Associated Press
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio ó Summer’s offseason arrived sooner than Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry had hoped, but it’s here.
And as he begins to evaluate the Cavaliers, a team that won 66 games in the regular season and 10 in the playoffs, Ferry will compare them to the NBA’s elite before reshaping the roster.
He’ll focus on two in particular: The Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers.
They’re still playing. The Cavs aren’t.
“We’re going to have to look at who those top teams are and make some decisions based off that when we look at our roster,” Ferry said Monday.
Still stinging from Cleveland’s loss to Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals, Ferry and coach Mike Brown met with the media to address the Cavs’ stellar season and its stunning conclusion, LeBron James’ future and whether the MVP is a poor sport.
Sitting side-by-side inside the team’s practice facility, Ferry and Brown reflected on a season that ended short of the NBA finals.
“It’s extremely disappointing. It hurts,” Brown said. “You got a million thoughts running through your mind. You wish you would have done this, you wish you would have done that. But it didn’t happen, so now you try to regroup, refocus and take steps forward. At one point this summer, you’ve got to come back and revisit the series.”
James is expected to be offered a contract extension by the team as early as July 18. On Sunday, he was noncommittal when asked if he would sign the extension. He can also pick up a player option for the 2010-11 season.
Ferry had little to offer about James’ impending contract status.
“He knows he’s important to our franchise and to our organization and to Northeast Ohio,” Ferry said.
James has been widely criticized for walking off the floor after Game 6 in Orlando without shaking hands with any Magic players. James attributed it to his competitive nature.
“I feel strongly that LeBron would never intentionally disrespect another NBA player,” he said. “It was a situation where he was pretty disappointed. We just loss a tough series. He has always conducted himself in a pretty high level both on the court and off the court.”76ERS
PHILADELPHIA ó The 76ers introduced Eddie Jordan as their new coach.
Jordan signed a three-year contract with the 76ers in taking his third NBA coaching job.
“This team has a good core group, has future stars in the waiting,” Jordan said. “Now it’s time to go uptown.”
Jordan said former Wizards assistant Mike O’Koren and Sixers assistant Aaron McKie will likely join him on staff.RATINGS
NEW YORK ó TV viewership is way up for the playoffs.
Ratings for the Western Conference finals on ESPN increased 32 percent from the network’s conference finals coverage last year. The Eastern Conference finals on TNT were up 30 percent from its conference finals coverage.
For the entire playoffs, TNT’s ratings were up 19 percent from a year ago. ESPN’s increased 12 percent.