Glad Im not the only one.Blacken said:LeBron going back to Cleveland made me go watch the Paul Pierce tribute video again and now I'm sad.
Glad Im not the only one.Blacken said:LeBron going back to Cleveland made me go watch the Paul Pierce tribute video again and now I'm sad.
BigSoxFan said:Birdman would be a great bench signing for Cleveland. Sounds like LeBron is basically calling the shots now.
Grin&MartyBarret said:Anthony Bennett's clearly lost a lot of weight, and is playing aggressively right now in this summer league game. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him have a good season this year as a second unit scorer.
Unless he's in a Love trade. If that happens, he's doomed.
BigSoxFan said:I read that article and it's a bit much, especially the "LeBron is a genius" stuff. What exactly makes him a genius? The fact that he correctly identified that his Heat team wasn't as good? Everyone on this board knew that. We all saw the same things - Wade was breaking down, Bosh was disappearing, the rest of the team sucked, etc.
BigSoxFan said:As for the on-the-court stuff, LeBron certainly has a high basketball IQ but so do a lot of people. The difference is that we're not 6'9 270 freaks of nature with NFL secondary speed. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I hate when Simmons gets all mushy like this and creates some narrative like LeBron is Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind" or something.
That is kind of bullshit. We don't really know anything about LeBron, only how he presents himself publicly. And, to be fair, the fact that he has enough self-awareness not to repeat a Decision-style fiasco is probably a good thing.I would wager that the only thing about LeBron James that has changed since The Decision back in 2010 is that he now knows precisely what kind of horseshit sports fans and sportswriters want, and how to deliver that horseshit.
But to rebuild his brand he admitted he was wrong (about The Decision), and had to come to terms with playing for Gilbert again, the man who publically called him a coward. None of that sounds easy, not for a multi millionaire, hyper competitive athlete with a massive ego. Sounds hard to me.ifmanis5 said:He's rebuilding his brand and was sick of being hated on...This was an easy decision.
Rocco Graziosa said:I'm obviously a stupid sucker (no breaking news there) because I thought that was a brilliant move by Lebron.
ifmanis5 said:Admitting the Decision was wrong was hard? Come on. Also, it's easier to live with your mistakes once you have two chips. He bailed out of Cleveland because he couldn't take it anymore and now he's going back for similar reasons. He wants to be liked again. Let's stop giving him Human Being of the Year platitudes.
First and foremost I never said LeBron is out to remove Blatt. All I said was that Blatt would have to make significant adjustments to his coaching style which is not an easy task. Ultimately it WILL be up to LeBron whether Blatt is the right coach for the team.Bergs said:
So 3 other guys out of the thousands of NBA players since 1979 (Magic's rookie year). I'm thinking that's kinda rare by definition.
I'd say Jordan was easily in that category as well, but still. What are you arguing here, that 5 individuals over 35 years of the NBA don't qualify as rare?
If Shabazz Napier hasn't yet signed his rookie deal, which i haven't seen reported, and is traded to Cleveland it would certainly solidify this.BigSoxFan said:Birdman would be a great bench signing for Cleveland. Sounds like LeBron is basically calling the shots now.
ifmanis5 said:Admitting the Decision was wrong was hard? Come on. Also, it's easier to live with your mistakes once you have two chips. He bailed out of Cleveland because he couldn't take it anymore and now he's going back for similar reasons. He wants to be liked again. Let's stop giving him Human Being of the Year platitudes.
I was taking a shot at ESPN, not anyone here. I couldn't even make it through the Simmons BJ of a column.DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:I don't see anyone here calling him Human Being of the Year. If I missed it, please point it out.
That's not what happened at all. That was all shtick and joking after the Bosh news was broken.RedOctober3829 said:Yup. His co hosts went off the rails.
I would normally take this view and I think these are large factors, but I might guess this situation has a small personal element.ifmanis5 said:I was taking a shot at ESPN, not anyone here. I couldn't even make it through the Simmons BJ of a column.
I guess I'm more cynical than others but to me it's pretty simple. He figured out he couldn't get it done in Cleveland so he bailed. He figured out the Miami thing was over so he bailed again. It's nice that he's atoning somewhat by going home and I'm happy for the city of Cleveland finally getting a break but this is a brand making a marketing decision as much as anything and I see it for that.
ElcaballitoMVP said:
The draft was rigged! Silver wanted to break up the Big 3 and have everyone talk about LeBron, the Cavs and the NBA all summer and he gave them the #1 pick to make it happen!
I'm sure he rigged the nba finals blow out, reconciliation between LeBron and Gilbert, and weakened Wades knees too!Erik Hanson said:
You say this like it's not possible. I wouldn't be shocked.
