Lebron...

[joerock442]

How many superstars does Lebron need to win another championship?


Not 1.. Not 2.... Not 3...

[Yanksrock02]

Now to watch all the bandwagon fans leaving Miami...

[joerock442]

Originally Posted by Yanksrock02

Now to watch all the bandwagon fans leaving Miami...

how dare you, theyve been lebron fans forevah!!

[wireman]

I'm not at all convinced that James is leaving Miami.

[Tram2Whitaker]

Originally Posted by wireman

I'm not at all convinced that James is leaving Miami.

Like when A-Rod was going to "leave" the Yankees.

[joerock442]

Originally Posted by wireman

I'm not at all convinced that James is leaving Miami.

I think its leverage. Lebron wants a better product on the court. What a better way to accomplish that. I also think he and Riley prob want Bosh and Wade to opt out, and then they use that coin on melo and maybe bosh?

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by Tram2Whitaker

Like when A-Rod was going to "leave" the Yankees.

Well, that's not quite the same though. Rodriguez was about extracting more money out of the Yankees, and with no salary limitation in MLB, there were a lot of gamesmanship on salary negotiation.

In NBA, the salary structure is much more limited. LeBron James is going to get same level of money no matter what he does. So the bargaining isn't as much about salary as Rodriguez's case, but more about what team can be built around him.

[kenyan_cheena]

Rockets are clearing the decks, sending Asik to the Pels for a 2015 draft pick they probably won't even get.

Big 3, mk. II... D12, LBJ and Harden?

[Carlton]

There is small part of me that would love Lebron to take less money and go to the Spurs, but that won't happen.

It's the organization that fits his skillset and personality the best

I really want to see what organization Carmelo Anthony destroys next though

[CD1083]

Originally Posted by Carlton

There is small part of me that would love Lebron to take less money and go to the Spurs, but that won't happen.

It's the organization that fits his skillset and personality the best

I really want to see what organization Carmelo Anthony destroys next though

Lebron is staying put and Melo looks to be heading to the Bulls. I have a feeling though that might actually work. Give Rose a chance to take it easy.

If Bosh were smart he'd leave the Heat and make more money elsewhere.

[Mikex5]

Originally Posted by CD1083

Lebron is staying put and Melo looks to be heading to the Bulls. I have a feeling though that might actually work. Give Rose a chance to take it easy.

If Bosh were smart he'd leave the Heat and make more money elsewhere.

Melo will stay in New York. No team can pay him close to what the Knicks can pay him. He can get a max contract with the Knicks.

[joerock442]

so Lebron and 'melo have wasted everyone's time. lolz. never would have guessed that.

i hope melo can convince Gasol too come to NY.

[KurtBevacqua]

So anyone think Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger will be the kind of talent to win another title LeBron is looking for? Neither do I. McRoberts is a slight upgrade on Udonis Haslem and Granger is, well, better than Shane Battier or Ray Allen? Nah.

The Miami Heat and the NBA?s Double Standard of ?Sacrifice? «

Here is an excellent article breaking down how Miami is following the cap rules in the CBA. By signing McRoberts and Granger the way they did they are signalling to the world the Big 3 all need to take hefty pay cuts and after McRoberts and Granger that's it. They have a very hard cap of $81M based on the exemptions they get with those two signings. Not a "well we can go over to get someone really good and luxury taxes be darned" kind of hard cap, an absolute, they can bring back a few other spare parts like Norris Cole on the cheap kind of hard cap, assuming the Big 3 take that pay cut Pat Riley is going to be asking LeBron for when they meet in a couple of days.

Here's what I think happened. Riley has a history of letting his ego get a tad bit too big when he has stayed in one place awhile and had some success. In LA if the organization hadn't quite seen the light Magic was on the verge of doing another Jack McKinney to Riley. Then there is the whole Knicks thing.

So Riley, feeling his ego, has a presser where he calls out LeBron and friends and questions whether they have the guts to stick it out. LeBron hears that and thinks, "Wait a minute, it was Dwayne and I who put the band together four years ago. Pat was almost irrelevant. We could have put the band together just as well in Chicago or New York, with or without Riley. Who does he think he is questioning our fortitude here? We got him two more rings, not the other way around. Show me the love Pat. Now I want max cash and some real talent to bridge that obvious gap between us and the Spurs. Show me what a true stud GM you are Pat. Figure it out and show me the love."

