That's what I was just getting ready to say. All this judgment on LeBron is fascinating to me. I'm not heralding the guy, but man, talk about haters. (And that's a word I simply don't use. Ever.)
Who else is sick of everything revolving around LeBron!?..
- Thread starter Merdiesel
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That's what I was just getting ready to say. All this judgment on LeBron is fascinating to me. I'm not heralding the guy, but man, talk about haters. (And that's a word I simply don't use. Ever.)
sidney
Starter
Sure, and let's conveniently forget that Lebron is making this the single most overblown and obnoxious free agent signing in the history of the NBA and perhaps all sports. If you'd like to bet that Durant puts on a 1 hour ESPN special in 2015 to declare where he signs after his next contract is up I'll put some cash down.
Remains to be seen? Please.
Well, don't lump me in with the word you don't use, because I've never said a bad word about LeBron. I didn't even mind the whole media circus around his free agency, because if ESPN/Yahoo/etc. choose to make his FA story their lead every day for two weeks, that's their thing, not his.
But when he calls up ESPN and asks for a one-hour special to announce his free agent signing? One HOUR? That is way over the top, and that is LeBron's idea, not ESPN's (as far as it has been reported, at least). I can't support that. When ESPN makes ESPN about LeBron, so be it. When LeBron asks ESPN to make ESPN about LeBron...that egotistical. There. I've said it. Bad word #1 about LeBron.
I personally am not a hater, I just have questions, that I think are fair. I never cared one way or the other until the media circus really picked up after the Cavs elimination and I started to think about it some. I don't think LeBron was innocent in all this until the one-hour special. Showing up to Cleveland Indians playoff games with a Yankees cap was just one way to stir up the hype over this free agency. Going on Larry King Live the same night the NBA Finals start was a more recent questionable call. I just think he has willingly let this be a distraction for about 2 seasons now. There's a good chance he puts it all past him when the ink dries on the new contract. But at that point he better start winning some championships.
I also think Durant handled things differently than James, Durant appears genuinely happy in OKC. That could very well change, but LeBron always sent out hints that 2010 was the year he'd test the waters even before things really ratcheted up 2 years ago. The open flirting with NY has been going on since at least October 2007 with the Yankees cap in the playoffs vs. the Indians and SNL/ESPY hosting gigs he had. Think about it - that's 3 full years under the 4 year extension he signed. That would mean Durant would start flirting with other cities next season and I just don't see that happening with the nice young crew they've built there.
I also think Durant handled things differently than James, Durant appears genuinely happy in OKC. That could very well change, but LeBron always sent out hints that 2010 was the year he'd test the waters even before things really ratcheted up 2 years ago. The open flirting with NY has been going on since at least October 2007 with the Yankees cap in the playoffs vs. the Indians and SNL/ESPY hosting gigs he had. Think about it - that's 3 full years under the 4 year extension he signed. That would mean Durant would start flirting with other cities next season and I just don't see that happening with the nice young crew they've built there.
Jechtsphere
Starter
SVG right on the money: http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_a...gundy_rips_lebron_says_bosh_is_wades_lap_dog/
startingtohurt
G-League
i think lebron james has proven that he isnt about winning basketball games...he's about lebron james and his image. the espn special just puts that issue to rest. but i mean its also the medias fault too for labeling him "king james'' as soon as he came into the league making him think the whole league revolves around him. i totally agree with stan van gundy with what he said about james and i for one will not stroke lebron james's ego by watching the special and i hope most of you are in the same boat
The point is that using one situation as an example of Durant's virtue while using another situation as an example of James' vice, when the two situations are not, in fact, analogous, is intellectually dishonest. LeBron James having a tremendous ego does not make a single thing I said in my post wrong. And it is, in fact, not wrong: it's to Durant's credit that he didn't make a big deal out of signing his extension, but when James was in Durant's situation, he quietly signed an extension, too, but people want to pretend like that didn't happen.
You can act like you know that Durant's not going to go through this when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, but it hasn't happened yet, and the fact is that you don't know, and neither does anybody else; it does, in fact, remain to be seen.
sidney
Starter
Some things are so unlikely that they are safely considered nonsense. What Lebron is doing is unprecedented. The chance that Durant follows his lead is ridiculous....but feel free to hold on to that possibility
Rookie
Starter
Best example of what SVG statement:
If you're annoyed by LBJ then why the hell would you start a thread about him (good or bad)?
I don't find him annoying because I don't think about his every move, I'm just interested in where the "best" NBA player will go. Anyhow just like this thread, I'm in and I'm out. Have fun all.
If you're annoyed by LBJ then why the hell would you start a thread about him (good or bad)?
I don't find him annoying because I don't think about his every move, I'm just interested in where the "best" NBA player will go. Anyhow just like this thread, I'm in and I'm out. Have fun all.
"Unprecedented" is just another way of saying "somebody had to be the first one." Three years ago, athletes having twitter pages was unprecedented, too.
Who the hell is Stan Van Gundy to go around criticizing LBJ and others for their dramatics this off season after the stunt he pulled with the Kings a few years back?
I'm not lumping anyone in, to be honest. It was sort of a fly-by post, and that's why I didn't go any deeper. Like I said, I usually don't use that word, but it sort of capsulated what I wanted to say.
As for this ESPN special, I don't know. I'm not trying to play Devil's advocate, but from what we know about ESPN, they trump things up every chance they get. It could have very well been LeBron saying "hey I want to make my decision on the air, and I want to go exclusive to ESPN," and then the execs got it in their head that they'd be able to squeeze a whole hour out of it and sell a bunch of commercials. They don't ever get the Super Bowl, this is the biggest bonanza they could get their hands on. We really don't know how this came about. And even if it was just LeBron saying "give me an hour", well, so what? Supply and demand.
