Apparently, Nike is making a habit of this. After all, when I stood on stilts and swatted Michael Jordan's shot into the third row in 1993, that never saw the light of day either. Though, in embarrassment, Jordan did retire from the NBA to play minor league baseball.
Here's a question:
If you were granted the wish (and the ability) to do one thing in sports, what would it be?
(And signing a major league baseball contract so you can date Alyssa Milano doesn't count.)
I forgot to mention that Wade tried to make it clear today that there was no feud between himself and Pat Riley. I suppose Wade felt that clarification was necessary because the "feud" notion had creeped into the public and media perception. It's a slow time.
But "feud" never seemed like a reasonable characterization of the situation.
Riley spoke first, and said that he needed Wade to sign first, to make it possible to reconstruct the team.
The next evening, after visiting the White House, Wade was on a conference call with three writers (including myself) and was asked if he agreed with Riley's assessment. As I wrote at the time, Wade could have deflected the question, and simply said that he wanted to discuss only his day with the President. But he didn't deflect and he didn't hesitate. It seemed like he had something he wanted to get off his chest, and so he did. He said that he needed Riley to do the work first before he committed.
Both men, in their own way, are right.
Riley would have it easier if he had a commitment from Wade.
But Wade has every right to weigh his every option.
They have a difference of opinion, because each is looking at this through his own lens.
But that's not a feud.
If anything, this has simply revealed what was obvious for months -- that Wade may like his young teammates, but he doesn't envision enough growth (in the timeframe that suits him) for the team to contend without major changes. And he doesn't want to carry them for seven months, only to finish sixth in the Eastern Conference and go out in the first round of the playoffs. Maybe he should trust Riley. Maybe he should be more patient. But I certainly understand where he's coming from.
The only concern, if there is one, is that if the Heat stands relatively pat, Wade has to find a way to raise the confidence of teammates after not showing all that much in them with his comments this summer.
But he and Riley will be fine.
It's business as usual in the NBA.
Some, like Sam Madison, played.
Some, like Patrick Surtain and Oronde Gadsden, just hung out.
I blogged about Madison last month. At age 35, he has a Super Bowl ring (from his time with the Giants), but he's still hoping that he can catch on somewhere, maybe if there's an injury in a training camp somewhere. He's been getting back in shape after an ankle injury suffered at the end of last season.
Surtain is 33. He still has a residence down here, and he says he's healthy after a difficult 2008 with Kansas City. The Chiefs have a new coaching staff, and they let him go.
Now?
"I'm just waiting on a call," Surtain said.
To play cornerback or safety?
"Either one," he said.
He said he'd be comfortable playing in the box, "but I can still get out there on that wing."
He wants to play two or three more years.
The Dolphins added significantly to their depth in the secondary this offseason, drafting Vontae Davis and Sean Smith, signing Gibril Wilson and Eric Green, and extending Tyrone Culver.
So it's hard to see them making a move for him anytime soon.
But if they suffered an injury early in camp, would you like to see him return?
Why Boozer?
The Miami resident is very close with Wade ("we talk every week," Boozer said) and considers Alonzo Mourning to be among his mentors. That's something to keep in mind for next summer, since Boozer opted in to play what could be his final season in Utah. On the record, Boozer would only say that he wants to compete for a championship.
Wade has fielded the same questions from a lot of the same reporters all week long, and there wasn't much new today.
In terms of training, he said he plans to "start getting after it hard towards the end of July, August, September, of course. It's not time for me to rest. After this weekend, I'll need a little sleep, so I'll use Monday to sleep, and then get right back at it Tuesday."
He said he wasn't aware of the recently-announced decline in the salary cap, not just for this season but for future seasons, including the unexpectedly dramatic decline in 2010-11.
That decline could cut two ways. It will make it harder for the Heat to really splurge on other premium talent in the summer of 2010. But it will limit other teams even more, because the Heat will still start with as much space as anyone. That might make it more compelling for Wade to stay, because it will be very difficult for even a team like the Knicks to afford two "max" guys from outside the organization and thus put a contending roster around him.
"I haven't talked to my agent about it yet, I haven't sat down and talked to Coach Riley about it," Wade said.
How closely has he followed the transactions?
"You turn on the TV, you can't do (anything) but hear them," Wade said. "And every time I see a team get better and better and better -- on paper -- I cringe. And that's not this summer. That's any summer. Because you want to make sure that your team is getting better and better. But I know a lot of things are on paper, and you don't know how it's going to play out."
Would Allen Iverson be an answer? (Sorry, that wasn't my pun.)
