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http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... tion070910

Nothing special about the read, I just thought Don Nelson's quote (thread title) was interesting and I agree with him.

Is anyone else beginning to feel more and more distant from the NBA? I grew up watching the NBA of the 90s and, maybe I was too young to fully comprehend the business aspect of the league, but I remember it having some level of integrity. Lebron and ESPN's "The Decision" special last night really puts a bitter taste in my mouth; Bron has virtually single-handedly turned this sh*t into a circus!

Anyways, I think the new Heat team will be fun to watch (especially now that they're reportedly adding a shooter of Mike Miller's caliber to the lineup)...but I think this is bad for professional basketball.

LeBron promised the Cavaliers organization and Cleveland fans that he is going to stay there. But did anyone catch this by surprise? I'm not talking his decision to go to Miami, but his decision to leave Cleveland. Why should anyone believe that he's going to stay? The man has no integrity what so ever. I knew he had no intention to remain a Cavalier.

And the competition in the NBA has always been more or less predictable. Now that a new Big Three has been established, the disparity between a few elite teams and the rest of the league will only get worse.

I will no longer be an avid fan I once was back in the 90s. I'm getting older and I can't keep up with the rest of league. However, I have plenty of reasons to follow the Rockets. I think we're in good shape. Daryl Wizard is going to pull some miraculous trade that will keep the team our fans going.

I don't give a flying **** about LeBron James or the Miami Heat. Go Rockets.

Yup TMU is right, in the off-season of 2008, James said in front of thousands of Cavs fans "Don't worry Cleveland, I'm not going anywhere", this was planned from the get-go, probably a few seasons down the road. I thought this league was about creating rivalries, not folding away and joining them? He's a coward, he quit on his own fans in Game 5 at home, probably to use it as a valid excuse. Things are changing, but look at the bright side, we've got a very exciting young team, fill with a lot of big potential, just need the big-guy to stay healthy, have the Wizard make a few moves, and we're good to go.

The Wiz Kid will put something and make a big move. Look at our assets the Swap pick of the Knicks that will for sure be a Lotto Pick, 2 other picks including ours and the Knicks. Expiring contracts of Battier, Jeffries, Hayes, and even Yao Ming. Young trade assets in Hill, Budinger, Paterson, and Taylor. Plus a $3.1 Mil TPE. Right now Morey and Rick are like kids in a candy store looking for that right player and package.

T-Mac United wrote:LeBron promised the Cavaliers organization and Cleveland fans that he is going to stay there. But did anyone catch this by surprise? I'm not talking his decision to go to Miami, but his decision to leave Cleveland. Why should anyone believe that he's going to stay? The man has no integrity what so ever. I knew he had no intention to remain a Cavalier.

And the competition in the NBA has always been more or less predictable. Now that a new Big Three has been established, the disparity between a few elite teams and the rest of the league will only get worse.

I will no longer be an avid fan I once was back in the 90s. I'm getting older and I can't keep up with the rest of league. However, I have plenty of reasons to follow the Rockets. I think we're in good shape. Daryl Wizard is going to pull some miraculous trade that will keep the team our fans going.

I don't give a flying **** about LeBron James or the Miami Heat. Go Rockets.

My thoughts exactly.

Grow it - 80s
Tune it - 90s
Milk it - 00s

Times ain't changed, things just got more entrenched.

The league is definitely moving to more of a MLB landscape. All the good players are trying to move to just a few teams and the rest of the league becomes Golden State. It really makes you see the importance of a salary cap.

The league needs a hard cap. So teams like Miami can't do stuff like this. It is ridiculous to be heading into a new season with 4-5 players under contract.

Cleveland are really mad, because now no one gives a rats arse about their state, or team anymore. Bulls fans would have had the same reaction if Jordan went elsewhere in the middle of hisillustrious career, as i am sure we would have if Olajuwon had done the same.

At the end of the day, LeBron did what was best for him. You are all Liars if you say you wouldn't have done the same.

Garnett did it. He would never had got a ring in Minnesota, LeBron is doing the same.

At least that means we will only maybe lose two games a year in the Eastern conference. Toronto and Cleveland look like they are bound for the lottery again!

