Simmons - The Lebroncalypse. Article Here Anyone read this one yet? Having gone through the same procedure of defending Lebron for years but being fed up with his press conference, I felt that this was one of his best columns in a while. Insight on some of Lebron's thinking and just how Miami would be a stupid, stupid move.
[ESPN] Bill Simmons Article Check out this article. It's pretty long but it's a very good read. Please lock if already posted. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100708
What a great read. Simmons has definitely become one of my favorite sports columnists. I really enjoy his work.
best part of that article...mostly because i feel the exact same way : Losing LeBron on a contrived one-hour show would be worse than Byner's fumble, Jose Mesa, the Game 5 meltdown against Boston, The Drive, The Shot and everything else. At least those stomach-punch moments weren't preordained, unless you believe God hates Cleveland (entirely possible, by the way). This stomach-punch moment? Calculated. By a local kid they loved, defended and revered. It would be unforgivable. Repeat: unforgivable. I don't have a dog in this race -- as a Celtics fan, I wanted to see him go anywhere but Chicago -- but LeBron doing this show after what happened in the 2010 playoffs actually turned me against him. No small feat. I was one of his biggest defenders. Not anymore. And here's where I really worry, because I don't think LeBron James has anyone in his life with enough juice to hurl his or her body in front of the concept of "I'm going to announce during a one-hour live show that I'm playing somewhere other than Cleveland." It's the best and worst thing about him -- he has remained fiercely loyal to his high school friends, but at the same time, he's surrounded by people his own age who don't stand up to him and don't know any better. Picking anyone other than Cleveland on this show would be the meanest thing any athlete has ever done to a city. But he might. Assuming he's not malicious, and that he's just a self-absorbed kid who apparently lost all perspective, that doesn't make him much different than most child stars who became famous before they could legally drink -- or, for that matter, Tiger Woods. That's just the way this stuff works. Too much, too fast, too soon. You don't lose your way all at once; just a little at a time. Then one day you look up and there's a TMZ photo spread with 15 of your mistresses, or you're agreeing to stab an entire city in the heart on a one-hour television show. (When Kevin Durant announced his own five-year, $86 million extension with an endearingly simple tweet yesterday, we all had the same thought: "Now that's how it's done." Pretty sad that an NBA star stood out for being humble and only caring about basketball.)
long but great read the best point simmons makes is the vets they would need to sign in a summer were everyone is getting paid from Darko, to Steve Blake to even now Travis Outlaw (7m??) which guy is gonna want to take a huge paycut to play with them especially with the lockout and new CBA coming up? everyone is going to try to make the max dollars themselves. the view aging vets (both the o'neals) will go to teams that are contending now
I read it ALL and that was a pretty thought provoking read. Seriously if LeChoke, Wade, and Piggy-Back make the ultra three in Miami I think They will become the most hated trio in basketball. Has that ever happened? In one summer they will have irreparably damaged their legacy because of their need to be famous. It seems EVERYONE, outside of Miami, has soured on this spectacle. EVERYONE. Fans, writers, players, coaches, GMs, EVERYONE. I wonder if this does come to pass will they be booed in every arena around the nation not just in Toronto and Cleavland?
I read it ALL and that was a pretty thought provoking read. Seriously if LeChoke, Wade, and Piggy-Back make the ultra three in Miami I think They will become the most hated trio in basketball. Has that ever happened? In one summer they will have irreparably damaged their legacy because of their need to be famous. It seems EVERYONE, outside of Miami, has soured on this spectacle. EVERYONE. Fans, writers, players, coaches, GMs, EVERYONE. I wonder if this does come to pass will they be booed in every arena around the nation not just in Toronto and Cleavland?
great article. He's really better than most of these people at creating a continuum, where he appropriately references, e.g., a reader's letter from 8 months ago. Simmons gets it, and he's using a lot less of the "my pal Pancho and my buddy T-Bone were rolling dice with me and we all had a group hug watching basketball on TV and then we went to Denny's" that used to drive me crazy.
EXCELLENT article. This was my favorite part: I think it's a cop-out. Any super-competitive person would rather beat Dwyane Wade than play with him. Don't you want to find the Ali to your Frazier and have that rival pull the greatness out of you? That's why I'm holding out hope that LeBron signs with New York or Chicago (or stays in Cleveland), because he'd be saying, "Fine. Kobe, Dwight and Melo all have their teams. Wade and Bosh have their teams. The Celtics are still there. Durant's team is coming. I'm gonna go out and build MY team, and I'm kicking all their asses." That's what Jordan would have done. Hell, that's what Kobe would have done. In May, after the Cavs were ousted in the conference semifinals, I wrote that LeBron was facing one of the greatest sports decisions ever: "winning (Chicago), loyalty (Cleveland) or a chance at immortality (New York)." I never thought he would pick "HELP!" Also, the details about Chris Bosh being more interested in putting on a show than actual negotiations should be interesting to those of us who followed that saga for the past week.
Great article, makes me really think what this summer is going to mean to the long-term perception of the NBA and its player. On the other hand this should really help EA and any NBA video game franchises as the two become more and more a like.
I guess I'm the only one who is way more annoyed with people whining about this free agency than the events themselves. This piece was no exception. Half of the article talks about how he should go to NY just because it's a "basketball mecca" which is the same tired crap Knicks fans have been spewing for years now. For an annoying Boston homer I wasn't exactly expecting that. Anyway, as long as the Rockets aren't in the finals (doubtful) I hope the Heat superteam take a giant dump on the rest of the teams in the league and win championship after championship. It's hilarious to see all of these fans who wanted these players so desperately talk about how they're the scum of the Earth now that they're not signing with who they want them to. People are going to whine about it anyway, so I'll absolutely root for these "heels". I don't normally root for teams/players for the sole reason that it'd piss someone off, but I definitely will here.
That part interested me because one wonders if a certain GM who's good friends with Simmons and was scorned by Bosh might have mentioned that.
He did make an excellent point there. I had been considering Bosh a superstar myself until he completely changed my mind. He's right. Bosh is an all-star, but nowhere near a superstar.
Good article. I'm on board with about 75% of what he said. Simmons is always entertaining and I also recommend his podcasts.
Agree with you completely, this article is just stirring up more stupid drama in this offseason. The NBA after-all is a business about winning, and you can see now that it takes more than just a big 2 to win a title. I don't blame him for going to Miami but, this hour TV special is stupid.
