Lebron James (Los Angeles Lakers)

[Mac]

Lebron wants revenge on the Spurs for what happened in the '07 finals.

Unfortunately for you Lebron, you're the only one. Us Cavs fans want you to get swept again.

Go EABO Lebron

 

[cincibuck]

How do you expect Cleveland to do anything when LeBron has their hands tied?

You really think Gilbert doesn't have the money or the "wanna"? Seriously?

You don't think LeBron was involved on who they were bringing in and who they were passing on in FA?

Gimmie a break.

Hindsight is 20/20, but the Cavs royally screwed up every draft of the Lebron era so they never added any real talent around him the easy way. Ferry was better than Paxon (Jiri Welsch WTF), but Grant drafts circles around Ferry. Noted Grant has had much better picks to work with. If the Cavs had drafted Jameer Nelson (I was actually calling for this one back then), Danny Granger, fuck 2006 unless they could have traded up a few picks for Rondo, Carl Landry, and trade up a couple picks for Hibbert in 2008 (that's who I really wanted in that draft as well) they probably would have won a title for Lebron. Cleveland isn't a destination city that can make player acquisition mistakes and the Lebron era was filled with them other than the Gooden and AV trade. Boo$er, Welsch, Hughes, Damon Jones, Shannon Brown, Hickson, Eyenga, etc.

Thanks, ExHawg- couldn't have said it any better.

I hate the Yankees, but when you look across history it's more what you do with your money than how much money you have to throw at the problem. - eg. how can the Cubbies suck for so long? Cleveland didn't use their draft picks wisely.

 

[billmac91]

Thanks, ExHawg- couldn't have said it any better.

I hate the Yankees, but when you look across history it's more what you do with your money than how much money you have to throw at the problem. - eg. how can the Cubbies suck for so long? Cleveland didn't use their draft picks wisely.

He has every right to leave Cleveland, he just has to accept what a bitch he looks like when he teams up with (2) other top 10 players in the league, one of which was considered at worst, the third best player in the league. And they team up in the Eastern Conference and effectively eliminate all competition to the finals as they leave their teams in the dust.

I've always said the backlash has less to do with leaving Cleveland, but more about doing the least competitive thing possible. He took the easy way out. And then in a shear moment of idiocy, admitted "it's going to be easy". Just try and picture Michael Jordan doing anything close to that....

 

[ysubuck]

Lebron wants revenge on the Spurs for what happened in the '07 finals.

Unfortunately for you Lebron, you're the only one. Us Cavs fans want you to get swept again.

Go EABO Lebron

This.
I love that he is now invoking his time in Cleveland, whether to shine a light on the shitty play of his team mates or getting revenge on a team that dumped them.

Whatever dude. If you had put half the effort into the playoffs during your time in Cleveland then maybe you would have won a title.

And I'm not about to blame the front office for LeBitch not getting a title in Cleveland. He put the kibosh on that the minute he decided to team up with Wade. It's almost like everyone was in on the joke except the Cavs and their fans.

Fuck LeBron.

 

[OH10]

Thanks, ExHawg- couldn't have said it any better.

I hate the Yankees, but when you look across history it's more what you do with your money than how much money you have to throw at the problem. - eg. how can the Cubbies suck for so long? Cleveland didn't use their draft picks wisely.

It's easy to go back and look at those drafts to try and figure out a way to get the best players with the benefit of hindsight. We were never going to find a way to draft Hibbert with Z on the roster. We were never going to draft Danny Granger because he was a SF and we already had one playing 40+ minutes a night (some guy named Lebron).

They still drafted relatively poorly, but it's not as if that scenario is at all realistic.

Using the Yankees as a example is a joke. If the Yankees weren't the Yankees, they'd have lost guys like Rivera and Jeter in free agency; they wouldn't have been able to get guys like A-Rod and Sabathia. If the Indians were the Yankees, they'd not only have been able to keep guys like Manny Ramirez and C.C. in their primes, but supplement the roster with high-priced free agents. In baseball, it is all about money.

 

[Bleed S & G]

Thanks, ExHawg- couldn't have said it any better.

I hate the Yankees, but when you look across history it's more what you do with your money than how much money you have to throw at the problem. - eg. how can the Cubbies suck for so long? Cleveland didn't use their draft picks wisely.

Agreed & ExHawg's post was very well put.

 

[ScarletBlood31]

Actually I wouldn't be against a rule that allowed incumbent teams to keep players they drafted by offering a max contract, kind of like the Franchise Tag in the NFL. This couldn't get overused because any team can only have 2 maybe 3 max deals depending how long the players have been in the league.

It isn't like any NBA player is getting stuck with the team that drafted them for less money than they could make if they jump. They usually can make much more by staying in one place. That is the core difference between the NBA and the real world. If I want a big bump in salary I have to jump to a new job because 3-5% raises year over year won't get me where I can get by making 1 jump.

It's an interesting thought, but I wouldn't be able to support this idea. I realize that professional sports are completely different than any other career, but a person still has the right to choose their career path and have some free will in where they live/play. They owe their drafting team their rookie contract and nothing more. Ideally, they build a bond with the city and their teammates but if they're not happy then they should have every right to pursue other opportunities.

