I actually had no idea what type of reaction THE DECISION would garner, but I figured that it would not affect the minds of many NBA fans. After all, he was an unrestricted free agent and they are allowed to go where they want. I don't think any player holds a responsibility to stay with a team, just as I don't feel that a person is obligated to stay with in an unhappy relationship. I suspected that Cleveland fans might be angry, but now every message board I'm reading is mostly filled with pure hatred and vitriole for LeBron. Either because: 1. He left his hometown. 2. He's an egomaniac. 3. They feel awful for these Cleveland fans that have never won anything. 4. He'll never lead a team to a title by himself, thereby tarnishing his legacy forever and proving that he doesn't care about winning "fairly" (or something). And so on and so forth. However, when the hell did have NBA fans ever cared about how Clevelanders felt about the Cavaliers? Why does LeBron possibly tarnishing his own legacy upset them? None of this really makes sense to me. What I'm basically supposing is that non-Cleveland fans who have a visceral and explosive reaction to this situation are just upset that LeBron is not on their team or did not stay with the Cavaliers, a place that would never be able to lure free agents and would basically guarantee that he would never win a championship barring a miracle. LeBron finally did something to better his professional career and I suspect that it pisses people off because it is fun to bash him each May as he wilts under the weight of his crappy supporting cast. Anyways, I just wanted to see what you guys thought since this board seems to have the most reasonable fans on the internet. What about this decision causes people's heads to explode?
QUOTED FOR TRUTH. As an NBA fan, i'm excited to see some super FUN basketball. I'd also like to see Wade win some more rings... the guy is currently the most exciting player in the NBA.
I think it's more of LeBron fans being upset with LeBron. I think more people should become Wade fans though. This guy is gonna have Jordan moments in the future.
I will put it like this and hopefully you kids will understand it. Lebron James was having some foreplay with multiple cities/teams only one problem, only one city was gonna get to finish. Miami got to blow their load. Chicago, Cleveland, LA, New York, and New Jersey still have d!ck in hand ready to go but there aint nothin to tap no more. Did I mention he did this publicly on national television!
That was a bit graphic. Nobody likes jerks, and LeBron came across as a disloyal, egomaniacal, douchebag. Go on national to television, and tell his hometown to go have intercourse with themselves, thats pretty douchey behavior. It's like Carlos Beltran times 100, if he insisted on leaving Cleveland he could have had some class and just told them outright he was leaving, and the rest of the country would have tolerated it, but this came across very badly.
His Chosen1 tattoo is enough to make me hate him. But now he wants to ride Wade and Bosh's coattails to a few NBA rings, hated the Decision both in terms of where he decided to go and that TV spectacle. You won't find me buying any Lebron Miami jerseys or anything the guy sells, I would be interested in how many people feel the same way.
After not watching during the god awful boring san antonio era where the league was about 5 stars deep bringing you the same 3-4 teams every year almost, the "star" depth increased to maybe 10-15 players over the last several years and we're going to enter a new super team era of 3-4 teams where even a Detroit fluke can't happen. I can't imagine for a second what could hurt the nba
This is the only complaint about Lebron that I tolerate. Flaunting it really was a douchebag move. The fact is Bosh and Amare did the exact same thing, but because they weren't as dramatic about it, only the PHX and the Toronto fans had violent reactions. All the rest fo the complaints though, that somehow Cleveland would have won anyway, he's a traitor to Cleveland, he doesn't look greatness in the face, yeah whatever dude. The rings he gets will validate or invalidate his move.
Its good for the NBA when the same teams meet again and again in the finals. Remember Boston Lakers rivalry? That wouldn't have happened if they didn't meet a lot of times. Also the ratings exploded under Jordan, and he had a 3 peat two times.
feeling pissed for him leaving Cleveland and joining Miami is not correct, IMO. as the OP says, he is free to do what he thinks is right for him. the main problem, as re-iterated by many good posters here, is the way he did it. A 1 hr program on national television is totally uncalled for, especially when you are leaving your hometown to another place. He could have stayed classy and tweeted about it, saying he had a great 8 years in cleveland but he wants to join the other 2 stars in a title chase. it is that simple. 140 characters would have conveyed the message. i dont know why he opted for a national tv event. there was so much hype already and a 1 hr show was totally unnecessary. he could have tweeted or called a press meeting, and it would have still made the news. lebron chose the wrong platform. maybe it was his ego (but he was clearly uncomfortable in front of the camera). or maybe , his team of yes-men were behind this. but yeah. PR disaster now. but we know how quickly we forgive our beloved athletes.
I'm disappointed in Lebron, because I really thought he was going to take the torch from Jordan, and in part from Kobe. Even if he wins 10 rings, there's no chance in hell anyone would value those over Jordan's rings. It's the mentality more than the actual basketball factors.
They are taking the lazy way to get a ring. There should be an asterk next to any titles they may win. Also, I'm willing to bet he didn't sit down with the Cavs GM and owner to explain his decision. That was classless. He's took the easy way out there too. I really thought more of Lebron.
Personally I think player is entitled to chase his 'dreams' to win a championship wherever and whenever he can. The way Lebron went about doing this was unacceptable. After years of restating his loyalty to Cleveland, he publicly humiliates them by jumping boat. The televised decision was absolutely unnecessary. This clearly shows he is still a child who has many more life lessons to learn. A great and if not one of the best players of this generation but mentally a stooge.
Sorry I don't see what is so wrong to do this on TV. It's 21st century. Why is everyone sentimental? It's business.
i'm pissed at him because he's made me respect kobe more. kobe could've done this same dog and pony show, but he was a little more focused on winning. at least i have a new least favorite team.
What's compounded a lot of peoples anger towards Lebron are the reports coming out that going to the heat has been, for some time now, a foregone conclusion. Multiple teams depleted their rosters banking on an honest attempt to get him. Instead, they just fed into his massive ego and played into this charade. The whole thing is a big joke, and the only real vindication for the fans and other teams will be if the Heat dont win the finals...and considering the collection of talent they have, its highly unlikely that they dont, at the very least, come out the east.
I don't have a problem with Lebron going to another team. Everyone has the right to work for whoever wants to hire them. However, you don't hold the league and its fans hostage by keeping your decision secret until you can reveal it on your own concocted TV special. Especially, if you are leaving your hometown team to join an all-star team! That being said I blame Dan Gilbert just as much for Lebron leaving. From the very start he has let Lebron call the shots on who to add to the team, which we all know is an awful collection of players that all come up short of having the will and mental toughnes of a championship team. This whole process was calculated and orchestrated by LeBron, DWade, and Bosh before free agency started and if anyone doesn't believe that they just aren't dealing with reality. How hard would it have been just to send out a press release last friday with no fan fare and say we have decided to team up together in Miami? ESPN and every other sports media outlet would have spent the past week analyzing the decision regardless. None of them would have lost the opportunity of gaining attention if they had just done that. I have always felt that sports heroes aren't made from winning championships but from achieving excellence by overcoming adversity to do so. It appears that Lebron James just denied himself that opportunity for at least the next 5 years.
IMO there was no real way the most covered athlete in this decade, so it seems, can flee from the media and work it out all alone.
