[3rd person view] Lebron will be criticized if he joins the Rockets

That's the way I interpreted that interview and all his leaks and quotes since he came back. He wanted to do something for Cleveland because he felt bad the way he left this time. This time, he doesn't want it to be a shock. He's leaking stories, quotes, saying pretty much everything to let everyone know he's leaving, "I'm at peace...We'll see...Done everything to leave this franchise in a good place..."

Not shaking Gilbert 's hand
Leaking stories about how his wife and mom didn't want him to go back to Cleveland, but felt he had to do it for Cleveland
Now he's at peace and ready for his next Chapter in Houston

 

Lebron isn't joining a 73-9 team he had down 3-1, who admitted after he signed that they were terrified of his team for kicking their asses harder than they thought possible. Lebron would be signing up to compete against the team that's beaten him multiple times. What's he supposed to do? Cleveland can't build a new contender around him quickly enough and he'd like to spend his remaining career in contention for more rings.

 

Warriors big 4 plus refs. Durrant case is that if u cannot beat then join. Leborn join warriors sucks, but join houston is a hero. It is because he is not joining the champion team.

 

When LeBron is standing at midcourt at the Toyota Center next year, holding Stephen Curry's freshly severed head aloft, a grateful nation will sing songs of praise about his great feats of heroism.

And Warriors fans will hate him for a few minutes before they decide they've had enough NBA and go back to watching soccer.

 

Of course it will. This is now a league of mercenaries for hire which all started with the face of the league. He took himself out of the GOAT running for me and millions others when he took the easy way to Miami. A lot of us don't just brush things aside and choose to forget and live in the moment only. They were hated more than the Warriors. Ditching another team again for Cleveland when things were getting tough there and selling the narrative that he was going "Going Home" when in reality the Heat were older and the Cavs had tons of assets- turned him into the hero again, but now again ditching Cleveland when things are tough for already built 65 win Houston Rockets who nearly took out this supposed unstoppable Warriors team if it wasn't for CP3 being out. You have the current MVP. One of the GOAT PG's and tons of role players already established(If LeBron carried this team-they'd be g-league teammates guaranteed bc that's the narrative LeBron fans push). 65 wins despite tons of injuries. That's worse than joining Wade and Bosh in Miami and basically just as bad as KD going to GS which he never would have done if LeBron never went to Miami in the first place. These aren't things GOATs do. Thanks to KD, this move won't be seen as bad as it really is though.

All that said, he's already established as the 2nd best ever, so might as well add more rings the easy way. All the while Houston Rockets fans get to enjoy them. Just not as sweet and magical as 94/95 and if we won this year and truly earned it. Cheap championships are still championships.

(I don't know why were so easily dismissing the Finals. NBA should have every interest in helping LeBron win to help build his GOAT legacy over the villain Warriors. Spurs and Mavs were the good guys against the villainous Heat. Now, Warriors are the villains and Lebron is the hero who got his 1 and now can even it up 2-2 like the Heat did, but with something that can get the entire world buzzing. Beating the villains with this supposed G-League team which has been the narrative all playoffs long.)

 

Oh you mean the 73 win team that added Kevin Durant without losing anything?

Shut the **** up you bandwagon ****. Go slither back to Golden State like your snake ass daddy Kevin Durant.

 

Last paragraph sounds too familiar.

 

This is pathetic. Durant destroyed the level playing field of the West.

If Durant stays in OKC, it's a free-for-all between OKC, SAS, GSW, HOU, maybe even Utah has a chance.
Durant goes to GS, it's a two-team war (GSW-HOU) and one team has the talent advantage.

I hate it, but that's the truth.

I would have loved to beat that team without Lebron, but we were a hamstring short. If we get Lebron (or George), we level the playing field for Houston. Again, it further damages the competitive balance of the West. Now the entire league has 3 contenders (GSW, HOU, BOS), maybe a couple of fringe guys (SAS, PHI).

But GSW and KD threw the gauntlet first. Wouldn't you be concerned that KD took the easy way out if you were a Warriors fan? Oh, y'all don't care? Then don't come at us either.

 

This is quite a reach lol.

 

He did it with Miami. What's the difference now? In fact the Warriors are still move stacked than the Rockets with 4 all stars

 

Why should he have stayed and wasted away in Cleveland his whole career? He didn't have the luxury of being drafted by an all time great franchise or even a competently run franchise like other GOATs. He won a ring in Cleveland because he orchestrated their whole roster, not because management did a good job.

The Heat were only more hated because of LeBron, and that's ridiculous. What KD did was so, so much worse. It isn't even comparable.

 

True, albeit Lebron gets criticized for literally anything & everting

Guess what shuts down criticism?

Championships

 

What am I supposed to see in the circle???

 

I don’t get how he would be judged “no no Lebron keep getting rhaped by an unreal dream team while you continue to have the odds against you”

Durant ruined the league plain and simple.