Garnett did not move to Celtics in Free Agency. He was traded by Mchale. Mchale made that decision not Garnett. Lebron made the decision to leave Cavs to join the Heats. There is a big different in these 2 situation.

Garnett demanded a trade.

moofs wrote:Grow it - 80s
Tune it - 90s
Milk it - 00s

Times ain't changed, things just got more entrenched.

Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for your headliner, hailing from Chicago...Noam Chomsky!!

"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously."

Teckon wrote:Garnett did not move to Celtics in Free Agency. He was traded by Mchale. Mchale made that decision not Garnett. Lebron made the decision to leave Cavs to join the Heats. There is a big different in these 2 situation.

Yeah Garnett was devastated when he heard that he had to leave Minnesota to play with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rondo. He wished that trade would have never happened, right ?

T-Mac United wrote:LeBron promised the Cavaliers organization and Cleveland fans that he is going to stay there. But did anyone catch this by surprise? I'm not talking his decision to go to Miami, but his decision to leave Cleveland. Why should anyone believe that he's going to stay? The man has no integrity what so ever. I knew he had no intention to remain a Cavalier.

And the competition in the NBA has always been more or less predictable. Now that a new Big Three has been established, the disparity between a few elite teams and the rest of the league will only get worse.

I will no longer be an avid fan I once was back in the 90s. I'm getting older and I can't keep up with the rest of league. However, I have plenty of reasons to follow the Rockets. I think we're in good shape. Daryl Wizard is going to pull some miraculous trade that will keep the team our fans going.

I don't give a flying **** about LeBron James or the Miami Heat. Go Rockets.

Lebron may have made that promise in 2008, but the landscape in the NBA changes and players change their minds in reaction to that. When Miami cleared all of that space, they became legitimate contenders for Lebron. Who would have thought in 2008 that he would end up in Miami? An you know what? In 2008 Cleveland looked like the only real contender for him anyway. Sure NY cleared some space, but did anyone (other than conspiracy theorists) realistically believe in 2008 that Lebron was simply biding his time in Cleveland so that he could go to a horrible Knicks team?

Forget all the talk about integrity and loyalty and all of that mess. It's a sport and a business. Any player can be traded at any time. Loyalty is not a factor when decisions like that are made. Why should it be any different when players are free agents?

And take a look at the choice he had to make, not from a basketball perspective, but from a personal stand point. The guy is choosing where he and his family will move to and live for the next several years, at least. He can either:

1 - stay in recession-hit Cleveland
2 - go to dingy Gotham
3 - head to the sunny beaches of Miami

I don't know about you, but for me that''s an easy decision and I understand his choice perfectly. Add in the fact that he gets to play with good friends who are also superstars, and he has the very real opportunity of winning more than one championship, and it's a done deal.

All in all, it was the right decision when you take all factors into consideration.

...though it would still suck to be a Cavs fan right now.

Well Lebron was right about one thing....it takes a whole team to win a championship....from the top with the owner down to the concession stand worker. While that concession worker thing is off, I don't think Cle will ever win with an owner like Gilbert. What a bitch. If I was lebron I'd leave cle and move everyone I liked out of there. I can't stand fake ass people.

I don't think times have changed that much. Teams that were dominant back then were stacked like the teams that are dominant now. It's just that the teams have to be MORE stacked now-a-days due to the rise in the talent of avg. players. There's still one or two real superstars, but the overall avg player's skills have risen somewhat. Maybe they aren't fundamentally better (with shooting, etc), but stern has created a league of speed players and floppers. The players today are more athletic and faster than yesteryears.

jove9 wrote:

T-Mac United wrote:LeBron promised the Cavaliers organization and Cleveland fans that he is going to stay there. But did anyone catch this by surprise? I'm not talking his decision to go to Miami, but his decision to leave Cleveland. Why should anyone believe that he's going to stay? The man has no integrity what so ever. I knew he had no intention to remain a Cavalier.

And the competition in the NBA has always been more or less predictable. Now that a new Big Three has been established, the disparity between a few elite teams and the rest of the league will only get worse.

I will no longer be an avid fan I once was back in the 90s. I'm getting older and I can't keep up with the rest of league. However, I have plenty of reasons to follow the Rockets. I think we're in good shape. Daryl Wizard is going to pull some miraculous trade that will keep the team our fans going.