"Ha, that's a good way of putting it," Wade said. "You know, you can never say no, because of his ability. He's a guy you can give the ball to and say, 'go to work, give me a break.' He can make plays for others as well, make the game easier for teammates as well, and that's what the great players do."
xxxx
Update: When I spoke to Boozer earlier today, I hadn't seen the report that he was being discussed in trade rumors that would send him to Chicago, with Kirk Hinrich going to Portland and Tyrus Thomas landing in Utah (among other pieces). That sounds like a solid deal for the Bulls, though they'll go from having a surplus to a deficit in the backcourt, with no proven options next to Derrick Rose.
Six years ago, this might have been exciting.
Now, it's the sort of move that only a desperate team makes, and only with limited exposure.
Let's start here:
I covered Iverson at Georgetown, and I'm an admirer of what he has accomplished in the NBA. How could you not be? His toughness and competitiveness have never been in question. He's a Hall of Famer. He took a mediocre supporting cast to the Finals. And he has shown the capacity to defer when surrounded by elite players. He has done so in All-Star games, though his behavior at the Olympics was not quite as exemplary. He and Dwyane Wade could play together, sharing ball-handling responsibilities, as long as Iverson understood who got the ball most when it mattered. And as long as he put in some effort on defense.
Off the court?
Different story.
The "South Beach flu" was coined for him. If he signed with the Heat, would he ever make it to a shootaround again?
Does that matter?
On this young team, it does. It shows you Wade's level of desperation when he is willing to tolerate Iverson's questionable attitude, after a season of frustration with Michael Beasley's simple immaturity. I'm concerned about the model that Iverson would set for Beasley, Mario Chalmers and Daequan Cook. And there's no question that one team (Denver) was better for Iverson's absence last season, while another was worse off for his presence (Detroit). You can blame that on inexperienced coach Michael Curry if you want, but Erik Spoelstra doesn't have much more clout at this point. Pat Riley's around, but Pat Riley's not on the sidelines. Iverson has quarreled with even powerful coaches (Larry Brown, George Karl) before.
So would I do it?
For half of the exception, and one year, maybe.
But no multiple years. No way.
These are the scheduled participants for Thursday's golf tournament.
Excluding Dwyane Wade and Alonzo Mourning, which three would you choose for a friendly round?
Raja Bell (Charlotte Bobcats), Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz), Vontae Davis (Miami Dolphins), Jeff Ireland (Miami Dolphins General Manager), Mike James (Washington Wizards), Roland Martin (CNN reporter), Randy Moss (New England Patriots), Donna Richardson (fitness pro), Jason Taylor (Miami Dolphins), Isiah Thomas (FIU Panthers Coach), and Chris Wilcox (New York Knicks); former NBA players Penny Hardaway, Tim Hardaway, Allan Houston, Eric Murdock, Glen Rice, and James Worthy; former NFL players Marcus Allen, Charles Bennett, Cornelius Bennett, Keith Byars, Kijana Carter, Eric Dickerson, Kerry Glenn, Lorenzo Hampton, Bobby Harden, Sean Hill, Terry Kirby, Leon Lett, Henry Lawrence, Tony Nathan, James Pruitt, Bruce Smith, Duane Starks, and Michael Williams; and former MLB star Ken Griffey Sr.
Get the door. That might be Dwyane Wade knocking, ready to do an interview with you too.
Anyway, here are two more interviews from this morning, one on 760AM and one on 640AM.
Both are good.
Teaser: His response to the question about Michael Beasley was interesting. I just hope he's expressed these thoughts directly and constructively to Beasley, so the latter can do something with it.
That seemed like a good opportunity to finally complete a story for NBCSports.com about the most cherished and impressive records in sports.
Here's the story., and make sure you check out the slideshow with 25 record-holders.
Feel free to weigh in here, or let me know if there's one that I missed.
As has been noted on previous entries, the 2010 free agent class may prove to be disappointing, considering the age of some of the players and the likelihood that many will re-sign with their current teams. Expect more extensions in the next couple of weeks. The list could grow some if current free agents sign one year deals, but those won't be superstars.
With the situation in flux, I'll provide a list of names of possible targets: guys whose contracts could put them on the open market next summer. And I'll delete LeBron James, because a team fronted by a Wade/James combination would obviously be title-worthy. There's no need to even ask the question.
If Wade's team had decent role players at the other starting spots as well as a couple of solid bench guys, which of the following players could be a sidekick on a serious title contender, defined as a team that would reach at least a conference final? (And you're welcome to argue that Michael Beasley could be that guy).
Chris Bosh
Amare Stoudemire
Dirk Nowitzki
Joe Johnson
Michael Redd
Carlos Boozer
Paul Pierce
Ray Allen
Tyson Chandler
Yao Ming
Manu Ginobili
Marcus Camby
Mike Miller
Shaquille O'Neal (just for kicks)
Jermaine O'Neal (see above)
Josh Howard (Mavs have a team option at $11 million in 2010-11)
Tracy McGrady
Steve Nash (looking like he might extend in Phoenix)
Mehmet Okur