[jcmanson]

No it was all about winning. He's said that for years now.

If it was really about winning he would have showed up to a game vs. the Celtics. He wants to win, just not in Cleveland.

Even if I gave you that, I can't say I blame him after Cleveland's owner showed his true colors.

[thepostman]

No it was all about winning. He's said that for years now.

If it was really about winning he would have showed up to a game vs. the Celtics. He wants to win, just not in Cleveland.

Even if I gave you that, I can't say I blame him after Cleveland's owner showed his true colors.

As an owner you are right he shouldn't of reacted that way..you have to have some restraint when in a position like that...

but honestly if I was in his position and the man that played the last 7 years saying he loves Cleveland didn't even have the balls to at least call the organization himself it would be tough not to get angry..but the 3 year old font kind of killed the whole felling of the letter anyways

Lebron has proven he gives up with the going gets tough...and if he thinks every team isn't going to make this year tough on them he has another thing coming..and once they get really tough in the playoffs kobe and the lakers will eat them alive..

[SumItUp]

There are aspects of how "Team LeBron" handled this that I hate, but as far as the actual decision to go to Miami, I have no problem with it. He is taking less money.......

Pre-tax, he is taking less money. He is keeping more money because Florida does not have an income tax.

[Th3rd]

If it was really about winning he would have showed up to a game vs. the Celtics. He wants to win, just not in Cleveland.

Even if I gave you that, I can't say I blame him after Cleveland's owner showed his true colors.

As an owner you are right he shouldn't of reacted that way..you have to have some restraint when in a position like that...

but honestly if I was in his position and the man that played the last 7 years saying he loves Cleveland didn't even have the balls to at least call the organization himself it would be tough not to get angry..but the 3 year old font kind of killed the whole felling of the letter anyways

Lebron has proven he gives up with the going gets tough...and if he thinks every team isn't going to make this year tough on them he has another thing coming..and once they get really tough in the playoffs kobe and the lakers will eat them alive..

The big thing here is now Cleveland has all this leftover money to now build a team instead of just focusing on 1 All Star player. If LeBron wins a title with Miami it means nothing because its Wade's team and he needed 2 other huge names to win it (I realize guys like MJ and Kobe had great supporting casts but it is still their teams, and even if you want to say it was Shaq's team Kobe has 2 without Shaq)

And now say Cleveland goes and builds a team that is capable of winning (lets not forget they were very close to the Finals this past year, now rebuilding but still) You really think if Cleveland faces Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals they aren't going to use all of this as motivation to beat the crap out of LeBron.

If Cleveland wins a championship without LeBron it tarnishes any titles LeBron wins in Miami. period. I don't care if LeBron wins 10 in Miami, if Cleveland wins 1 without him they prove that they can do what he can not (that is bring a title to Cleveland like he said he would).

So really everything is bad for LeBron because no matter what happens he needed 2 Superstars (and even then we have to wait and see if they win) to gain what others have done

Also if Shaq decides to sign with Miami its just more of a shadow for LeBron since Shaq and Wade have won a title together and he needs another (albiet old) Superstar

[jcmanson]

The big thing here is now Cleveland has all this leftover money to now build a team instead of just focusing on 1 All Star player.

You really think any decent players are going to want to go there after the way he reacted? I don't think so.

If LeBron wins a title with Miami it means nothing because its Wade's team and he needed 2 other huge names to win it (I realize guys like MJ and Kobe had great supporting casts but it is still their teams, and even if you want to say it was Shaq's team Kobe has 2 without Shaq)

It means nothing? That's being a little over dramatic. It might not mean as much as if he stayed in Cleveland and won it, but apparently he doesn't care. And if Miami goes on some insane run and wins 5 titles in the next 6 years (or something like that) the media will be all over his d*** again.

And now say Cleveland goes and builds a team that is capable of winning (lets not forget they were very close to the Finals this past year, now rebuilding but still) You really think if Cleveland faces Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals they aren't going to use all of this as motivation to beat the crap out of LeBron.

Cleveland make the Eastern Conference Finals? With who? I think Miami, Boston, Orlando, Chicago, even Atlanta will have something to say about that.

If Cleveland wins a championship without LeBron it tarnishes any titles LeBron wins in Miami. period. I don't care if LeBron wins 10 in Miami, if Cleveland wins 1 without him they prove that they can do what he can not (that is bring a title to Cleveland like he said he would).

Again, not happening.

So really everything is bad for LeBron because no matter what happens he needed 2 Superstars (and even then we have to wait and see if they win) to gain what others have done

Everything is bad for Lebron??? He signed a 100 Million $ contract and will be living in South Florida and playing with 2 of the best players in the NBA (and 2 of his best friends no less). I think he'll be ok.

[Th3rd]

The big thing here is now Cleveland has all this leftover money to now build a team instead of just focusing on 1 All Star player.

You really think any decent players are going to want to go there after the way he reacted? I don't think so.

If LeBron wins a title with Miami it means nothing because its Wade's team and he needed 2 other huge names to win it (I realize guys like MJ and Kobe had great supporting casts but it is still their teams, and even if you want to say it was Shaq's team Kobe has 2 without Shaq)

It means nothing? That's being a little over dramatic. It might not mean as much as if he stayed in Cleveland and won it, but apparently he doesn't care. And if Miami goes on some insane run and wins 5 titles in the next 6 years (or something like that) the media will be all over his d*** again.

