LeBron going to Miami

[Axel The Great]

LeBron James can go to hell!

[hova-]

That is so funny

[Jeffx]

Wade says James 'didn't quit' on Cavs' playoff run;

http://wfan.stats.com/multisport/story. ... 3785424504

[J@3]

I bet he also thinks Bosh is a great on D.

[Valor]

Wade says James 'didn't quit' on Cavs' playoff run;

http://wfan.stats.com/multisport/story. ... 3785424504

I've lost all my respect for Wade now

[Lamrock]

Yeah, that asshole, standing up for his teammate. LeBron may have quit on the Cavs on July 8, but he didn't in the Celtics series.

[Andrew]

The latest from Wojnarowski is definitely worth a read for a behind the scenes look at how Miami's free agent coup came to pass.

On the lighter side, a Cleveland brewery is selling a bitter beer called "Quitness" to capitalise on the fallout of LeBron's decision.

[air gordon]

thanks for the link. great read. i can't wait for the Lebron James version of the "jordan rules' to come out.

Riley reminds me of Gordon Gecko from Wallstreet.

[shadowgrin]

there had been one thing that troubled James’ about the Bulls pitch: Derrick Rose never called and tried to recruit him.

Chicago officials never directly requested Rose to reach out with a call, and the young point guard felt James could’ve always reached out to him had he wanted to discuss the possibility of playing together. James needed to be courted, needed to be wooed and apparently it surprised him there was a star who wasn’t falling over himself to do that.

I don't know if Rose had the balls to stand-up to James or Rose is his usual dumb off-court self again. I'm leaning towards his love for Joe Johnson.

Nevertheless, the pressure on Spoelstra to win a championship in 2011 promises to be immense. To keep his job, he’ll probably have to win it all, especially because Riley has his eye on Doc Rivers to someday coach the Heat. Rivers has one year left on his Celtics contract, and has been heavily affected by the distance between him and his family still living Orlando.

Whoa.

[NovU]

The latest from Wojnarowski is definitely worth a read for a behind the scenes look at how Miami's free agent coup came to pass.

Not sure but I don't like that article much. Most of it are another cheap shots at Lebron which I grew tired of.

It's just damn too easy for anyone to be saying that he always wanted to leave CLE or becoming the Heat was all carefully planned, which all are just claims and criticism. Just endless discussions on this crap was going on from beginning till now...

[shadowgrin]

Not sure but I don't like that article much. Most of it are another cheap shots at Lebron which I grew tired of.

Why, because it's true to an extent?

becoming the Heat was all carefully planned, which all are just claims and criticism. Just endless discussions on this crap was going on from beginning till now...

The article didn't say it was carefully planned on James' part. It only stated the various events that transpired which made James lean on choosing the Heat.
On the Heat part, it was carefully planned just like the other teams (Bulls, Nets Cavs, NYK) that were after his services.

[NovU]

All that while criticizing Lebron heavily. Not sure how much of his stories are true, but at this point, I was just saying it's just tiresome to be keep hearing endless criticism on Lebron. Oh well... then it's wojnarowski, I guess. He's just good at that.

[Oznogrd]

All that while criticizing Lebron heavily. Not sure how much of his stories are true, but at this point, I was just saying it's just tiresome to be keep hearing endless criticism on Lebron. Oh well... then it's wojnarowski, I guess. He's just good at that.

I get the feeling if lebron hadnt gone to miami you'd be tearing him a new one with woj

[Andrew]

Not sure but I don't like that article much. Most of it are another cheap shots at Lebron which I grew tired of.

It's just damn too easy for anyone to be saying that he always wanted to leave CLE or becoming the Heat was all carefully planned, which all are just claims and criticism. Just endless discussions on this crap was going on from beginning till now...

I'm not sure that we read the same article. I wouldn't call any of the criticisms of LeBron cheap shots. As for the Heat, they're not really being criticised at all. If anything, the article is examining the brilliance and craftiness of Pat Riley in making this free agent coup happen. Perfect example:

No one had more intelligence and better monitored the disconnect between James and the Cavaliers than Miami Heat president Pat Riley. He had informants and spies everywhere, including his own star, Wade, who had been telling Riley for most of two years they could lure James to South Beach. The Heat had everything they needed to sell James, except for what finally arrived on the eve of the NBA draft: salary-cap space.

