and tell me how many pro athletes live inside the city proper, and how many pro athletes live in the suburbs of the city, and I guarantee there would be way more pro athletes living in the suburbs... all suburbs of every city in america are pretty much the same the only difference is weather. anyway im done, keep continuing on hating a city that's definitely gonna bring good karma to the very lucky rockets . watch battier get injured now or something.
Because Cleveland actually sucks. Badly. Watching those Cleveland tourism videos and having visited the city is like watching King of the Hill and actually living in Texas, except worse. You're either laughing your butt off even harder because everything you're seeing you know is true, or your face is ashen in stone-faced terror as your past traumatic experiences are flipping through like a slideshow in your brain. Truths about Cleveland that are either funny or not: 1. Their economy is actually based on Lebron James. 2. That picture is of the downtown and even that is a piece of crap. Everything outside that picture consists of slums. Except for the medical center and Case Western part wayy out on the East side that demarcates the beginning of the city limits/suburbs. 3. Did I mention that every part of the city besides that is slums? If you are in 80% of that city and do not look like you belong there, you actually have a decent chance at dying. 4. DO NOT TAKE THE RAIL SYSTEM OUT FROM THE AIRPORT. 5. At least they're not Detroit. Seriously, Cleveland sucks. Even Drew Carey concedes it these days.
Well it looks like Marion and the Raptors are trying to work something out. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4305237
I have family in the cleveland suburbs and ive probably been there more than you. their economy is not based on lebron james, that's ridiculous if you think so considering cleveland was doing much better in 2002 and prior than in 2003 and after. the city proper of cleveland is mediocre I'll give you that, greater cleveland itself is absolutely just fine.. seriously all suburbs in america are almost the same. there are more murders per capita here in houston than in cleveland and I feel safe here in houston. I've taken the light rail system many times and it was again.. fine. the areas you want to avoid are east cleveland, another nice part of cleveland is little italy.
just wanted to toss in it's not true no one wants to play in cleveland: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4063800 MANNY DOES
Yeah, but is there anything that's decidedly favorable for Cleveland to an NBA player? I mean, Houston can boast no state income tax, low property costs, tame sports media, etc. So even if there is no rabid fan base or huge media market, it's still attractive for some players.
those things you mentioned are the exact reason why we got trevor ariza(no state income tax being the biggest), add along with the fact that he'd have a much bigger role here and the fact that lebron might bolt off to who knows where next year, it's much better to sign a long term contract here. the one thing that would be favorable is if lebron signed an extension, and you know with as big of an attention w**** that he is he would never. all I'm saying is cleveland doesn't deserve all the bashing, i'm not saying it's a glamour city but i'd rather live there than a lot of cities here. obviously not houston, texas where my job is and where I grew up. btw cavs have NOT contacted rasheed at all, so you can take him off that list, the only guy was trevor ariza. shaq also requested not to be traded to portland but said he would favor a trade to cleveland, so I don't get the point of this thread really. I don't think people would appreciate houston bashing that could go on a lakers board or something.
He's just defusing the 'Cleveland sucks' talk, not arguing which city is more attractive to NBA players. But I guess people still have the innate need to feel superior so don't let me get in the way.
Cleveland is a miserable city. but, i think there is still a good chance they retain lebron since he is from ohio and they can pay him the most.
For much of this last season I thought the same. However, given the way Lebron reacted to losing the series against the Magic(and I think they made too much of that). I think he will end up opting out after the upcoming season.
Off the court, LeBron's earnings could supposedly double or triple if he left Cleveland for a major market. His NBA salary won't have much to do with his decision next summer.
this was true during his rookie year, but definitely not true anymore, the real major market is china which now has a guy from hong kong buying 15% of the cavs 1.3 billion people vs around 20 million people? what's your pick? I think you're just a miserable person then maybe, I notice the only people who talk **** about other cities/places all the time on the internet are the same people who never go out(not saying you don't, I wouldn't know). so to further prove about ariza.. : like I said before, ariza came to houston because there is no state income tax, he'd have a bigger role here, and he doesn't want to sign a multi year deal with a team that might not have lebron next year, nothing to do with the city or place(other than the no state tax). who he really turned down was toronto, I'm not sure why he did that, perhaps the cold weather or taxes, I don't know. shaq DOES count because he turned down a trade to portland, but favored one to cleveland. artest has wanted to be a laker since last year. cavs have never contacted rasheed yet. detroit gave more money than the MLE to villanueva. so they missed out on ariza but so did toronto, I really don't get people's hateful personalities. and yes lebron has a 60% chance of resigning with the cavs because he was born and raised in akron which is basically a part of greater cleveland. not only that but it seems like the knicks will only be able to have 2 star players and all scrubs, so I'm sure how that's a "championship contender" the only way I could see it happening is if the nets move to brooklyn, which is why I put the 40% chance there. so someone should just lock this thread already.. seriously.
The per capita spending of the 20 million is multiple times more than the 1.3 billion. Also, Kobe proves you don't have to play for a chinese owner to be hugely popular in China and LeBron's marketing potential far surpasses Kobe. Plus, c'mon, we're talking about Cleveland. I'm not going to take potshots at the city but there are a lot better places for a filthy-rich person to base their operation. Lastly, I hope LeBron stays in Cleveland because if he doesn't, the Cavs may as well disappear from the face of the Earth. It's good for the NBA when the small market franchises are strong and I want the NBA to be successful.
to your first thing, that is a VERY ignorant thing to say, are you seriously saying that new york city has more spending than ALL of china? dude c'mon I know you're smarter than that. lebron is already very popular in china as it is(not as much as kobe, but likely 2nd) but he will get more deals with the purchase as I hear the cavs might even get broadcasting rights there. to your 2nd thing, I agree with you, I would play in any NBA city because playing in the NBA would be an amazing feat, but if there were preferences I know id rather play in cleveland than in quite a few places, like I said I know it's not a glamour place, but it's fine. 3rd thing I also agree, if we are separating places by big market and small market, then cleveland is small market, if not then new york is big market, houston is mid-big market, cleveland is mid-market, and san antonio is small market. http://www.stationindex.com/tv/tv-markets
it's easy to say when you haven't been there or havent been outside the cleveland proper(greater cleveland being good, cleveland proper being mediocre outside of some areas). but I would rather play in cleveland than 8 nba cities, I won't name which since I don't want people's feelings hurt if they live or grew up in one of those places. realistically id just love to be in the nba and would play in any nba city. stay classy houston!!
As I live in China right now, I can tell you that the Chinese market is not as big of a deal as you may think. And if Lebron really wants to bank on the Chinese market, he might as well come to the Rockets. If there is a "home team" to Chinese people, it would be the Rockets. This is shown in broadcasts and in people's opinions, even when Yao's injured. That's the kind of fanbase cultivated over years. And not something a minority ownership of can accomplish in one year. I'm sorry, but if Lebron wants to max his income, he'll definitely bolt Cleveland. The only way he'd stay would be for loyalty/sentimental reasons, not business ones.
