To tell you quite frankly, there are a number of reasons.

For those of you who don’t know, LeBron James WILL be a free agent once we have a champion crowned in the 2010 NBA Finals. Yep, the self proclaimed king of Akron, Ohio will be testing the free agency market and we expect a lot of teams in the NBA to express their interest.

Of course, the Cleveland Cavaliers would love to still have LeBron James in uniform come October. But the fact of the matter is, James staying in Cleveland is becoming less and less likely.

How come? Well, for starters, the city of Cleveland may not be as appealing to a LeBron James anymore especially when you have cities like New York and Los Angeles willing to pay LeBron top dollar to don their uniforms and play for them instead. (In case you were wondering, yes, the Clippers just joined in on the race to get LBJ.)

Another reason could be James not believing anymore that he can win a title in Cleveland. I mean, we have seen numerous names the Cavaliers got to compliment James but still no hardware to show for. This year, Cleveland surrounded ‘Bron with Antawn Jamison and Shaquille O’Neal and the farthest they got was…

Because the last two weeks of the season has been… um… like watching paint dry.

Injuries are huge to any team, especially if you’re this NBA franchise going after the championship. That’s why most teams in the NBA have decided to rest their stars in the last two weeks before the 2010 NBA playoffs and NBA commissioner David Stern is, quite frankly, sick of it.

David Stern didn’t like watching a healthy LeBron James sit out his fourth straight game last Wednesday night. He wants his games entertaining up to the last minute of the regular season and with his biggest stars like James benched by his team to rest him for the coming playoffs, Stern is trying to devise a way that would force these teams to play their big guns up to the last game of the season.

”We’re troubled by it, because it would be our preference that healthy players play,” NBA commissioner David Stern said during his annual pre-playoffs conference call.

”But sometimes players play at different levels of being nicked or bruised and we never wanted to get into the business of sending out truckloads of doctors analyzing whether a player was actually nicked or bruised, and we understand the issue.”

”I think it’s a fair item for discussion,” Stern said. ”I’m not sure…”

Get this, he’s trying to rebuild his image to become a better role model.

Hehe… Good luck with that. After being charged with one count of felony gun possession for carrying an unlicensed weapon and being suspended by the NBA without pay for the rest of the 2010 NBA basketball season, Arenas is accepting the challenge by writing a letter to his young fans addressing his recent troubles. The letter was published in The Washington Post.

Known as Agent Zero in the NBA, Gilbert Arenas started off his letter by expressing his gratitude for the opportunity to do something good in the face of the very bad situation he created.

For all of you who didn’t know, Arenas is serving a suspension for his role in an argument with Washington Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton. Following the argument, Arenas took guns to the team’s practice facility, an act he deemed a joke at the time.

He mentioned in his note that NBA Commissioner David Stern has good reason to suspend him. Arenas said he is trying to right his wrongs, most of which, the effect of his actions may have on kids who see NBA players as role models.

As for Arenas’ future in Washington, it sure doesn’t sound like there is much of one. Even if the team doesn’t void his contract, a scenario that seems more and more likely, it’s hard to imagine Arenas wearing a Washington Wizards uniform ever again.

There has been talk about the Wizards finding a trade…

We know the starters, now it’s time to find out who got snubbed and who should be there in Dallas.

Every year, the NBA’s midseason extravaganza snubs a few players who fans feel should be in the league’s annual celebration of the brightest stars in the NBA. The 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas is no different.

Let’s start with this one guy who probably got snubbed from the All-Star game this year because of a mug you can’t market ANYWHERE. And in case you didn’t get that, I’m referring to Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman.

This will be the second time the Los Angeles Clippers star got snubbed for the All-Star game. For a guy who looks like a child molester, Kaman is quickly becoming one of the brightest stars in Hollywood. The guy is averaging 20.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He is arguably having the best season of any traditional center in the West and that is why the Clippers, despite all their struggles, are still hanging on for a playoff spot.

Another guy who definitely should be in the All-Star game in Dallas is Chauncey Billups. Having the All-Star game this year without Mr. Big Shot is a travesty, to say the least. He is probably the best point guard in the Western Conference at this point of the season. Hell, he should be there starting for the West instead of Steve Nash in my opinion.

But probably because of the injury that forced him to miss eight games this season, Billups failed to get the fans’ and the coaches’ votes.

”I’m sure it played a role,” Billups said, who just recently broke his career high when he led the Denver Nuggets to a win over the Lakers in Los Angeles…

And the weirdest part about this is the fact that Arenas is finally taking it seriously.

You read it, the NBA finally suspended Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for the entire 2010 NBA basketball season.

This is after Gilbert Arenas brought some of his own guns inside the Verizon Center to ”provoke” Javaris Crittenton to shoot him on the very same knee that always kept Arenas out of NBA action the last couple of years.

Gilbert Arenas says it was meant to be a joke, something his teammate Javaris Crittenton didn’t get and neither did NBA Commissioner David Stern. What made it even worse is the fact that Arenas wasn’t taking the whole thing seriously. Until now of course.

”The NBA has conducted a thorough investigation of events relating to this matter,” NBA Commissioner David Stern said. ”It is not disputed that, following an argument on the team’s flight home from a game in Phoenix, both Mr. Arenas and Mr. Crittenton brought guns to the Verizon Center locker room and, with other players and team personnel present or nearby, displayed them to one another in a continuation of their dispute. The players engaged in this conduct despite a specific rule set forth in the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the Players Association prohibiting players from possessing a weapon at an NBA facility…

Yes, and looks like the Spurs will be champions again.

Because the last time the NBA went through a lockout season, the San Antonio Spurs earned their first title in franchise history. And while the 2009 NBA basketball season is still a month away, they’re already talking about another strike.

