Today’s News and Notes…

by Lang Whitaker

Alright, those of you who are missing the old, one long post Links, because that’s what you’re getting today. I’m on the road and can’t get online with my computer, so I’m using a different computer and trying to go through all the NBA sites and put something together for you.

It’s funny how tied we get to our own computers. For instance, this morning I checked my email using a web browser and someone deleted about 10 messages I’d set aside to read. (So if you emailed me this morning, I didn’t get it.) Now, I’m not a computer novice and I know when a button says “CLICK HERE TO DELETE” that I shouldn’t click it, but this computer I’m using is made out of kryptonite or something.

Oh, and check back here later today or over the weekend for your chance to win an autographed jersey from Kobe and our recent SLAM cover shoot.
Anyway, here’s some quick news and notes from a slow news day around the web…

— Come on, why wouldn’t LeBron want to sign a long-term deal with Cleveland when the Cavs are going to surround him with young, up-and-coming talent like…David Wesley?

— Speaking of LeBron, years ago I asked one of the best agents in the NBA why more guys didn’t take shorter contracts and exchange money in the short-term for freedom and the chance to make more money down the road.

“You never want to leave money on the table,” he told me. “If a team wants to give you a bunch of cash, you take that cash.”

I argued that it didn’t seem to make much sense, though, because if you’re a talented player (like LeBron or Melo) someone is going to pay you big money down the road, even if you hurt your knee or whatever. And besides, it seems like a fairly good gamble.

“But what if you’re Jay Williams?” he said. He didn’t literally mean Jay Williams, but I got his point — you never know when something crazy could happen, so get your money up front.

All of that to say Jared Jeffries is going to gamble. Still seems like a good bet to me.

— So the Sixers are good enough now that they can trade John Salmons, who might go and start for the Raptors, and they get back just a second round pick and $2 million? Also, new Raptor Anthony Parker talks about his time in Israel, particularly compelling today with going on over there. (And that last story has a great sidebar on Nate Huffman.)

Big Ben met the media in Chicago yesterday, while Flip talked about just how bad Ben was offensively. You can find both here.

— The Mavs totally need to re-sign Adrian Griffin now, just so he and Greg Buckner will be on the same team and we can figure out if they’re the same person or different players.