CLEVELAND, OH. – Michigan State Spartans basketball coach Tom Izzo is one of the top basketball coaches in the country and his ability to make sound decisions is one of the reasons. That same attribute may keep him behind a bench surrounded by Spartan green instead of NBA Cleveland Cavaliers jerseys.

Michigan State AD Mark Hollis has announced that Dan Gilbert has expressed a strong interest in his coach, Izzo, although he has not been given an offer yet. But who is Gilbert? The main interest that will put a guy behind that Cavs bench may need to come from LeBron James but only IF he is in the land of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame next season.

Gilbert is a Michigan State alum and thinks Izzo walks on water but until James thinks the same AND has a contract signed, we may see Izzo left hanging in quasi-land.

In 15 years as an NCAA coach, Izzo has won a national championship and led his Spartans to 6 Final Fours but regardless of his ability to win and lead, many do not expect him to take the Cavs job unless James has signed on the dotted line. On the flip side of that, regardless of his resume, he may have to wait for LeBron’s approval anyways.

To wad up and throw away his current contract that has him locked in until 2016 for a total rebuilding scenario without LeBron in Cleveland would be like trading in a Bentley for a Yugo.

The Cavs have remained one of the top teams and contenders in the Eastern Conference with James on the court but have still failed to win a title even though they have opened their wallet and surrounded James with a variety of talent over the years.

That being said, if James leaves for a larger NBA market like New York or Chicago, then Izzo may prefer to stay put in Lansing where Spartans fans are pacing the floor, awaiting this decision.

The LeBron sweepstakes has taken center stage even to the Boston Celtics and L.A. Lakers NBA Playoff Finals and now Izzo’s name has been thrown into the fiasco.

Teams like his Cavs, the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets are drooling over the image of seeing James suit up in their buildings, salivating over the idea of having him suit up in their uniform.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh has basically thrown away a few seasons creating enough cap space while it was earlier that rumored Derek Jeter and Jay Z would get involved in the recruiting mission.

In the Windy City, a billboard sits at Grand Ave. and La Salle St. that says “Chicago wants LeBron.” LeBron probably won’t even be driving in that area in Chicago but that’s how much hype surrounds his free agency.

Politicians are even getting in the mix with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland leading a group of people singing a song entitled “Please Stay LeBron,” and President Obama suggesting where James should sign.

With this circus atmosphere surrounding LeBron and the Cavs, Izzo may have to wait for the official offer that may only come after James signs and APPROVES him as coach.

Izzo may not be used to players making coaching or organization decisions like that but welcome to the NBA . . . before even getting there, Mr. Izzo.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Never has a 10-64 record been as celebrated as it was last night at the Izod Center in New Jersey as the dreadful Nets beat the hobbling San Antonio Spurs 90-84 to avoid owning the worst record in an NBA season in the history of the league.

That record for least wins will continue to be owned by the Philadelphia 76ers who did it in 1972 after finishing that season 9-73.

Much of the season, the Nets appeared as sure as a slam-dunk to take the record after starting the season with an NBA-record 18-game losing streak and actually played one game at the Izod Center in front of only 1,016 fans.

Monday’s game seemed like an unlikely time for the Nets to get the win they needed. The Spurs entered the game after consecutive wins against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics but that’s why we play the games.

In Monday’s contest, despite shooting a dismal .376 from the floor, the Nets ‘took over the game’ . . . did someone actually just say that? The Nets ‘took over the game’ in the 4th quarter; going on a 15-4 run. The win was the Nets’ first over the Spurs since the teams met in the 2003 playoffs.

After the final buzzer, the crowd celebrated as the Nets’ public address announcer yelled into the mic, “We got ten! The Nets win!” but the Nets treated the team’s 10th victory more like a relief than a celebration.

“We don’t want to be a part of the worst team in history, so it’s exciting to get 10 wins, but it is 10 wins, you know what I mean?” point guard Devin Harris said. “We’re not going to jump through the roof because we won 10 games.”

“It’s a relief, you don’t want to go down in history as the worst team ever,” Keyon Dooley said.

“It’s a big relief. It’s a big relief,” chimed in guard Courtney Lee. “Now we can go out and ball and have fun and play.”

Bitch-Slap-Of-the-Week N.J. Nets – Sports Climax

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax™

When is the last time we saw a team in the NBA nearly mathematically eliminated from the playoffs at All-Star break? With an embarrassing 4-48 record, the dreadful New Jersey Nets are almost there.

With 32 games left on their schedule and sitting about 22 games behind the No. 8 seed Miami Heat, the players should be considering dusting off their golf clubs and getting ready for summer.

Nothing like having a record-setting season including owning the worst start in NBA history. The Nets started out 0-16 then fired their head coach Lawrence Frank. That didn’t seem to help much as the team lost their next two games to set a record for the worst start in NBA history, 0-18.

Since then the team has continued to struggle to hit the net and have gone 4-31. Yeah I know, that’s about as bad as it can get . . . or is it?

Last night after a storm dumped more than a foot of snow on the Jersey area, only 1,016 fans were able to make it to the IZOD Center to watch their team hit just 39.2% of their shots from the field and drop another one into the loss column.

With just a few rows of seats occupied, the arena had the aura of a high school game being played in an NBA arena and the lack of performance by the Nets didn’t help the scenario much either.

Normally the Bitch-Slaps in this column contain a few backhanders and can be heard in the other room but not wanting to haul off and backhand a franchise when their asses are dragging this far down in the dirt, we’ll deliver a single open-handed SLAP!

And on a final note, hats off to those faithful fans for showing their support to the NBA’s most dreadful show on court.