LeBron Free Agency 2010

[mike-]

I think it's you.

[Triumph36]

Absolutely. He quit on his team in multiple games this series. That's absolutely inexcusable, and if he leaves after this I will never forgive him. I don't think any other Clevelanders will either.

If he played his heart out and simply came up short, much like last year, then it'd be different. If he left then...it's whatever. Sucks, but at least he played with heart. He didn't do that.

[God Squad]

Raps fan. I think Lebron is gonna stay too. I do think that injury is worse than it appears. But I'll admit. I wanted you guys to lose this series. Tired of Lebron's ego and game play. Best luck for cavs fans this off-season, yall are in for a bumpy ride.

[God Squad]

Why would you be bitter if LeBron left? YOUR organization failed to build a proper team over the years. Team just Failed... But I do think Bron-Bron is gonna resign.

[Heat_team02]

I have a question. Does Lebron normally remove his jersey when he's walking in the tunnel after the game before entering the locker room? I ask this because he did this when the camera was moving in front of him in the tunnel.

[tribulations]

I hope LBJ stays in Cleveland and I think he will. This team is close man...

Three biggest question marks seem to be Coach Brown, the 4 spot and Mo Williams.

No need to blow this thing up just yet.

Good luck guys.

[gino_giode]

As an outside observer, it should be pretty bitter since the last memory LeBron may have of the Cleveland fans is their booing.

[Triumph36]

It's kind of funny how non-Cavs fans (excluding NJ/NY/CHI fans for obv reasons) think he's going to stay when most Cavs fans think he's gone.

If you asked me just a few weeks ago I would have agreed with you. But something changed. He quit on his team in this series. Why? Maybe it was Mike Brown. Maybe it was part of his master plan. Maybe WWW being in his ear 24/7 finally got to him. I don't know the reason why, but he did. In the presser tonight he couldn't even look reporters straight in the eye when talking about his future and the Cavs...he's mentally checked out from Cleveland. IMO at least.

[Pula_86]

As an outside observer, it should be pretty bitter since the last memory LeBron may have of the Cleveland fans is their booing.

LeBron is the enemy now. I hope he stays in the east so when the Cavs rebuild (and they will), we can knock this sorry excuse for a superstar out of the playoffs.

[gino_giode]

As an outside observer, it should be pretty bitter since the last memory LeBron may have of the Cleveland fans is their booing.

LeBron is the enemy now. I hope he stays in the east so when the Cavs rebuild (and they will), we can knock this sorry excuse for a superstar out of the playoffs.

Sarcasm? C'mon, even though I'm not a Cavs fans, it's hard for me to believe that Cleveland won't retire LeBron's jersey some time down the road.

It's not his fault his sorry excuse for teammates couldn't hit layups or make open shots. It's not his fault the rest of the guys played terrible defense. LeBron certainly had his share of blame this season, but his teammates folded when the games counted yet again. You have 3 former all star players on that team and nobody stepped up to be that #2 guy.

[mg]

Tonight during the presser when LeBron was referring to his 'team' he was actually referring to his agent, LRMR, World Wide Wes, Calipari, Nike, etc and not the Cavaliers. It kinda tells you where LeBron mind is. He's obviously much more interested in $ than winning championships. As a Cav fan and an NBA fan I feel cheated.

As for the injury who knows. Personally I don't think he's that injured.

[monopoman]

Cavs need to give him a lot more help to win a championship.

LBJ gets a triple double and you can't beat the Celtics with that?

I mean wha?!?!!?

I guarantee if Kobe gets a triple double in any game LA with a 99.99999% chance wins that game.

BTW: I respect LBJ a great deal and despise Kobe but the Cavs need to give him some serious talent not a bunch of role players and has beens.

[mg]

As an outside observer, it should be pretty bitter since the last memory LeBron may have of the Cleveland fans is their booing.

LeBron is the enemy now. I hope he stays in the east so when the Cavs rebuild (and they will), we can knock this sorry excuse for a superstar out of the playoffs.

Sarcasm? C'mon, even though I'm not a Cavs fans, it's hard for me to believe that Cleveland won't retire LeBron's jersey some time down the road.

