Rodman says he is done with visits to North Korea

We're done with Dennis Rodman as a diplomat, right? (USATSI)

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Dennis Rodman told ESPN in an interview this week that if "we don't want" him to go back to North Korea, he won't. Rodman was defensive of his trip to the dictatorship to visit Kim Jong Un which included a celebrity basketball game featuring former NBA players and which saw Rodman sing "Happy Birthday" to the dictator.

"I wish they understood the whole purpose of why I went to North Korea," Rodman said. "I wish they did."

Sporting a black canvas-like fedora with black feathers in the back and a pair of large-lense, white-framed sunglasses with a nose ring in each nostril, another ring looped around his lower lip and at least one ring in his left ear, Rodman, also wrapped in several bright neck scarves, wondered: "What makes me so damn bad? What makes me this bad, awful person?"

"At least someone tried," Rodman said. "So that's how I look at it. You know, I don't want to be a hero, I don't want to be this, I don't want to be that. I just wanted to be, just do happy things and do great things in life. That's all I wanted to do. That's it."

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"I don't want people to look at me as the devil or evil person," Rodman told ESPN. "If I put anyone in harm's way, I apologize, you know."

Then waving his hands in a circle at the camera, Rodman said, "If you don't want me to go back there ever again, I won't go back."

via Dennis Rodman -- No return to North Korea if desired - ESPN.

Rodman appeared on CNN and had a total meltdown over criticism of the trip and whether Rodman had pushed for the release of Kenneth Bae. He later apologized for his outburst. He entered rehab as soon as he got back to the United States.

Former U.N. Embassador Bill Richardson criticized Rodman's trip this week, saying it interfered with diplomacy efforts.

Former Detroit Pistons star Dennis Rodman may have been the man on the basketball court, but in the court of diplomacy – he gets an “F” from former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson.

Richardson, former governor of New Mexico, is involved in global diplomatic efforts including helping free Americans wrongly held in other countries.

He talked about an American tour operator name named Kennth Bae who is now jailed in North Korea.

Bae, 45, a devout Christian, was arrested in November 2012 and later sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for allegedly importing “inflammatory” material.

“I tried to meet with the (Korean) president but the only American he met with is Dennis,” said Richardson during taping of “Michigan Matters.”

Richardson was in North Korea trying to gain Bae's release while Rodman was in North Korea in January.

“I tried to connect with him (Rodman) but he didn't call back,” said Richardson who added he could have double teamed with Rodman in the effort.

via Former U.N. Ambassador Rips Dennis Rodman For Failed Diplomacy In North Korea « CBS Detroit.

Oh, and to top it all off, Reuters reports that a group of experts is concerned Rodman may have violated U.N. Sanctions on the controversial nation.

A group of United Nations sanctions experts has been investigating former basketball star Dennis Rodman because of gifts he brought to North Korea during his visits to the reclusive state, according to an excerpt from the group's latest report.

While the U.N. Panel of Experts, an independent body that monitors compliance with the United Nations' North Korea sanctions regime, did not explicitly accuse Rodman of violating the U.N. ban on luxury goods, it suggested his actions may have represented a breach of international restrictions on Pyongyang.

"The panel also investigated allegations that Dennis Rodman and his party may have taken luxury items as gifts when he visited Pyongyang in September and December 2013 and January 2014," the experts' unpublished report says.

via U.N. sanctions experts investigate Rodman's North Korea trips | Reuters.

Basketball Hot News

Report: Cavaliers privately believe it’s not too late to lure LeBron back to Cleveland

LeBron James attended the jersey retirement ceremony of Zydrunas Ilgauskas on Saturday, a move that would have been viewed as unusual by NBA standards even before considering the history that exists between the star player and the team where he began his NBA career.

James played his first seven seasons in Cleveland, before infamously spurning the organization with an ill-conceived, nationally-televised spectacle that caused Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert to pen a letter full of vitriol aimed at his former franchise player.

The relationship seemed to be irreparably damaged, but time has taken the sting out of the way the separation went down. And while the Cavs have underachieved this season and fired their general manager along the way, people inside the organization believe they still have a shot in tempting James to return to Cleveland as a free agent.

From Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal:

Yes, the Cavs underachieved this season. Yes, Grant tried feverishly for the past two years, but could never find that second star to pair with Kyrie Irving and ultimately serve as the bait to lure James back to the Cavs.

But the Cavs privately believe it’s not too late. They still have the assets to pull off a mammoth trade this summer at the draft, the type Grant tried so hard to make. Kevin Love will be entering the final year of his contract, as will LaMarcus Aldridge. Grant tried for two years to unsuccessfully pry both stars out of their current cities, but each had too many years left on their contracts for their current teams to consider it. That’s no longer true.

If either the Minnesota Timberwolves or Portland Trail Blazers come to the conclusion they can’t re-sign their stars, this summer is the time to move them and the Cavs will be at the front of the line, stocked with young players and future draft picks.

The Timberwolves have Kevin Love under contract for next season, and are not going to trade him before it’s absolutely necessary under any circumstances. If a trade does happen, it won’t be until the following summer, and will only take place if Love insists on playing elsewhere as a free agent — at that point, the team may consider sign-and-trade options.

In Portland, it would seem even less likely that LaMarcus Aldridge would become available, for some of the same reasons. Except that the Blazers are actually decent, sitting at 22 games over .500 in the deep Western Conference while being essentially assured of a playoff spot this season.

Neither of the stars mentioned are likely to become available this summer, when James can opt out of the final year of his deal in Miami to become a free agent. And even if the Cavaliers made a ridiculous offer of young players and multiple first round picks to try to secure an All-Star to pair with Kyrie Irving, it’s far from guaranteed that any of that would entice James to leave the Heat.

Cleveland’s best course of action is to throw those assets at a team in exchange for a star player who still has at least two years remaining on his contract. The game’s top free agents aren’t going to choose to play for the Cavaliers willingly, but if they’re brought in via trade and the team can build a playoff contender around them, they may find it harder to leave when the opportunity comes.

If you believe James still has a soft spot for his home town and may indeed want to return one day, perhaps in the final season or two of his career, that’s not crazy to envision. But going back in his prime to play alongside talent that doesn’t come close to guaranteeing a title? That line of thinking is delusional, at best.