[Every weekend, we'll go prospecting for some of the week's most fun quotes . . . because it's the weekend, and weekends are supposed to be fun. It's all very rational, really.]
Leon Powe's Recovery Might Be Ahead of Schedule.
Quick recap: Back in August, the Cavs signed Leon Powe, a 25-year-old power forward / center, who had been a major contributor off the Boston Celtics' bench the last few years.
Leon was only available because he blew out his knee in the playoffs last season . . . and the Celtics let him go, apparently because they didn't want to use a roster spot waiting for him to recover. (Our rundown of the Powe signing.)
He wasn't expected back until March or maybe the All-Star Break in mid-February, but in a podcast this week, "Plain Dealer" beat-writer Brian Windhorst said Powe's recovery might be ahead of schedule:
"Leon keeps having really good doctors appointments . . . he's had a couple of MRIs where the doctors are happy and are saying Leon, this could be more January than February."
Leon has had a lot of work on his knees . . . including an ACL replacement and a microfracture procedure, which Brian describes as "a risky procedure to regrow cartilage." He also says it's one of the most dreaded surgeries in sports . . . "it's the Tommy John of the NBA."
But yet, he says things are looking good:
"He's pretty optimistic. He's keeping himself, basically, in the All-Star area time frame, even though the doctors, I think, are telling him, he could be back out there by January.
"He is shooting and working out every day. He's in pretty good shape for a guy who hasn't been able to do anything, running-wise, since May [when he got injured]. He has not been cleared to run yet, but that will come within the next couple of months. So right now, I think the Cavs are pretty hopeful that he will be able to contribute in some way.
"Now the question is, when you get a guy back, just because he comes back in February . . . what can he really contribute? When you're talking about this sort of knee injury, you don't just spring back on the floor and you're ready to go. It's not as simple as removing a cast.
"[But] again, [the Cavs] have not changed their initial hope that he'll be able to contribute when the playoffs come. And I think there's a good chance of that happening."
LeBron James Would Most Like to Dunk on . . . George W. Bush???
In the new issue of "Maxim" magazine, LeBron James was asked who he'd most like to dunk on.
He could have went with a current player: like Dwight Howard or DeShawn Stevenson, he could have went with a legend: like Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon or Bill Russell. But he went outside the box. LeBron said:
"If it doesn't have to be a basketball player, George W. Bush. I would dunk on his [butt], break the rim, and shatter the glass."
Larry Hughes Thinks LeBron is Staying in Cleveland.
In a recent interview with the "New York Daily News", Larry Hughes, who now plays for the Knicks, says that he still talks to LeBron James "regularly."
Larry didn't say what they talk about . . . which would be really interesting to know, actually . . . but he did say he still doesn't think LeBron is leaving Cleveland. He said:
"I still feel that way. He's got a good opportunity to win there. And I know a lot of people talk about him playing in a big market, but he just wants to win a ring. It's not about playing in a big market."
He also said he believes LeBron is happy with the direction of the Cavs.
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