The LeBron James Thread

[wwharton]

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

Actually he'd be taking a paycut to go elsewhere.



That and they won.

Russell isn't a legend because he played for the Celtics, he's a legend because he won 11 chips (or something like that). Bird and Magic weren't legends because they stayed on one team, they're legends because they combined for 6 MVPs, 8 championships, and 14 Finals, all in a relatively small time window.

Shaq's legacy has somewhat diminished from team swapping, but that's because he's been more of an attention whore than anything else. Nobody hated on Shaq's legacy prior to 2007 even though he played for three teams. If Lebron goes to a place like Chicago, I'd see it being very close to Shaq's situation.



That doesn't really fit in with your previous statements.

Nobody will be a legend with one championship compared to a guy with five. Pierce won Boston their first ring after 20 years of irrelevance but he won't compare to Kobe's 5 rings for the Lakers.



It actually is all about money. It's their job.

One difference (with the Shaq and Pierce examples) is that he is playing for his home town team. Leaving that team means a lot more than Shaq leaving Orlando or Pierce thinking about leaving Boston before they won anything. With that said I agree with pretty much the rest of your post. I will say that LBJ can get away with being the same attention whore Shaq is/was if he stays in Cleveland. The question is what's most important to LBJ and what's the best situation for him to get there. I don't think we find out until he makes his decision.

[wheelman990]

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

Like I said, Cleveland fans understand.

We have had some bad things happen to us, and lost pretty much every big game that has come down to the wire. Its easy to say, its all about him winning anywhere, but I dont agree. if that was the case, sign with LA and get it done the first year. Surely, anyone can see how elusive a championship is.

True, not everyone gets a chance to play for there hometown, but Lebron did. Why throw it away? Thats my point.

[luv_mist]

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

Why WWW might not be attending the meetings??

Just read it and I have to say that this is going o be an interesting few days coming up. INTERESTING.......

[ex carrabba fan]

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

Why WWW might not be attending the meetings??

Just read it and I have to say that this is going o be an interesting few days coming up. INTERESTING.......

LMFAO.

Once again, there is nothing stated in that article as to how Wes has any influence at all over teams. All of these claims are not based off fact.

“If LeBron leaves, Wes is going to get carte blanche wherever he signs,” one source told Yahoo! Sports. “He’s going to have the run of the place, and he doesn’t have that in Cleveland. He has access there, but Maverick Carter is the guy with the keys there. …[Carter’s] much more influential, and would always be in Cleveland.”

Oh really? You think an organization like Chicago or Miami is going to let Wes have free reign?

Those two teams aren't Cleveland by any stretch.

"Only, it never happened and the process is back where it started: With Wesley selling New York and New Jersey on making deals for Chris Paul(notes), and advising Chicago and Miami to clear cap space to make room for James and other star free agents. Cleveland isn’t out of this, but the world changes around LeBron James if he declares he’s leaving home. One of those teams will owe World Wide Wes, and payback will come with raises for the coaches he represents, with contracts for the players he’ll want to eventually bring there."

So it was Wes' influence that led to Chicago and Miami clearing cap space? I'm pretty certain all of these teams were going to do that regardless of what Wes suggested.

All of these articles are so sad. There are little to no facts included behind their claims. Such trash.

[Altimus]

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

It's laughable that Reinsdorf was influenced the tiny bit by WWW.

[NYJets]

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

I love how that article uses the fact that Carter wasn't able to convince the owner of the Clippers to sell the team as evidence that WWW has all the power and he doesn't. Like WWW could do it either. WWW gets credit for making teams try and trade for Chris Paul. I think I could convince NBA teams that having the best pg in the NBA on your team is a good thing.

I just get the impression that the reason no one can ever explain what Wes actually does is that he doesn't really do much. He has a lot of connections, but that doesn't give him the power to really influence things at the NBA level.

[Cebby]

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

Its easy to say, its all about him winning anywhere, but I dont agree. if that was the case, sign with LA and get it done the first year. Surely, anyone can see how elusive a championship is.

That's basically what he's doing except LA has no cap room and Kobe wouldn't want Lebron so instead Lebron is looking at his next best options.

True, not everyone gets a chance to play for there hometown, but Lebron did. Why throw it away? Thats my point.

He's likely going to throw it away so that he can win.

Winning 1 championship with Cleveland might make Lebron a Cleveland legend, but why would you want to be a Cleveland legend when you could be an NBA legend? And no, if Lebron ends his career with 1 chip he isn't going down as one of the absolute top players of all time.

