Lebron watch or NBA free agency

[aloofman]

and Celtics took three great players in their descending years, while Miami has two superstars and a great players in their prime. they could dominate for years if they get an half-decent cast, and i am sure many good players will accept a reduced salary to play with them.
plus they just need to use picks for solid role players, no need to look for 'potential'

I still don't buy the idea that they have a better title shot than Boston going into the 2007-08 season. That Celtics team already had a group of role players that could complement the Big Three. As of my typing this, Miami would seem to have only the three players they introduced today under contract! Where are these "role players willing to play for the minimum for a title shot" going to come from? There aren't many left and many other teams have cap space to work with. With a lockout expected next summer, very few players are going to be willing to sign one-year deals right now. The new CBA is expected to limit player salaries more than they are now. That's a major reason why Pierce and Nowitzki opted out to sign new deals instead of becoming free agents in 2011. It wasn't just them being "unselfish" for their owners.

If he stayed in Cleveland, YES it would be sweeter to win a championship but it was NEVER going to happen. He was giving ALL of his ability to get somewhere. If he had not won anything by age 30 in Cleveland, there was not going to be any championship in his life unless what just happened a TRIO.

So Cleveland, loss-loss situation for you anyways. Don't get violent, don't hate but appreciate LeBron for the memories of 7 great years.

Wow, are you friends with someone in LeBron's entourage or something?

It's crazy to say that he never would have won a title in Cleveland, considering that he came closer than almost every other team in the last four seasons. If he went up against almost anyone other than the playoff veteran Spurs in the 2007 Finals, he could have won it even with that crappy team. If they don't run into the 2008 Celtics, who had become a defensive juggernaut just six months before, he might have won that year. If the Cavs don't run into a Magic team in 2009 that shot an unbelievably high percentage from three-point range for two-and-a-half straight games, the Cavs would have been in the finals that year too.

Cleveland consistently got close to a title and couldn't quite get over the hump. They DID try to surround him with a better mix of players, but it didn't quite work out. How many of the people who are dissing Cleveland now thought that adding Jamison this season would punch them a ticket to the finals? In my opinion, the Cavs' worst move was hiring and then keeping Mike Brown as coach. He's as unimaginative when drawing up an offense as any coach in the league, failed to utilize James' obvious dominance in the fast-break, and was consistently outcoached in the playoffs.

You have to give other teams some credit. It's not just the Cavs choking in the playoffs. If LeBron had stayed there, is there any guarantee that the Celtics can make another title run? Or that Howard will ever become the dominant offensive force that the Magic need him to be? Or that Kobe will continue to stay healthy enough to play every game? Unless at least one of those things happen, Cleveland with LeBron would still be a contender next season.

LeBron gave Cleveland 7 years where he played his heart out for his city and his team. He made the best decision for himself and his family and it wasn't about the money because he could have made more if he had stayed. True fans from Cleveland will understand and support his decision even though they are disappointed he is leaving, fake ass fans won't.

First of all, LeBron James and his family are from northeastern Ohio. How is it better for them for him to move to Miami? That's a joke. It's what players say when they had other reasons to switch teams, because a lot of people won't argue with someone who says they did "what's best for my family".

And you clearly don't understand Cleveland fans at all. How many times they've had contending teams that barely fell short. How many times a fluke play or choke job has denied them a title. He was the hometown hero who made good and he cultivated that with the fan base. And his announcement event was a PR debacle the likes of which we've never seen before in sports. Why do it in the NY area? Why did he spend so little time explaining to Cleveland fans why he was leaving? How did a guy who grew up in Akron not anticipate that his leaving would break their hearts? It's absolutely mind-boggling how poorly he executed this move, especially considering how obvious it now seems that he made this decision a long time ago.

Chicago would have never been his team, it will always be Jordan's team.

