Friday, July 9, 2010
Lebron the Villian?
Ok. I'm trying to figure this out. If he would have stayed in Cleveland, he would have been "chicken" and money hungry. When he leaves he's a guy who is conflicted and turned his back on his town for a "party." It's truly sad that a young man like Lebron can't make a decision without being over analyzed at every waking moment. I don't think that Jordan had this much pressure put on him. My God. It was HIS choice. People are burning jerseys. Burning jerseys?? Come on. He doesn't owe the state of Ohio anything. He could wait as long as he pleased. That's his right. If he would have told them right after the playoffs would it have been any better? Oh well this way Cleveland could have looked for talent right? Who was going there. It's ok I'll wait for the answer. Yea That's what I thought. All he did was take them deep into the playoffs and the NBA finals. Maybe he should have kept doing that? I don't blame him. It's not about money. It was obvious he could have gotten more money. He wants to win. Bottom line. It's not personal. It's about winning. All his favorite teams growing up the 90's Bulls, The Yankees, The Cowboys were all about winning. In high school all he did was win. That's what he lives for. I heard someone say He "needs" Wade to win. And? Every superstar needs someone. Micheal Had Pippen.Magic Had Kareem and Worthy. Bird had Parrish and Mchale. Charles Barkley said if he leaves Cleveland he won't be the man. We Chuck was the man for years and you see what that got him. It's fine to be disappointed he left but don't be disillusioned by the reason.
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I couldn't disagree anymore and I'm rollin' with all of the "purist" including Chuck! LeBron went out like a hoe on South Beach! He might be on "Basketball Wives" next season!! His baby mama doesn't stand a chance! Shit, Gabby took D.Wade from his wife! But back to LeBron-
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's NIKE fault. Maybe I got caught up in LeBron's marketing and branding, and didn't pay attention to LeBron himself. You see, if you're being touted as the "next Jordan" , "The King", you have a puppet, have 100 story picture on the side of building talking about "Witness", you're THE MAN (as the face of the Cavs AND the NBA). It's so ANTI-CLIMATIC when he makes a BUM MOVE like last night's! I would've have had more respect for LeBron if he were to set up his own shop...be THE MAN (Jordan-like) on the Cavs, Bulls, Nets, or NYC instead of being some SIDE SHOW BOB- Pippen-ass dude in Miami!
Do you not think Jordan would of loved playing with Bird, Ewing, Magic or Zeek? But more than his love of playing with other greats, Jordan had a greater passion of beating the other greats! He wanted to be THE MAN...MAJOR DIFFERENCE!
As for Pippen, Pippen 'grew' into PIPPEN! He was skinny as me when he joined the Bulls. He took his lumps with Jordan and went threw the wars. As did McHale with Bird, Worthy and Kareem with Magic.
Cavs TRIED getting LeBron help. Shaq, C. Boozer, L. Hughes, Big Ben, Wally, A. Jamison, M.Williams, Big Z, etc, etc.. The Cavs MORE than laid out the red carpet for him! Gave his homies jobs too..WHAT?? It's a recession too??? lol! HE PLAYED CLEVELAND...the fans and the organization! They showed him too much love for the way he shitted on them!
We understood the Bulls management wasn't shit when they decided to 'break up' MJ and the Bulls. We (Chicago) know MJ would have NEVER have went elsewhere (Washington) if it wasn't for the Bull's MANAGEMENT. When MJ came back with the Wizards to play against us, he got more cheers than the Bulls! Why, he RESPECTED his home...CHICAGO!!!
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it appears LeBron can't handle the weight of 'BEING THE MAN' and this his sly way of diffusing that responsibility. It's all good when everybody loves you. In Cleveland he was "safe", protected, and everybody loved LeBron. So if he's going to ride out, he's going to put the biggest safety net around him...Wade and Bosh.
And LeBron IS MAKING MORE MONEY IN MIAMI than he would if he were to re-sign with the Cavs. I don't know if you know, but Florida is one of a handful of states that does not have a personal income tax. His home state of Ohio, on the other hand, does, and its highest individual income tax rate is about 6 percent. I learned this on ESPN today. (Jackie Rob does the research homie! lol!)
Bottom Line...LeBron went out like a PUNK!
Nah..Not really. He did what he wanted to do. I think he would would have been a punk if he stayed in Cleveland. You don't think he didn't know folks would be mad at him if he left. That takes balls. That would have been easy. As for Barkley he did the SAME shit at the end of his career going to play with Pippen and Hakeem. Not to mention he left Philly when he KNEW he couldn't win. Then did it AGAIN with Phoenix so his opinion is not even worthy.He needs to stop acting like he stayed his whole career in Philly. he jumped ship just like Lebron. That's what players do. When they see a opportunity to win they do it. Clyde Drexler did it and went to Houston. Garnett did it and went to Boston. No these players didn't mean the same thing to their teams as Lebron but the mind set is the same. I wouldn't even compare anyone to Mike. Not even Kobe. He had the luxury of Shaq. Not to mention Mike was from the era of staying with your team. Lebron is in this "get yours" era. Oh and yes I knew about the taxes in Miami I don't think it matter the people of Ohio would have been mad. Did you really called Old slow ass Shaq "help" speaking of Basketball wives. LOL
ReplyDeleteGentleman, must say that you are both on point with your thoughts, but there are a couple of things that I would like to add. I think no matter what choice Lebron made people would have criticized him. Everyone has their opinion of what's right and what's wrong. What people should and shouldn't do. Did they cross the line with the theatrics? Absolutely! Jordan was great by himself, but didn't become a Champion until he got help. no All-Star/HOF'er won a championship by themself. Does it matter if he plays in Miami, or Cleveland? We can play the "what if " game all day long. He could have stayed in Cleveland and became the next "Charles Barkley/Karl Malone" or he can do what he wants to do, and win Championships. The problem is, athletes are glorified and put on a perch like a god. They are human, and they can and will mess up. I watched this circus the last 2 days, and it is sick, watching how these guys are being glamorized. If they win Championships, all will be forgotten. If they don't win, this will get even worse and we might not hear the end of this until 2099! Life happens in cycles. In the 70's/80's basketball was hitting it's stride. The game was pure and enjoyable. The 90's came and then the NBA was the greatest show on EARTH! Jordan, Barkley, Magic, Bird and others took the game to it's highest point. The game changed though. Showmanship, marketing, personalities, and several other aspects began to change the game. Free Agency was at the top of this change. Some stuck it out (Jordan, Magic, Isaiah, Bird, Hakeem, not to mention Malone, Stockton, Ewing, Mullin, Miller, and Robinson) But half of these players eventually left their teams to win championships, but never did. Some stayed the course and never won a championship either. The one constant is they ALL had an agenda of, win first, money second. I don't blame Lebron for what he did, but how he did it is what doesn't sit right. He isn't at fault 100%, The city of Miami and the organization paid for, and put on that show for these guys. What about Chris Bosh people! This is a guy that left an organization high and dry also. Do we hold Lebron to a higher standard because he is better? Or is there another reason? Lebron only did, and is doing what most would have done in life. Take the limelight and run with it. Only time will tell how this will end. Will we be talking about this in exactly a year from now???
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