Perhaps the bit about informants and spies could be taken as having negative connotations but on the whole, the Heat are not getting bashed here (and the points about LeBron are worth noting when telling the story). If I were a Heat fan reading that article I'm not thinking "lay off the Heat" or that my favourite team is being criticised, I'm thinking "Wow, Riley is the man, that was shrewd and masterfully done".

It's not saying the Heat don't deserve LeBron or that LeBron shouldn't have left Cleveland, it's just telling the story of how it all came to be. Sure, it's something to be taken with a grain of salt but I really think you've missed the whole point of the article. In a nutshell, it's saying that the Heat were able to pull this off because of Riley's brilliance, the Cavs should've seen LeBron's departure coming (no matter where he was going) and brought it on themselves in many ways, which also worked in the Heat's favour.

[shadowgrin]

All that while criticizing Lebron heavily. Not sure how much of his stories are true, but at this point, I was just saying it's just tiresome to be keep hearing endless criticism on Lebron. Oh well... then it's wojnarowski, I guess. He's just good at that.

I get the feeling if lebron hadnt gone to miami you'd be tearing him a new one with woj

In the end of the day, I think Wade will not give up 30 million dollars though. His last big contract, and I don't think he'll give it up. Rather he will persuade Bosh to come as Bosh seems to be really close to Wade. He'll probably have as much of chance at winning the title if that happens. Bron however, I think is too egoistic to convince for Wade. Lebron will either stay or be the Bull more likely than Wade.

.

The biggest difference between Kobe and Lebron I think is maturity. Some of Lebron's behaviour is just ridiculous. I know all superstars love themselves, but in Lebron's case, he goes beyond the imagination time to time. Whatever the excuse he comes out with in such situations, it all sounds like him saying "I am the King, so that's the way it is." And this is me speaking, who actually enjoy watching Lebron playing well, which makes me some sort of a fan, but for me, it's nothing more than wanting to watch a superstar playing like a superstar. I hope he'll try to change his image.

.

See Oz, Zanshadow has always been a fan of LeBron's play. The only minor thing Zanshadow doesn't like about LeBron is his attitude which has nothing to with what's written in that article...oh...wait...

[Fenix]

For me, the business part of Lebron's decision is the most interesting one. He damaged his brand to go to a minor market team, where he can play a second fiddle to Wade or - best case scenario - be "just one of the guys". Going to NY, NJ (soon to be Brooklyn), Chicago, LAC or simply staying in Cleveland would therefore not only be a sign of his competitive nature, sign of his strength to take up the greatest challenge of them all, but would also be the smartest business decision.

[NovU]

Hahahahahahahahaha. I hate you so much too, hyper-sexy!!!

I still think Lebron’s immature, especially with all that went on during this off-season. However, I was definitely off on his issues of ego on playing by Wade’s side and joining the Heat. Not only he sacrificed big time but proved that his ego wasn’t as big as I thought to be. That’s probably why I give him more credits now. Of course, that’s me being a bit biased Heat fan.

[shadowgrin]

I still think Lebron’s immature, especially with all that went on during this off-season. However, I was definitely off on his issues of ego on playing by Wade’s side and joining the Heat. Not only he sacrificed big time but proved that his ego wasn’t as big as I thought to be. That’s probably why I give him more credits now. Of course, that’s me being a bit biased Heat fan.

Fixed.
I still don't think LeBron sacrificed that much.
Financially, Wade sacrificed more than him since James has a higher salary despite Wade being in the team longer and don't forget that there's no income tax to where James is going.
Picking the Heat when the pieces fell into place (Bosh and Wade being there, substantial salary) isn't too much of a sacrifice either, imo. I think the main motivation for that is James has the opportunity to play/be with his friends (both of which happen to be among the best in the league right now), everyone can relate to that. For me, no doubt that friendships play a strong part in LeBron's life, which unfortunately is the case for his leaches, I mean childhood friends that manage to have a say in his career (including that badly done "The Decision").
If LeBron sacrificed anything, it's his supposed possible 'legacy' as being one of the best in basketball history. One can look at it both ways - he doesn't care about what people perceive his legacy and only wants to win badly (which is good thing) and the other one is the criticism of him being too weak to carry the burden of creating his own legacy.

[Fenix]

Financially, Wade sacrificed more than him since James has a higher salary despite Wade being in the team longer and don't forget that there's no income tax to where James is going.

