This is a good point. I don't think LeBron and Wade on the same team is good for the league, ultimately.
I didn't realize that people didn't respect Kareem, considering that Oscar Robertson and Magic are clearly better players than Wade (same for Worthy vs Bosh). I didn't realize that people didn't respect Magic, considering that Kareem is clearly better than Wade. I didn't realize that people didn't respect Bird, considering that McHale is arguably just as good as Wade, and Parish was clearly better than Bosh (must I mention the HOFer DJ as well)? I didn't realize that people didn't respect Jordan, as Pippen is arguably just as good as Wade, and Rodman was better than Bosh (Ho Grant is arguably close to Bosh). I didn't realize that people didn't respect Kobe, since Shaq is clearly better than Wade and Gasol is arguably as good as Wade. I didn't realize that people didn't respect Shaq, since Kobe is clearly better than Wade and 2006 Wade was the best wing I've seen all decade (his performance that postseason). You guys sound silly. Seriously.
Exactly. It's bizarre to see so many people complaining that Lebron wasn't obsessed with his legacy enough. It's as though people want him to MORE egotistical than he already is - not only should he want to win, but he should demand to be the best player on his team, and be the star so he can grab all the media attention. And if doesn't, he's a b****? This seems like people just complaining for the sake of complaining. He handled this whole thing terribly and screwed over fans, teams, and other players who got stuck waiting on him - and Gilbert's narcissism comment is dead on. But he got an opportunity to play on a potentially great team, maybe build one of the all-time great teams, play with some of his closest friends, and live in a fun, international city during the prime of his life. The goal of life is to be happy, and there's a lot there to make him happy. In what world is that a bad thing?
When you are in your golden years and want to ring chase I think we can all understand. But when you are 25 and the best player in the world and you want to ring chase instead of earning it seem very cheap. The king has stepped off the throne.
In a world where one doesn't believe that what is accomplished can justify how it was accomplished. And I'd like to believe such a thing is possible in sports, if not real life.
This post for the win. These guys actually made the choice to take LESS MONEY to play together to try to win, something fans always b**** when players refuse to do and they get slammed for it? I guess it's all good when players forcibly get traded to other teams to create superstar teams without giving up any money, but to voluntarily make less so you can win, NOW THAT'S A TRAVESTY!
Please. People ripped on Payton and Malone when they did it in the twilight of their respective careers. The real problem is that fans of other teams will never be happy if another team gets golden like this. If the Rockets had traded for Bosh and then Lebron signed here for the MLE no one on this site would be trashing him for "ring chasing".
If he doesn't care, what it matter? He's a b**** for caring more about his happiness than how a bunch of fans on an internet message board will view his accomplishments? The obsession other people have with athlete's "ruining" their legacies has always amused me. You see it most often when fans say an athlete should retire to not "ruin their legacy", but we're seeing a lot of it here. For some reason, people think athletes should be obsessed with their legacies instead of being happy in life.
Moses did not stage mock drama for two weeks, parading representatives of six teams before his agents in a stupid show of drama, and then hold a 1-hour special on ESPN called the decision to announce a big fat "F YOU" to his hometown fans without so much as a courtesy call to his old team to inform them amicably of his decision not to come back. That's right. LeBron did not even have the simple courtesy to call the Cavaliers ahead of time to let them know he was moving on. Why wouldn't Gilbert be pissed? Of course, he never had the courtesy to shake his opponents' hands after a playoff game, so he obviously doesn't even know what the word "courtesy" means. Put it this way -- if T-Mac had quit on the Rockets during the playoffs (which, despite his legendary pariah status down here, he never did), paraded reps of six teams down to Houston to try and beg him for the opportunity to give him another max contract, and then staged a 1-hour special on ESPN to tell the world that he was leaving Houston without so much as a courtesy call to Les Alexander, what would you call him?
Major, I agree with you a hundred times over. What does a legacy even mean to these guys? So they can retire with no rings but at least fans will always think well of them? What does that matter? These guys are getting to play a kid's game now with their best friends and try to win titles. When they are old men sitting in their rocking chairs, they will be glad that they spent these years with their best friends instead of regretting it and wondering what could have been.
Sure. But the OP wasn't calling LeBron a b**** for being callous and self-absorbed (something most of us have seen for a while). He was a b**** for choosing to leave his team to try and win a championship on another.
Exactly - I think if you asked a lot of retired players, they'd LOVE to have had this kind of opportunity.
Kareem - traded and the Magic was drafted. Bird - drafted Jordan - drafted and his players added through the draft and trades. All these guys you mentioned were either traded or drafted by teams. They made their team better and then earned their rings the right way. Teams like that have my respect because they did it the right way. I do not think that what these guys did was good for the NBA.
You don't get bonus points for degree of difficulty. At the end of the day, you're still wearing a ring and that's all that matters. These guys want to WIN. Why would they make it harder on themselves than they have to?
Agreed. I think the way this was handled (not just by Lebraaahn, but by Wade and Bosh also) has been a joke. It made me lose a lot of respect for all three of these guys. But them joining up to play together is awesome for them and I actually respect the mentality that they will take less money to go win with each other. I wish more players were like that. Hell, we wanted the "win a title" idea to be what compelled Bosh to pick Houston over other teams. I wish they hadn't been such ego maniacal narcissistic puke heads about it, but the actually end result is almost noble.
I haven't read the thread yet, but yeah I'm dissapointed in Lebron. Are you telling me the King can't win without 2 other superstars. If he was older maybe like 33 and no championship then maybe I would give him a pass. That's just me.
I tend to agree with this...how are all three going to get their "touches" and put up stats...There's only one ball to go around and their egos will get in the way eventually...There can only be one leader As a fan, it would have been nice for him to go somewhere else...it's not like Miami is a huge market or anything...from a business standpoint, it would have made more sense to go to a bigger market...from a bball standpoint, make something yourself, not on someone else' coat tails... Me thinks the big three will get broken up within 3 years...
