LeBron's future

[pgellis]

If he does end up in Miami, who else do they have around them? Nobody. I know you will have 3 All-Stars, but you also need 5 guys on the court at the same time and you need a bench to win it all in the NBA.

[nolemmings]

All I know is I'm looking forward to telling my grandchildren where I was on the night LeBron announced his decision. Monumental!!! You know--"kids, Grandpa remembers when JFK was shot, when man landed on the moon, when the USA olympic hockey team beat the big, bad Russians in 1980 AND, most of all, when LeBron took an hour out of his busy and regal day to announce to the great unwashed where he was going to play".


I'm very disappointed that the fete was not reserved for the pagaentry of the silver screen, but am eternally grateful it will not be on pay-per-view, where it could rightfully command a king's ransom to see. Of course, one hour is just a teaser, and can't possibly do justice to such an important subject. Obviously I will record it on the DVR, but will still await the packaged, professionally done "commemorative collector's set", complete with candid and revealing outtakes of the man, the myth, the legend.

I only hope the President will proclaim this LeBron James Day, to be observed annually. Lord knows it's long overdue.

[HRBAKER]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

All I know is I'm looking forward to telling my grandchildren where I was on the night LeBron announced his decision. Monumental!!! You know--"kids, Grandpa remembers when JFK was shot, when man landed on the moon, when the USA olympic hockey team beat the big, bad Russians in 1980 AND, most of all, when LeBron took an hour out of his busy and regal day to announce to the great unwashed where he was going to play".


I'm very disappointed that the fete was not reserved for the pagaentry of the silver screen, but am eternally grateful it will not be on pay-per-view, where it could rightfully command a king's ransom to see. Of course, one hour is just a teaser, and can't possibly do justice to such an important subject. Obviously I will record it on the DVR, but will still await the packaged, professionally done "commemorative collector's set", complete with candid and revealing outtakes of the man, the myth, the legend.

I only hope the President will proclaim this LeBron James Day, to be observed annually. Lord knows it's long overdue.

AMEN Brother Todd! That's the problem with 24 hour sports and news channels, sometimes they have to create news to fill the time. Now at least I can hopefully get back to a regular sleep cycle since this cataclysmic event has played itself out. Maybe one day I'll find a reason to be a NBA fan.

[JasonL]

at least he didn't ruin baseball.


By the way, the Cleveland owner's comments showed EXACTLY why that city has hosted nothing but losers for 50 years.
No offense to the individuals that live and hail from there, as no city is perfect, and this was just one guy, but boy, did his rant ever provide a "See, I told you so" for anyone who is offended by the whine of those who choose to be victims. He wasn't wronged. He just failed. It's so tired.

[k-dog]

Originally Posted by pgellis

If he does end up in Miami, who else do they have around them? Nobody. I know you will have 3 All-Stars, but you also need 5 guys on the court at the same time and you need a bench to win it all in the NBA.

I don't think he is leaving Cleveland...but if he does go to South Beach:

The Heat have no Center worth talking about and Mario Chalmers at PG..He has averaged 8 points and 4 assists in two seasons. Unless they address those 2 positions quicklyThis potential "power trio" will need to all score 25-30 a night to even think of winning 60 games! YES...the highlights would be there...but NO...I don't see them winning a Championship anytime soon!

[barrysloate]

All of the teams who got themselves into the free agent sweepstakes, with the exception of Chicago, stripped themselves of nearly all their good players. Look at the Knicks, they have only a shell of a team around Stoudemire.

Miami will be able to put together enough middling players to complement the three superstars. Again, no championship is being handed to them. But they won't have any trouble putting on a show every night.

[old-baseball]

Not much of a basketball fan but because I live in the North-East Ohio area this is of interest to me. I really don't care one way or another if he goes or he stays but what I'm really wondering is if he leaves how he thinks he can still live in the Akron area and be treated the same way that he was when he played for the Cavs. In my opinion, if he goes on national TV and announces in an hour long show that he's abanonding his home town team / area, he moves immediately to human "turd" status in this area. I can't imagine that he's not smart enough to realize that "The Decision" also affects his kids, family and friends that are left in Ohio.

[Robextend]

Going to Miami is such a cop out....Miami is Dwyane Wade's team. Wouldn't his legacy be better served if he went somewhere he can call his team and beat a guy like Wade or Bryant in the playoffs/finals? Do you think Michael Jordan would ever go play with Kobe Bryant because he was afraid of never winning a championship?

Sorry for the rant!!

Edited to add: These are the rantings of a frustrated Knick fan that misses the days of Ewing, Oakley, Mason, etc...

[Abravefan11]

Rob I see your point but look at it some what differently.

Lebron doesn't have to win a title virtually by himself to be viewed as one of the greatest players of all time IMO, he already has that coming his way. With that said I can understand his not wanting to be included in the "Best Player To Never Win A Championship" conversation no matter how he has to get it done. He's very young and if he can win a championship in Miami in the next few years he will be able to cross that off his list and move on to other more personal goals if he chooses. I also think it speaks volumes to his desire to win a championship as opposed to being the star and not having anyone else take away from his shine.

One thing to keep in mind is Lebron is a brand and not just a player. At this point winning a championship is more important to elevating the brand than anything else.

[Robextend]

I hear ya Tim. I am just not so sure that his brand will thrive if he isn't the main focal point on a championship team. If his numbers go down to 22 pts a game with maybe 8 asissts, I am not sure his brand will soar.

He was totally wrong about some of the things he spoke about as well. He mentioned how Jordan had Pippen/Grant/Kukoc. Those guys were good role players, just like most of the guys Kobe has with the exception of maybe Gasol. It is easy to say how unselfish he is going to be and how they will all play together in harmony, but we have all seen situations where there are not enough basketballs on the court.

I remember Sprewell and Houston after one season couldn't play together because they both needed the ball to succeed. I am not saying it will be the same, but I would not be ready to hand them the championship or even the East title. I still think Orlando has the edge.

I also think Bosh is a tad overrated. I am always weary of guys who put up big numbers on bad teams, i.e, Charles Smith.

I guess we shall see...should be very interesting.

PS - Over/under on how many games before Riley takes over the team? I say 15...that guy is a snake.