your mom goes to college. i'll leave it at this...i don't want to hear any more GOAT comparisons. i don't want to hear anymore Jordan, Magic, Hakeem, Duncan, etc. comparisions.
On the contrary, that seems to be one of the only two arguments we see here. The other being of course the media circus he caused. Do you not see everyone here complaining about Lebron not doing it on his own even though Cleveland sucked and was never or ever will be the teams Magic or Bird had?
I've already predicted Lebron will average a triple double next year... And if he does...lololololol, espn
Isn't this more compareable to Shaq when he left Orlando for LA? Granted yea he didn't take paycut like LBJ but he jumped ship from a team that had all stars in it and was at the top of the East to the other conference to a successful franchise after it landed Kobe Bryant and had all star guards in Eddie Jones/Nick Van Exel
Oscar Robertson was at the end of his career when Kareem came to the Bucks and then Kareem was well past his prime when Magic came to the Lakers. Bryant has 2 rings without Shaq who is mostly responsible for his first 3 rings. Boston was terrible before Bird showed up. I don't really rate Dr. J as highly as a lot of people do. None of the examples you're giving are comparable to what has happened here. If Magic and Bird had teamed up, or Wilt and Russell, or Shaq and Duncan, then you would have a good comparison on your hands. Of course that kind of thing never happened.
I don't think you named 20 dudes did you? Again, Gasol was Boozer before he got to LA. Look at where Boozer was as far as the prized free agents this year - a weak consolation prize. That's great that Pippen 'took his team' to the second round and all, but Wade led a much worse team to a championship. I'll take that over Pippen who did nothing outside of Chicago and was never a big shot-maker or clutch. Grant close to Bosh? Were Grant an FA this year the reaction would be nothing like it has been for Bosh. Robert Horry, a small forward, abused him in the Finals. Rodman over Bosh? The Bulls traded Will Perdue for Rodman and people questioned whether it was even a good trade for Chicago.
Magic and Bird teaming up would be like Lebron and Kobe teaming up. The examples he provided are very comparable to what happened here. You're downplaying how good Kareem was at his twilight years and how fast the Boston team got good.
Love how everyone has no real opinion of their own, but just follow what others write about Lebron choosing Miami. When a player chooses to leave a good team to go to a crap team because he can make more money, he is a sellout and only cares about making money and not winning. (Joe Johnson leaving the Suns for example.) When a player goes to a team so he has a better chance to win games and win a championship, he is a ring rider. You can't have it both ways. Lebron, Wade, and Bosh have the chance to make history now with likely 3-5 championships in the near future. It's not like he went to Miami to be second fiddle to Wade. They are playing together as a team, which is what basketball is. It seems like some people are selfish and only want Lebron to continue to put up monster stats on a mediocre team. The Cavs surrounded Lebron with so much talent (Mo, Antawn, Shaq) and he still couldn't win. Lebron is willing to take less money in order to win and if you are a true fan of his, you would like to see him win most.
I realize you know better than I how I arrive at the opinions I arrive at....but I'll share with you that: 1. had he gone to CHI i wouldn't be this critical; 2. no matter what he chose, i wouldn't be this critical if he didn't have the little dog and pony show last night.
Pippen v. Wade is actually a legitimate argument. Pippen is the best defensive perimeter player of all time and no slouch on offense. In his prime he was one of the top 3 players in the NBA, just like Wade. Gasol has always been better than Boozer. This guy consistently took the Grizzlies to the playoffs (once with 50 wins) with no help. Boozer didn't do anything until Deron Williams showed up. Yes, casual fans hadn't heard of Gasol because he was stuck on a crappy team, but anyone who followed the league knew he was great because he was skilled and had size. Boozer is an undersized PF who is a dime a dozen in this league.
Half of the people are Kobe nutriders who are coming to the sobering realization that Lebron will now be adding titles to his resume, to go along with his far superior stats to Kobe. The other half have a legitimate gripe about the lack of parity in this league now that it is being overrun with superteams.
Kareem won the MVP in 80. Was Worthy past his prime too? And now he only has Gasol, Bynum and Odom in a league where you don't see another skilled 6'10 guy into the Finals. The horror. Yeah, until Red swung a trade for two HOF bigs. He also got DJ and walton for nothing. They are comparable. Wade is not better than Kareem or Magic in the early 80's. He isn't better than Pippen. McHale was arguably better. Robinson was clearly better in 99. Etc. All of these guys played alongside great players. The only difference is their management got the talent for them.
As if the Lakers getting handed Gasol and winning year after year is parity - glad to see a potential challenge to a 3peat. After all, Boston's not getting any younger next year.
I agree with most of your posts in this thread but this last paragraph...eh... I don't agree about McHale and I REALLY don't agree about Wade not being better than David Robinson in '99.
I don't see how anyone who has watched Gasol undress Boozer in the last 2 postseasons can claim Boozer is better. Gasol is one of the few bigs in the league that are good on the block and on the perimiter offensively and defensively. He has enough speed to stay with people and enough height and length to not be easily shot over. And he tries on defense, something we can't say for Boozer, Amare or Bosh. As far as Pippen vs Wade, give me Wade offensively but give me Pippen in every other category.
So we have 2-time MVP Moses escaping to Philadelphia -- a championship caliber team with superstar Dr. J -- and that's fine and dandy. LeBron goes to a mediocre team to join forces with Dwyane Wade, accepting the challenge of meshing his talents with his new teammates', and that's the easy, b**** move. I don't see how that distinction makes LeBron look worse. Moving on: There is something noble about sticking with the same team until you win the championship. This I agree to, and I'm disappointed that LeBron chose not to do that. It would have made for a better story. That said, him going to Miami does not mean he's deferring to Wade. It doesn't mean that Wade is the alpha, and Lebron is the beta. It doesn't mean that LeBron needed Wade more than Wade needed LeBron. It is true that Lebron is sacrificing more of his legacy to make this happen than Wade is. LeBron will still likely be the best player on the Heat next year, even if people like yourself insist on call it Wade's team because he's been there his whole career.
It was the smartest move for him. I can't really hate on him for that. However, the way he handled it was absurdly crappy.
to me, he went from a "King" to a "Prince" overnight. I won't lie, I'm interesting in seeing how they play they season.
We always criticize athletes for going after the money, and not the ultimate goal of winning. Some decisions are blatantly clear money over passion for the game, but in this instance it sure does look like LeBron took winning over money. -Joining a star studded cast in which he has to split the attention with Bosh and Wade -Leaving 30 mill on the table in money - Not worrying about what the "people" say about his legacy but worrying about how he can win a championship as soon as possible, and start to build on his legacy by any means necessary All decisions based on his well being and his alone, not others. Clearly team basketball is just fine with him, as big as he is in the NBA as much as his ego has been scrutinized this came off as a step back on all off that. A situation in which he realized I have an opportunity to win multiple championships with great players, why would I not relish that moment? A ring is a ring, whether you win it with 1 superstar or 10 superstars, trying to take that away because one superstar seeks help makes no sense to me. His "legacy" now doesn't count? See he's not cheating, not committing a crime, using sports enhancements to win hes joining forces with 2 other superstars, and suddenly it makes him a pansy and a doubter of himself? I was glad to see this move because it made him look like the man in control and not being dictated by outside chirping from fans and the media about how his "brand" will die. Bottom line he wants to win, and he's willing to be a teammate champion what's wrong with that? I think this decision is commendable, and I am excited to see what comes out off all this.