True, but players of James' caliber get most of their money not from salary, but from building themselves as a brand, i.e. from off-court money. With Miami being a relatively small market and with Lebron also not being his team's sole featured player, I simply cannot imagine that he'll able to earn as much money as he would be earning with New York, New Jersey, Chicago or Los Angeles. Sure, you could bring up the argument that off-court money depends not only on the size of the market and player's role on his time, but also on winning, but he would have all of that signing with one of the abovementioned teams, especially with Chicago. Just look at this roster:

Noah/Asik
Boozer or Amare/Gibson
Lebron/Korver
Brewer
Rose

And you'd still have Deng and all of your picks (plus Charlotte's) as trading chips.

[benji]

If Chicago signed LeBron and Boozer/Amare to max contracts they could not have signed Brewer and Korver.

LeBron was already the biggest brand in the league playing in Cleveland of all places. And that's the 26th largest market, with less than half the people as Miami (7th). Once you're a global brand, the market where you play isn't going to mean much.

[Fenix]

Yeah, I totally forgot that they would cap out.

About playing in a bigger market: I agree with you that Lebron will still be a global brand no matter where he's playing, but I'm pretty sure combining his personal brand with a strong city's brand would still mean more money for him. At the very least he would sell more stuff in the state he would be playing, which is still significant if that state is New York, Illinois or California.

But the size of the market is not the only factor I've mentioned that is going against Lebron in Miami. There's also the role he will have on that team and the narrative you can sell. In New York, he would instantly become the team's best player ever and could bring back greatness to the foremost basketball capitol of the world; in Chicago, he would face the greatest challenge of them all: overcoming the GOAT in his own city; and in Los Angeles (Clippers) he could present himself as a saviour of the franchise and play an underdog to the Lakers and Kobe. And in all three cases - especially in the case of the Bulls - he'd be joining a very solid team, perfectly capable of winning a championship in the future. And in all tree cases, he'd be the main man on the man, whereas now he's just one of The Big Three.

[benji]

This narrative and legacy bullshit is just that, bullshit. It's something sportswriters care about because it's the only claim they have for not being utterly useless, that they can outline some proper narrative and put everything into "context" for the plebeians. If LeBron James is going to be the best player of all time, it doesn't matter where he plays or who he plays with. Jordan played with great players, Wilt played with great players, Russell played with great players. It does not diminish an individual's achievements in anyway to team with other great individuals. It's a bizarre confluence of an individual with a collective, assigning both credit and blame both ways onto both team and a single noteworthy individual player, making all decisions by the front office, all performance by other players and all circumstances and happenstances as reflections of an individual part of the whole system that wins championships.

Maybe LeBron would sell more stuff inside New York, Illinois or California if he played there, but does that outweigh the fact that all three of those states would take high chunks of his money through higher taxes (especially since New York just passed another millionaires tax increase) and dysfunctional governments on the verge of default? Meanwhile Florida has no state income tax and a functioning government. And does it outweigh playing with two of his best friends? Only LeBron can say.

[Andrew]

The LeBron brand might've taken a bit of a hit given the widespread criticism of how he handled his free agency and all the eye-rolling that went on over The Decision, but that will pass. There will be some people who won't quite look at him the same way as before but by and large once the season begins and the Heat are winning games, capturing headlines and LeBron is throwing down dunks and accumulating triple doubles, this mess will be behind him. His shoes will sell, he'll appear in commercials, lots of money will be made.

[kingjames23]

i dont see so many triple doubles coming from LBJ this year.... or an MVP award when you are sharing the load now...

averages i am picturing...

James PPG 23, AST 6, REB 7
Wade PPG 21, AST 8, REB 5
Bosh PPG 17, AST 3, REB 10

i think everyone will take a cut in their scoring averages

i think this team wins 60-65 games

meanwhile... other projections
Kobe PPG 27, AST 5, REB 5 (probably wins MVP)
Durant PPG 31, AST 3, REB 7 (wins MVP if life were fair)

we'll see next April

[Sauru]

The LeBron brand might've taken a bit of a hit given the widespread criticism of how he handled his free agency and all the eye-rolling that went on over The Decision, but that will pass. There will be some people who won't quite look at him the same way as before but by and large once the season begins and the Heat are winning games, capturing headlines and LeBron is throwing down dunks and accumulating triple doubles, this mess will be behind him. His shoes will sell, he'll appear in commercials, lots of money will be made.

he better win a ring this year. anything short of a title for that team is bad business