This will occur
Allow me to correct the headline, I think it will happen. First of all I have enough trouble running my own life without attempting to run LeBron’s. Everybody and their brother (sister) is suggesting a possible destination for the soon to be free-agent. I believe LeBron might head for Chicago or Los Angeles (Lakers) before heading back to Cleveland. I believe owner Dan Gilbert has burned that bridge and I doubt it can be re-built. LeBron is attempting to secure his legacy chasing championship rings? Shaq will be inducted into the Collegiate Hall of Fame this fall; he will be enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame at a future date. Shaq was traded by the Lakers to the Heat we all understand that move; the other moves “appeared” to be chasing rings. Shaq moved from the Suns to the Cavs and finally retired a Celtic.

A portion of LeBron’s legacy is already secure; few have been able to lead their teams to successive NBA Championships. Few players have four consecutive appearances in an NBA Final Series. Four regular season MVP awards, two Finals MVP’s and ten time All-Star to date. LeBron was the glue to the championships however the architect of assembling this team was Pat Riley. Hey LeBron the Heat can still pay you more than any other NBA in addition the architect is still in place. Trust Riley to re-build the Heat pieces and its quite possible there may be three or four championships in the future before LeBron might retire. If you heard any portion of Riley‘s press conference he said essentially “trust me if you believe we‘ll re-tool and not rebuild.” That‘s exactly the type of statement expected from Riley--no retreat.

This is a change
An operation will be performed on Joel Embiid to repair a stress fracture in his foot today.    The original story I wrote hinted the Cavs could not afford to pass on him in the draft next Thursday. This late injury changes the first round and my original story, Embiid will be drafted but he will not be the number one pick. Unless the Cavs fool us similar to last year, you remember to the surprise of everyone they made UNLV’s Anthony Bennett the number one pick. This time we are sure the choice will be Andrew Wiggins of Kansas unless they decide to fool us again. The question remains who drafts Embiid, for that answer we must wait until next week to determine the outcome.

Did you feel the earthquake?
Excuse me I exaggerate but this is earth shaking news. Mizzou will play Oklahoma on the road December 5 in the Big XII/SEC Challenge. Then on December 30 Mizzou will play Oklahoma State, these matches are significant on several levels. For the first time since Mizzou left for the SEC they will compete against former Big XII rivals. Mizzou will also play in the Maui Classic along with Kansas State and others; it’s possible these former Big XII rivals might also play one another. On the other hand I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for a Kansas-Mizzou match.

“The apple doesn’t fall from the tree”
Refers to the fact off-spring often follow the same life pursuit of their parent(s). Ryan West did just that; he dad is Jerry “the logo” West. The younger West is assistant director of scouting for the Lakers which he’s held since 2009. The elder West was key in drafting Kobe Bryant, signing free agent Shaquille O’Neal and numerous other significant events in the life of the Lakers. For Ryan West the upcoming draft will prove (or disprove) how sharp his eye is for talent. The Lakers have the lottery pick but no second round choice. With a limited number of players on the active roster its imperative talent is added to the team. I’m hiring myself as a scout, if Walter Tavares is not drafted it might be a good idea Mr. West to sign him has a free-agent. One more point I like how R.C. Buford and Greg Popovich has built and maintained the Spurs.

NBA centers
If you’ve read Words any length of time this is a sore subject for me lack of any pure centers in the NBA. I tire of 7-footers standing at the 3-point line jacking up shots (sorry Dirk). The retirement of Shaquille O’Neal left the NBA with no center capable of dominating a game. We just witnessed the up and down play of Pacer Roy Hibbert. Larry Bird has gone on record indicating he’s going to have a Hall of Fame center work with Hibbert in the off-season. NBA Draft.net listed the Top 10 centers in the 2014 draft.

We knew despite his limited playing time Joel Embiid would be number one, number two was a surprise. Keep in mind I had no opportunity to see 6-11 280 pound Jusu Nurkic play. Nurkic and international prospect hails from Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina. The scouting report indicates Nurkic has shortcomings but potential. I’ll repeat an often used statement; “a little man must prove he can play a big man must prove he can’t.” Has the game changed whereby we no longer have center match ups? The problem we no longer teach big men to play the position. As I’ve preached over and over we allow 7 foot players to play power forward or shot the 3-point shot.