The lead negotiator and spokesman for the NBA referees union said a lockout appears ”imminent and unavoidable” following the latest breakdown in talks.

Lamell McMorris said the officials made another $1 million in concessions in their proposal, but believes it’s evident the league is not interested in further discussions. The officials then headed home after spending the last 24 hours meeting in Chicago.

The contract between the NBA and its officials expired Sept. 1 and the sides have been trying to reach a new two-year deal. McMorris said they largely agree on salaries, but the union has balked at the league’s attempt to change retirement benefits.

Without a new deal, replacement officials will be used when preseason play opens Oct. 1. The NBA last began a season without its regular referees in 1995-96, when the caliber of officiating was roundly criticized.

”We’re prepared to be locked out by the NBA but also remain…”

Leonardo DiCaprio will be proud.

You read it, Leonardo DiCaprio’s main squeeze, Bar Refaeli, just landed on the cover of the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue after the cover was unveiled on the ”Late Show with David Letterman.”

There were already rumors that Bar Refaeli was the publisher’s pick for what would be yet another iconic issue. Everybody has been talking about the 23-year-old Isreali model since she became the new face of Marks and Spencer’s Valentine’s Day lingerie range, and now that she’s SI’s no.1 babe, you can bet your ass she would be talked about for quite a while.

Heck, with MTV courting her to revive their ”House of Style” show pioneered by Cindy Crawford back in 1990, I guess it already started.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Bar Refaeli visited Israel in 2007 trying to slip into the country unnoticed on a night flight from Frankfurt, Germany. Unfortunately for the two celebrities, the aircraft was also carrying a group of Israeli reporters, (yes, they have paparazzi in that country too…) on their way back from a press junket in Ireland.

By the time DiCaprio and Refaeli got to her family’s home in an upscale Tel Aviv suburb, it had been besieged by dozens of photographers.

While in Israel, DiCaprio and Refaeli paid an after-hours visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and later visited the Western Wall and its subterranean tunnels in the Old City. Police kept cameras back to shield the famous couple from exposure.DiCaprio has received Oscar nominations for his roles in ”What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” ”The Aviator” and ”Blood Diamond.”

Refaeli was featured in previous Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues, once…

The representatives for both the Eastern and Western Conference were finally determined.

With the 2009 NBA All-Star Game only a few more days away, we finally learned who among the league’s top players will be representing the two conferences for the mid-season classic.

And since this year’s All-Star game will be in Phoenix, let’s start with the two guys who’ll be representing the host city on February 15, Suns forward Amare Stoudemire, who was voted in as a starter, and Suns center Shaquille O’Neal, voted in as a reserve by NBA coaches.

You read it, Shaquille O’Neal is back in the All-Star game, moving past NBA greats such as Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Jerry West to land in second place in the all-time All-Star appearances made by an NBA player. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was selected 19 times, still leads everybody.

The 2009 NBA Western Conference All-Stars will be led by reigning NBA MVP Kobe Bryant. He will be joined by New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul in the West’s starting backcourt.

Rounding up the Western starters are Tim Duncan and Yao Ming, joining Stoudemire in the frontcourt.

Joining Shaq as a reserve for the 2009 NBA Western Conference All-Stars include…

Philly can officially put the A.I. era to rest and welcome the new E.B. age next season.

You read it, Elton Brand ended his script in L.A. and signed a whopping five-year $79.795 million contract to join the up and coming Philadelphia 76ers team. Yep, Brand will definitely improve the 76ers frontcourt and with a guy like Andre Iguodala by his side, things are looking up again since Allen Iverson left for Denver.

Of course, the move makes the 76ers instant contenders in the Eastern Conference once the new 2008-09 NBA basketball season starts in October. And to think they almost got it done against the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs WITHOUT a player of Brand’s caliber, Philly should now be an even stronger team once the season starts all over again.

Elton Brand and the Philadelphia 76ers made it official Wednesday, ending the anticipation of a dream tandem between Brand and Baron Davis in Los Angeles, a tandem that could probably lift the Clippers from the shadow of LA’s premiere team, the Lakers.

With Brand singing with Philly, the Los Angeles Clippers should still be happy about the fact that they pulled a deal that landed them a Baron Davis before they lost their entire frontcourt.

But then again, Baron Davis has a knack for sitting out most of the games played in an entire season. They should’ve just concentrated on keeping Brand in L.A. instead of landing yet another guard in their roster.

Brand wanted to stay with the Clippers but after his agent…

Yes, it’s this Thursday already as NBA teams begin their moves to possibly land them the 2009 NBA title next season.

Of course, with the 2008 NBA Draft here, we felt obliged to give ya’ll our very own little mock draft from the first to the fifth pick. Trust us, we’ll do better than Joe Dumars drafting Darko Milicic back in 2003.

With the Chicago Bulls having the overall No.1 pick, we’ll start from there. The Bulls will probably take Derrick Rose, a 6-3, 190-pound guard from Memphis, as the overall No.1 draft pick. Rose is a Chicago product and the local community is probably pressuring the Bulls organization to take the local boy this Thursday.

Drafting Derrick Rose is STILL a nice move from the Bulls management anyway as the kid still brings an incredible amount of talent to the table

Next we have the UTTERLY PATHETIC Miami Heat who are hoping to land the services of a big man like Michael Beasley. Pat Riley thinks that Derrick Rose is a bad fit for their backcourt with Dwyane Wade, because drafting Rose would give Miami two athletic slashers who don’t have any kind of shooting whatsoever, trying to share the ball.

If the Bulls take Michael Beasley instead of Rose, Plan B suggests…