Meanwhile Mrs James is busting his you-know-whats about going back to Akron. Why? I dunno. I've been to Akron, many, many times. Used to have Thanksgiving at my aunt's house there when I was a kid. Akron is a great place to be from, if you get my meaning. So Now LeBron is getting it on both sides from his boss and his wife. For a man like LeBron, changing bosses is a whole lot easier than changing wives. He's gonna get paid if he decides to change bosses, he's gonna lose half if he decides to change wives. The math is easy. Hello Akron!

[Antonin]

I wish my fellow Clevelanders would move on from the LeBron soap opera. All the begging I've heard in the local media the last few days is embarrassing.

He left, so good luck to him. He learned from his experience in Cleveland and his experience in leaving Cleveland, and is now a more mature man and a better basketball player. It's too bad we had the immature LeBron, but that's life. You learn from your experiences, hopefully.

One thing that bothers me listening to the media outside Cleveland is that they have a lot of their "facts" wrong about LeBron's experience with the Cavs and the process of his departure. Perhaps LeBron's PR people put out a certain story after the fact, but many of us who watched LeBron Mk 1 from up close shake our heads when we listen to the know-nothings of the national media.

Some of you gentlemen wonder why LeBron's wife wants to be back in Akron. Well, actually, they still live near there in a nice mansion he built. While Clevelanders have alternately loved and disliked LeBron, Akron has always loved him.

There's no place like home.

[KurtBevacqua]

Originally Posted by Antonin

I wish my fellow Clevelanders would move on from the LeBron soap opera. All the begging I've heard in the local media the last few days is embarrassing.

He left, so good luck to him. He learned from his experience in Cleveland and his experience in leaving Cleveland, and is now a more mature man and a better basketball player. It's too bad we had the immature LeBron, but that's life. You learn from your experiences, hopefully.

One thing that bothers me listening to the media outside Cleveland is that they have a lot of their "facts" wrong about LeBron's experience with the Cavs and the process of his departure. Perhaps LeBron's PR people put out a certain story after the fact, but many of us who watched LeBron Mk 1 from up close shake our heads when we listen to the know-nothings of the national media.

Some of you gentlemen wonder why LeBron's wife wants to be back in Akron. Well, actually, they still live near there in a nice mansion he built. While Clevelanders have alternately loved and disliked LeBron, Akron has always loved him.

There's no place like home.

It's kind of funny how this is working out. I thought the Cavs finally were moving on from LeBron. The owner aside, the front office is pretty much an entirely different cast than during "Le Decision".

They made a coaching hire that appears to have nothing to do with getting LeBron back. Now ruminate on the whole coaching history of the team going back to 2010.

They fired Mile Brown under the perception that is what LeBron wanted. The went hard after Tom Izzo under the perception that is what LeBron wanted. Izzo (wisely IMHO) stayed put, so they went to Byron Scott as a consolation prize. They canned Scott, presumably because they think that's what LeBron wants. LeBron left them after they fired Mike Brown, well shoot that must mean LeBron really liked Mike Brown so let's hire him back. They finally, finally realized LeBron was a) the secret to Mike Brown's success and b) it's quite likely LeBron could care less what happens to Mike Brown. So they then go after Coach Cal, presumably because LeBron would like that. Coach Cal smartly uses that interest to leverage a really big fat deal at UK (someone was paying attention to the Tom Izzo fiasco after all). At that point I think the lightbulb finally went on and they go way, way out of the box to hire a coach that most likely LeBron had never even heard of (I knew I hadn't), let alone formed any sort of opinion one way or the other.

Then they drafted Wiggins, finally, a really good draft move that seemed to have no real relation to the King's Will he or won't He sweepstakes. I mean, Wiggin's plays the same friggin position as LeBron. Finally, it looks like the team has come out of it's LeBron form of PTSD and is now out in the light acting like, you know, a real basketball team, finally.

Then LeBron has to let it leak he just might be willing to come back after all. So now the city and the team are back to falling all over themselves, to the point of giving key roleplayers away, I mean making trades, on the possibility LeBron might really be serious.