I don't buy it. A top player who is motivated to win a title won't be worried about who excelled for that team before because the fans don't care. Otherwise why would Larry Bird want to play for the Celtics, when Russell and Cousy and Havlicek had done it all before? Why would Magic play for the Lakers? Why should anyone want to play for the Yankees when they've done it all already? Because the fans will love him for it if he makes it happen for them.

The open letter is a bit melodramatic...I do hope we win a championship in the near future though - not to stick it to but because we've been waiting 46 years. Eventually we'll break that streak.

The letter was a classless move because it was coming from a team owner, but probably smart considering the state his fanbase is in. He was expressing the outrage that the fans are feeling and they will like knowing that he feels the same way.

I can't help but feel that he's a little disingenuous though, since the front office has acted for a while like they've thought he would leave and have basically been begging him to stay. It comes across a bit like a jilted lover whose act reveals why the person left you in the first place.

Game, set and match.

The game of basketball is a TEAM sport. He made the right move. The Heat are going to be a GREAT TEAM. Unselfish play and smart decision making. What are people going to say if he wins 5-8 NBA championships with the HEAT if they continue to stay together? Are you going to hate him or applaud him for making the right decision to ultimately win instead of being an egomaniac and selfish for wanting money because he knows he isnt going to win in Cleveland.

The money issue is a non-factor, since he was always going to make way more in endorsements than in salary anyway. But the fact that he seemed to think that his special announcement was going to increase his brand doesn't make him seem unselfish or smart.

It was LeBron's idea to have a TV special. His people went to ESPN with the idea, and, of course, they loved it and agreed. ESPN did nothing wrong here. They are a TV network. No way are they passing on this. They're not going to go to LeBron and say, "Are you sure you want to announce your decision like this?"

The proceeds from the spectacle last night went to the Boys and Girls Club of America, as part of the agreement thought up by LeBron.

His intention was to take advantage of all the hoopla and make money for one of his charities. Personally, I think his advisors should be shot for letting him screw Cleveland and all its fans on television.

Completely agree. His advisors should be locked on a boat with Tiger Woods' team. Then the boat should be sunk.

I don't know if he really screwed Cleveland, the team has been bad for years and Lebron was just a blip on the radar.

LeBron James was by far the best player that the Cavaliers have ever had AND the only one who grew up nearby. To say he was "just a blip on the radar" is completely wrong. Over the last five seasons, the Cavaliers have averaged 54 wins per season and never finished lower than second place. Not so bad a team.

 

[MacNut]

LeBron James was by far the best player that the Cavaliers have ever had AND the only one who grew up nearby. To say he was "just a blip on the radar" is completely wrong. Over the last five seasons, the Cavaliers have averaged 54 wins per season and never finished lower than second place. Not so bad a team.

Wasn't the only reason the Cavs got Lebron because they won the first draft pick. Would they have gotten him otherwise? They got lucky, it had nothing to do with hometown.

 

[macfan881]

Please tell me this is a Sick and Cruel Joke if it isnt I'm done with the Knicks .http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/news/story?id=5369726

 

[aloofman]

Wasn't the only reason the Cavs got Lebron because they won the first draft pick. Would they have gotten him otherwise? They got lucky, it had nothing to do with hometown.

What does that have to do with anything? He has been a great player for them AND is a local product, so he meant even more to them. And the way he's handled his brief free agency is that much more baffling because he should know how important he was to them.

 

[Thomas Veil]

New twist in the Lebron story: had he been plotting against the Cavs for a long time?

Inside 'The Decision': Miami's coup was a 'surprise' built on long-coveted goal of James, Wade and Bosh

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- During a rally for Miami Heat fans Friday night, Chris Bosh said he had been talking with new teammates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade about the moment for months.

It was a slip, which some, including Bosh himself, caught. The premise that the trio had been talking about teaming up for months hinted there was a plan in place. That potentially would be against rules, and could raise concerns from the league since Bosh and James were playing for teams battling for the playoffs in Toronto and Cleveland.