It's not his fault his sorry excuse for teammates couldn't hit layups or make open shots. It's not his fault the rest of the guys played terrible defense. LeBron certainly had his share of blame this season, but his teammates folded when the games counted yet again. You have 3 former all star players on that team and nobody stepped up to be that #2 guy.

See that's where you are wrong,. LeBron doesn't care about winning nearly as much as he and his marketing 'team' want to make money.

LeBron specifically asked for Shaq and Jamison so the Cavs went out and got those guys. Say what you want about the age of the team, etc but the fact is the Cavaliers went out and got almost perfect role players to put around LeBron and he still couldn't get out of the 2nd round of the playoffs. Based on his body language he wasn't the least bit depressed about losing. LeBron is all about being the center of attention. This offseason will be a circus.

[miltk]

As an outside observer, it should be pretty bitter since the last memory LeBron may have of the Cleveland fans is their booing.

LeBron is the enemy now. I hope he stays in the east so when the Cavs rebuild (and they will), we can knock this sorry excuse for a superstar out of the playoffs.

Sarcasm? C'mon, even though I'm not a Cavs fans, it's hard for me to believe that Cleveland won't retire LeBron's jersey some time down the road.

It's not his fault his sorry excuse for teammates couldn't hit layups or make open shots. It's not his fault the rest of the guys played terrible defense. LeBron certainly had his share of blame this season, but his teammates folded when the games counted yet again. You have 3 former all star players on that team and nobody stepped up to be that #2 guy.

Lebron isn't the closer that Kobe is because he's not the shooter that Kobe is. He is an instinctive TEAM player, and on a team with better players, he could average a triple double, which would be phenomenal. He's being ask to close like Kobe and he doesn't have the arsenal to do it.

[monopoman]

See that's where you are wrong,. LeBron doesn't care about winning nearly as much as he and his marketing 'team' want to make money.

LeBron specifically asked for Shaq and Jamison so the Cavs went out and got those guys. Say what you want about the age of the team, etc but the fact is the Cavaliers went out and got almost perfect role players to put around LeBron and he still couldn't get out of the 2nd round of the playoffs. Based on his body language he wasn't the least bit depressed about losing. LeBron is all about being the center of attention. This offseason will be a circus.

Hmm, I think if you win bball games you can also get max endorsements. Jordan still made more money then any NBA player when he was playing minor league baseball due to endorsements alone. You don't need to be on the lips of every sports announcer and sports show on the planet to make a ton of money with ad campaigns.

[MagicVince]

Tonight during the presser when LeBron was referring to his 'team' he was actually referring to his agent, LRMR, World Wide Wes, Calipari, Nike, etc and not the Cavaliers. It kinda tells you where LeBron mind is. He's obviously much more interested in $ than winning championships. As a Cav fan and an NBA fan I feel cheated.

As for the injury who knows. Personally I don't think he's that injured.

may be lebron purposely loss so that fans hate him and he can go to new jersey.

John Wall is teaming up with Lebron in the marketing side of things. So I won't be surprise he goes to new jersey.

Definitely not bulls. Bull teammates hate him , especially Noah.
He is not going to new york with a crappy franchise. Jim Dolan.
Jay-Z will court him to New Jersey, to pair up with Devin Harris, John WAll, Brooke Lopez.

[DRK]

Suns fan here. Im just going to post my opinion, if you dont like it.. well too bad.

I think as Cavs fans you can wave goodbye to LeBron. The front office didnt make an effort until THIS SEASON to add other players that can help LeBron, and how did that work out for you? James will leave, you'll spend the next decade in the lottery while new jersey fills up their trophy cabinet.

[Icness]

The problem with Lebron going to Chicago or to NJ with Wall (which makes sense with the marketing connects) is that he won't be able to dominate the ball. He will have to work on playing off the ball, esp. in crunch time. And I have not seen him willing or able to do that.

IMO there aren't enough balls for him and Rose or him and Wall. He needs a more distributor-type PG that can also play without the ball--and Rose sure as heck can't do that either because he can't shoot beyond 18 feet. The Cavs played their best when Mo and Lebron shared the ball and everyone else was flowing around and getting good spacing. When Mo pounded the ball the bigs just stood around, and when Lebron ran those iso-screen plays at the 3pt line it took away two offensive options and killed rebounding.