I get the whole "who does he think he is" angle. Trust me, he's milking this like never before. I get it. But there seems to be this undercurrent out there, that just because he's going to be a free agent that he thinks he rules the world. One of the local radio guys said last week that he's arrogant because he said he wanted to make a decision hopefully by Monday, so he's holding the NBA hostage over 4th of July weekend. Helloooo? Free agency is the first week of July every single year. No NBA GM is taking vacation or spending time with their family, and if they are, I don't want them running my team. This is the busiest time of the year for NBA execs, no matter whether LeBron is on the market or not. It just seems like people are trying to find ways to prove that he's a horrible person because of this free agency thing. The ESPN thing is over the top and egotistical, but it's not the craziest thing we've ever seen. Brett Favre does this will he/won't he thing every year for the last four years. I guess I'm just used to it.
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
rather hear about james than bspn ppl giving kobe hand jobs and raving about how good he is
Can't get behind the analogy. Three years ago, nobody had Twitter pages. But there's not really anything fundamentally unusual about Twitter - millions of people do it.
Call me when in three years Corey Brewer gets an hour on ESPN to dramatically announce he'll sign a three-year deal for less than the MLE with the Clippers (spurning the 'Wolves, the Grizzlies and the Celtics on live TV) and I'll change my mind about the analogy.
Is Brett Favre a close enough analogy for you?
I think the whole point was that things change.
NME
Starter
The Hammer
All-Star
I am. It just makes me want to beat him more when we face him in the finals in three years.
I hadn't actually posted in the thread, so the lumping statement was more preemptive than anything. It was probably unnecessary.
Exactly, that's what bothers me. It tarnishes his image in my eye. It kind of shifts him from a basketball player doing his best to manage the attention he gets to his own advantage to an attention whore doing his best to manage his basketball to his own advantage. To be honest, I could hardly care less. In the end it's not going to make a any difference at all in my life. But I think it's a disappointing enough move to put my two cents in, that's all.
Nope; I'm not really in the business of defending LeBron. Just picking at what seems, to me, like inconsistencies in other people's arguments. I'm not a LeBron James fan, in particular, but I don't hate the guy, either, and in the era of the 24-hour news cycle that we live in, "overhyped" is a meaningless ****ing term to me.Is this supposed to work in Lebron's defense?
I'm not so sure. The point seemed to be that all precedents must be set. Sure. But my point was that this isn't a precedent. A one hour special on ESPN is not going to become the normal way to announce free agency decisions, or even a common one, or probably even a rare one. It would not be surprising to me if it never happened again.
I don't know. Favre never had a special that I remember, just an annual press cry, I mean conference. But press conferences for this sort of thing are pretty commonplace. And with Favre, it's at least plausible that he's been honestly torn between playing and retiring, so I don't know how much of it is Favre wanting drama. LeBron has clearly set this up to be dramatic. He'll announce his destination in the last 3 minutes after 57 minutes of LeBron highlights and sweeping violin music. Shoot, at least Favre just stepped up to a microphone and said what he had to say.
Edit: In another thread it was mentioned that the destination is expected to be revealed in the first ten minutes. But still I think my sentiment holds. Not sure what good the last 50 minutes are.
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- No, Supes had it right; that was the point. If I failed to articulate it properly, I apologize.
- You don't know that: news/sports coverage has increased exponentially since the mid-nineties, and it's not trending in the other direction. You think "signing day" for college football prospects would have made the news twenty years ago? Of course it wouldn't, but it's news now. I feel like I'm going to overuse this expression to the point of cliché, but in this era of the 24-hour news cycle, you have both ESPN and Fox Sports devoted to twenty-four hours of sports/sports news coverage, plus a national network for each of the four "major" professional sports in the United States, each devoted to twenty-four hour coverage of their respective sport. And that genie ain't goin' back in the damned bottle: do you really expect me to believe that this isn't going to become the norm, at least where star players are concerned, within the next ten years or so?
LeBron will announce his decision within the first ten minutes.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5360533
No need for an apology!
I suppose you do believe it will be the norm for stars. I guess the difference between us is that I don't believe that. Yet. I reserve my right to change that belief as more evidence is gathered.
Yeah, I hadn't seen that when I wrote the original. I was editing it while you were writing this!
I would like to have the faith in the human condition that you have. But youtube and twitter and facebook and TMZ have taught me otherwise.I suppose you do believe it will be the norm for stars. I guess the difference between us is that I don't believe that. Yet. I reserve my right to change that belief as more evidence is gathered.
This will be the rule, rather than the exception, in twenty years, tops. You watch what I tell you.
I suppose you do believe it will be the norm for stars. I guess the difference between us is that I don't believe that. Yet. I reserve my right to change that belief as more evidence is gathered.
[Dwight Schrute]
Question: When this ESPN special was announced, do you think the other big name free agents, either of this year or recent years, were thinking: "That LeBron is a terribly arrogant cuss!" Or do you think they were thinking: "Damn it, why didn't I think of that?!"
Fact: NBA players, and all elite athletes, are incredibly arrogant and egocentric. When we find one that's honestly humble and down to earth, it's the exception to the rule, and it makes us all wonder how they were able to succeed at such a high level. They all have their own best interests at heart. So it's not that absurd an idea to think that every major free agent in future years will have a big production surrounding his announcement. Maybe not an hour long ESPN special, but something overboard and super "ME" that makes us all groan, and then set our DVRs.
[/Dwight Schrute]
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