Thread: Lebron James Annoucement Tonight!

Its definately interesting for Miami but it doesn't mean a thing unless they win that ring. So in the meantime since they don't have the rings to compare to the west they should just give it a rest.

Originally Posted by MiamiIS350

According to what your saying then the modern Yankees have BOUGHT and are still BUYING championship teams. Does that take anything away from their 27 championships.

And if Lebron wanted to expand his brand he would stayed in Cleveland and still have been the #1 loved NBA player. His decision wasn't a smart business move, unless he wins multiple championships and then everyone will forget about hating him. Same thing happened to Kobe, when he was accused of rape. Went from being the most loved NBA player to being hated, until he won championships and now he's back on top. Rings talk, everything else walks.

I have to disagree with you. 1st Lebron james brand is gonna continue to grow where ever he is just because hes lebron james. The man has been with the Cavs his first 7 season as a professional, got them to the playoffs 6 of those 7 years and was the only one who seemed to play worth a damn when it was time to step up. Regarding your people loving-hating-then loving Kobe again, well he had 2 rings b4 the rape incident, and the whole rape thing fizzled away before he won in 2008. Lebron may have lost the respect of some people, but those who can look past the emotions and "big decision" know he made the right choice in leaving Cleveland. He wouldve had the same team this upcoming season that he had this past season and the same thing wouldve happened. Cleveland 50+win record, get past the 1st round in the playoffs and then struggle against all +.500 teams. It was time to take a different route.

Originally Posted by Suprageex

Even if Lebron wins 5 rings, they won't be viewed as valuable as Kobe's 5. James = desperate to catch up, and had to team up with a top 3 & top 20 player to even stand a chance to get a ring

I seriously doubt that, I guarantee you people will respect his choice in leaving Cleveland alot more once things get rolling. And the word determined is more suitable than desperate. DUDE kobe has had nothing but great talent around him the years he won championships. Nobody in team sports history has ever won the gold with a sorry supporting cast. How can you possibly get mad at someone for wanting to do better? What kind of solid help did lebron have the whole 7 years he was in Cleveland? And everyone whose ever won a ring are all looked at in the same light, as CHAMPIONS.

This whole idea that LeBron couldn't hack it and that his rings won't be worth as much is too funny..LeBron single handedly brought the Cavs into NBA relevancy. All champions are solid teams.. Think about it, nobody discredits what the Celtics did two years ago when they had 3 All-stars. Shaq and Kobe had a stud team their years together, Magic (1st pick) Worthy (1st round pick) and Kareem weren't looked down for being too stacked. MJ always had Pippen, Grant and then Kukoc.. Kobe even bitched up a storm before they brought in Gasol wanting a trade. It takes a real team, not one superstar to win championships. All this rhetoric goes away as soon as the season starts. I don't care who you are, this is good for basketball.. Plus, stop giving Bosh this much credit

AND.. Nice job Dan Gilbert for making every legitimate free agent want to stay as far away from Cleveland as possible with that rant.. Who wants to date the crazy girl you just watched freak the fvck out after a breakup..

Originally Posted by MiamiIS350

According to what your saying then the modern Yankees have BOUGHT and are still BUYING championship teams. Does that take anything away from their 27 championships.

And if Lebron wanted to expand his brand he would stayed in Cleveland and still have been the #1 loved NBA player. His decision wasn't a smart business move, unless he wins multiple championships and then everyone will forget about hating him. Same thing happened to Kobe, when he was accused of rape. Went from being the most loved NBA player to being hated, until he won championships and now he's back on top. Rings talk, everything else walks.

Im gonna start by saying WINNING is WINNING in any language and in any way you achieve it (minus cheating)... What you fail to understand from my post is that its the new order of things... Teams used to draft, develop talent, and build a championship team from within their own organisations. Thats has gone the way of big money free agency.. you spoke of the yankees, so lets take them and their last championship for example.. Out of their starting 9 lineup how many players were aquiered from free agency and how many were yankee farm system prospects?.. Look at their starting pitching staff alone!!... Big Stein was well know for always saying that he would spend any kind of money to asure a winning team, something he accomplished by being the team with the highest salary the past decade alone.. It does not take anything away from last years championship or their other 20 trillion..

