Explanation: Lebron James signed/is signing with Miami.
This Miami team(Lebron/Wade/Bosh) is basically going to steamroll the entire eastern conference, unless Milwaulkee sees a big improvement in Jennings and gets Redd back. I'll give Chicago a prayer though, if they can sign two mid level guys on top of what they have. Also, 72 wins and all of that.
This is basically going to be the Andrew Wiggin of basketball. This is a circus.
posted
You hear the crap the owner of the Cav's said after this was announced?
I wouldn't want to play for a whiny little moron like that either. It was one of the least professional things I have ever heard of, and they deserve to be as sucky as they will be now.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Yeah, because dumping Cleveland in a nationally televised one hour special is professional. Seriously. Holy shit. Moreover, Lebron didnt tell them he was leaving.
Dan Gilbert should just become a Laker fan and we can all kick Lebron's ass.
I imagine James had his reasons, and considering he has been a classy guy until now (at least as far as I know) I'd give him a pass on the pathetic media frenzy of the past week.
Unless he pulls the same crap again.....
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote:because dumping Cleveland in a nationally televised one hour special is professional
I thought he was a free agent? If his contract with Cleveland was up, there's nothing really unprofessional about moving to a different team, is there?
quote:Originally posted by umberhulk: Yeah, because dumping Cleveland in a nationally televised one hour special is professional.
I was under the impression that all the commercial money made from the one-hour special was to go to charity. Or that lebron was donating the same amount to charity or something like that. Either way, it was excessive.
It'l be interesting to see those ego's play together for a few years.
Posts: 467 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Correct me if I'm wrong, Kwea, but I seem to remember you being a Heat fan, so I'm not surprised you're perfectly fine with Lebron's decision . I personally think it was the wrong move for him (Chicago would have been the smartest) but I can't deny it will be entertaining.
Really, I'll be interested in what actually comes of all this. They still really need a big man. They might be able to get by without a quality point guard (though Jason Williams would probably fit perfectly on that team), but without a Dwight Howard, a Kendrick Perkins, a Carlos Boozer, even a Joakim Noah, I don't think they are going to steamroll the league, maybe not even the Eastern Conference. Bosh is a pansy. Not a bad player, but he still leaves a gap. Right now they have all of one other player under contract (if the Beasley deal goes through) and are pretty much maxed out money wise. Maybe they'll be able to get some people to come over for a run like Boston did, but I wouldn't be surprised if players wait at least one season to see how this thing works out.
I still say they split the season series with the Magic.
I was reading on ESPN yesterday how a while back there was a rumor that Wade, Bosh, Lebron, and Chris Paul all made a pact to play on the same team together when they were Olympic teammates. I guess the idea was that Paul would come in a couple years when he is a free agent. That would be... ridiculous.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Only thing he did wrong was the TV program (major reputation hit).
He was a free agent and took a lot LESS money ($10 million a year less?) to go where he thought he could win and more importantly play with people he liked. How can you fault him for that?
Cleveland owner is a jerk that would have sung his praises, if the decision had gone the other way.
Posts: 317 | Registered: Sep 2001
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They're signing Mike Miller, so its going to be those four, Mario Chalmers, and they're probably trading Beasly, so from there it's all minimum contracts. But they did draft a center.
quote:Originally posted by Kwea: You hear the crap the owner of the Cav's said after this was announced?
I wouldn't want to play for a whiny little moron like that either. It was one of the least professional things I have ever heard of, and they deserve to be as sucky as they will be now.
rants in Comic Sans MS are just darling.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Cleveland and New York shouldn't put all the blame on Lebron; they were the ones that hyped his importance up beyond any realistic expectations and cleared their rosters simply for the chance of getting him. And given how Cleveland's owner responded today, I can't say I blame Lebron's decision.
The Miami deal shows a sort of AAU mentality though - the thinking that if you get a bunch of all-stars together, that will automatically equal a championship team. Basketball, especially at the NBA level, doesn't really work like that. They'll have a strong team in the regular season, but they are so-so at the point guard position, they don't have a depth in the post,and their best players have big egos that seem to have significant potential for conflict (it's only Day 1, and Lebron has already stolen the spotlight to suggest he has to be top dog). If one of the big three gets hurt, their lack of depth would become an almost unrectifiable problem with all their money locked up in those three contracts.
quote:I imagine James had his reasons, and considering he has been a classy guy until now (at least as far as I know) I'd give him a pass on the pathetic media frenzy of the past week.
