why should lebron be respectful of barkley. doesn't sound like barkley's being respectful of him. the real idiots in this case, as always, are the terrible sports media. they fixate on one damn story and do their best to turn our games from sports we follow to straight-up soap operas. it's like a basketball game accidentally broke out during the young and the restless.
There's a difference between being critical of somebody's actions and being flat out disrespectful. Barkley was making a valid claim and LeBron's response was "He's stupid". That's not only disrespectful but also not a good way to portray yourself in the media. At least make yourself look like you're capable of putting a sentence together before you insult an NBA legend. Agreed totally. That's why LeBron needs to simply come out and say "Look, I won't talk about it. There's no point in asking". The media is definitely the predator looking for a story but you have to know how to deal with them in that situation. Considering how LeBron has dealt with them since he was 15-years-old you would think he would know that by now.
Out of curiosity, what had James said about the whole 2010 thing? All I've seen is stuff about how it will be a big FA class, and how NY is a bball town. Well, to be fair, Barkley did tell him to 'shut the hell up'. That's not exactly respectful.
As a Cavs fan (I've got the Mark Price rookie card to prove it), I don't mind Lebron addressing the questions. The media has been fixating on this for awhile and will continue to do so until they find something else to write about. But there's a point where you've already said all there is to say and need to stop entertaining the media's bait. I think Lebron is at that point and he should start deflecting anymore questions. He's been decent about the whole thing so far. Now he owes it to his teammates to not let this be a distraction.
If the fans boo you, if the team doesn't give you respect, then you have all the right to leave. If the player doesn't do good, if the player doesn't make effort, then the fans and the team have all the right to kick him out. Loyalty is two ways, and it is earned. Cleveland supports LeBron all the way. He should at least shut the media up and tell them to stay off until 2010. I am not saying that he should never consider leaving the team. If New York give him a better deal than Cleveland, of course you consider it. What I am saying is, sports is as much about relationships as just winning and losing. Ask tinman why he is still supporting all the former Rockets "heroes." That's loyalty. You give too many example that I care about answering. If you think guys like Bonzi deserve loyalty from his team and fans, then you don't really understand my point.
Charles was the rear end of the old guard who didn't get paid much despite his talent and stardom. He did have a chance to make a lot of dough but passed some of it up for us to sign quitten. He does have some standing, but the fat ass he blows wind with has probably forgotten how to stand so it can get confusing sometimes.
I'm not saying that LeBron is proper in his response, but I just think it's silly that the Chuckster, who I loved and hated as a Rocket and now, still has people putting weight into his opinions. He stopped seriously following the NBA a long time ago. They constantly poke fun at him for not knowing where non-star players play. He consistently is late at understanding the rule changes and how the game is currently played. He watches about 5% of the games that he is paid to watch and then applies 80's and 90's very light basketball analysis to everything he sees. There is no depth to anything he ever says. He is there simply for comedy (because he is do doubt funny) and for controversy (because he has a track record for that too). It's easy to say LeBron should "shut the hell up", but nobody as ever walked his shoes. Tiger is the closest imo in terms of sports celebrity power (in the modern era). The press is constantly hounding him and the stories are going to be there No Matter What. So should he be quiet...there are legit reasons to, and there are legit reasons not to, but either way, it's nothing bad that one should hold against LeBron. Calling the Chuckster stupid is not terrible. T-Mac said last year the Barkley didn't know anything about basketball and we all here loved it. The Chuckster is just a yapper and LeBron has already done more for the Cavs than Barkley did for his teams. Yes, I applaud Barkley taking less money for 1 year, but he also constantly put his teams through PR nightmares, clashed with other teammates (KJ, Drexler), forced a trade out of Phoenix to Houston, and was out of shape all the time. Now Barkley was a great player and played the game right, but so does LeBron, and LeBron is not bashing Cleveland at all. There are other things that LeBron has messed up on that deserves more criticism than this. If he pulls AI stuff, or gets in trouble with the law, or screws his teammates or coach, then that stuff should be greatly criticized. Just my opinion. I could be wrong.
spot on again kim. barkley may have been right, but it is clear that he is on tnt for the comedy factor. whenever he talks about tracy, the board factors that in. now he says something about lebron, and people want to take him seriously. plus the pushing teamates under the bus negates anything he has to say about someone else as a teamate. I remember in game 7 in 95 in phoenix in the beginning of the game drexler dunked and ac green nastily and barkley laughed at him.
LeBron is going wherever Worldwide Wes tells him to go And that's gonna be NYC. Wes will get Maverick Carter and LJ's other "boys" on board and he will be gone...
