Did Lebron James Make the Right Decision?

[venom_7]

I've got to chime in again with the most important part of why this is relevant to the Kings:
Tyreke and DeMarcus. They will have a chance to leave the organization, but maybe after seeing the venom that is now being forced at LeBron, they might be a little more considerate of the team that drafted them (especially since they both slid a bit).

We can help by continuing to be terrific fans and filling the arena. Tyreke and DeMarcus WILL leave if we keep showing up at 12k fans a night. They WILL leave if they aren’t recognized around town, and they feel like they aren’t supported. And, they WILL leave if the organization does not support them with the talent they need to win.

That all said, I don’t think either player has quite the ego LeBron does, and Tyreke and Boogie both seem like the type to welcome challenges instead of run away from them.

When there is a decision to be made (I realize that is years from now), hopefully our guys can look back at today and think: “You know, I don’t want to be like LeBron. I want the challenge of building a legacy, I want to win a championship. I don’t need these other guys to win it for me.”

This all being said, I feel for Cleveland. They thought they had the next Jordan, they thought the Cavaliers would continue to be recognized (a la Bulls). The way LeBron left was unfair to the 7 years of dedication those fans gave him. They cried after game 5 in Orlando. They wept after game 6 in Boston. They shared that same glimmer of hope against San Antonio in 2007. But here’s the thing about being a fan:

We can’t leave.
We can’t abandon the years of attention we have given our team, we can’t abandon the growth, we can’t abandon our love for all the players. We don’t have a player option. The other thing about being a fan? We can build legacies by ourselves.

I don’t blame LeBron for leaving. He wanted a Chris Paul, they gave him a Mo Williams. He wanted a Chris Bosh, they gave him an Antawn Jamison. He wanted a Dwight Howard, they gave him a coupon Shaq.

The WAY he left was disgraceful to the sport. And luckily, a good example of what NOT to do for our young, true Kings.

I love Dwayne Wade. I like Chris Bosh. They were a championship threat by themselves (and a great fit together). They didn’t need LeBron. He needed them.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

i think the stats will determine whos team it is.

No they won't. People need to stop pretending this is like what happened in Boston. Wade already won this franchise a championship, without James and Bosh; it's Wade's team until he leaves/retires, no matter who has what numbers.

 

[PurpleHaze]

No they won't. People need to stop pretending this is like what happened in Boston. Wade already won this franchise a championship, without James and Bosh; it's Wade's team until he leaves/retires, no matter who has what numbers.

Do you think D-Wade would have won that lone championship of his without Shaq diesel?

And earlier tonight Slim you asked me if I thought Shaq was better than Hakeem Olajuwon. I put them roughly equal in all honesty, with their stats, double-double, triple doubles, quaduple doubles - all looking very comparable. Well, maybe except for quad doubles whch The Dream has an NBA patent on it seems. Heck, I think Moses Malone was right there with those two all time top 5, 6, 7 NBA (and ABA for a time earlier) big men. What I have a hard time figuring out is who was the "second" player that Houston had to Hakeem that produced those back-to-back championships. Mario Ellie????

 

[pdxKingsFan]

No they won't. People need to stop pretending this is like what happened in Boston. Wade already won this franchise a championship, without James and Bosh; it's Wade's team until he leaves/retires, no matter who has what numbers.

And Wade is going to get the credit for orchestrating this all because it was his team. Wade was able to set his ego aside so that the Heat could throw all their talent away to make this happen. People keep pointing to the Cavs inability to land the right #2 for LeBron but the Cavs didn't have the luxury of tearing apart and rebuilding the franchise because if they did LeBron would bolt. They also ignore that the Cavs and Toronto had worked out a deal for Bosh on their own which if it had gone through would have been universally lauded until they came up short in the playoffs at some point and all the finger pointing would be directed back at Bosh. So in that regard Bosh is a genius because now he's just along for the ride and it will be a ride in a much warmer place.