Now lets take other teams.. Celtics (garnett, allen).. Lakers (Gasol, artest), and dont let me get into american football, Futbol, and other sports

As far as lebron is concerned i say smart business move because of the possibilities, wether that comes true or not is yet to be seen.. But free agency and trades is big business.. Teams, owners and players will take advantage of it, business wise it seems like the right choice its all im saying.. Americans love their champions, its the american way..

and mind you im not a lebron fan, but i agree with his decission

Originally Posted by MrCarreraGTO

I seriously doubt that, I guarantee you people will respect his choice in leaving Cleveland alot more once things get rolling. And the word determined is more suitable than desperate. DUDE kobe has had nothing but great talent around him the years he won championships. Nobody in team sports history has ever won the gold with a sorry supporting cast. How can you possibly get mad at someone for wanting to do better? What kind of solid help did lebron have the whole 7 years he was in Cleveland? And everyone whose ever won a ring are all looked at in the same light, as CHAMPIONS.

It's not his decision that pisses me off, it's the way how he did it. This had been planned for months, but cleveland doesn't get to know his decision 'till what, 20 minutes before his 'Announcement show' started!? That's equal to shitting in the faces of thousands of his loyal fans.. And his show, wtf? He LOVES the spotlight and is full of himself. Yes, Jordan was the same at eg his HOF speech, but jeez he can be like that cuz he's arguably the GOAT. James has accomplished shit. 2 times MVP and not even getting his team to win a ship? He's never been a leader. Maybe in highschool, but never in the NBA. Stepping up in one game doesn't mean anything, a superstar is expected to do his job on a regular basis.

& don't get me started on how Kobe has never done anything without a supporting cast. Remember the year he put up all those 40/50 point games up, just to keep the team alive? How's scoring 81 points not willing a team to win?

Originally Posted by Suprageex

It's not his decision that pisses me off, it's the way how he did it. This had been planned for months, but cleveland doesn't get to know his decision 'till what, 20 minutes before his 'Announcement show' started!? That's equal to shitting in the faces of thousands of his loyal fans.. And his show, wtf? He LOVES the spotlight and is full of himself. Yes, Jordan was the same at eg his HOF speech, but jeez he can be like that cuz he's arguably the GOAT. James has accomplished shit. 2 times MVP and not even getting his team to win a ship? He's never been a leader. Maybe in highschool, but never in the NBA. Stepping up in one game doesn't mean anything, a superstar is expected to do his job on a regular basis.

& don't get me started on how Kobe has never done anything without a supporting cast. Remember the year he put up all those 40/50 point games up, just to keep the team alive? How's scoring 81 points not willing a team to win?

Well first, I don't think it was ONLY LeBron that wanted to do the announcement on TV. Think about it. ESPN knew they would rake in A LOT of views/ratings by having LBJ doing the announcement...

Also think about this. Kid comes into the NBA at the age of 18 and has pretty much single handedly carried that club to being recognized in the NBA and I'm sorry but the Cavs owner, Dan Gilbert, didn't give LeBron ANY legitament sidekick...

I don't know if you saw that Pistons vs Cavs games a few years back but I believe LeBron posted up 27 of the Cavs last 30-33 points in the last 6minutes/OT time of that game! That is a willing player I'd say...

Anyhow, LeBron has not tarnished his reputation at all. We learned one thing from all Wade, LeBron, and Bosh (and you could really put Haslem in there to if you wanted), but the thing is WINNING IS EVERYTHING. LeBron's not being "desperate" he's hungry for a title and knows being with a superstar teammate/friend of his could be the ultimate solution to his success. Like Wade said in an interview earlier this week: "No one has done it alone." It takes a team to win, not one person.

Originally Posted by Blue4reF1

Well first, I don't think it was ONLY LeBron that wanted to do the announcement on TV. Think about it. ESPN knew they would rake in A LOT of views/ratings by having LBJ doing the announcement...

Also think about this. Kid comes into the NBA at the age of 18 and has pretty much single handedly carried that club to being recognized in the NBA and I'm sorry but the Cavs owner, Dan Gilbert, didn't give LeBron ANY legitament sidekick...

I don't know if you saw that Pistons vs Cavs games a few years back but I believe LeBron posted up 27 of the Cavs last 30-33 points in the last 6minutes/OT time of that game! That is a willing player I'd say...

Anyhow, LeBron has not tarnished his reputation at all. We learned one thing from all Wade, LeBron, and Bosh (and you could really put Haslem in there to if you wanted), but the thing is WINNING IS EVERYTHING. LeBron's not being "desperate" he's hungry for a title and knows being with a superstar teammate/friend of his could be the ultimate solution to his success. Like Wade said in an interview earlier this week: "No one has done it alone." It takes a team to win, not one person.

Yeah, saw the Pistons game. Did you see the Blazers game?
Oh,btw, just came by this;

A different discussion had played out within the NBA and USA Basketball: What should we do with LeBron?

From Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski to managing director Jerry Colangelo to NBA elders, the issue of James’ immaturity and downright disrespectfulness had become a consuming topic on the march to the Olympics. The course of history could’ve changed dramatically, because there was a real risk that James wouldn’t be brought to Beijing based on fears his monumental talents weren’t worth the daily grind of dealing with him.

When the mandate had been to gather these immense egos and get the NBA’s greatest players to fit into a program, no one had a more difficult time meshing into the framework than James. Other players made it a point to learn the names of staffers and modestly go about their business without barking orders and brash demands.

No one could stand James as a 19-year-old in the 2004 Athens Olympics, nor the 2006 World Championships. Officials feared James could become the instigator of everything they wanted to rid themselves for the ’08 Olympics.

For as gifted as James was, Krzyzewski and Colangelo subscribed to a belief that with Kobe Bryant(notes) joining the national team in 2007, they could win a gold medal in ’08 with or without LeBron James. Behind the scenes, officials had taken to calling James’ inner circle, “The Enablers.” No one ever told him to grow up. No one ever challenged him. And yet, James was still a powerful pull for his teammates, and everyone had to agree they could no longer let his bossy and belittling act go unchecked. These weren’t the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Team USA wasn’t beholden to him.

After the NBA witnessed the behavior of James and his business manager Maverick Carter during the 2007 All-Star Weekend, the commissioner’s office sent word to USA Basketball the league wouldn’t force James on them for the Olympics.

Before Team USA gathered for the 2007 Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas, an unmistakable message had been delivered to James through Nike: Unless you change, we’re serious about leaving you home.

“Legacies were on the line,” one league official said, “and they weren’t going to let LeBron [expletive] it up for everyone in China.”

Through Nike, James ultimately heeded the message and made himself more tolerable to coaches, teammates and staff. Team USA assigned Jason Kidd(notes) to babysit him at the Tournament of the Americas in 2007, to try to teach him something the Cavaliers never had a veteran to do: professionalism.

&

Way back in Team USA 2006, Mike Krzyzewski's coaching staff -- D'Antoni, Nate McMillan and Jim Boeheim -- were asked to vote on which players to cut first to get down to the 15-player traveling roster. They ended up cutting Shawn Marion, Adam Morrison and Luke Ridnour.

But, as I reported in 2006, three out of four members of that staff voted to make LeBron James the first player cut. It has never been made public which coach voted which way, and Mike D'Antoni would not comment on the topic now.

Sources:
Inside look at LeBron's free-agent coup - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
ESPN.com - What the Knicks' brass will bring with them to Ohio

LeBron has a HUGE ego.
& He was already friends with Wade during the Bronze run

Originally Posted by Suprageex

It's not his decision that pisses me off, it's the way how he did it. This had been planned for months, but cleveland doesn't get to know his decision 'till what, 20 minutes before his 'Announcement show' started!? That's equal to shitting in the faces of thousands of his loyal fans.. And his show, wtf? He LOVES the spotlight and is full of himself. Yes, Jordan was the same at eg his HOF speech, but jeez he can be like that cuz he's arguably the GOAT. James has accomplished shit. 2 times MVP and not even getting his team to win a ship? He's never been a leader. Maybe in highschool, but never in the NBA. Stepping up in one game doesn't mean anything, a superstar is expected to do his job on a regular basis.

& don't get me started on how Kobe has never done anything without a supporting cast. Remember the year he put up all those 40/50 point games up, just to keep the team alive? How's scoring 81 points not willing a team to win?

Yeah I remember the year he was scoring like crazy but they didnt go anywhere, the 81 point might have looked good for lakers fans but he did that on one of the worst teams in the league at that time. Kobe up until these last 3-4 years wasnt a leader, he was a ballhog. Up until recently his scoring average has went down but his winning percentage has gone up and hes winning rings now. Kobe wouldnt have been able to win a ring with a team like lebron had, not one of lebrons teammates stepped up in the post season, while he averaged like 28+ points. He might be big headed but ultimately he made the right decision, the way he did it wasnt kosher but it happened, it is what it is.

dwade & lbj are the only legitimate "max" players on the Heat - Bosh is a 3rd tier player, 2nd tier on a good day.

my only argument against what lbj did was it was his hometown and his team - a real competitor would've stuck it out and made it a champion - through thick & thin. a real competitor doesn't jump ship when the opportunity is convenient.

if it were me, i'd still be in cleveland, trying to kick ass. if i lost for the next 10 seasons, on my terms, i'd be happier than if i won 2 rings w/ the Heat as a mercenary. that is probably a character flaw of mine - i would fight.

- chuck