston Martin and a pool of deadly snakes with the Jackass crew. Now LeBron James is getting into the mix! Kine James has had some good in the past with him shooting full courts shots or the LeBrons, but his latest playing football as the Cleveland Browns wide receiver was pretty tight!

I’ll bet all the Browns fans wished it would actually happen after the season they just had.