 

[Lafayette]

I think the team will be dominate hands down. People have to realize that those three wont be on the floor all at once and who do you double team and Bosh is an inside player and Wade is a slasher/shooter threat and LaBron.... Damn, this league is screwed and they added Mike Miller, sh!t. Chambers is a good PG for that team, just a pass first player and they have some capable rookies on that team. That team is scary and imagine if they get players like Iverson and McGrady off the bench to fill in, players that can still contribute. Riley can add more and more that will work even he only has limited space and the contracts aren't even worked out yet so imagine if all the players take around $13M each, that leaves them with $6M not including Beasley's money because that went to Miller. It's going to be interesting. The Lakers, Magic, Celtics and ... well, no one else really because those are the powerhouse teams now that are going to compete.

 

[cuad]

I think LeBron made the best decision. Stabbing Cleveland in the back live and on national television--it doesn't get any better than that! I encourage none of you to feel bad for Cleveland, and to instead enjoy their implosion.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Do you think D-Wade would have won that lone championship of his without Shaq diesel?

I think this question needs to be asked the other way around.

And earlier tonight Slim you asked me if I thought Shaq was better than Hakeem Olajuwon. I put them roughly equal in all honesty, with their stats, double-double, triple doubles, quaduple doubles - all looking very comparable. Well, maybe except for quad doubles whch The Dream has an NBA patent on it seems. Heck, I think Moses Malone was right there with those two all time top 5, 6, 7 NBA (and ABA for a time earlier) big men. What I have a hard time figuring out is who was the "second" player that Houston had to Hakeem that produced those back-to-back championships. Mario Ellie????

Dream ostensibly won the first one by himself; the second one, he needed Glyde's help, but it was still, unquestionably, Olajuwon's team.

 

[est.1999]

I think it's pretty cold but man Cleveland failed to bring him a number 2. They had 7 years and couldn't do it.

 

[Ed2009]

I think this question needs to be asked the other way around.
Its quite clear that Wade would not have won the title without Shaq.


Dream ostensibly won the first one by himself; the second one, he needed Glyde's help, but it was still, unquestionably, Olajuwon's team.

U need 2 superstars to win the ring and now Miami has the 2.
In the end if they reach their goal nobody will talk who´s team this is.
By the way I think that Bosh is really overrated-for me he is not a superstar at the same level as Lebron and D-Wade!

 

[Big Cuz 15]

why should lebron stay in cleveland? sure they drafted him but the team constructed was not built for the long haul. lots of patchwork vets around a superstar. it reminds me of when we were still trying to apply patchwork vets to stay competitive. it just didn't work.

 

[mac]

To those saying that whatever LBJ chose, there'd be something negative. Well ... I suppose that's what happens when you know, you get your coach fired, ask for a supporting cast, get a decent supporting cast, still lose, blame it on the rest, and then go to a different team.

I'm a fan of Dwyane Wade. He doesn't do this whole media nonsense that James does and he actually has a ring to show for it. I'm just sorry that I'm going to root against Miami from now on. I'm personally hoping that LBJ ****s up as he normally does, doesn't win, and then says that he's got a poor supporting cast. I just would love to see that. And I know he'll do that if he loses.

Congratulations to Miami, too bad for the Cavs. I would hate to be in their position.

Just imagine how pissed you'd be if a couple of years from now we haven't won anything, Geoff Petrie and Westphal have been fired under Tyreke's requests, we make all sorts of trades to try and appease him. And then he calls a 1 hour tv special and announces he's going to the Lakers.

 

[mac]

why should lebron stay in cleveland? sure they drafted him but the team constructed was not built for the long haul. lots of patchwork vets around a superstar. it reminds me of when we were still trying to apply patchwork vets to stay competitive. it just didn't work.

Umm ... when you've got a true superstar that's all you need to do. It's not like us ... we were built around lots of team chemistry and a pretty good superstar in Webber. And we kinda loss Webber. As good as Bibby and Peja were for us in the glory days, to call them superstars would be an insult to the term. Wasn't what LA did with Kobe after Shaq left patchwork?

