CLEVELAND — The Los Angeles Lakers added Pau Gasol, the Phoenix Suns added Shaquille O’Neal and the Dallas Mavericks reportedly have a deal in the works to add Jason Kidd.
With the NBA trade deadline a week from today, the Cavaliers and general manager Danny Ferry have yet to do anything.
“I think they’ve tried to do something,” LeBron James said before Wednesday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs at Quicken Loans Arena. “We all know we have to get better. It’s that simple. We have to get healthy and we have to get better.”
Asked if he would be happy if Cleveland made no moves prior to the deadline, James said: “Do I have a choice? There it is. I don’t have a choice.”
The 23-year-old was level-headed and philosophical when discussing the lack of movement by the Cavaliers, saying he would never criticize any of his current teammates, but he made one thing perfectly clear.
“I want to win now,” he said.
That’s why James made a point of saying he would love to play with Kidd when the veteran point guard initially asked the New Jersey Nets to trade him. The talent-thin Cavaliers never had a realistic chance of acquiring Kidd, who is making $19.7 million this season and will earn
$21.3 million in 2008-09, but they did have discussions with the Nets.
“I wasn’t just saying it to say it,” James said. “Of course I was hoping he could be a part of our team. … If we couldn’t get him, I’m glad he’s out of the East.
“I hope he does well for that (Mavs) franchise. They’re getting a great player, a great leader and a person who’s going to help that team get better just because of his presence.”
Because Gasol stayed in the Western Conference and O’Neal — and possibly Kidd — are now out of the East, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown is not losing any sleep over the three recent deals.
“There’s a lot of movement with some big-name guys,” he said. “You are surprised to see that much movement, but they’re moving in the right direction, so I’m OK with it.”
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, who earlier said the league should have nullified the Gasol trade because the Lakers got him for next to nothing, wasn’t thrilled to learn Kidd may be headed back to the Western Conference.
“People obviously think they’ve got to do something to win the whole ball of wax,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

MVP vote

TNT analyst Doug Collins chose James as his MVP at this point of the season, but James listed the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and New Orleans’ Chris Paul as other players who deserve strong consideration. “I know I never have a chance to win it if Kobe Bryant’s never won it,” he said.

Roger the Dodger

Brown, who pronounced Andy Pettitte’s last name as “petite,” said he didn’t watch any of Roger Clemens’ congressional testimony, but he did read some of the updates that scrolled across the bottom of his television.
“That’s a lot of money we’re spending when we’ve got business overseas to take care of,” Brown said.

Taking it personally

Cavaliers athletic trainer Max Benton gave the team’s beat writers a press release from the National Athletic Trainers Association that emphasized Brian McNamee, the man who claims to have injected Clemens, is a “personal trainer,” not an “athletic trainer.” The release says “athletic trainer” is a title-protected term by statute in
43 states.

State Farm is here

James has signed a sponsorship agreement with State Farm Insurance that will focus on the young adult market and initiatives that provide children with safer, stronger and better-educated communities. The deal will be announced today at a playground ribbon-cutting in New Orleans, which will host All-Star Weekend.
The playground is at the St. Bernard Recreation Center in New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and rebuilt in September 2006.  State Farm sponsored the project, which is the first installation of the LeBron James Family Foundation’s national playground initiative. James has been a State Farm customer since 2004.

Tip-ins

Guard Daniel Gibson, who missed three games with a strained right hamstring, was back in uniform for the Cavaliers and plans to participate in the Rookie Challenge and Three-Point Shootout over All-Star Weekend.
• With a rodeo in San Antonio, the Spurs were concluding a nine-game road trip. After losing the first two games on the trip, they had regrouped to win five of their last six heading into Wednesday’s game.
• Asked if he was glad the All-Star break was here, Popovich deadpanned: “Not at all. I wish we had a few more back-to-backs coming up.”
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

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