 

[cincibuck]

Rodman? He wins 6 with or without Rodman.

Hmmmm, leading rebounder, tough defensive player - hey, I think the guy is a jerk, but he was an important part of those Bulls' teams. But don't take my word for it:

Rodman earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors seven times and was voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year twice. He led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years and won five NBA championships. His biography at NBA.com states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history." On April 1, 2011, the Pistons retired Rodman's No. 10 jersey,[2] and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later that year.[3]

So no, I don't think Jordan wins three more championships on his own.

More to the point, look at how the Bulls built that team around Jordan and then compare that to what the Cavalier's management did following the pick of LeBron.

 

[BengalsAndBucks]

It's LeBron's job to win championships, not to make the league as competitively balanced as possible. If his goal was to win championships, then teaming up with two other top 10 NBA talents seems like a pretty reasonable way to go about it to me. So what if he stacked the deck in his favor, isn't that exactly what he should do? Everyone in the NBA is playing by the exact same rules, it's not like he's cheating to do it. He just happened to go about it a different way than say the Spurs or Thunder did, which he's completely entitled to do (and appears to be working pretty well so far).

I can understand Cleveland fans feeling jilted by LeBron and being upset at the way he left, but criticizing him for trying to win championships in the easiest way possible just seems ridiculous to me - it's what 90+% of professional athletes would do.

 

[Bleed S & G]

it's what 90+% of professional athletes would do.

Then why don't 90+% of athletes do it?

Look at the big brain on Bronbron ..? Please.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

Hmmmm, leading rebounder, tough defensive player - hey, I think the guy is a jerk, but he was an important part of those Bulls' teams. But don't take my word for it:
So no, I don't think Jordan wins three more championships on his own.

More to the point, look at how the Bulls built that team around Jordan and then compare that to what the Cavalier's management did following the pick of LeBron.

I understand all that...but with or without Rodman, that team wins those titles. He won with Bill Wennington and Luc Longley. Other than Scottie....it was pretty much plug and play with Jordan.

 

[cincibuck]

Then why don't 90+% of athletes do it?

Look at the big brain on Bronbron ..? Please.

Why did A-Rod sign with the Yankees?
Why did Corey Dillon sign with the Patriots?
Why did Kareem Jabbar insist on going to the Lakers?
Why did...

...how far do you want me to go with this?

When athletes have a chance to join an organization that wants to win, one that works to make that happen, they frequently do, just as Junior came to a Reds organization simply because he wanted to play in his home town more than he wanted to play on a World Series team.

And just imagine what might have happened if Troy Smith had been free to pick where he wanted to go.

Finally, whatever else is said about LeBron, he still lines up and roots for the Buckeyes.

 

[billmac91]

It's LeBron's job to win championships, not to make the league as competitively balanced as possible. If his goal was to win championships, then teaming up with two other top 10 NBA talents seems like a pretty reasonable way to go about it to me. So what if he stacked the deck in his favor, isn't that exactly what he should do? Everyone in the NBA is playing by the exact same rules, it's not like he's cheating to do it. He just happened to go about it a different way than say the Spurs or Thunder did, which he's completely entitled to do (and appears to be working pretty well so far).

I can understand Cleveland fans feeling jilted by LeBron and being upset at the way he left, but criticizing him for trying to win championships in the easiest way possible just seems ridiculous to me - it's what 90+% of professional athletes would do.

I think it has more to do with the way LeBron won his ring. Do you remember MJ giving LeBron the business earlier this year around his 50th birthday, when the murmurs started to pick up about who is the better player? LeBron cut corners instead of knocking down a wall in front of him. The HOF'ers don't respect the way it went down, and Jordan certainly sees it as cutting a corner. Jordan didn't win his first ring until he was 29 and had to tear down the wall that was the Detroit Pistons to get his first ring.

LeBron hit a wall in the Boston Celtics, and instead of overcoming it, he stacked the deck in his favor by creating an AAU powerhouse in Miami, and then boasted "not one, not two, not three......this is going to be easy!". There wasn't a single admirable thing in the way he accomplished his goal of winning a title. While MJ comes off as surly in regards to LeBron, I don't think it is because he likes to needle him, I think it's because he doesn't respect LeBron's mindset and the way he has approached the game and even changed it (super-teams).

And to be quite honest, if we think Jordan is needling now, wait until LeBron has 3 or 4 rings, and the next wave of all-star sidekicks come to Miami, or LeBron goes to brighter lights (LA/NYC/Brooklyn). Jordan will drop bombs rather than his "how many rings?" jab. In fact, the day after LeBron chose Miami and did his WWE entrance at American Airlines arena, Jordan was quoted on camera as saying:

"There?s no way, with hindsight, I would?ve ever called up Larry, called up Magic, and said ?Hey look, let?s get together and play on one team. But that?s?things are different. I can?t say that?s a bad thing. It?s an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty I was trying to beat those guys.?