The warriors were an already a force to be reckoned with. Lebron could barley beat them as is. But they were home grown stars so all good but then Durant joins an already big three, the best team in nba history with the former MVP that’s already won a title.

Cavs with Kyrie were already outmatched then Irving pulls a fast one and leaves Cavs, making the odds even less in brons favor.

Lebron is the victim of a super team that Durant created into the justice league.

Lebron only ever created a super team to defeat a super team in the Celtics. I feel like Lebron has always been fair and never the trend setter and just does the fairest route to give him a chance for his legacy sake

 

Lebron's pretty used to getting criticized at this point, so I don't know how much that matters to him at this point.

Several things:

1. If the Warrior's win in 4-5 games then the narrative will be that Lebron had no help, and many people will be more sympathetic to him going to get help. So if you want Lebron to come to the Rockets, the Warriors sweeping or winning in 5 probably increases the odds of him leaving if it isn't already a lock that he is done in Cleveland.
2. Some people will hate Lebron no matter what and some will love him no matter what.
3. As long as he doesn't repeat the stupid mistake of "The Decision" when he leaves, it will be on par with what Durant did for most neutral observers. Which is to say some will hate it, some will like it and some won't care, but it won't be the same level of hate for most as when he went to Miami and announced it to his fans and team in Cleveland on a made for TV special.

 

I don't think the NBA perceives the Warriors as villains. They're the heroes - a gosh-darn swell family values team who play basketball the right way, with tons of passing and undersized guys making shots because they have the best fundamentals. The NBA won't stop pushing them until their run comes to a conclusive end.

 

I think Lebron might have gotten a lot of criticism for it if not for KD pulling the b**** move to end all b**** moves. After that, I can't see a lesser move like this being criticized at all.

 

Agreed. On the contrary, since I live in neutral NBA territory, I see Suns and Jazz fans not opposed to the Lebron move to the Rockets. They don't like it, but they want to see someone beat Golden State.

 

What other GOATs were drafted into all time great franchises other than Magic, Larry, and Kobe(via trade), and Russell? The rest basically either went somewhere else to win, but aren't in the running for GOAT or helped their franchise turn into all time great level. Even Kareem ditching Milwaukee, he got them a ring first and then went to a Lakers team that had 3 bad seasons and still were mediocre after Kareem got there. Shaq a little worse for leaving Orlando, but the Lakers again were mediocre for a long time before and after he got there.

This whole narrative about "why should he have stayed" is only to hide the fact that he'd be a top 10-12 player with 1 ring at best until he orchestrated and got his rings the easy way to now be considered #2 or even GOAT by some.

Basically Hakeem could have ditched Houston at 25 in 1988 and joined the '87 52 win ECF loser Pistons and would taken over that team from Isiah and won 4-5 rings in a row and been the GOAT or #2 and then at 32 could have joined with Malone and Stockton and won 2 more and he'd have more than MJ or Magic/Kareem or anyone else outside of Russell and be the absolute unquestioned modern GOAT. It's cheap man. That's LeBron's entire legacy. Cheap. People already making it like his whole career has been a road block of facing the Warriors when in reality it's just been 1 season + this seasons finals where KD made them unfair. The others before were a beatable/drafted/properly built team and in one he had no chance with no Kyrie/love. 73 wins or not. KD almost beat them at full strength too while Cavs got to face them without Bogut, 1 game suspension of Draymond and a hobbled iggy and no insane games from Klay and Curry like KD had to face. Still got to beat them in that match and unfairly lost the previous. Outside of that, LeBron's prime career lined up with only old man Duncan and exiting prime Kobe and 1 good exiting prime Dirk run in the West. He could have stayed in Cleveland the first time around and kept fighting-not like anyone else was going to clearly be better in the East with KG hurt all the time and Celtics all pushing late 30s and Dwight and DRose falling off. He'd still easily be reaching the Finals against beatable teams if he stayed the first time around with probably Wade and Bosh in Miami as his only true test in his conference.

Chuck could have done the same and told Phila to trade him to a contender. So many others. KG tried from 19 to 30 years old in Minny. Otherwise, he had the talent to go demand a trade to a contender at 26 and be the GOAT PF.
It's one thing to go ring chasing post prime or just entering final years of prime, but it's another thing to ring chase at 21-28 years old. These guys(Bron and KD and Curry) are the faces of the league, now add Harden and CP3 wanting more stars to team up. You're going to start seeing a trend of young potential stars more often demanding to be drafted or traded to already established contenders. You'll see young up and coming stars start to demand trades and team up with other young and up coming stars for future dominance. It's just going to get worse. The next great kid can see how Bron and KD basically just manufactured their legacy, and this next great kid with the potential to be the absolute greatest won't risk it and just take his own easy way out and create another super team of the future. This kid will ride his way early to 7-10 rings and everyone will call him the GOAT and he won't even break a sweat. It's all so cheap and weak.