The LeBron James Thread

[ehh]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

It's really hard to make a case for this either way, but in my personal experience as well as watching the way of the world, I'd have to disagree. First, in NYC you're talking about old money, new money, and (most importantly) money of people that don't even live in that city, state or maybe even country. NYC is the last place I'd say you're talking about old money. Second, we're not talking about Diddy or Jay Z here. We're not even talking about Shaq and his move to LA to be in movies. Whatever businesses LBJ wants to be in need to be headed by somebody else. I'm sure he's got plenty of great ideas but other than his checkbook, I'd want no parts of a 25 year old who has no college background or business training to speak of. MJ did a lot of Nike commercials while playing but he didn't develop a brand until he was done... there's reason for that, and if LBJ is thinking differently then he can kiss any future NBA success good bye.

There's a lot of factors we can get into, including the increase of teleconferencing ESPECIALLY in NY, outsourcing, the availability of world wide transportation for the type of money the people we're talking about have. In today's world, there is pretty much no reason someone who already has the fame that Lebron has needs to be in NYC to maximize it.

If that was your first response to this issue then we woulda been fine. Instead of you being a **** about it with one-liners dismissing any opinion that differed from yours. You actually posted something of substance regarding the matter finally, that's all I was asking for.

And your guess on my age is just a weeeeeeee bit off. But I like when people go for that angle of attack. It's all good.

[youvalss]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

Obviously, LeBron is going to the gym to lift another 500000lbs weights.

Work on your jumper, dummy!

[wwharton]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

If that was your first response to this issue then we woulda been fine. Instead of you being a **** about it with one-liners dismissing any opinion that differed from yours. You actually posted something of substance regarding the matter finally, that's all I was asking for.

And your guess on my age is just a weeeeeeee bit off. But I like when people go for that angle of attack. It's all good.

I made plenty of detailed posts about it, actually. My responses to you were specifically to find out what you were talking about bc, as my posts said, I couldn't figure out what angle you were taking. You're smart *** "of course I'm not talking about the contract" was the first showing of somebody being an ***, and since you've decided to continue insulting me in every post. I guess it's no wonder you have so many people questioning your age. On the internet, all we know as how old you act.

BTW, I am fine. If you're not, maybe you should take a break from the pc or at least this thread. It ain't that serious.

[ehh]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

I made plenty of detailed posts about it, actually. My responses to you were specifically to find out what you were talking about bc, as my posts said, I couldn't figure out what angle you were taking. You're smart *** "of course I'm not talking about the contract" was the first showing of somebody being an ***, and since you've decided to continue insulting me in every post. I guess it's no wonder you have so many people questioning your age. On the internet, all we know as how old you act.

BTW, I am fine. If you're not, maybe you should take a break from the pc or at least this thread. It ain't that serious.

You're the only person who's questioned my age on here. I was referring to that angle as a whole. Maybe I misinterpreted your initial response to me, which sounded to me like you were being a smart ***. If you weren't then fine, it's all good. That's the only reason I got defensive.

[brahmagoul]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

I really think endorsements won't be a part of the equation. LeBron doesn't really do any local endorsements that I can think of ... he's more on the national thing, as I think most NBA players are. Come to think of it, baseball players are really the only ones I can think of who go for those local endorsements in large quantities.

For New York, it's going to come down to "OK, what is your plan? What are you going to do beyond just bringing in LeBron and a second guy?"

The longer this plays out, the more I think it works into Cleveland's favor. No one really knows what LeBron thinks, but the more time he takes thinking about leaving his home, I think the harder it will be for him to do so.

[JerseySuave4]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

I really think endorsements won't be a part of the equation. LeBron doesn't really do any local endorsements that I can think of ... he's more on the national thing, as I think most NBA players are. Come to think of it, baseball players are really the only ones I can think of who go for those local endorsements in large quantities.

For New York, it's going to come down to "OK, what is your plan? What are you going to do beyond just bringing in LeBron and a second guy?"