The media blowing the biggest sports story of the summer out of proportion? Man, didn't see that coming.Kliq said:Would anybody have more respect for LeBron if he had stayed in Miami? In a vacuum, this was the same thing that he did in 2010. He got sick of the team he was on, and bailed to another, cushier location, while also holding the entire sporting world hostage with the "Where is LeBron going to go?" storyline. The only difference this time is that he didn't have an ESPN special and he is going back to his original team instead of going to a tourist hotbed.
Look, the letter was nice and all, but I agree with some of the people above me that the media is blowing LeBron's nobility out of proportion.
The way the Celtics' Big Three came together did not happen in the same way it did for the Heat. Come on.HomeRunBaker said:I don't really know what a "manufactured championship" is......maybe it's different than KG refusing to be traded to Boston unless convinced by a Ray Allen acquisition but that would be the definition of creative thinking if so.
No it wasn't the identical scenario but how is LeBron only going to Miami if Bosh joins them as the 3rd HOFer any more "manufactured" than KG only coming to Boston if Allen joins them as their 3rd HOFer? Pierce and Wade were both entrenched as the face of their teams franchise too.BostonFan23 said:The way the Celtics' Big Three came together did not happen in the same way it did for the Heat. Come on.
That said, as a long-time LeBron Hater, I don't see how anyone could have a problem with how this was announced. Give the guy a break. As long as the Celtics are out of it, I'll be rooting for him in Cleveland. Or at the very least, not rooting against him.
Judge Mental13 said:So Dan Gilbert basically has two years to not fuck things up so badly that LBJ leaves again.
Judge Mental13 said:While holding a 1 hour tv special announcing your decision to leave your hometown to win a manufactured championship on Miami Beach is the height of narcissism, I guess I'm failing to see how dictating an essay to Sports Illustrated (in which you talk about how hard it was for your mom to watch Cleveland fans burn your jersey on TV and give shout-outs to Dwyane Wade, whom you just cost several million dollars and "Rio" Chalmers whom you publicly embarassed time and time again) while essentially declaring yourself the savior of Cleveland, the city that you thrust the most violent middle finger at in modern sports history 4 years ago is the opposite of that.
Lebron James is completely and utterly full of shit and I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that he always will be. It's not a big deal, most pro athletes are utterly full of shit, but Lebron's particular brand of full-of-shit-ness is dwarfed only by his basketball abilities, which are vast.
You want the opposite of "The Decision" ? You call your agent, tell him you want to sign with he Cavaliers, the Cavs send a contract over, you sign it, send it back, the team makes an announcement and then you have a press conference just like every-fuckin-body else. Instead he hired one of the best sports writers in the country to pen an image-crafting love-letter. Was it better than The Decision? No doubt about it, but good grief, people not from Cleveland are getting emotional reading that??? Really?
The Social Chair said:The two years is because there will be a new CBA and TV deal by then and the most underpaid athlete in sports can get a bigger max deal after that WITH Cleveland.
Lebron has been the model athlete on and off the court the last couple of years. He'll never be able to make everybody happy as the last couple of pages here show
Judge Mental13 said:While holding a 1 hour tv special announcing your decision to leave your hometown to win a manufactured championship on Miami Beach is the height of narcissism, I guess I'm failing to see how dictating an essay to Sports Illustrated (in which you talk about how hard it was for your mom to watch Cleveland fans burn your jersey on TV and give shout-outs to Dwyane Wade, whom you just cost several million dollars and "Rio" Chalmers whom you publicly embarassed time and time again) while essentially declaring yourself the savior of Cleveland, the city that you thrust the most violent middle finger at in modern sports history 4 years ago is the opposite of that.
Their collusion months (years?) before free agency, the fact that they were signed rather than traded, their respective ages (25, 26, 28 vs 30, 31, 32), the insane party they had where they said the games would be easy and they could win 8 championships, etc...HomeRunBaker said:No it wasn't the identical scenario but how is LeBron only going to Miami if Bosh joins them as the 3rd HOFer any more "manufactured" than KG only coming to Boston if Allen joins them as their 3rd HOFer? Pierce and Wade were both entrenched as the face of their teams franchise too.
Aside from a cable TV spectacular that raised millions for the Boys and Girls Club and pissing off your former fanbase it was every bit as manufactured imo......and I don't find either offensive or bothersome as they were well within the bounds of the CBA.
If he ditches the Cavs one year after that letter, his career is tarnished big-time. I can't imagine he leaves.jon abbey said:Not only is it a 2 year deal, but ESPN is reporting that there is an opt-out after one, the phrasing here is hilarious:
"James signed a two-year, $42.1 million deal with the goal of re-signing with the Cavs before the 2016-17 season when a new television deal is expected to create a large jump in value of the maximum contract.
As part of the deal, James will have an option to become a free agent next summer but is fully committed to the Cavs long term, sources said."
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11207703/lebron-james-deal-cleveland-cavaliers-2-years-421-million[/
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Ed Hillel said:If he ditches the Cavs one year after that letter, his career is tarnished big-time. I can't imagine he leaves.