With our 'patchwork' we were scraping the playoffs. The Cavs got to the finals once and always remained pretty high. IMO that's good enough reason to stay on and keep trying, especially when your coach has been fired basically on your terms ... Though I must admit Mike Brown isn't the brightest of coaches. But still ..

 

[ParniValjak]

Nobody who isn't a coward is.

Its one of the all time great competitive sins. Far far more respectable is the guy who goes down fighting.

Its just a fail maneuver. If you win, it means little. If you lose its humiliating. You can certianly be part of a team of greats that's assembled, but as a competitor, as a (previous now) applicant for GOAT, you can't go run away and intentionally join one without ever having won one yourself. Now he never will. He can win the next 5 titles this way and end up with about as much credit as if he had won 1 or 2 himself elsewhere. The credit is shared, and in the real dangerous possibility, the blame is going to fall disproportionately on him if they fail. Even if he was going to make this decision, it was paramount he sign before Bosh and leave Bosh dangling as the bandwagoner. The way it played out, now it looks like poor little LeBron needed a "sure thing" as a safety blanket adn went off not to build something, but to join something. The greats don't join things. They make them.

And just as an aside, since the name has been raised, I watched Jordan's entire career. Behind the scenes he was an *******. But he was also a compeltely ferocious competitor and there is no way in hell he would ever have made this maneuver. Anything, and I do mean ANYTHING that bespoke of weakness or compromise he would not tolerate. He had his town and his team, and he was coming to get you no matter how you put together your team. And BTW, Jordan didn't win his first title until his 7th year at age 27. Under Bron logic, he should have bailed because of lack of instant gratification.

Couln't have said it any better myself!

Jordan > LeMe!!!

 

[Andre87]

I'm very disappointed in the way he handled all this situation - arranging a press conference to announce where he is going like he's a president or smth SMH

 

[Aenadin]

I lost whatever respect I had for Mr. Lebron James.... one you took the easy route to a ring....

the talk with all the "chosen one" blah blah being compared to the legendary 23 can also be axed right now! he's no next big thing he's not the next jordan..also I hate to say it but This stops the debate of who's better between kobe and lebron. im sorry i had to say it too...

LEbron's legacy and future accollades will be affected by his move and mark my words there is karma awaiting the corner... when you backstab your hometown

 

[cuad]

LeBron's legacy IS the 2010 free agency.

To be honest, I looked at LeBron's purple shirt and I thought for a split second that he was going to throw a curve ball at all of us and say that he was coming to the Kings! I wasn't alone in that thought. Was I?

 

[Sparky6string]

Didn't read the whole thread because it's a doozy but I have a couple of thoughts-

1) David Aldridge mentioned that the bond created between those big three during the Olympics is what possibly started this ball rolling. With Reke playing USA ball could he either be romanced elsewhere or could he attract more superstars here?

2) There's a lot of talk about LeBron's legacy taking a hit but what if those three had signed in Cleveland instead of Miami, where he was already entrenched? IDK if the numbers were there for that and I don't care, just hypothetically? Is all of this speculation just a matter of geography?

 

[piksi]

“In fairness, if I was 25 I’d try to win it by myself. Not technically by myself, but I would want to be the guy. … LeBron is never going to be the guy.”—former player Charles Barkley on NBA TV

nailed

 

[jalfa]

I could care less about what is right or wrong for Lebron. A one hour special to announce that you are LEAVING? Seriously? Come on man. I assumed he was doing it to hype Cleveland and boast of his loyalty. I didn't think anyone in their right mind would do anything else and create such a PR nightmare.

I do know one thing though, and that's that I am a HUGE bandwagon Cleveland fan now. Dan Gilbert's letter, however immature and unprofessional it is, took cajones. I have no doubt that he opened up everything for Lebron. I don't have an issue with Lebron leaving, I have an issue with how he did his team dirty.

The Cavs just gained another fan.

Comparing this letter to that of his predecessor, I think it loses. On a sidenote: why on earth did he use Comics Sans, the most serious of fonts?