[Kully]

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

Some Knicks "source" (using that loosely) setting themselves up in case they don't get Lebron:

"Yes, we think he's a better player," the source said of Johnson. "He makes other people better. With LeBron's people running the locker room that hurts the organization."

The source also mentioned concerns about James' entourage taking over the franchise.

"I don't care what most people think," the source said. "I'm not saying that LeBron is not a good player, but other stuff comes with it. LeBron's friends want jobs. You're gonna lose running your organization. As time goes on you got to hire this guy, you got to hire that guy."

http://web.sny.tv/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100629&content_id=11717746&oid=36320&vkey=18

[Dice]

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

Well, I'm going by the statements of Rick Patino and Jim Boehim who stated that WWW is one of the most influential people in basketball. And these are two respectful coaches, NBA or college.

And I'm pretty sure that these guys wouldn't be saying this if they didn't know something. I'm not convinced that they would be that naive to just make comments just to pub this guy up for nothing.

[ProfessaPackMan]

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

People still buying the "WWW has MAJOR Influence in the NBA" stock I see. SMH.

EC, where did you get your sig from? LOL

[ZB9]

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



http://lebrontothemavs.com/

[NYJets]

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

Well, I'm going by the statements of Rick Patino and Jim Boehim who stated that WWW is one of the most influential people in basketball. And these are two respectful coaches, NBA or college.

And I'm pretty sure that these guys wouldn't be saying this if they didn't know something. I'm not convinced that they would be that naive to just make comments just to pub this guy up for nothing.

They are college coaches. WWW influencing high school kids and Lebron James are two completely different things.

[ehh]

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

Yup, college needs the runners and middle men, his role (and perceived power) makes plenty of sense in the AAU/recruiting area. There is simply no way that translates to the NBA to the same degree.

As I've said in the past, this will be LeBron's decision and his alone, no grown man is letting another grown man make a decision of this magnitude for him.

I hope all these constant Chicago & Miami rumors are just a smoke screen put out by WWW and others and that he ends up with the Nets.

[DieHardYankee26]

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

Yup, college needs the runners and middle men, his role (and perceived power) makes plenty of sense in the AAU/recruiting area. There is simply no way that translates to the NBA to the same degree.

As I've said in the past, this will be LeBron's decision and his alone, no grown man is letting another grown man make a decision of this magnitude for him.

I hope all these constant Chicago & Miami rumors are just a smoke screen put out by WWW and others and that he ends up with the Nets.

I think you meant the Knicks. Haha but seriously, being from Brooklyn and seeing that the Knicks are not going anywhere (offering Joe Johnson a max contract wtf?) it's going to be a tough decision when they play there first game in the Barclays center. It's going to be very tough indeed.

[wheelman990]

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

That's basically what he's doing except LA has no cap room and Kobe wouldn't want Lebron so instead Lebron is looking at his next best options.



He's likely going to throw it away so that he can win.

Winning 1 championship with Cleveland might make Lebron a Cleveland legend, but why would you want to be a Cleveland legend when you could be an NBA legend? And no, if Lebron ends his career with 1 chip he isn't going down as one of the absolute top players of all time.

So if he goes to a good team, wins some championships, hes a legend, but if he stays in cleveland, plays unbelievable, yet has a bad surrounding team and never wins one championship, hes not one of the greatest, and a legend?

This makes me laugh.

What you are saying is that Derek Fisher is one of the top 5 players of all time, a legend, because he has 5 championships.

It really doesnt make a player better to have championships...not really...thats a team acomplishment, and shows the team as a whole was awesome. I love Jordan, best of all time...but if you think he wins 5 championships in Cleveland with the current team, you have lost your mind. I doubt he wins 2, if any at all.(of course there was a time in the early 90's he might have won a few on the cavs).

And the reason Lebron might care more about what Ohio thinks, vs the world, is because of pride we have of where we live. Ive lived in California for 3 years, and Ohio for 30+. I cant begin to explain the differences in people and bonds that we have here, then many other places do. It may not be what it once was here when I was younger, but I can tell you Lebrons family, friends, and community will be a huge factor, regardless of if he goes or stays. As I said, I dont expect all people outside of Ohio to really understand this, because people think so much differently here then many of the other places Ive been.


Besides, hes already a Legend to the world....just watch the news...Hesjust as big, if not already bigger then kobe in the spotlight. If he leaves Cleveland, hes going to loose his hometown fans. Im telling you, thats not what he wants. If I were the Cavs, Id grab another all star, and give no reason for him to want to leave.