Photographer
DEP E510
Posts: 2046
Miramar, Florida, US
Photographer
Brian Diaz
Posts: 65617
Danbury, Connecticut, US
He never would have left if they had won.
But doesn't he still owe Miami 6 or 7 championships? He promised.
Photographer
DEP E510
Posts: 2046
Miramar, Florida, US
Brian Diaz wrote:
He never would have left if they had won.
But doesn't he still owe Miami 6 or 7 championships? He promised. I agree with you.
Wade seems on his last leg.
Bosh disappeared when it counted.
He probably wanted young, hungry players by his side.
And to undo the blowback from "The Decision."
Photographer
Naughty Ties
Posts: 3445
Riverview, Florida, US
Wade's gotta be looking around thinking wtf happened here? What happened to
Not 1
Not 2
Not 3
Not 4
Not 5.......
And when Bosh leaves, as I suspect he will, Wade is gonna feel awful lonely. lol
Photographer
PhillipM
Posts: 8049
Nashville, Tennessee, US
wwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Model
Model Sarah
Posts: 40987
Columbus, Ohio, US
Cleveland: "Our economy is based on Lebron James."
Oh and Ohio weeps....
Photographer
DOUGLASFOTOS
Posts: 10604
Los Angeles, California, US
Brian Diaz wrote:
He never would have left if they had won.
But doesn't he still owe Miami 6 or 7 championships? He promised. You Should Cam Him!
Photographer
Looknsee Photography
Posts: 26342
Portland, Oregon, US
One now assumes that Bosh will be Houston-bound, leaving Wade (a shadow of his old self) in Miami. So, when's the TV special with the flashy effects & all? If true, you'll see Cleveland on more than twice as many national broadcasts than last year. But other teams, including some playoff teams, will get ignored by national TV broadcasts. http://www.si.com/
Photographer
Chris Rifkin
Posts: 25581
Tampa, Florida, US
Meanwhile my knicks still suck!
Photographer
DOUGLASFOTOS
Posts: 10604
Los Angeles, California, US
Chris Rifkin wrote:
Meanwhile my knicks still suck! They have a huge market area. They really should consider getting a NBA Team.
Photographer
Cherrystone
Posts: 37171
Columbus, Ohio, US
Gilbert, tell us how you "really" feel. 
Artist/Painter
ethasleftthebuilding
Posts: 16685
Key West, Florida, US
Model Sarah wrote:
Cleveland: "Our economy is based on Lebron James."
Oh and Ohio weeps.... ...and Johnny Foosbawl! LOL
Retoucher
Ledo retouch
Posts: 1184
Lodi, California, US
DOUGLASFOTOS wrote:
They have a huge market area. They really should consider getting a NBA Team. 
Photographer
Mac Intosh
Posts: 308
Moose Creek, Alaska, US
Photographer
Sleepy Weasel
Posts: 4839
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Dan Gilbert can rot in Hell.
First he publicly slams Lebron for leaving.
Then he bitches about the Lakers getting Chris Paul in a trade, which led to Stern vetoing the trade because it's unfair to the smaller markets.
Then they get 3 straight #1 draft picks.
And now they get Lebron back?
Give me a break.
Photographer
DELETED-ACCOUNT_
Posts: 10303
Los Angeles, California, US
Actually wasn't bothered when he left CLE for MIA but for some reason this kinda irks me. I think he's the sensitive one (not Bosh like so many have said), and he's worried about his legacy. Going back just because he doesn't want to be disliked. I don't see how this was a good career decision, other than for popularity-reasons. MIA had a stronger team, somewhat capable coach, and better front office. I don't see Irving as the key to winning a championship...so unless Wiggins is amaze-balls he'll probably regret this in 2-3 years.
CLE will make the playoffs...probably #3-4 seed (it is the East afterall lol), but they'll get blown out by MIA, Brooklyn, CHI, and maybe even NY depending on what Melo does. I predict 3-4 years of 2nd round exits for the Cavs, maybe one ECF appearance unless they can get K. Love.
