It is no better if you're demanding a trade unless the team can meet your demands. The one thing I'll never agree to is that a player is somehow obligated to stay in one city his whole career. I think it is extremely unfair to ask that of any player. Personally, I think players should honor their contract and not demand trades. And then, when their contract is over, they evaluate the situation and go wherever they wish. That's how it should be.
Not saying he's obligated or should be obligated. No one is suggesting we do away with free agency. Most of the things people do that lead us to respect them aren't things they're obligated to do...because then we wouldn't respect them for it. I have a lot more respect for loyalty. Particularly in this very unique situation.
what does being compared to jordan have to do with anything, and you're being a little dishonest, people may not have compared him to jordan, but there were arguments that he was the best player in the league at the time.
I have no problem that he chose Miami...He wants to win and with DWade and CB4 he has a better chance there than any other place...(Chi-town, maybe). NY wasn't the place cuz of Amar'e and his impending knee problems that will show up halfway through his newly signed 5 year deal...(or is 2.5 years too optomistic?)... The Nets and Clippers weren't the place cuz..well..they're the Nets and Clippers anmf finally, of course, his hometown Cavs who's best player is now Mo Williams? So I get why he chose Miami. But the way this entire process was handled with the hour-long special and all the crap that came with it.....I have a huge problem with that. At least he spared us from standing up, and taking off that cute plaid shirt and reveal to the world via the heat jersey....come to think of it...that would have been a fitting end to a hour that will never get back in my life.
he was the scoring champ for sure.... but no GOAT comparisons. no witnesses...no chosen one....no king...none of that stuff. look, we've been sold that LeBron is "special" beyond merely all star or MVP status for years. he's carried that torch as well.
the connection of Cleveland to LeBron is a huge part of what makes this a special case..... that and the fact this was a 60+ win team the last 2 seasons in his hometown that he just jumped from.
Dr. J was 33 when Moses Malone joined the 76ers... and was nowhere near being the undisputed top player in the league at the time. Irrelevant example. This is clearly about 1a joining 1b instead of having the hunger to go out and beat him. To go against a team with the only other player who can match you in terms of athleticism, skillset and impact for a wing player at this moment and time. This is about deferring the responsibility of being the bonafide superstar. Miami is Wade's team. They drafted him, he won a title with them, and put up with them through the down times after that. Now he logically demanded help (all superstars do), recruited Bosh, and resigned with them. They had a welcome party planned for Wade/Bosh with or without LeBron. Whether that's a PR leak or not, I'm not sure. Bringing other players into your own turf isn't called being a b****, it's called being the man. LeBron is a patsy for blindly following the orders of his PR crew and jumping ship to be on Wade's team so he doesn't have to "feel the pressure of scoring 30 every night" as a 25 year old entering his prime. This is completely different from him joining Chicago, New Jersey or New York. This is is about him not wanting to be THE man, despite demanding the hype for it. Despite having more than enough talent and athleticism for it. You just don't get it, do you. And not every team is as fortunate as the Lakers to have an absolutely deadly finisher with an insatiable desire to win and compete. Kobe has been their go to guy down the stretch since title #1. That's what separates the very good, from the great. That's why we hold Hakeem to such high esteem, because he could close out games despite being a big man. That's why the entire league was on it's feet when LeBron dominated against the Pistons like only a guy with his talents could do. But rather than that being the norm, it's become the exception. And this scares LeBron, the need to push himself to his limits and take accountability for the possibility that he might just fail when trying his best. LeBron is a much more dangerous player than Kobe in his prime, similar to TMac, but they just don't have the mentality for it. And that's what separates the Kobe's, Jordan's, Isiah's... from the rest at their respective position.
No, I don't see the difference. Wanna know why? Because "your team" can ship your butt out at any given moment. The flip side to that is a player can choose to leave when their contract is done. "Your team" is the team that you were drafted to, not the team you chose to play for. I just don't see how it's ok for a guy under a contract that he signed to bi*&h to be traded because he doesn't like the team (yes Kobe did this 3 times), but it's suddenly wrong for a free agent to choose where he goes. At the end of the day both guys are trying to improve their situation. Those criticizing this decision for any basketball reasons fail on all angles. There is nothing wrong with a player choosing to go play with help. Until I see Kobe saying "no, keep Gasol" then I will stick to this story. There is nothing wrong with a free agent leaving a team. There is nothing wrong with a guy not wanting to play for the team that drafted him when his contract is up. There is nothing wrong with a 25 yr old wanting to live in a new city. There is nothing wrong with wanting to play with your friends. There is nothing wrong with leaving a franchise that hasn't managed to land you anyone better than Mo Williams in a 7 year span, especially when the alternative is to team up with two stars (stars are necessary to win but jard to acquire). There is nothing wrong with winning a title playing alongside other great players. If so then please have Moses, Dr J., Magic, Kareem, Bird, Jordan, Isiah, Shaq and Kobe pawn all of their title rings. Hakeem and Duncan can keep theirs from 94 and 03, but they need to get rid of the other 4. Even using the BS "alpha male/whose team is it" argument, we still don't know who will defer next year and I've listed countless great players that have won alongside players better than Wade and Bosh. There is surely nothing wrong with putting your ego and $$ aside to win. There is something wrong with dumping on your old club on national TV though.
Moses was also a restricted free agent. The Rockets matched his salary and then traded him to the Sixers. Simple truth? The Rockets were being cheap and stupid.
Loyalty doesn't mean a ******* thing in sports. Cleveland wants Lebron because he is valuable to them, on and off the court. He brings them money and their only chance at a title or relevancy. It has nothing to do with loyalty. Cleveland fans want Lebron because he makes their team good. It has nothing to do with Lebron as a human being. It has nothing to do with him being from Cleveland. They would've loved him just the same if he had been from Sweden. They just convinced themselves that he loved THEM because he was from Cleveland. Do you really think the team would be "loyal" to Lebron if he was perpetually injured? Became a terrible player? Or was simply a nobody basketball player from Akron? Hell no. Is it loyalty to a player when they trade him to another team to make themselves better? Of course not. But there's nothing wrong with it either. They're doing what's in their best interest. They don't owe the player an explanation and Lebron doesn't owe them one here. This doesn't have a single thing to do with loyalty.
Yes...the team can do all those things.... but guess what?? the Cavs weren't doing that. And if you honestly believe that the criticism for LeBron is directly simply because he wanted to play with good players, then you've missed it entirely. Notice, no one is criticizing Dwayne Wade.
It's a special case but I can't really blame him. If Bron left Cleveland in a normal way instead of announcing it like he did with the 1 hour special how would you feel then? Are you criticizing him because he left or because of how he handled it? Or both?
tell that to the people in Cleveland this morning. there is loyalty out there. you may have to look hard to find it....and maybe that's why you respect it when you see it.
somewhat both....but the WAY he did it exacerbates the situation enough for me to continue talking about it, frankly. and i'm clearly not alone on this
i'm not the media. he did the show, pgabriel. without him, there is no show for ESPN to host last night.
You wrote, he's getting criticism, not madmax is criticizing him yes he didn't have to do the show, and the media didn't have to talk about his free agency for the last two years
How loyal were the Cavs fans when they were booted out of the playoffs this year and had the audacity to call out the only guy who showed up at all? And the Cleveland fans crying today has nothing to do with loyalty. It has to do with the fact their team is going to sink back into irrelevancy.
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