LeBron going to Miami

[hova-]

I rolled over a bit and in a way I can understand LBJ. I mean, guys say he is an attentionwhore and he does not stick with his team, does not show loyalty but rather go away to an area where it is easier for him to present himself and his whole brand and thus accumulate more wealth.
That is one way you can see it.

But after thinking about it more precisely and after trying to put myself in his position (good god, that would be a life), I thought that his signing was pretty decent.

He's an attentionwhore? Well I guess that does not count because he knew that Dwyane Wade will always be the "franchise guy" in Miami. Chris Bosh is also more than a sidekick as we all know. So actually playing for Miami is a step into the different direction, taking a whole lot of attention off LBJ's shoulders.

No loyalty? Okay, loyalty is to stay together no matter what happens. He did not do that. But comparing the situations, Cleveland just did not manage to put the right players around him. I mean: MJ had his Scottie, Shaq his Kobe, Wade his Shaq, Magic had Kareem, Bird had tons of All-Stars around him. LBJ? Mo Williams? A borderline All-Star. Shaq? Not even an All-Star anymore. Jamison? Just not enough.
Now you can talk about loyalty for ages, but the Cavs did not fulfill their part of loyalty, so LBJ looks for another possibility to win a title.

About the market and brand thing, as well as the money: LeBron could have joined LA and NY. That says it all. Both markets are way superior and while in one city there is already Kobe, New York definitely had an empty seat in their basketballworld for LeBron. He did not join either of these teams and thus it shows that he is not only an egomanic supporter of his own business.
Oh and hey, LeBron will make about 14M $ with the Heat, which is more than 8M$ under the maximum I think (correct me if I'm wrong). He will even earn less than D-Wade and seems to not bother at all.

So if I was LeBron and had the chance to build a team with two consistent All-Stars, maybe one Hall-of-Famer, I would definitely do the same. I mean that smells like a whole lot of fun for these guys. It's like a dream coming true for every player who does not think that he should shoulder the load on his own. I can fully understand his decision after thinking about it and I don't see that many points for criticism.

Oh and hey, the sun is shining all the time in Miami

[Jackal]

all the media exposure was just beginning to irritate you? you are a patient man

are single game tickets even for sale yet?

I am. It was only beginning to irritate me because I usually combed over most of the articles. Last few days they went in to over drive though. I don't know, I'll be keeping an eye out for them though. I'd hate to go there and not be able to catch a game.

He's an attentionwhore? Well I guess that does not count because he knew that Dwyane Wade will always be the "franchise guy" in Miami.

That's not the only thing that makes him an attention whore though. He had a whole god damn show just to announce he was signing with a team. What for? Not for the attention? Everything he does screams "look at me, look at me, look at me" to me. Maybe that's just me though...

[shadowgrin]

Oh and hey, LeBron will make about 14M $ with the Heat, which is more than 8M$ under the maximum I think (correct me if I'm wrong). He will even earn less than D-Wade and seems to not bother at all.

The Heat's two newest superstars signed matching six-year, $110.1 million contracts...
...Dwyane Wade took an even bigger discount to stay in Miami, signing for six years and $107.5 million

James and Bosh are scheduled to make $14.5 million and Wade $14 million in 2010-11.

Granted it's only half a million difference for the first season or about 2 million overall, but still...

fans were given posters with James, Wade and Bosh together in Heat uniforms -- "Yes. We. Did." was the slogan in big white letters.

[Valor]

He's an attentionwhore? Well I guess that does not count because he knew that Dwyane Wade will always be the "franchise guy" in Miami.

That's not the only thing that makes him an attention whore though. He had a whole god damn show just to announce he was signing with a team. What for? Not for the attention? Everything he does screams "look at me, look at me, look at me" to me. Maybe that's just me though...

nope, it's not just you who've noticed that. He has also been talking about this and hinting his leave from as far as 2 years back with all the childish attention-seeking antics

[benji]

I don't like their arena

But, but, that scoreboard!

[Killer Crossover aka OG]

I also think it is more of a role reversal in Miami. So Lebron is not anymore the King, he is the sweeper on the Court

[NovU]

hova couldn't have put it better. Best breakdown on the situation so far imo. Complete opposite are shadowgrin's comments.

To note on the salary situation...