 

[Rookie]

Lebron legacy is done. He can never be compare to the like of MJ or even Kobe.

Kobe kicked out Shaq so that he made the Lakers his team. Lebron did the opposite.

The best Lebron can do now is make it a Wade/Lebron team but it can never be Lebron's team, assuming they'll win. Imagine the risk and how much he would fall if they lose.

Bad choice IMO.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Comparing this letter to that of his predecessor, I think it loses.

Wow, I had never seen the Boozer letter. I knew the situation, but Gund really laid it out there, didn't he? Poor Cleveland, their sports abandonment complex must be at an all-time high...the original Browns, Boozer, LeBron...

 

[Rookie]

Didn't read the whole thread because it's a doozy but I have a couple of thoughts-

1) David Aldridge mentioned that the bond created between those big three during the Olympics is what possibly started this ball rolling. With Reke playing USA ball could he either be romanced elsewhere or could he attract more superstars here?

2) There's a lot of talk about LeBron's legacy taking a hit but what if those three had signed in Cleveland instead of Miami, where he was already entrenched? IDK if the numbers were there for that and I don't care, just hypothetically? Is all of this speculation just a matter of geography?

1) I think it depend on the people we have here in SAC. Unlike Lebron, our team will grow together into a team because of all the young players. If Cousins/JT/Greene/Casspi/Whiteside all grow into their projected potential, I can't see him leaving.

2)Then Wade will not be the man and it will Lebron's team. But it wouldn't be as hard on Wade because he was never consider the best player. It will be like Batman joining Superman. However it is now Superman becoming Batman's sidekick...SuperRobin..

 

[jalfa]

Wow, I had never seen the Boozer letter. I knew the situation, but Gund really laid it out there, didn't he? Poor Cleveland, their sports abandonment complex must be at an all-time high...the original Browns, Boozer, LeBron...

Yup. By now, the Kings can't claim sole possession of the Most Cursed Franchise crown anymore. They really are royally screwed (pun...well...intended I guess). They will have a lot of fun with this Antawn Jamison and Mo Evans led squad.

Btw, can we please retire James' godawful nicknames now? He should most definitely not be known as King or Chosen One anymore.

 

[Superman]

Of course its different since those players were all acquired in the draft or through trade, not some kind of collusion that allegedly began at the 2008 Olympics when all 3 were under contract to different teams.

I don't get it. Sorry. It's okay for the team to build a three-headed monster through trades and the draft, but it's not okay for the players to make it happen themselves? They were free agents, had the right to go wherever they wanted. I don't see why it's regarded as some great evil.

I understand the implications for small markets teams and possibly the Kings directly, but I don't see why it's okay from one angle but not from another.

 

[Superman]

thats the other thing. You got Lebrons agent and "people" trying to get players to sign with the heat now for low to minimum pay so they can have a supporting cast????? WTF is up with that. Lebron, Wade, and Bosh should have accepted lower pay so they could have a supporting cast. I garuntee if Bosh and Wade were on Miami and they only had 10 mil in capspace Lebron wouldn't have went there. In the end the Championship wouldn't be the most important to him. Its winning a championship AND him still getting a max contract thats important.

Except he's not getting a max contract. Let's not act like money doesn't matter, or else he'd have taken the MLE and gone to the Lakers or something. LeBron has said many times that he wants to maximize his earning potential, and so it's telling that he left at least $30 million on the table with Cleveland (even the opportunity to do a sign-and-trade), maybe more, to go to Miami.

 

[Superman]

Wow, I had never seen the Boozer letter. I knew the situation, but Gund really laid it out there, didn't he? Poor Cleveland, their sports abandonment complex must be at an all-time high...the original Browns, Boozer, LeBron...

Totally different scenario. Gund had a handshake agreement with Boozer.

 

[Superman]

nailed

...

Except for the fact that Barkley was forcing a trade from the Sixers right around the same time in his career.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I don't get it. Sorry. It's okay for the team to build a three-headed monster through trades and the draft, but it's not okay for the players to make it happen themselves? They were free agents, had the right to go wherever they wanted. I don't see why it's regarded as some great evil.