The longer this plays out, the more I think it works into Cleveland's favor. No one really knows what LeBron thinks, but the more time he takes thinking about leaving his home, I think the harder it will be for him to do so.

you realize teams can't even talk about Lebron until free agency so we still have a while before this truely plays out. But i think he's already got his bags packed because the appeal of playing with Antwan Jamison, Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao & JJ Hickson just can't be there anymore. They couldnt even get to the conference finals this year and last year they lost in the conference finals. Cleveland needs to rebuild just as much as any other team would because you can't bring back that same team and think everything's ok.

[Rocky]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

you realize teams can't even talk about Lebron until free agency so we still have a while before this truely plays out. But i think he's already got his bags packed because the appeal of playing with Antwan Jamison, Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao & JJ Hickson just can't be there anymore. They couldnt even get to the conference finals this year and last year they lost in the conference finals. Cleveland needs to rebuild just as much as any other team would because you can't bring back that same team and think everything's ok.

If you can muster up another solid player, I don't think that's too bad of a team.

I want to see Lebron stay in Cleveland (unless he comes to the Bobcats ). I think he should stay. It would be a great story and good for the league...a message that big stars won't leave your team for greener pastures if you make an effort.

Obviously, Bosh would be a perfect fit next to Lebron. The 2nd choice would be Joe Johnson if I were Lebron. That would be a fantastic 1, 2 punch. Both guys can create (with it fitting because JJ creates his own offense while Lebron creates for others) , both guys can post. JJ can even take some of the scoring load while Lebron plays "shutdown defender". If you're JJ who would you rather play with than Lebron? Both guys could take less money to make it work.

[ehh]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

Some updates from everyone's least favorite destination for LBJ...

Knicks to Pull Out All Stops to Lure James?

Posted: 5/17/2010 5:43:00 AM
Source: Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

And since the Knicks don't have a successful team to use as a selling point, the club intends to use any and every resource possible to convince (LeBron) James that New York is the only place big enough for the NBA's two-time MVP.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh has refused to discuss what plans the Knicks have in store for James, who is expected to make visits to Chicago, Miami and perhaps the Nets and Los Angeles as well. Besides the Knicks formally calling James at midnight and giving him a tour of what the renovated Madison Square Garden will look like, little is known about the team's plans.

Several sources claim the Knicks will seek the help of James' favorite team, the Yankees, as well as an assortment of celebrities from movies and music. And since James has talked about becoming the pro sports' first billionaire team athlete, the Knicks will likely call upon a number of power brokers from the business world. Expect Donald Trump to be available.

Hollinger: Bosh Is Best Partner For LeBron This Summer

Stats guru John Hollinger of ESPN applies a range of criteria for analyzing who would be the ideal sidekick for LeBron James among the other free-agents and players on teams that have enough cap room to sign James.
Chris Bosh ranked the best teammate for James, followed by Dirk Nowitzki, David Lee, Amar'e Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer. Derrick Rose ranks eighth on Hollinger's list and Dwyane Wade ranks ninth.

Hollinger calls Bosh "the perfect companion" and says Lee is "near perfect," though he notes that neither Lee nor Boozer is adequate defensively.

Why Is Everyone Against LeBron Coming to New York?

Before game one of the Eastern Conference Finals yesterday — the series that doesn't have LeBron James and the Cavaliers — the ESPN/ABC pregame crew discussed the future of LeBron James. We will confess, the ESPN/ABC crew is not among our favorites: Stuart Scott is Stuart Scott, Jon Barry talks Very Seriously about nothing much in particular, Michael Wilbon gives in to his more sycophantic tendencies and Magic Johnson ... well, one would have thought by now that someone would have taken Magic aside and gently informed him he's incomprehensible on television, but if it's been twenty years and it still hasn't happened, it's probably too late. Anyway, they were talking potential landing spots for LeBron, and no one liked the Knicks. Barry actually said the Clippers would be a better place to go. Isn't this strange? Wasn't it just a few months ago that the general consensus was Cleveland or New York?