Bosh quickly revised the statement and said they had been talking about it for "days." But it appears James, Bosh and Wade had been discussing this for years.

That won't be comforting for Cavaliers fans who still are reeling from what many considered James' stunning departure. But it appears to be part of a complex master plan that was the trio's desire for much of the past four years.

Now that the move has been made, the veil of secrecy is being raised to a degree as people are beginning to talk. The Plain Dealer talked to numerous sources to piece together a picture of how James ended up in Miami.

The story goes on at length, too much to quote here, but here are a few salient paragraphs:

By the time Team USA was preparing for the 2008 Olympics, sources say Chris Bosh and LeBron James had frequently shared their common desire to play together with Dwyane Wade for an NBA franchise. There were already several teams -- most notably the New York Knicks but including the Miami Heat -- gutting their rosters in order to free up salary cap money for the summer of 2010.

After talking about it amongst themselves, James, Bosh and Wade decided to accept three-year extensions with their teams. It would make them all unrestricted free agents at the same time in 2010. For players on maximum contracts, becoming an unrestricted free agent after just seven years in the NBA is rare. But it would put them all in position to potentially team up that year as well....

According to sources, Heat President Pat Riley made sure to reassure James that his close friends would be taken care of by the franchise, in much the same manner the Cavaliers had accomodated them for the last seven years. It might have been the final factor that convinced James to leave Cleveland.

He got close enough to pull off the major score. In addition to the weather and the city's attractions for young, rich athletes, Riley knew the lack of a state income tax in Florida could help him sell it.

Riley really put the plan into action last November. During a Cavs visit to Miami, Riley arranged a get together with Michael Jordan and James. Jordan, who was in town to do some Nike work with Wade, at the time did not own a majority of the Bobcats.

During the meeting, Riley talked to James about how more modern players should pay homage to Jordan. Riley always had led this effort, retiring Jordan's No. 23 in the rafters at AmericanAirlines Arena even though Jordan never played in Miami.

The Cavs knew about it, and while it seemed like it could be classic tampering, they decided not to make an issue of it -- mostly because the meeting technically wasn't about free agency....

As was their plan four years earlier and was discussed more deeply in 2008, Bosh, Wade and James had been talking amongst themselves. Unlike Bosh or James, Wade took the step of actually attempting to recruit other free agents to his team. Riley's efforts were more successful than the Knicks, and they had the most salary-cap space.

Getting all three together was really only possible in Miami, and Wade pushed the topic. Despite being discouraged by Commissioner David Stern and perhaps breaking tampering rules again, Wade flew with Bosh to Akron to meet at James' house in the last week of June. Still under contract with the Heat, Wade got the other two to the brink of a deal to join up.

Um...wow?

If this story is anywhere close to the truth, Lebron's name is gonna be mud even more than it already is.

 

[Abstract]

I really don't care. He talked about the potential for working together with his friends in the future. And? As long as there were no game fixing or anything unethical of that sort, then it's fine. There's nothing wrong with playing for one team, and wishing you were at another. If I replace the word "team" with "employer" in my previous sentence, many regular people would admit that they can relate to how he feels.

Again, as long as Lebron put an honest into winning while under contract, and didn't treat teammates differently as a result of the fact that he wanted to play elsewhere, then I don't care. Discuss your career plan amongst friends.


I really don't like Lebron James. I think he's the most talented player in the league, but I also think he's the biggest ass. However, I don't think that the story above is that damning.

 

[Don't panic]

the only thing that was wrong was the spectacle on espn.
and this is not totally out of the blue, there has been rumors about this for months. never thought that they could actually do it , though.

i only regret that they didn't decide to team up in NY
although i have to say i like the direction the knicks are going (as long as they don't get Thomas back. What are they thinking? are they even thinking?)

 

[Thomas Veil]

Again, as long as Lebron put an honest into winning while under contract, and didn't treat teammates differently as a result of the fact that he wanted to play elsewhere, then I don't care.