I understand the implications for small markets teams and possibly the Kings directly, but I don't see why it's okay from one angle but not from another.

Among other things the two 3-headed monsters specifically mentioned involved 4 of 6 players that came to their teams as rookies not in their primes. It was all speculation at that point. It was also the early 80s when there were far less teams in the league and any number of other teams had 3-headed monsters of their own because the talent pool was more concentrated. I think people tend to forget that because 3 or 4 all time great stacked teams got shut out of the history books thanks to the Lakers and Celtics dominance of that era. It just isn't comparable, neither is the Celtics situation where that team had built a young core and traded all of it away for a small window, or the Bulls of the 90s, mostly built from within imho. And among all other things this agreement to play together is alleged to have occurred 2 years ago during the Olympics when Bosh and LeBron were under contracts to other teams. If any of their teams had approached that subject on their own that would be major tampering. Undoing of contracts tampering. When the Grizzlies make an apparently lop-sided trade to the Lakers everyone screams collusion. But its all ok because the players decide it on their own??? It would certainly explain why LeBron seemed to care less and less the past few years after his amazing finals run in 07.

 

[Kingster]

Yup. By now, the Kings can't claim sole possession of the Most Cursed Franchise crown anymore. They really are royally screwed (pun...well...intended I guess). They will have a lot of fun with this Antawn Jamison and Mo Evans led squad.

Btw, can we please retire James' godawful nicknames now? He should most definitely not be known as King or Chosen One anymore.

Agreed. Since when does a King deign to move to the fiefdom of his vassals rather than the other way around?

 

[Superman]

Among other things the two 3-headed monsters specifically mentioned involved 4 of 6 players that came to their teams as rookies not in their primes. It was all speculation at that point. It was also the early 80s when there were far less teams in the league and any number of other teams had 3-headed monsters of their own because the talent pool was more concentrated. I think people tend to forget that because 3 or 4 all time great stacked teams got shut out of the history books thanks to the Lakers and Celtics dominance of that era. It just isn't comparable, neither is the Celtics situation where that team had built a young core and traded all of it away for a small window, or the Bulls of the 90s, mostly built from within imho. And among all other things this agreement to play together is alleged to have occurred 2 years ago during the Olympics when Bosh and LeBron were under contracts to other teams. If any of their teams had approached that subject on their own that would be major tampering. Undoing of contracts tampering. When the Grizzlies make an apparently lop-sided trade to the Lakers everyone screams collusion. But its all ok because the players decide it on their own???

We don't know what happened in 2008, and considering the fact that all three players had several options on the table to do other things, there's really no way to prove that they made this determination two years ago, the results of the next two years be damned. In reality, they signed their extensions before the Olympic team in 2008, so they all wanted to have options on the table even before they may have talked to each other. Everyone knew in 2006 that this summer was going to happen.

And even if they did decide that together, I don't understand what's so wrong with it. Now, if Wade went and told Pat Riley in 2008, "hey, you have to clear this roster out because LeBron and Bosh are coming here in two years," that's a problem. I'm sure there's a fix to it, but give it a couple years and players will figure out a way around the fix. Unfortunately, this isn't your father's NBA anymore. Can't keep yearning for times of long ago.

It would certainly explain why LeBron seemed to care less and less the past few years after his amazing finals run in 07.

I think that's incredibly unfair. To be clear, I understand the criticisms, while I might not agree with them all, or at least the spirit of them. This is beyond the pale, though. The guy did everything in his power to put this team in position to win a championship. Game 5 this year excluded, I never got the impression that he didn't care, or even that he was distracted. Go back to the 2009 playoffs when he hit that buzzer beater against the Magic; that's not a guy who didn't care. Do you remember his reaction? Game 6 against Boston this year, he was absolutely dominant, and it still wasn't enough as his teammates disappeared in the second half.

He might not be doing it the "right way", but to say taht he cared less after going to the Finals three years ago is, I think, baseless.