It's only riding coattails if you go to a team that is already a championship team. Miami was crap last year. Even after adding Bosh, this was still not a championship team. Maybe this isn't about making life easy. Maybe Lebron wants to play basketball with his good friends. Some people think that's more fun.
Well Lebron has been doing it the hard way for years and didn't get anywhere. Getting owned by the Celtics made him realize something.
Sure, the way LeBron left his team is a bit questionable; he could have held a private press conference or tweeted his leaving. But, from a basketball standpoint, this was probably the best route for him to take, although I would have picked Chicago just because the Bulls would not have to get as many minimum salary players to fill out the team because they have a great 5 or 6 players on their roster. And who is Dan Gilbert kidding? When you constantly surround a great player like James with mediocre talent (Jamison and Williams are not really good enough second options) and constantly trade away first-round draft picks that could be used to pick up good young players, you're setting up the team for disaster if and when your best player leaves because there's no certainty in who you re-build your squad around. I personally DON'T blame James for leaving; the Cavs did not do enough to keep him around (mediocre talent, no cap space, no first round draft picks in '07, '08, and '09), so Dan Gilbert has no reason to be angry. Take a page from Robert Sarver (Suns' owner) at least. And who knows, LeBron could still emerge as the "guy" on this Miami squad if they do well; however, there will need to be some sacrifices from him, Bosh, and Wade for them to be competing for a ring. Damion
hahahahaha. The reaction from some of you guys is comical. He owe us nothing. It's a business. In his business, championships/rings are the goals to reach. Some people want all the recognition as they climb the ladder. Some get that recognition without asking for it. When you are close to the top...everyone watches you. You are in the spotlight. There are many ways to get to the top. You don't always have to follow the path that those of the past have taken. The ultimate goal is to reach the top regardless of how you get there. If you b!tch to the management that you need help to win...you get flamed. If you decide to leave to another organization...you get flamed. But in the end...the rings matter and people forget about the b!tching and whining. I'm not quite sure if the biggest hype in basketball for the last 8 year (even before he got drafted) would have been able to make a low key decision. Regardless of how it came out...the reaction would have been the same. The guy was in a lose-lose situation. Hated for staying and hyping up the free agency and hated for leaving his team and joining another team. They way I see it...he didnt go to NY, which helps maintain the value of the two draft picks we possess and the western conference got a little less tough. (I'm gonna go ahead and put my flame suit on, seeing how my opinion is not in sync with the majority in this thread.)
Moses was traded after his 2nd mvp year to a team fresh off the finals in philly. He took the team from dr j because he was the best player. Lebron is the best player and it will be his team regardless of what people think.
I don't get it either. It's not like this is unexpected. I knew he was going to leave the moment last year`s playoffs ended for them. Mo, Wally, West choked big time while Lebron was playing his heart out(kinda like T-Mac a few years back). I was surprised that he came back this year. This year again, the managements could not assemble a team to help him win. I don`t get Dan Gilbert either. He implied in his letter that he wasn`t giving his 100% to assemble a team to help Lebron win. No wonder James left.
I was ambivalent about LBJ before. However, the self-titled "king" who couldn't win a championship on his own after calling himself the "chosen one" completely did a little sissy move on the Cavs. Personally, I don't care about Cavs fans but I am now in the camp of NBA fans that think LBJ is a farce and totally classless. MJ would never have done it that way.
There are reasons to dislike LeBron (yeah, that tattoo), but I don't think his decision to go to Miami should be one. The idea that he "betrayed" Cleveland or anyone is absurd. He was a free agent.
Everyone is exploding because he did it without any class. Also, Lebron and Bosh had already planned to come to Miami on the 1st. But they encouraged the rumors and took everyone for a ride. He calls himself the Chosen 1 and the King but he can't carry a team himself. Another thing, would be that the other 28 teams in the NBA that will probably be useless except for deciding who gets HCA in the Finals, are pissed off because they have been developing their teams for YEARS. And just because LeBron had to be a little p***y and make a super team because he didn't think that the team with the best record in the NBA could have gotten him a title. Which they probably couldn't have but that doesn't mean you make an ass move and announce on national television with a 1 hour special about him being an egoistical douchebag. I think it raises in interesting point about how some of you are talking about David Stern making sure the Lakers and the Heat keep meeting each other in the finals. But the true fans who aren't bandwagoners that actually stuck with the OTHER 28 TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE. Are going to stop watching because they already know what's going to happen. Some of China will keep watching because LeBron is an icon there but Yao and Li and the Rockets are much bigger icons, and knowing that they're out of play, the whole world has become discouraged.
JVG said it best: Lebron don't have the balls like MJ to win it on his own. Well if you look it as Cav's fan perspective you'd be burning his jersey too. He could've went to miami without making a circus of the whole thing on national tv. He a diva compare to Tmac.
Can't people just calm the hell down Player taking on massive salary and don't deliver rings = bad Player taking a salary cut and go for rings = STILL BAD No, I don't think the way he handled it all was good either. But some of you "coattail riding", "easy way out", "tarnishing his legacy" folks are pretty damn stupid too.
He's classless and that's what it really boils down too. Nobody but Cleveland fans cared if he left or not. The way he left was unreal. How someone could do that much damage to the thing it always seemed he care most about (his brand) is beyond me. He is the most hated athlete in all of sports and I don't see it changing. People who absolutely hate Kobe are now rooting for Kobe to destroy him in the Playoffs.
To be fair, Kobe has already put on a show when he got Shaq booted from LA. The Lakers will always be my least favorite team. Their fans annoy me to death.
Not in a million years did I think I would find myself cheering for Kobe over Lebron. Looks like that's a strong possibility. I'm not a Cavs fan or a Clevelander but I can feel their pain. Absolutely disgusting of Lebron.
Not hating Lebron because I haven't been keeping up with the NBA since the Rockets fell out of playoff contention last season. Winning will always be a good career move and I think this helps him more than it hurts him. This will probably prolong his career as well since he won't have to carry all of the work load like in Cleveland.