Even Charles got into the action:

"(Reggie) Miller and I are in 100% agreement on this," he said. "If you?re the two-time NBA MVP you don?t leave anywhere. They come to you. That?s ridiculous. LeBron will never be Jordan. This clearly takes him out of the conversation.

"He can win as much as he wants to. There would have been something honorable about staying in Cleveland and trying to win it as ?The Man.? LeBron if he would have won in Cleveland and if he could have got a championship there, it would have been over the top for his legacy, just one in Cleveland. No matter how many he wins in Miami, it clearly is Dwyane Wade?s team.?

How about that dude from French-Lick, Indiana?:

?There is no way I would have joined Magic or Michael and play with them. The only time I ever wanted to play with Magic was on the Olympic team, and even then our practices were hard, and we beat each other up in practice.?

While LeBron has the most talent of anyone to play the game, IMO, his legacy is that of someone who cheated the game to win his titles. The legends don't get it, wasn't in their competitive DNA. Jordan overcame the Pistons, Larry overcame the Pistons and Lakers, and Charles never got over the hump in Philly. He did go ring chasing, but once he was over his prime and gave everything he had to Philly. It's a different generation now, and LeBron pretty much spear-headed this "super-team" phenomenon. While Garnett, Allen, and Pierce formed a solid trio, none was considered the best in the game. It's different when the best player in the game chooses to side-step adversity and essentially rig the league in his favor.

 

[billmac91]

Why did A-Rod sign with the Yankees?
Why did Corey Dillon sign with the Patriots?
Why did Kareem Jabbar insist on going to the Lakers?
Why did...

...how far do you want me to go with this?

When athletes have a chance to join an organization that wants to win, one that works to make that happen, they frequently do, just as Junior came to a Reds organization simply because he wanted to play in his home town more than he wanted to play on a World Series team.

And just imagine what might have happened if Troy Smith had been free to pick where he wanted to go.

Finally, whatever else is said about LeBron, he still lines up and roots for the Buckeyes.

Kind of....

He wouldn't go on the record as to who he would root for if the Buckeyes played Kentucky in basketball.

His favorite college basketball team growing up was UNC & Kentucky

His favorite college football team was the Buckeyes

His favorite baseball team is the Yankees

His favorite NFL team is the Cowboys

His favorite NBA team was the Bulls

Essentially, the guy loves every team that was a huge winner during his childhood. It goes right in line with his thinking that would everyone would love him for going to Miami to create an AAU squad that won lots of titles. Outside of Miami, and those annoying kids who have no loyalty to local teams and choose to jump on different bandwagons, he completely misread that landscape because most people are not front-runners. Loyalty and perseverance mean something. Cutting corners to achieve a dream is not a well respected character trait in this world.

 

[cincibuck]

I think it has more to do with the way LeBron won his ring. Do you remember MJ giving LeBron the business earlier this year around his 50th birthday, when the murmurs started to pick up about who is the better player? LeBron cut corners instead of knocking down a wall in front of him. The HOF'ers don't respect the way it went down, and Jordan certainly sees it as cutting a corner. Jordan didn't win his first ring until he was 29 and had to tear down the wall that was the Detroit Pistons to get his first ring.

LeBron hit a wall in the Boston Celtics, and instead of overcoming it, he stacked the deck in his favor by creating an AAU powerhouse in Miami, and then boasted "not one, not two, not three......this is going to be easy!". There wasn't a single admirable thing in the way he accomplished his goal of winning a title. While MJ comes off as surly in regards to LeBron, I don't think it is because he likes to needle him, I think it's because he doesn't respect LeBron's mindset and the way he has approached the game and even changed it (super-teams).

And to be quite honest, if we think Jordan is needling now, wait until LeBron has 3 or 4 rings, and the next wave of all-star sidekicks come to Miami, or LeBron goes to brighter lights (LA/NYC/Brooklyn). Jordan will drop bombs rather than his "how many rings?" jab. In fact, the day after LeBron chose Miami and did his WWE entrance at American Airlines arena, Jordan was quoted on camera as saying:



Even Charles got into the action:




How about that dude from French-Lick, Indiana?:






While LeBron has the most talent of anyone to play the game, IMO, his legacy is that of someone who cheated the game to win his titles. The legends don't get it, wasn't in their competitive DNA. Jordan overcame the Pistons, Larry overcame the Pistons and Lakers, and Charles never got over the hump in Philly. He did go ring chasing, but once he was over his prime and gave everything he had to Philly. It's a different generation now, and LeBron pretty much spear-headed this "super-team" phenomenon. While Garnett, Allen, and Pierce formed a solid trio, none was considered the best in the game. It's different when the best player in the game chooses to side-step adversity and essentially rig the league in his favor.

You're equating the Bulls organization with the Cavs. The Bulls made a commitment to win starting from the absolute get-go of the organization and continuing right up to today. Can you say the same for the Cavs?

I can understand Cleveland's disappointment. You won't get me to applaud the "reality television" manner in which he made his move. But as someone stuck with Mikey Brown and his own personal stadium and francise, I can certainly see why athletes make the decisions they make.