Well, there's the rub. Lebron consistently faded during the playoffs. Was he (a) honestly hitting a wall, (b) being lazy because his head and heart were already in Miami, or (c) deliberately tanking it in order to provide further justification to move to another team?

(a) shouldn't exactly hearten Heat fans. (b) is entirely possible, given the poor showings he turned in. And (c) may or may not be likely, but it will be a question that people ask about him for the rest of his career.

 

[Abstract]

You'd think that Lebron would want to win regardless of whether he was planning to go elsewhere. If the plan was to play poorly to give themselves an excuse for wanting to change teams at the end of the season, then I don't know if Bosh or Wade knew about this plan, because Bosh played well in Toronto during the regular season, and Wade played really well in the playoffs.

I don't know, but what I do know is that Bosh did not intentionally tank near the end of the season. The Raptors genuinely weren't good enough. They had some long win streaks during the season, but unfortunately, even longer losing streaks.


Lebron did play like crap in the playoffs, but he also had some big games. Same with Kobe. Did Kobe intentionally tank during the Game 7 of the NBA Finals against Boston? Doubt it.

 

[Don't panic]

You'd think that Lebron would want to win regardless of whether he was planning to go elsewhere. If the plan was to play poorly to give themselves an excuse for wanting to change teams at the end of the season, then I don't know if Bosh or Wade knew about this plan, because Bosh played well in Toronto during the regular season, and Wade played really well in the playoffs.

I don't know, but what I do know is that Bosh did not intentionally tank near the end of the season. The Raptors genuinely weren't good enough. They had some long win streaks during the season, but unfortunately, even longer losing streaks.


Lebron did play like crap in the playoffs, but he also had some big games. Same with Kobe. Did Kobe intentionally tank during the Game 7 of the NBA Finals against Boston? Doubt it.

i don't think for a second that lebron played intentionally bad, it wouldn't make any sense. if anything, it would have made it easier to leave if they won in cleveland, as i could have said i won you a ring, now i want to move on.
it also would have made quite a difference coming in miami as the man, in the dynamics with the other twos.
i think it's a mix of 1 and 2 and i wouldn't discount the elbow injury, which could have been worse than transpired.

on the other hand i do think that Bosh mailed it in in the second half of the season, when his decision was made. and i believe that a majority of raptors fans would concur.

 

[QCassidy352]

Chicago would have never been his team, it will always be Jordan's team.

Nonsense. To put it in terms a Yankees fan could understand (), can the Yankees never be Derek Jeter's team because of Ruth, Mantle, etc? Jordan would always have been a bigger hero in Chicago, but as for taking "ownership" of the current group of players, Jordan has nothing to do with that.

But it's a stab in the back for Cleveland and Cavs fans, regardless of the way you try to spin it.

Absolutely not. I'm really not getting Cavs fans on this one. LBJ gave your franchise it's best 7 year run ever. He played hard and broke franchise records. He never said one bad word about the Cavs' fans, ownership, or franchise. Yes, he left. As a free agent. After playing out his contract without complaint. Sorry, but that's simply not a "stab in the back," and if you think otherwise, you obviously don't pay very much attention to how professional sports works and has worked for many years now. I get that it hurts a little more because he's an Ohio native and the best player in franchise history, but at the end of the day, this was nothing more than a free agent leaving for a more advantageous situation. No betrayal, no stab in the back, and frankly, nothing wrong with what he did whatsoever.

Well, there's the rub. Lebron consistently faded during the playoffs. Was he (a) honestly hitting a wall, (b) being lazy because his head and heart were already in Miami, or (c) deliberately tanking it in order to provide further justification to move to another team?

(a) shouldn't exactly hearten Heat fans. (b) is entirely possible, given the poor showings he turned in. And (c) may or may not be likely, but it will be a question that people ask about him for the rest of his career.