Wade, James and Bosh ceremonially signed their contracts during Friday's news conference, with each player taking significantly less than the first-year maximum salary of $16.6 million each was eligible to receive.

James' deal is six years, $110.1 million; Bosh's is six years, $110.1 million; and Wade's six years, $107.6 million. The trio left a combined $54 million on the table over six years from the maximum they were eligible to receive.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/10/1 ... kings.html

[The X]

Why did Wade take less than the other guys? I don't understand that bit.

[JaoSming]

because he wants them there with him and happy?

[J@3]

They struck a deal in which Chris Bosh gives him handjobs on command.

[shadowgrin]

hova couldn't have put it better. Best breakdown on the situation so far imo. Complete opposite are shadowgrin's comments.

Mention my username again if only you know how to spell Dwyane Wade's name right. kthxbai.

[Martti.]

Pretty nice T-Shirts they now have in Cleveland.

[shadowgrin]

Harsh.

[yosifun]

lol at cavs fans, calling lebron a traitor, him leaving cleveland was a betrayal, etc.they are so funny

It's no different to Raptors fans booing Vince Carter six years after he left town or any other sign of fanatical devotion to a team.

Carter lowered his trade value to zero and forced himself out of Toronto. Meanwhile, LeBron is ENTITLED to say no to Cleveland and sign with another team, he's allowed to do it.

The only thing here that's similar to the VC-Toronto situation is the booing.

Now, for the big differences:
1) Vince Carter wasn't considered the best player in the league.
2) Toronto is not "hometown" to Vince as Cleveland is to LeBron.
3) Toronto was never a top 3 (needless to say 1st) in the East, wanting to leave because the management didn't provide him with the right players is understood.
4) Vince wasn't a free agent, he didn't choose where he would end up, he just wanted out.
5) You can argue about Vince not giving his best in the end (although you can't blame the guy for not having the motivation..), but he didn't do an ESPN special to twist the knife, he actually taken every chance both in NJ and Orlando to thank the people of Toronto for supporting him.

[NovU]

hova couldn't have put it better. Best breakdown on the situation so far imo. Complete opposite are shadowgrin's comments.

Mention my username again if only you know how to spell Dwyane Wade's name right. kthxbai.

But... but... usernames are used to identify and address people in this forum.

[shadowgrin]

The challenge is you can only mention my username again after you have mentioned "Dwyane Wade" in at least 100 posts. Complete "Dwyane Wade" no taking shortcuts and type only "Wade".

Until you complete such a challenge you can refer to me as "Hyper-Sexy". Thanks to Badger for that one.

[Murat]

Pretty nice T-Shirts they now have in Cleveland.

[atlwarrior]

Knicks fans didnt nearly take it as seriously as Cavs fans. Cleveland fans are idiots. He doesnt owe them shit when he has already put in seven years of hard work for them. Burning uniforms and what not like LeBron cares. Even worst is that he doesnt even know them and is totally unaware of their existance so why should he care. So theyre just giving him a reason to laugh at them. Years later they probably couldve made big bucks off of those jerseys.

[kevin02]

atlwarya9. One question who's your hometown or favorite team?

[Lamrock]

Are you joking?

[IcemanOutlaw]

from MIA Sports Guy via facebook : Jesse Jackson issues statement on Cavs owner Dan Gilbert: "His feelings of betrayal personify a slave master mentality. He sees LeBron as a runaway slave."

[NovU]

Lolz. That is another harsh punch to Dan Gilbert. Only one that's protecting him seem to be Mark Cuban. Very reason I dislike the club despite having Dirk and Kidd.

[Andrew]

lol at cavs fans, calling lebron a traitor, him leaving cleveland was a betrayal, etc.they are so funny

It's no different to Raptors fans booing Vince Carter six years after he left town or any other sign of fanatical devotion to a team.

Carter lowered his trade value to zero and forced himself out of Toronto. Meanwhile, LeBron is ENTITLED to say no to Cleveland and sign with another team, he's allowed to do it.

The only thing here that's similar to the VC-Toronto situation is the booing.

Now, for the big differences:
1) Vince Carter wasn't considered the best player in the league.
2) Toronto is not "hometown" to Vince as Cleveland is to LeBron.
3) Toronto was never a top 3 (needless to say 1st) in the East, wanting to leave because the management didn't provide him with the right players is understood.
4) Vince wasn't a free agent, he didn't choose where he would end up, he just wanted out.
5) You can argue about Vince not giving his best in the end (although you can't blame the guy for not having the motivation..), but he didn't do an ESPN special to twist the knife, he actually taken every chance both in NJ and Orlando to thank the people of Toronto for supporting him.

