Page 28 - Florida Sentinel 12-29-17

Sports
If Asked, Dez Bryant Would Reject Taking Pay Cut From Cowboys
Isaiah Thomas Is Closing In On His Return
ISAIAH THOMAS
You know what would come in handy for the Cleveland Cav- aliers right about now?
An MVP-caliber player, per- haps a point guard who could give them the kind of second- level offense that was so sorely lacking on Wednesday night when the Cavs lost their third game in the last four tries to the Sacramento Kings (109-95) at the Golden1 Center. His name is Isaiah Thomas, if you somehow haven’t heard, and it remains a mystery when he’ll be making his debut for the Cavs (24-11).
But it will be soon — very soon.
Thomas, the former Boston Celtics star who was forced out of the Eastern Con- ference Finals against the Cavs in May with a hip injury and has yet to return, is highly un- likely to play on Saturday at Utah. From there, the focus would shift to a Jan. 2 home game against Portland and the question of how the Cavs would handle Thomas’ situation if that was, in fact, the big day.
Why? Because the 28-year- old who was so hurt by the Celtics’ late August trade that sent him to the Cavs just so happens to have a reunion game in Boston one night later.
Yet it’s worth remembering here that Thomas hasn’t played in an NBA game in more than seven months, meaning his playing time is expected to be limited for his first few games. As such, it remains entirely possible that Thomas could wind up getting his sneakers wet again against Portland only to sit the following night against his former team.
And if that happened, could anyone blame him?
After playing through the pain in last season’s playoffs, only to regret the move later when he realized that it came at such a high cost, the free-agent- to-be has every right to take his time here. It might mean we miss out on the drama that would come with a Kyrie Irv- ing-Thomas duel, but that day could still come when the two teams meet again in Boston on Feb. 11.
Dwyane Wade: Cavs Must Avoid Slipping Into Rut
Wide receiver Dez Bryant does not want to leave theDallas Cowboys and has not thought about life with another team, but he un- derstands the way the NFL works.
Scheduled to make $12.5 million in 2018, Bryant un- derstands questions about his lower-than-expected produc- tion compared to his high salary. But he will not take a pay cut if the Cowboys ask this offseason.
"I haven't heard no talk about that but if it comes, I don't know, probably not," Bryant said Wednesday. "Hell naw, man. I believe in me."
Bryant is set to count $16.5 million against the salary cap. The Cowboys can free up $8.5 million if they re- lease him or $12 million if he is designated as a post-June 1 cut, with him counting $4 million against the cap in 2019.
DEZ BRYANT
After Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks, owner and general manager Jerry Jones, who has an affinity for Bryant, did not want to discuss the receiver's future.
Bryant was asked if he could envision playing any- where else.
"I don't know, but if that came about, I'm still Dez Bryant," he said Wednesday. "I'm still going over the top. If it's there where I can grab it, I'm going to grab it. That's who I am."
After losing their second straight game and for the third time in their past four tries, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dwyane Wade ac- knowledged that all is not right with the three-time de- fending Eastern Conference champions.
"Sometimes, when you're winning as much as you're winning, you have slippage," Wade said of the 24-11 Cavs, who reeled off 18 wins in 19 games before their current dip. "We've had some slip- page, and we've got to figure outawaytonipitinthebud before it becomes: 'We in a rut, and we've got to get our- selves back out of it.'"
DWYANE WADE
Cleveland fell to the 12-22 Sacramento Kings 109-95 on Wednesday to drop its record to 0-2 on a three-game road trip after losing 99-22 to the- Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day. The trip wraps up with a game against the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
Multiple Steelers Blast James
Harrison, Who Says Playing
Time Was Reason For Exit
James Harrison, now a member of the AFC rival New England Patriots, wanted out of Pittsburgh because of play- ing time, a fact that has ran- kled multiple Steelers.
"He erased his own legacy," Steelers center Mau- rkice Pouncey told re- porters.
According to his now for- mer teammates, everything went according to plan for Harrison, who was unhappy with a limited role that in- cluded 40 snaps in 14 games.
However, Harrison said that while he anticipated a re- duced role, he was unhappy that he was playing even less than expected.
"After the first week of the season, I said to them, it's clear you want to play your younger guys, and I under- stand, so why don't you re- lease me? You go on your way, and I'll go on mine," Harri- son told the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette. "They said, 'No, no, no, we got a role for you.'"
Harrison added that he stopped asking for his release after he played only 15 snaps in a Week 6 win over Kansas City. Although he says he was told by the team to "be ready" toplayalotofsnapsinaWeek 15 loss to the Patriots, Harri- son again did not play at all.
"If I didn't play in the
MAURICE POUNCEY
biggest game of the year, that told me I wouldn't get any more snaps," Harrison told the newspaper. "So all that lip service you gave me before didn't matter."
Coach Mike Tomlin briefly explained Harrison's release Tuesday, citing the need for a corresponding ros- ter move with Marcus Gilbert's return from sus- pension.
Teammates were not as calculated after Wednesday's practice, with Pouncey call- ing out Harrison for not ad- dressing frustrations publicly.
"If you didn't want to be here, come out and say it," Pouncey said. "Don't make it look like it's the team's fault. ... You think the team and the organization wanted to get rid of James Harrison? Come on, now. If I wanted out, I wouldn't let the team take the blame for it."
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