Your options are irrelevant because your premise (that he consistently faded) is flawed. He averaged 29/9/7 pts/rebounds/assists per game in the 2010 playoffs (very much in line with his career playoff averages), better than Kobe or anyone else. But for the sake of argument, (c) is ridiculous because it would have been far easier to leave Cleveland with a ring than without one.

 

[macfan881]

the only thing that was wrong was the spectacle on espn.
and this is not totally out of the blue, there has been rumors about this for months. never thought that they could actually do it , though.

i only regret that they didn't decide to team up in NY
although i have to say i like the direction the knicks are going (as long as they don't get Thomas back. What are they thinking? are they even thinking?)

If Thomas is back I'm a heat fan.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Not sure where anybody is getting the idea that if Lebron had won a ring with Cleveland it would be easier for him to explain moving to another team. Usually if you're with a winner you want to stay with a winner.

And okay, I take back the word "consistently" about Lebron and the playoffs. He faded when it mattered, like game 5 against Boston.

I myself don't believe that Lebron tanked it. But I do think that by game 5 his head was already in Miami.

We'll have to agree to disagree on whether this was a betrayal. Free agency, granted -- but not returning the phone calls of the owner who gave him everything he wanted? Soaking up the adoration of Cleveland fans while secretly planning, months in advance, to go to Miami? Very unseemly.

Bill Simmons put it very well in the link that dmr727 provided above. And as far as I'm concerned, Lebron is an ass. As wrong as Art Modell was, at least he moved the Browns out of Cleveland in the middle of the night. He didn't turn it into a "Hey, look at ME!" TV special.

 

[aloofman]

As wrong as Art Modell was, at least he moved the Browns out of Cleveland in the middle of the night. He didn't turn it into a "Hey, look at ME!" TV special.

As suddenly as the Browns' move was, it wasn't quite in the middle of the night. Bob Irsay moving the Colts out of Baltimore, now that really was in the middle of the night!

 

[nbs2]

Nonsense. To put it in terms a Yankees fan could understand (), can the Yankees never be Derek Jeter's team because of Ruth, Mantle, etc? Jordan would always have been a bigger hero in Chicago, but as for taking "ownership" of the current group of players, Jordan has nothing to do with that.

I believe the term he meant to use was "franchise," not "team." You're right that the Yankees are Jeter's team. But, they will always be Ruth's franchise. Unless it comes to light that the Babe was eating babies, that will never change (and even then, it might not).

In the same vein, the Bulls of 2010-? might have LeBron's team, but it would have been Jordan's franchise. Only 7 or more championships in under a decade would have any chance of changing that.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Absolutely not. I'm really not getting Cavs fans on this one. LBJ gave your franchise it's best 7 year run ever. He played hard and broke franchise records. He never said one bad word about the Cavs' fans, ownership, or franchise. Yes, he left. As a free agent. After playing out his contract without complaint. Sorry, but that's simply not a "stab in the back," and if you think otherwise, you obviously don't pay very much attention to how professional sports works and has worked for many years now. I get that it hurts a little more because he's an Ohio native and the best player in franchise history, but at the end of the day, this was nothing more than a free agent leaving for a more advantageous situation. No betrayal, no stab in the back, and frankly, nothing wrong with what he did whatsoever.

....nothing wrong whatsoever...apart from the massively self-indulgent primetime announcement, and the fact that the whole move appears to have been engineered well in advance.

I recognize the fact that loyalty no longer exists in sports, but I don't have to like that, and know I never will. He could very well have won a championship here - the people who say he left because he had no chance in Cleveland are simply writing the whole city off permanently, which is wrong.

Looking forward, I'm sure it will be an awkward reunion when he makes his inevitable return to Cleveland to play in his declining years. Some will welcome him back, the rest of us either won't care or will still be angry he left in the first place.

 

[macfan881]

The Knicks are the Oakland Raiders of the NBA http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/news/story?id=5442858

I'm done with this team