[snazel]

To me, the post-game press conf. spelled it out...It seems like he used choice words like "my team" when referring to his business partness for a reason.

IMO He's been angry and upset with his true team this whole series because they couldn't get it done when he was slumping. He knew he couldn't consistently penetrate that Boston D, and couldn't consistently hit his jumpers to open it up...he knew if the Cavs had any chance to make it past Boston, that he'd have to get the rest of his mates going...and he tried again...and again...and again. Game 5 was likely frustration stemming from all - as seen by his lackluster and passive play..and (IMO) did a full 180 and has himself convinced he won't be a Cav anymore. IMO, this series is a sign that he and his "team" will scour the market for the team with the most upside and talent...and I fear it likely won't be the Cavs. I think he saw this coming by the team's inconsistent play this season (even tho they had the best record), which is why he decided to shut his mouth about his FA options, because he knew his fate and his team's true talent and chemistry (or lack thereof) would come out in the Playoffs...and unfortunately I think it did

And to Ice for the quote above...I think LBJ knows he doesn't need or want to be the heavy scorer or ball handler in this league...I believe him when he says he's all about winning....The evidence is there like when he says he thinks he's more like Magic than Jordan ....and likes to create for others rather than for himself...The problem is that we're all used to him being around underachieving and poor talent like the Cavs teams of the past where they relied on him to carry the team too often...and we're used to seeing him try to dominate a game and handle the ball extensively...I think its because he's had to given the way his team has been performing.

[Pula_86]

Lebron is a very good player, but great, that is reserved for those who win in the playoffs. Everyone points to a few games where LBJ played well as proof of his greatness. He has had just as many ok games or bad games for those who conveniently forget to mention that. A player such as Steve Nash or Joe Johnson will have good playoff series, but when the pressure was on, these guys are nowhere to be found. Add LeBron to that category.

LeBron is a very good player, but to put him with the all-time greats such as Kobe, MJ, Bird, or Magic denigrates those players accomplishments. He has had some wonderful playoff performances in the past, but against Detroit there was no pressure on LBJ or the Cavs. LBJ has had the team with the best record in the NBA the past couple of years. Once again, last year he played great against Orlando, but would falter late in the game as would the rest of the Cavs. He hits one improbable shot and he is some type of closer. The MJ shot against the Cavs was big because it closed out the series and the Bulls won. This shot means absolutely nothing because the Cavs proceeded to choke away the series building big leads and then losing. If the Cavs were so outclassed by Orlando, they would never have built such big early leads. Taking the lead of LBJ, this team tightened up later in the game and could not handle the pressure. This series only confirmed that last year was no fluke.

With that said, the losing is not what should make Cavs fans angry. For all the talk about "the shot," at least that Cavs team gave maximum effort. After a very average Game 4 from the Cavs supposed superstar, he quits on the team and city in Game 5. His actions are indefensible. In Game 5, he gave a little bit better effort, but there were still plenty of instances where he failed to hustle. How do you expect this team to give consistent effort if you do not get it from your supposed leader?

Everyone puts forth all of these excuses. LeBron's teammates are bad. This is false as there was always a second scoring leader who put up at least 20 points. Take any great team throughout history and they will struggle to win when their superstar is not playing well. The next excuse is LBJ's elbow was hurt. The elbow didn't look to bad after Game 3. Where was the elbow talk after Game 3? Countless number of players play with undisclosed injuries all the time. This is the playoffs. If the elbow injury was that serious and he did not feel he could contribute, he should not have played. That still does not prevent him from giving maximum effort. Finally, there is the most disgusting excuse that he is not playing as hard to prove a point to Cavs management or in protest to Mike Brown's coaching. That is indefensible any way you look at it. It all amount to quitting on your team. The true greats do not whine or complain like a middle school girl when there is adverse situations. The fact that he would quit under any circumstances just shows his lack of commitment to winning and overall lack of character.

No one is disputing LBJ's talent or potential, but he has shown that he has it in him to quit so how can you rely on this guy moving forward.