Darrell Moody: LeBron James accepts reality of ‘super’ teams


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There has been so much talk about super teams in the NBA, and I don’t expect it to stop any time soon, especially with the Warriors one win away from their second championship in three years.

There’s nothing wrong with dynasties. Just ask LeBron James.

The Cleveland superstar recently said he didn’t hold any animosity toward the Warriors’ franchise. The superstar admitted he would have done the same thing if given the chance.

“I’m not one to judge and say if it’s fair or not if guys are adding players to their team,” he said in an Associated Press story. “It happens. It’s sports. You have an opportunity to sign one of the best players, and you can do it, go ahead and do it. Why not? If I become an owner, I’m going to try to sign everybody.”

Everybody had an opportunity to sign Durant. He could have made more money by staying put, but he never would have won a ring with Oklahoma City. I’m certain of that.

The Thunder had KD, James Harden and Russell Westbrook and couldn’t get it done several years ago.

Real basketball players don’t just chase money, they want to win championships, too, and Durant did that this year. He didn’t break any rules when he left OKC, so I can’t understand the animosity. He fulfilled his contract. What more can you ask?

Money is pouring into the league and ratings are up.

The expanded salary cap is what enabled the Warriors to sign Durant. Don’t forget, the Warriors had to lose some pieces to make it work. Steph Curry’s contract comes up, and if the Warriors don’t sign him to a max deal, they are out of their minds. No matter how great KD is, I think Curry will always be the face of the franchise.

The key to multiple championships is sharing the ball and the team keeping everybody satisfied monetarily. All four of Golden State’s superstars are in their prime, which was the result of great drafting and the signing of Durant.

Sooner or later, though, somebody is probably going to be asked to take less money to keep the core group together. I hope they realize that.

•••

I keep hearing talk if Chris Paul signs with the Spurs they can challenge the Warriors.

Challenge, yes. Beat, no way.

Paul has been bothered by injuries throughout his career.

The Cavs need to look at Paul George or Blake Griffin. Between the two, I’d take George. If I’m the Cavs, I might dump Tristan Thompson’s huge contract. When you’re paying a guy like that big bucks, he can’t disappear in big-time games.

•••

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Oregon State will do regarding the recent story that surfaced regarding its pitching ace Luke Heimlich.

According to the Oregonian, Heimlich was arrested and pleaded guilty to one count of sexually molesting a 6-year-old girl when he was a teenager. According to the Oregonian, prosecutors initially charged Heimlich with two counts of molestation for abuse that began when the girl was 4.

The story came to light when the paper was doing a background check on him prior to running a profile on him, and he was charged by police because he never registered as a sex offender when he moved from Washington to Oregon to attend school.

Prosecutors dismissed the second molestation charge as part of a plea bargain. He was sentenced to 40 weeks of detention at a juvenile rehab facility, but that was ultimately suspended because he completed probation.

Heimlich asked to be excused from playing against Vanderbilt in the Super Regional opener on Friday night.

OSU officials have declined to say when they found out about his prior history. The school did say it’s following the U.S. Department of Education’s recommendation universities not allow past criminal history to disproportionately hinder a student’s access to higher education.

Are you kidding me? Don’t coaches investigate the past history of potential recruits any more? Did this guy get a break because he throws in the 90s?

According to published reports, four MLB teams have already taken him off their respective draft boards. We’ll see if more follow suit.

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