It was, actually, but that was a time when the question was different. The question, really, was: Would LeBron stay in a place like Cleveland, where he could win several titles, or would he leave, so he could make more money and become a more global icon? The assumption was that he could win the most titles with Cleveland. No one assumes that anymore.

But now Chicago is in the picture, and New Jersey, and the Clippers — even Miami: The Knicks are considered the selfish pick, the LeBron Doesn't Care About Winning pick. It has become the general consensus: Bill Simmons wrote last week that going to New York was the "Sonny Corleone Move," making LeBron's free agency roughly the 452,239th sports occurrence Simmons has compared to The Godfather. Simmons does rightly point out that saving basketball in New York and winning the Knicks a title would be the "best available accomplishment in team sports right now," but is still insistent that the Bulls are the pick. We think it's because he's rooting against the Knicks getting LeBron. We think everybody is.

One of the reasons we've enjoyed writing about the Knicks over the last couple of seasons is that, in a completely rare experience for New York sports fans, the Knicks have been underdogs. We've had pleasant upstarts, shocking upsets, wretched slumps, weird lineups, all kinds of wackiness — the kind of charming randomness that happens when no one expects you to win. We thought, by this point, after the last decade of pain, the rest of basketball might consider the Knicks the underdog franchise that we do. But the actual possibility that LeBron might leave Cleveland — as opposed to the theoretical it was before the flameout against the Celtics — has made observers turn on the Knicks. They see the Knicks as the Yankees: LeBron James is Albert Pujols, and everyone in the league who isn't the Knicks are the Cardinals. People have accepted that LeBron might leave Cleveland (even, strangely, Cavs fans), but the impurity, the crass move, appears to be going to the Knicks. It seems like cheating to the rest of the sport; New York, once again, getting whomever it wants.

That the Knicks have worked like crazy to build up the capital to go after LeBron, that they couldn't just toss money around like the Yankees, is beside the point. If LeBron joins the Knicks, people are going to be mad; if he joins the Bulls or the Clippers or the Nets, they won't be. If there's any solace to be had in that, know that despite the pain of the last decade, people still love to hate the Knicks. That's news you can use.

LeBron James reaches out to Eddy Curry, a move that may harm New York Knicks' chances in free agency (Cotdamn, Eddy)

LeBron James has reached out to the Knicks, which may or may not be such a good thing for Donnie Walsh's club.

James, according to a source, has contacted Knicks center Eddy Curry about working out together at some point during the offseason. There may be nothing more to it than the fact that James and Curry are represented by the same agent, Leon Rose. James and Curry also have close ties to noted NBA power broker William Wesley, whom the Knicks put in charge of Curry's workouts last summer.

But Curry's involvement in the Knicks' recruitment of James is interesting since the veteran center has had a famous falling-out with head coach Mike D'Antoni, which began as far back as D'Antoni's first practice with the Knicks.

The crux of their problem is that Curry has rarely been healthy or in shape since D'Antoni was hired. In fact, Curry has appeared in just 10 games over the past two seasons, a number that would be unacceptable to any coach.

Curry, however, according to team sources, feels that D'Antoni never gave him a fair chance and that he set him up for failure by pulling him from the lineup in early January just as Curry was attempting his comeback.

Curry even elected to have knee surgery during the season rather than wait until late April because he was convinced that D'Antoni wouldn't play him.

If James were to ask Curry about D'Antoni, chances are that Curry would not provide a glowing report. Several Knicks complained during the season about D'Antoni's lack of communication over their roles and status.

Whether that hurts the Knicks' chances of signing James remains to be seen. There seems to be no doubt that James and "my team" as he calls his agent, adviser and friends, are doing as much research as possible on prospective teams.