Lebron did famously fail to shake an opposing team's hands after a loss, and has willingly branded himself as the chosen one.
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The Lakers are so so at the point gaurd position 95% of the time. The Heat know they need the best role players possible. Haslem is probably coming back and hes an excellent rebounder. And some old duded will probably join the team.
quote:Originally posted by Dr Strangelove: Correct me if I'm wrong, Kwea, but I seem to remember you being a Heat fan, so I'm not surprised you're perfectly fine with Lebron's decision
OK.
You're wrong. I am a Piston's fan.
I went to a Heat/Piston's game with Icarus a few years back, to the game 7 where the Piston's lost to them. It was exciting, and I was really impressed with Wade to be honest. He seemed like a class act, and he played 100% despite being VERY sick with a serious case of the flu, which isn't easy.
I just think that the owner of the Cav's is acting more like a pain in the butt dad at a tee ball game rather than the owner of a professional sports team. His comments are classless, baseless, and immature, and he deserves to look every bit as foolish as he does right now.
quote:The Heat know they need the best role players possible.
This created a bizarre mental image for me:
"Stand back, varlets! You know not whom you face! For I am LeBron Blackstaff, wielder of the orange Orb of Vengeance!"
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: rants in Comic Sans MS are just darling.
That was by far my favorite part of the whole letter.
there is no better way to say 'hey you know that decision you made to leave our crappy, terrible city? you could not have been more right'
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Wade left around 19M, Bosh and Lebron left around 16M. UGHHHHHHH.
Chris Bosh - 14.5 M Lebron James - 14.5 M Dwyane Wade - 14.2 M Mike Miller - 5.15 M Mario Chalmers - .854 M James Jone (Buyout) - 1.55 M Joel Anthony - 1.06 M (min hold) - .4736 (min hold) - .4736 (min hold) - .4736 (min hold) - .4736 (min hold) - .4736 (min hold) - .4736
They still have around 4 million dollars to spend.
And theres a report that Fisher is meeting with Riley.
That was funny to hear Michael straight up say that. Of course since he was being frank, he should have simply asserted what we all know to be true, nobody has surpassed Mike.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I am actually a Lebron James fan now due to this whole circus. For one, he really did not make it that much of a circus. He said he would give his answer on TV, and he did. No Brett Farving from this guy.
How can you hate a player that wants to win games. My favorite player growing up was Karl Malone and it still hurts me that he stayed with the Jazz for so long and never won a championship due to that choice. People wanted to give him a hard time for going to the Lakers for the last year of his long career.
Sports teams should not be something like national loyality. Leaving the Cleavland should not be a Benedict Arnold type moment. I hope James steamrolls over Cleavland and wins the championship.
That and don't kid yourself too much umberhulk, James is the best all around player in the NBA right now period.
Posts: 1753 | Registered: May 2001
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Black Fox: I love the fact he stayed with the Jazz for so long. There were years where they were a much better team than some of the ones who have championship rings both from the past and since then. But that was the era of Michael Jordan and a Bulls team that synch'd well, but even then the Jazz were their equal IMHO. I was sad that Malone's last year gambit to get a ring before retiring failed.
I don't mind that the Heat are all stacked up, if they find a way to get all those players to work well together good on them. There are still many other fabulous teams in the NBA, and I don't think the Heat are going to just straight sweep all the time.
quote:Originally posted by Black Fox: I loved Malone for spending most his years with the Jazz, I just feel that he should have left a little sooner than he did.
It killed me when they lost to the Bulls. I still hate MJ for that.
Left as in played for another team, or retired sooner? I figured he was happiest with the Jazz, he was the team captain, and the players he was leading had great chemistry. That takes years to create, who wants to start from scratch?
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I just wish that Stockton and Malone could have won a title, but at some point there it was pretty much a 0% chance that he was going to win a championship in Utah.
I suppose what I really wish is that they would have won against Chicago, but during that span a wish of that sort was a little too much.
Posts: 1753 | Registered: May 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Black Fox: That and don't kid yourself too much umberhulk, James is the best all around player in the NBA right now period.
I don't necessarily disagree with this statement, but it begs the question of why he felt the need to go to Miami? Even if they win a bunch of championships, Lebron, the best player in the NBA, needs the second or third best player (Wade) to help? That just doesn't jive with what I consider "the best." IMHO, if Lebron wanted to be remembered as great he should have gone to Chicago where there is no doubt he would have consistently been the best player on the team and the unequivocal reason they won a championship. On Miami there's just no way to say that.