And now say Cleveland goes and builds a team that is capable of winning (lets not forget they were very close to the Finals this past year, now rebuilding but still) You really think if Cleveland faces Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals they aren't going to use all of this as motivation to beat the crap out of LeBron.

Cleveland make the Eastern Conference Finals? With who? I think Miami, Boston, Orlando, Chicago, even Atlanta will have something to say about that.

If Cleveland wins a championship without LeBron it tarnishes any titles LeBron wins in Miami. period. I don't care if LeBron wins 10 in Miami, if Cleveland wins 1 without him they prove that they can do what he can not (that is bring a title to Cleveland like he said he would).

Again, not happening.

So really everything is bad for LeBron because no matter what happens he needed 2 Superstars (and even then we have to wait and see if they win) to gain what others have done

Everything is bad for Lebron??? He signed a 100 Million $ contract and will be living in South Florida and playing with 2 of the best players in the NBA (and 2 of his best friends no less). I think he'll be ok.[/quote]

As you stated at the end of your posts its all about money (which Cleveland now has plenty of)

Thats the media though. In Basketball it will mean nothing, LeBron will never be even remotely able to hold a torch to a Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Michael Jordan, or Kobe Bryant because unlike LeBron all of those guys stuck through bad years with their teams and won multiple championships with their respective teams.

I didn't say Cleveland would make the Eastern Conference Finals right away (like next year) but they will rebuild and now you have the opportunity to build an actual team (I realize everyone says you need a huge Superstar to win championships, but let me remind you that the Spurs the first time they won it didn't have an arguable huge Superstar, though you could make a case for The Admiral, but he wasn't a household name across the nation) Contrary to popular belief by ESPN, basketball is won by a team (but it can be lost by both a team and an individual. i.e. LeBron James meltdown losing the Celtics series this past year) and a team is exactly what Cleveland now has the chance to build. They have a good coach and now they have money, so don't expect them to be bottom dwellers for long

I would say if they can build a team than there is nothing stopping them from winning a championship as much as any other team in the NBA (you have to play the game, nothing is a forgone conclusion)

I thought he went there to win?? Not for the money... hmm... Money doesnt equal happiness. And 2 of the best players in the NBA?? Where?? I'll give you DWade, but Bosh doesn't even make my top 5 in PF's in the NBA (in no particular order Boozer, Stoudemire, Duncan, Gasol, Jefferson) And even then I think KG, Dirk, Zach Randolph, LaMarcus Aldridge all are arguably better than Chris Bosh.

How fast will the media turn on him if he does not win a championship this year? or even next year? Than we will see how "ok" LeBron is doing

[Sly Fox]

Actually I covered the Spurs first championship while working in Austin and while the Admiral was in the twilight of his career, a young Tim Duncan was already a major superstar. Now back to your previously scheduled discussion.

[flamesbball84]

lamarcus aldridge is one of the most overrated players in the league. he's definitely one of the poorer rebounding PFs in the game, ranking 40th out of 71 in rebound rate (qualified players only). I for one can't stand post players who can't rebound - who only averages 10.3 rebounds per 48, which is mediocre as best because 51 qualifying PFs had a better per 48 average.

[prototype]

Though I think Lebron handled the situation horribly from a PR standpoint (doing the TV show and not even acting like it was a difficult decision leaving his team and his whole town), I'm not sure why everyone is going to hate Lebron from this point on... Are you serious? Like everyone - he gets to make a decision where he wants to work and after all it was Cleveland - not the biggest market. Every game they play in next year will sell out, he is going to have guys helping to share the burden.

I'm still not sure they will win it all - they still need other players to start and a bench. One guy gets hurt and they are done.

And to speak to the one guy who posted that said now they can use the money they would have spent on him to re-build the team - I'm pretty sure they don't have that much money available. They were going to use the bird money to sign lebron.

[Schfourteenteen]

Can we PLEASE give the Celtics a little more credit for winning that series? They almost beat the Lakers and won it all, and might have if Perkins wasn't hurt (and keep in mind the Celts were pretty much at full strength against the Cavs). Rivers thoroughly outcoached Brown, and had a defensive scheme (and the players to execute it) that made things really tough on James.

There are aspects of how "Team LeBron" handled this that I hate, but as far as the actual decision to go to Miami, I have no problem with it. He is taking less money and will have to share both the ball and the spotlight with Wade, and to a lesser extent Bosh. It's a bit of a gamble, so here's a poker analogy. He has gone all in on a set of kings, and if some other team or teams end up drawing a flush or a straight on the river, he will take a bad beat.

The Celtics won the series - there's no doubt about that.

I don't agree with the logic that a guy can quit on his team(the #1 seed) in the playoffs then use "I want to win" as the main reason to move.

At the end of the day, LeBron wants to be the 2nd best player on the team. No more leading. I don't blame him for that.

But he made 2 major mistakes here - he hosted a world wide "screw you Cleveland" event after they bent over backwards for him(not denying the MAJOR impact he had on that franchise), and dressing like a fool for his interviews. That plaid shirt? Horrific. Absolutely horrific. And then for the press conference he matches with Chris Bosh.....he's officially one of Dwayne Wade's henchmen.