When I said there was no difference, I was referring to the fans feeling slighted by a player, turning on him once he left the team and reacting strongly to the situation. Obviously there are some key differences in how both players conducted themselves and how they left their teams.

As I said before, even if Cavs fans are taking it a step too far, their anger and disappointment is something their entitled to and it's a reaction to something that just happened. People get passionate about sports, so it's not surprising that it's been so vitriolic. The Vince Carter situation is a comparable example of how a fanbase can get stung and a player can become very unpopular overnight, even though the circumstances do differ. It's easy to bash Cavs fans who are upset and overreacting but it's no so different from Lakers fans who were ready to ride Kobe out of town when he demanded a trade back in 2007.

LeBron is entitled to sign elsewhere, but it's difficult for Cavs fans to see that while they're feeling hurt and betrayed. And they have a right to feel that way, especially due to LeBron's handling of the situation and the way he made a spectacle of himself. I'd suggest most fans would feel the same way if they were put in a similar situation, it's easy to point fingers and scold Cavs fans for their reaction and perspective but to me it boils down to criticising them for being passionate and loyal to their favourite team, which is hypocritical.

[Nick]

I'm pretty surprised at the general negative reaction to LeBron signing with Heat.

I'm not a Heat fan, and not even necessarily a fan of LeBron, but to be honest when i saw the headlines that LBJ was officially signing with Heat and teaming up with Wade+Bosh i jumped with excitement. In my opinion, this is totally freaking AWESOME. LeBron, Wade and Bosh on the same team? C'mon, as if that isn't the most exciting and interesting scenario that the NBA has seen for years. These 3 guys, whether you like Miami Heat or not, are going to create some absolute magic on the basketball court together. Personally, from a person who is a fan of the NBA rather than a specific team, i'm looking forward to seeing what kinda of quality basketball the trio+team can create. I couldn't be happier to witness this unfold.

Fuck player legacy. What about team legacy?
It's funny seeing people labeling LeBron as narcissistic and egotistical, while the same people then go on to criticize what the decision will/wont do for his "legacy".
Doesn't the concept of "legacy" tie completely to the player's ego? Clearly his decision represents the ideal of "team > individual". There's nothing egotistical about that.
This leads me to believe that people are only criticiszing lebron's decision because of either: A) They're attached to either cleveland or a team that is now under threat, and/or B) Just being cynical for the sake of being cynical.
To that i say, embrace it. It's historic! And it's going to be awesome to watch.

LeBron deciding to join Wade and Bosh sends a good message to the kiddies.
LeBron prioritized teamwork & winning over money & personal spotlight. What's wrong with that? It's not his fault that Miami is a better situation for those ideals than Cleveland.

I never realised Dan Gilbert was an idiot. Huh.
You gotta admire the guy's passion for his team, but he's acted like an immature child about the whole thing. Didn't go down gracefully at all.
Oh well, i guess 'anger' and 'denial' are the stages of grief, HAHA! He hasn't reached 'acceptance' yet.

I guess whatever decision he made, he would be criticized, because of how much media attention there is on it.
Why is everyone complaining about all the media coverage anyway? People are criticizing that he's a narcissist because of his hour long special. But c'mon, people ARE interested! He's arguably the best player in the league. His decision matters. So what if he knows it? I'm GLAD he knows it. If he didn't know it then he wouldn't be aligned with the truth.

I think people are forgetting what basketball is all about.
It's worth looking at the bigger picture and seeing what this scenario will do for basketball around the world.
Good decision, LeBron.

[Andrew]

Yes, we watched it, but that doesn't mean we can't call it a spectacle or criticism the narcissistic nature of the way everything went down. The Cavs found out about his decision minutes before the announcement; that's not really good form and that's what people are calling him on. It's an interesting situation, no question. But that doesn't mean it's to be spared from criticism or that the situation wasn't handled poorly by LeBron's people and then Dan Gilbert following the announcement.

Again, I think Adrian Wojnarowski's column, Bill Simmons' column and Simmons' podcast are on the money here.