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If you listen to Lebron James talk you'll understand that even he, who has a fairly large ego, understands that he needs a team. Michael Jordan would not have all those championship rings without his Scottie Pippen, not to mention his Toni Kukov and Dennis Rodman etc. He is a basketball player, not a tennis player.
Posts: 1753 | Registered: May 2001
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Yeah, if he went to Chicago, I wouldnt be 90% less mad. And most of that would have been for the media antics.
But Miami. WTF. Atleast have the balls to compete with the one guy in the East whose at your level.
And they have a good team in Cleveland. And they just got Byron Scott, who might be the best coach in the NBA.
Kobes the best. Watch his torch Shane Battier and I dare you to dissagree with me. I gaurantee the Kobe is in a gym somewhere while Lebron is enjoying the beach. I really hope Chicago can challenge him.
Also Wade is better than Lebron. So is Paul.
Posts: 1407 | Registered: Oct 2008
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And Black Fox, that's exactly my point. Jordan needed a team not an All-Star roster. Chicago has a team, the Heat have a a few ridiculously good players. Lebron James threw all Jordan comparisons out the window when he signed with the Heat, and likely all Kobe comparisons as well. Probably all Dwayne Wade comparisons, if we're measuring success as leading a team to a championship, since Wade has one under his belt with a team that was eerily similar to the one Lebron had last year. Lebron just threw his lot in with the likes of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett - not good enough to win a championship on his own.
And see, to me that is the real tragedy - I think Lebron is good enough to win a championship on his own. I think that he could have possibly lived up to comparisons with Jordan. Not surpassed, but he would have been in the conversation. And I would have loved to see that. Now, even if the Heat win a ton of championships, there's no way Lebron is in that conversation. It's sad.
I don't think Lebron is too poor of a sportsman - I'm a Magic fan who remembers Shaq leaving. I don't care about him having a big ego. In fact, I kind of like it. It's entertaining. I'm disappointed that Lebron, for me at least, has ruined his legacy.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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It was interesting to see the difference between the reactions to the Wade+Bosh announcement and the reactions to the James announcement. With Wade and Bosh alone, the Heat would have had the cap space to fill out their roster with reasonably good role players. With Wade, Bosh, and James, they're going to have to do that slowly with their cap exceptions over the next few years, rather than doing it immediately.
It's worth noting that all three players took less than maximum contracts so that they could play together, and also included early termination options in those contracts, all after the 4th year.
The rest of this post is about the Toronto Raptors.
I was sorry to see Bosh leave the Raptors, but the moves Bryan Colangelo has made since then are pretty interesting. After today's trades, they now have a young, absurdly athletic core along with a few experienced players on shorter contracts. Only three contracts are longer than 2 years (Andrea Bargnani, Amir Johnson, and Linas Kleiza), but the team as a whole still looks like it could be halfway decent. Colangelo hasn't even touched the trade exception he got for Bosh, so there are probably more moves coming.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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Bosh is overrated. Your in great shape if he's your third be player, but just Wade and Bosh wouldnt automatically make you better than Boston/Orlando/Chicago/Lebron Clevelant/Milwaulkee.
Bosh was terrible a year ago, so you have to worry about his effort in a non contract year.
Dont underestimate Mike Miller. He's redonculous as a spot up shooter. And dont underestimate having role players who've spent half their careers there: Haslem, Anthony, Maglore. NBA teams can go over the cap to resign their own players. I wouldn't be surprised if they get Jason Williams too or old guys looking for a ring. I really hope they don't get Q back. I really hope they don't get Fisher.
Posts: 1407 | Registered: Oct 2008
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You aren't going to build a championship team around a power forward in today's NBA, no matter how good he is. Minnesota couldn't build one around Kevin Garnett, either.
Bosh is going to a field day this season if he plays hard. But I also think its worth noting that he had some injury issues this season and Boozer is a better passer.
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That's true, it's definitely fair to say that the Spurs were built around Tim Duncan in the 00s.
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It'd be so awesome if they played that before heat games. The "for life" voice even sounds like Wade ahahaha.
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![[Wink]](wink.gif)
. I personally think it was the wrong move for him (Chicago would have been the smartest) but I can't deny it will be entertaining.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