I don't give a flying **** about LeBron James or the Miami Heat. Go Rockets.

Lebron may have made that promise in 2008, but the landscape in the NBA changes and players change their minds in reaction to that. When Miami cleared all of that space, they became legitimate contenders for Lebron. Who would have thought in 2008 that he would end up in Miami? An you know what? In 2008 Cleveland looked like the only real contender for him anyway. Sure NY cleared some space, but did anyone (other than conspiracy theorists) realistically believe in 2008 that Lebron was simply biding his time in Cleveland so that he could go to a horrible Knicks team?

Forget all the talk about integrity and loyalty and all of that mess. It's a sport and a business. Any player can be traded at any time. Loyalty is not a factor when decisions like that are made. Why should it be any different when players are free agents?

And take a look at the choice he had to make, not from a basketball perspective, but from a personal stand point. The guy is choosing where he and his family will move to and live for the next several years, at least. He can either:

1 - stay in recession-hit Cleveland
2 - go to dingy Gotham
3 - head to the sunny beaches of Miami

I don't know about you, but for me that''s an easy decision and I understand his choice perfectly. Add in the fact that he gets to play with good friends who are also superstars, and he has the very real opportunity of winning more than one championship, and it's a done deal.

All in all, it was the right decision when you take all factors into consideration.

...though it would still suck to be a Cavs fan right now.

I respectfully disagree.

I think the whole sports business should demand some level of class and integrity between players and owners; which is why I think LeBron could have handled the whole situation better.

I don't think LeBron shouldn't have made any promises in first place. A man that powerful and influential should not give in to the media, and force himself to make promises or answer every question that's being asked. Regarding the questions asked about his free agency prior to the offseason, he should have made it clear that he will not discuss FA and that he has a job in Cleveland. Unfortunately, he's enamored by the media attention, and therefore, he refused to conduct himself in a dignified manner.

Another thing that annoyed me was the fact that he knew all along that he wasn't staying in Cleveland. While he wasn't sure where he was headed, it was clear after the loss to Boston that he wasn't out. I think the courteous thing to do was to inform Dan Gilbert that the Cavaliers will have to move on without him. Instead, the Cavaliers and the city of Cleveland was left hanging for weeks, even to the point where they sang "We are LeBron" just to convince him to stay. Meanwhile, Lebron cared less. Now that LeBron signed with the Miami Heat, how humiliating was it for Cleveland? Why was it so hard to give them an early notice and tell them, "I'm out"? Did he really have to go on-air and have a 1-hour special program just to get a kick out of the whole process? To me, his actions displayed a lack of class and professionalism. Maybe he lacks good judgment.

So how does it look when Dan Gilbert promises his fans a championship? See that's what happens when you act off of emotion. You do something stupid and embarassing. That's why Lebron didn't make his desicion to leave right after the playoffs. He was emotional and he said the last thing he wanted to do was make an emotional decision. And staying in Cleveland would have been a purely emotional desicion. Leaving made sense in every way except financially.

Also, you must be an insider or something. How is it that you guys know for a fact that he wasn't considering CLE? That's his home they treated him like royalty, that was HIS team. I'm sure it was very hard to leave and I'd be willing to bet they were very much in contention for Lebron.

And how was this embarrasing for Cleveland? He didn't pick them, that's it. It's not like he said "This fall I'm going back to Cleveland.... Psyche!!!!" That would have been humiliating. He never said anything bad about Cleveland. As a matter of fact he still attached himself to the city saying it will always be his home and he will always live there. Sure he might have committed to the team in 2008, but a lot has changed since then. That includes his stance on decommitting. So if you held on to that since 08 despite all that has since happened, then you're a fool.

He didn't do anything wrong. He wasn't being disloyal either. He gave them plenty of chances to build a championship team. Try as they did, they were unseccussful. He weighed his options and chose what he thought was the best chance to win. Nothing unproffessional or disloyal about that. If he never gave them a chance to build around him, that would be different, but that just wasn't the case. Nobody was saying anything when Kobe wanted to leave LA and he was locked in a contract and had already won 3 by that point. If anything, that's worse than Lebron. Lebron never demanded a trade, and left only after he completed what he committed to.

