We don't need to agree to disagree. It's a fact that players say one thing and do the other. If you don't believe it, you are cherry picking. Didn't Lebron say he'll stay in Cleveland till they win a championship? You take every players' words for a grain of salt, talking the talking and walking the walk are completely different stories. I don't dispute that Lebron deserves more MVP votes than Wade, but I do dispute the true leader of that team. I would argue everytime Yao was on the floor, he was our leader, despite the fact that Mcgrady was a better player on the floor than him. In the end it was Yao's team, just like how this is Wades' team.
"James still leads the Heat in points, assists and steals but Dwyane Wade has topped the team in scoring 33 times to James' 30 and in rebounds 18 times to James' 17. Then there is the fact that James will win fewer games this year in Miami than he did a year ago in Cleveland." http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/03/18/race-to-the-mvp-week-21/index.html
who can predict the future? you're taking lebron's words when he said it during his cavs tenure? did he say it in his LAST YEAR that he was going to stay in cleveland? NO. did he HINT at all that he was going to stay in cleveland his last year 100%? NO you can't take a quote a player says several years ago and holds them to it. things change in the NBA. losing hurts n the NBA. kobe said he wanted to be traded, but that was BEFORE pau gasol. you think he would say the same thing again if he was asked that? unless a player has a record of lying or backtracking, then yea, you don't take their words for it. lebron doesn't have that. nor does wade or kobe or a lot of players you mention. so your example of lebron saying he'll stay in cleveland until he wins a championship is a terrible one. in 04-05, it was totally mcgrady's team b/c yao was still not in star form. in 06-07, it began to shift a little bit. and 08-09, it was yao's team. and yao and tmac were NOT the leaders on any of those teams. they were the best players, but they were not our leaders. shane battier was the captain for a reason.
It's easy to predict the future when you're in total control of it. Yes? And let's not forget that in 2006, he made the decision to sign with Miami when his contract with Cleveland expired.
You are a brick wall, seriously. You just bring up completely baseless facts. Are you so freaking blind that you could not see Lebron hinting he would stay in Cleveland? http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/lebron_says_cavs_have_advantage_9gca0DyrNUqTmsPS56RClJ Everyone in the world knew Cavs had the edge in getting Lebron, even Lebron himself said so. Get some real facts, stop pulling things from your ass. SEVERAL YEARS AGO? Your lies pile on and on and its' actually really irritating me, and I don't usually get irritated if people would just use facts. He said it a YEAR ago, 2010. Around March and April. That is about the same time gap as the fact you used, that Wade called Lebron MVP when he wasn't with the Heat yet. Lebron is the master of back tracking. Oh my God are you blind. That Cleveland example alone should be proof enough. This Rockets team was never McGrady's team, it has always been Yao's team. I don't think I need to prove that, ask any player if the Rockets were Yao's team, they will all say it is. And now you are contradicting, BIG time. If you say what Wade said is true, then what McGrady said is true as well. If Wade says Lebron is mvp, and we should believe it, then you too should believe it if McGrady says this is Yao's team, right?
i said, did lebron say 100% he was resigning with cleveland? from your article: this was what lebron said: But by no means does that make the Cavaliers a slam-dunk to retain his services. "I'm far from close [to a decision]," James said. "I've thought about it, but I haven't begun to strategize exactly." HINTING is NOT the same as CONFIRMING. did you even read the article? like i said, he never hinted 100% he was staying with cleveland. having the "edge" doesn't guarantee that he'll sign. so you should be annoyed that you're not reading the article properly. the rockets were not mcgrady's team in 04-05? oh lordy lord. i was for sure clutchfans that year was pimping up mcgrady to be the next best thing of all time. and yao was just an up and coming player. were you even a rockets fan then? no, what wade and mcgrady said are under 2 different circumstances. mcgrady was coming to a NEW TEAM and yao has played with that team since he was drafted. he said that out of respect. tmac was an all-nba player, and yao wasn't. if you follow the rockets, this hsould be obvious. the first 3 years of this experiment, this was tmac's team period. JVG said repeatedly many times, "we go as tmac goes." there's a reason the blame is more on tmac than anybody for the playoff failures on this board. what is so hard to comprehend?