MIA on the other hand can either bounce back, or go back to being woefully obscure. They got Bosh back, if they can get Wade for a discount, and add a 3rd piece (Gasol, Stephenson, Ariza, Bledsoe) they'll be back at the top of the weak East.
Photographer
Brian Diaz
Posts: 65617
Danbury, Connecticut, US
Chris Rifkin wrote:
Meanwhile my knicks still suck! And they will until Phil can dump at least Bargnani and hopefully Stat. Shump can go, too, though I'd really like to see Hardaway stay.
Photographer
Art Silva
Posts: 10064
Santa Barbara, California, US
So after all this 5+ rings in Miami talk he is now on his 3rd team with 2 rings in his pocket.
The so called best player in the world could have a legacy of underachieving and overhyping.
Photographer
Naughty Ties
Posts: 3445
Riverview, Florida, US
Chris Rifkin wrote:
Meanwhile my knicks still suck! Surely this doesn't surprise you. Phil Jackson is going to prove his genius was in coaching the best players on the planet to get all those rings but having to start from scratch his "genius" is going to get exposed.
Gonna be a long wait for playoff success I'm afraid.
Meanwhile back in Cleveland LeBron has made the Cav's instant betting fav's for the finals according to the oddsmakers.
Photographer
Frank Lewis Photography
Posts: 14492
Winter Park, Florida, US
So Cleveland gets the Republican National Convention AND Lebron James!
Wow. Things are really looking Ohioans...
Photographer
GK photo
Posts: 31025
Laguna Beach, California, US
T-D-L wrote:
I don't see how this was a good career decision, other than for popularity-reasons. MIA had a stronger team, somewhat capable coach, and better front office. I don't see Irving as the key to winning a championship...so unless Wiggins is amaze-balls he'll probably regret this in 2-3 years.
CLE will make the playoffs...probably #3-4 seed (it is the East afterall lol), but they'll get blown out by MIA, Brooklyn, CHI, and maybe even NY depending on what Melo does. I predict 3-4 years of 2nd round exits for the Cavs, maybe one ECF appearance unless they can get K. Love.
MIA on the other hand can either bounce back, or go back to being woefully obscure. They got Bosh back, if they can get Wade for a discount, and add a 3rd piece (Gasol, Stephenson, Ariza, Bledsoe) they'll be back at the top of the weak East. not true. cle has on of the most exciting players in the assoc. right now (irving), and just hit the lottery. plus, they have the potential to pick up a few more pieces. the east is a shambles anyway. there's no reason cle can't be viable starting this year.
Photographer
Farenell Photography
Posts: 18832
Albany, New York, US
Is it me or is Lebron James all about Lebron James?
If he wanted to go to another team...or in this case, go back to his old team, just go. Issue a press release & be done with it. I don't see a reason why he needs to make a big production out of it or in this case an exclusive manifesto to the top sports print publication in the country. It just reads like he was never going to stay in MIA to begin with. You can get away with that once but by the 2nd time, it reads like he's a carpet-bagger whose out for no one but himself.
Photographer
Justin
Posts: 22389
Fort Collins, Colorado, US
I've been to Cleveland. With respect afforded to my Cleveland friends and colleagues: Whatever it takes to make it feel good about itself is a good thing.
Photographer
GK photo
Posts: 31025
Laguna Beach, California, US
Farenell Photography wrote:
Is it me or is Lebron James all about Lebron James?
If he wanted to go to another team...or in this case, go back to his old team, just go. Issue a press release & be done with it. I don't see a reason why he needs to make a big production out of it or in this case an exclusive manifesto to the top sports print publication in the country. It just reads like he was never going to stay in MIA to begin with. You can get away with that once but by the 2nd time, it reads like he's a carpet-bagger whose out for no one but himself. it's always about the money. don't be fooled. and besides, the writing is on the wall regarding miami, in regards to their chances at winning another championship soon.
lebron can paint himself the prodigal son, but in the end, it's the dough, and the best chance he has at winning more rings.