As it stands right now the five worst events in Cavaliers history, in order are:
1. The Decision
2. Ted Stepien buys the team
3. Michael Jordon pulls the moves on Craig Ehlo
4. Rick Mahorn nearly decapitates Mark Price
5. Jim Chones blows out his knee

If LeBron blows the team off one more time I suspect in five or six years that will be on the list, possibly as high as number two.

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by KurtBevacqua

Then they drafted Wiggins, finally, a really good draft move that seemed to have no real relation to the King's Will he or won't He sweepstakes. I mean, Wiggin's plays the same friggin position as LeBron. Finally, it looks like the team has come out of it's LeBron form of PTSD and is now out in the light acting like, you know, a real basketball team, finally.

Lebron doesn't have a position.

[joerock442]

Scott Raab, author of "Whore of Akron", has a great take on this debacle. Well, as long as youre not from Cleavland..


Scott Raab: Cleveland Fans Lacking Pride And Dignity As They Beg For LeBron To Return « CBS Boston





“That’s the part that really sickens me a bit,” Raab said, “because whatever LeBron’s doing, whatever LeBron’s agent is doing, whatever [Cavaliers owner] Dan Gilbert is doing, if the fans are that devoid of any sense, any pride, any dignity, if that’s what you’ve reduced yourself to is begging some guy who didn’t just walk away — but really took an hour-long dump on you. And you can’t wait for more. That’s not the agent’s fault, it’s not the player’s fault and it’s not Dan Gilbert’s fault. That’s your fault.”

[KurtBevacqua]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

Lebron doesn't have a position.

Yes, LeBron could play with pretty much anybody. But, I think if they were drafting with an eye on trying to lure LeBron with the pick then the logical pick would have been Embiid. They already have a point guard, LeBron would be the 3 (with Tristan Thompson and Anthony Bennett sharing 4). The only missing piece is the dominant center. Verejao is just about done, so getting Embiid would have filled out the roster for LeBron very nicely.

[KurtBevacqua]

Originally Posted by joerock442

Scott Raab, author of "Whore of Akron", has a great take on this debacle. Well, as long as youre not from Cleavland..


Scott Raab: Cleveland Fans Lacking Pride And Dignity As They Beg For LeBron To Return « CBS Boston





“That’s the part that really sickens me a bit,” Raab said, “because whatever LeBron’s doing, whatever LeBron’s agent is doing, whatever [Cavaliers owner] Dan Gilbert is doing, if the fans are that devoid of any sense, any pride, any dignity, if that’s what you’ve reduced yourself to is begging some guy who didn’t just walk away — but really took an hour-long dump on you. And you can’t wait for more. That’s not the agent’s fault, it’s not the player’s fault and it’s not Dan Gilbert’s fault. That’s your fault.”

Trust me, Cleveland fans are not too proud to beg at this point.

Shoot, are the Knicks any different with Carmelo?

[rudel.dietrich]

I still don't understand the hate directed at Lebron in the first place. The 'decision' was probably not done well.
But do we now live in an age where athletes cannot leave in free agency? Do we treat them differently if they leave their hometown team?
Free agency came about to give players financial power and not have them tied to a single team for their entire career.

If Chris Bosh goes to Houston is he a traitor to his hometown of Dallas?
In a few years if Durant leaves is he a traitor to OKC, what if he does not even consider his hometown Wizards?

And what is lost in all of this is that the Cavs did not completely lose out in James leaving. It was a sign and trade.

Two first-round picks, that must be used starting in 2013 and ending by 2017
2012 second-round pick Miami received from New Orleans
Future second-round pick Heat acquired from Oklahoma City
Cleveland can also swap first round picks with the Heat in 2012
A large trade exception($15 million or so) that the Cavs must use in trades for one calendar year.

That certainly does not equal Lebron in terms of value. But Clevland squandered much of the trade due to their front offices inept draft night selections.


My opinion on the whole Heat matter is that the onus of keeping the team together has to fall on Wade.
Lebron is definitely worth a max deal. Bosh is probably worth a max deal on another team but if he stays he should be willing to accept a 10-20% discount.
Wade is the one who should have to sacrifice. His best days are behind him and he played the second fewest minutes of his career last season and he only played 54 games.
In reality he should be willing to accept 50-60% of Lebrons money. His body simply won't let him play a full season any longer and he is about to be 33 next January.