How is there even a definitive answer to "who the true leader" is. That is the most arbitrary question ever. What makes Lebron a leader, cuz he puts up 27 7 7, not necessarily, it only means he puts up numbers in basketball. Lebron always seems like a guy that goes in does his job, consistently puts up stats and then leaves, nothing more nothing less. I see someone like Steve Nash as the true leader, or someone like Kevin Garnett that eggs his teammates on, and glues his team together.
unfortunately, that was before the playoffs. and we all know what happened in the playoffs. losing can change a lot of minds. during the offseason, he never did say he will sign with cleveland. like i said with my example, kobe said publicly he wanted to be traded from the lakers. we never heard a peep from him again in regards to that when pau gasol was brought to the lakers and they kept winning.
this whole conversation really started from t-mac stating that lebron joining wade's Heat team does not affect lebron's chances of winning MVP this year if Lebron stayed in CLE, CLE would still be either #2 or 3 in the east with Lebron posting MVP stats "LeBron isn't any less skilled, or playing any less proficiently than he did during his two-year stint as the reigning back-to-back MVP, but his circumstances have certainly changed. Flanked by another superstar in D Wade, and with Chris Bosh on the squad as well, LeBron's MVP credentials aren't quite the same when contrasted with the load he shouldered in Cleveland. Then also consider the fact the HEAT won't win as many games as the Cavs did and it would be shocking to LeBron get more than a few first-place votes." Read more NBA news and insight: http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=19240#ixzz1IzctPSCz
Oh my god, are you serious? THIS IS WHAT YOU ORIGINALLY SAID. Then you edited your statement and ADDED 100% And I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and ASSUME you meant 100%. It still doesn't make any sense whatsoever. How is it possible to HINT that you are staying in a place 100%? WHEN YOU ARE HINTING, it means its a possibility, it's not definite. He HINTED he was staying in Cleveland, that's a fact, and that is YOUR statement, not mine. I hate your arrogant style of argument. I have been a Rockets fan for a long time, and many would agree this is Yao's team, and Yao was our leader. Going to personal arguments now? Disputing me as a Rocket fan now? Want to make a poll and let the public decide who is more likely to be a Rocket fan, me or you? What is hard to comprehend is how incredibly blindsided you are, refusing to listen to facts. YOU yourself said we should believe Wade when he called Lebron MVP. So why are we not supposed to believe McGrady when he said this is Yao's team? If you don't see the contradiction, then I'm done. You literally just cover your ears and scream "I can't hear you"
Why are you people still arguing with Lebron_6? If we're talking about co-MVPs, you have to give it to Derrick Rose and Thibodeau. The East is going to go through them.
first of all, your article proved my point as i stated the bolded parts. so i'm not going to go any further. lebron never said he will stay in cleveland during the offseason. it was all up in the air, and if you watched ESPN, you would know that. i don't know if you have the search button or not, you can search a lot of articles written on clutchfans in 04-05 and you will know whose team it was.
t-mac joined Yao's Rockets team same as lebron joined Wade's Heat team it has always been Yao's Rockets & Wade's Heat
OH FOR **** SAKES THIS IS WHAT YOU SAID (after you edited and added 100%, but that makes no difference). I'm going to say it one more time. You said Lebron james never hinted staying in cleveland AT ALL. I showed you the article that shows Lebron HINTING Cleveland has the edge at getting him back. THAT IS HINTING HE WILL STAY IN CLEVELAND. My god I think I just burst one of my blood vessels typing this out. Really, am I the only one seeing this?
You're being intentionally dense, and it's making you look like an idiot. He had decided in 2006 that he was going to sign with Miami. Everything he said after that in regards to the Cavs was nothing more than lip service.