Nate Robinson, who left the Knicks on bad terms with D'Antoni, had told friends after the trade with Boston that if James asked him about New York he would tell him it's a great place to play.

Curry, however, hasn't had the same experience as Robinson, who was always a fan favorite.

What does help the Knicks is Curry's strong relationship with Walsh, the Knicks' president. Even though Garden chairman James Dolan stepped in last summer and demanded that Curry lose an unspecified amount of weight or face a fine, Curry felt that Walsh always had his best interests at heart.

Monday, Walsh reiterated that he is still optimistic that Curry can be an asset to the team. Curry's expiring contract instantly makes him an asset, but Walsh is talking about Curry making an impact on the court.

"There aren't many guys out there that can play with their back to the basket and score the way he does," Walsh said. "He's been working out here in New York so we'll see where he's at."

Walsh added that he was unaware of Curry and James making plans to work out. It is unclear if Wesley, better known as "World Wide Wes," will be involved in the workouts. Wesley is emerging as a prominent figure in the James sweepstakes.

There are reports that Wesley, who represents Kentucky coach John Calipari, is trying to leverage his client in a package deal with James. Three teams with salary cap space - the Nets, Bulls and Clippers - all have coaching vacancies.

[Cebby]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

New York
Connecticut
New York
New York

[King_B_Mack]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

Some updates from everyone's least favorite destination for LBJ...

LOL at people making cases against the Knicks cause people love to hate them or some form of Yankee effect. God forbid it's just generally a bad place to end up for the forseeable future. Everything positive about being in New York revolves around things they are hoping happens. Not that they have young talent in place or draft picks to get young talent or anything like that or great pieces of established talent to build from, no, no it's all about having capspace that COULD lead to a valuable asset this year and more cap space that COULD lead to a great player next year. If they don't get LeBron or Bosh this year, why the hell would Melo leave Denver to go there next year? Writers are freakin' hilariously sad most of the time, this is one of those times.

[Anavar]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

LeBron is looking for a house in Highland Park. For those who don't know, it's a suburb of CHICAGO.

It's also home to a certain player from a certain town.

http://twitter.com/justinweiner

BTW, have the New Yorkers of this forum picked up my smarmyness?? Good.

[Anavar]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

Also, LeBron's crew was spotted this weekend wearing Bulls gear.

Just sayin'.

[JVal3208]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

LeBron is looking for a house in Highland Park. For those who don't know, it's a suburb of CHICAGO.

It's also home to a certain player from a certain town.

http://twitter.com/justinweiner

Interesting.

Also, LeBron's crew was spotted this weekend wearing Bulls gear.

Just sayin'.

Link?

[ehh]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

LOL at people making cases against the Knicks cause people love to hate them or some form of Yankee effect. God forbid it's just generally a bad place to end up for the forseeable future. Everything positive about being in New York revolves around things they are hoping happens. Not that they have young talent in place or draft picks to get young talent or anything like that or great pieces of established talent to build from, no, no it's all about having capspace that COULD lead to a valuable asset this year and more cap space that COULD lead to a great player next year. If they don't get LeBron or Bosh this year, why the hell would Melo leave Denver to go there next year? Writers are freakin' hilariously sad most of the time, this is one of those times.

Some are valid concerns but not a one single member of the media outside of NY thinking New York is a good place to go is hilarious. Everyone rips any article about what "could" happen and every non-NY media outlet thinks there's no chance of any of that happening. Why?

I don't see why the Knicks having the most flexibility out of any team out there is consistently being viewed as a bad thing. Not having pieces in place is one of the biggest draws of the Knicks because you can do so much. Yes, a lot needs to happen, but the potential in New York is bigger than any other location, and that's ON the court. And they are with obtainable, realistic moves. Not pipe dream trades or impossible scenarios.

[Anavar]

Re: The Official "Where is LeBron going?" Thread

Link?

It was said on and by Boers and Bernstein which is a sports radio show in Chicago.