And think about it. Would Barry Sanders, Dan Marino, and Karl Malone trade all that loyalty for a ring?

LeQuit gave up, anyone who think otherwise is a fool. He knew he couldn't compete by himself, and he was worried that his legacy would tarnish because he wouldn't have a ring. He knew that he would have a harder time if Bosh and Wade team up, with Boston and Orlando already establishing themselves. Theres a different between some of the guy you listed CB. Guy like Sander, Marino, Barkley didn't grew up and play for their hometown. Remember, LeQuit was born and raise in Ohio, people have been supporting this dude since he was little. Theres a different between loyalty to a team that drafted you and your hometown.

Fobbie wrote:LeQuit gave up, anyone who think otherwise is a fool. He knew he couldn't compete by himself, and he was worried that his legacy would tarnish because he wouldn't have a ring. He knew that he would have a harder time if Bosh and Wade team up, with Boston and Orlando already establishing themselves. Theres a different between some of the guy you listed CB. Guy like Sander, Marino, Barkley didn't grew up and play for their hometown. Remember, LeQuit was born and raise in Ohio, people have been supporting this dude since he was little. Theres a different between loyalty to a team that drafted you and your hometown.

Ok first, nothing personal, but LeQuit is horrible, it doesn't even coincide with his name. It actually sounds french. You could have called him LeFruad James, now that would have been better.

And what if he signed a Joe Johnson contract, stayed in Cleveland, and blew his knee out on some Shaun Livingston type situation? Do you think they would have continued to happily pay this man 20 mil a year? Or would they have been trying to put him on the first thing smokin? Basically what I'm saying is loyalty only takes you so far. But at some point you have to realize that the NBA is a business. And if it were good business to ship LeBron at some point, I'd bet they would have done it. Either way, he showed loyalty by fulfilling his contract, never demanding a trade, and even giving Cle a chance to build around him in the first place. He followed the road to it's logical conclusion.

College Boy wrote:So how does it look when Dan Gilbert promises his fans a championship? See that's what happens when you act off of emotion. You do something stupid and embarassing. That's why Lebron didn't make his desicion to leave right after the playoffs. He was emotional and he said the last thing he wanted to do was make an emotional decision. And staying in Cleveland would have been a purely emotional desicion. Leaving made sense in every way except financially.

Also, you must be an insider or something. How is it that you guys know for a fact that he wasn't considering CLE? That's his home they treated him like royalty, that was HIS team. I'm sure it was very hard to leave and I'd be willing to bet they were very much in contention for Lebron.

And how was this embarrasing for Cleveland? He didn't pick them, that's it. It's not like he said "This fall I'm going back to Cleveland.... Psyche!!!!" That would have been humiliating. He never said anything bad about Cleveland. As a matter of fact he still attached himself to the city saying it will always be his home and he will always live there. Sure he might have committed to the team in 2008, but a lot has changed since then. That includes his stance on decommitting. So if you held on to that since 08 despite all that has since happened, then you're a fool.

He didn't do anything wrong. He wasn't being disloyal either. He gave them plenty of chances to build a championship team. Try as they did, they were unseccussful. He weighed his options and chose what he thought was the best chance to win. Nothing unproffessional or disloyal about that. If he never gave them a chance to build around him, that would be different, but that just wasn't the case. Nobody was saying anything when Kobe wanted to leave LA and he was locked in a contract and had already won 3 by that point. If anything, that's worse than Lebron. Lebron never demanded a trade, and left only after he completed what he committed to.

And think about it. Would Barry Sanders, Dan Marino, and Karl Malone trade all that loyalty for a ring?

I'm not even talking about Dan Gilbert and his childish rebuttal. I think you and I would agree how immature it was. Anyway that discussion is for some other time.

My point is simple.
1. LeBron shouldn't have made any promises.
2. There were so many things that went wrong during his grand exit.

And we can choose to disagree.

I agree he should not have made promises. But honestly, after the time and everything that transpired, no one should have been holding to those promises either. He made it more than clear that he was not a lock to come back.

Things did obviously get messy, but that was unavoidable. No matter who he chose, people's feelings were going to get hurt.