Photographer
DELETED-ACCOUNT_
Posts: 10303
Los Angeles, California, US
GK photo wrote:
it's always about the money. don't be fooled. and besides, the writing is on the wall regarding miami, in regards to their chances at winning another championship soon.
lebron can paint himself the prodigal son, but in the end, it's the dough, and the best chance he has at winning more rings. I disagree. Everything I've read about him says that both he and his handlers are very VERY concerned with image (as one would expect from a celeb/athlete of his stature...but in this case, more than normal). It's no secret there is a large population of people who hate the man, despite clearly being the best player in basketball right now, and perhaps for the last 3 or 4 years. Look at all the "Le-Choke" and "He couldn't do it by himself" haters. Yeah, the dude is 2 for 5 in the finals. Not a great mark. But then again, Kevin Durant has 0 championships and is coddled. A lot of players don't ever see a finals, much less win one.
The only thing the guy did wrong so far in his career was a poor PR decision with "The Decision"....but then again, that raised a shit ton of money for the boys and girls club....but no one wants to mention that because a) they're butt-hurt Ohioans, or b) Lebron didn't choose their team...and they're still butthurt.
Lebron knows this, and I'd wager now that he's got his two rings he's more concerned with image and "likeability" than anything else. He's already rich, and makes just as much from endorsements as salary. I'm sure he knows that redemption for the one thing that made him despised would increase his marketability and therefore his endorsement potential. Everyone say's he's a basketball genius, so I doubt he's thinking he's going to win multiple rings in Cleveland the way it's currently constructed. There barely any better than the Cavs teams he was on before in fact.
If he were doing it "just for the championships" there's about a half dozen other places he could have signed with better chances, and let's be honest: ANY team with the cap room would sign Lebron if he were interested. Of the ones that seemed serious:
Houston would have made the most sense if he were in "Win now" mode. Lebron + Howard + Harden + maybe even Parsons? = Younger version of where he was...with an actual center to protect the rim and who is capable of scoring
Chicago with D.Rose, Noah, Gibson
Dallas with Nowitzki, Ellis, Harris, and now Chandler
Hell, Miami with Bosh and old-ass Wade is still better than CLE right now (assuming they can keep getting serviceable role players like Lewis, Allen, etc). And I'm willing to bet if Lebron tells Riley he's leaving unless they either ditch Wade, or sign him to the veterans min and demand they bring in someone like Gasol or Stephenson I'm 99.9% sure Wade is gone.
The Clippers were at one time interested in considering moving stuff around to get him: James, Paul, and I'd assume Griffin (Jordan I'd imagine would have been gone)
Lakers would probably be just as good as CLE or MIA. Kobe is older than dirt, but can still score (sorta like Wade in this regard...and still better than Wiggins for the next 2 years). They just got Lin, who is serviceable (pretty damn good when he had his confidence during Linsanity), and they'd probably get Pau back at a discount to play with Lebron. Similar team to MIA the last 4 years if you think about it.
And there's a bunch more if he'd take less than the max. He really shot himself in the foot, and I don't understand the logic: Leave CLE in 2010 because you're tired of being the one asked to do everything for 48 minutes every night, because your surrounding cast is crap. Leave MIA in 2014 because you're tired of being the one asked to do everything for 48 minutes every night, because your surrounding cast is just average, but at least you have 2 potential HOF teammates and you've been to the finals 4 years straight. Go back to CLE, where you'll be asked to do everything for 48 minutes a night, because with the exception of an overrated PG, your surrounding cast is crap and you won't see a conference finals for a couple years, much less an NBA finals.
Unless there's something none of us know (like maybe the Wiggins for Love rumors are true) I think it was the dumbest thing he could have done, short of going to play in China or something.
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