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I've gotten a few answers to this question from friends. They usually sound like this:
"He was disloyal and abandoned the fans of Cleveland. He could have left town with class, but instead he had a TV special and stabbed the whole city right in the back. Loser."
"Because he teamed up with D-Wade and Bosh [who people say is not that good, but whatever] in their prime to try to shortcut his way to a Championship. Loser."
"Because he thinks he can be better than Michael Jordan. Not."
That's pretty much the tenor of the conversations I have with people about the subject. None of that makes any sense to me.
First, there's no such thing as loyalty in business. How loyal do you think the Cavs organization and the city of Cleveland would have been to Lebron had his production dropped to 10 points per game and 2 boards? If he wasn't producing, and the team felt that he couldn't bring them a Championship, then they would have traded him, and no one would have batted an eye. But when Lebron says, "I can't win here," and decides to dump Cleveland, then everyone has their panties in a ruffle. The way I see it, the only thing Lebron James owes me (as a fan who pays to see him play) is to show up with a uniform on and take the court. Beyond that, he doesn't owe me, or anyone else, a damned thing.
"But he didn't do it with class" some people say. Well, it wasn't really classy when my firm laid off scores of my friends when the market crashed and fought with great vigor to ensure that their severance packages would be as diminuitive as possible. After this recession, anyone who utters the words "job", "business," or "loyalty" in the same sentence is an idiot.
As far as Lebron going to the Heat to win a Championship, why would you care? It's his life, not yours, and I doubt he cares too much if you say he won't make your Top 10 Greatest Ever list as a consequence. He's a young millionaire boffing hot chicks on South Beach every night. He's got other things to think about, I'm sure.
Furthermore, I sense more virtriol towards Lebron than Kobe, who is a mark, punk, b---- made n---- by all accounts. Maybe Lebron's not clutch. Maybe he shrinks during the big moments. That's a knock against him, but I'm not going to root against him for those reasons. If anything, I'd be happy for him to get those monkeys off his back. Kobe, on the other hand, just does things for no apparent reason that make me dislike him. Selling out Shaq. Throwing elbows in people's faces (which I do believe were intentional). Refusing to shoot in a Game 7 ("Y'all say I shoot too much, huh? Fine. I'm taking my ball and going home!"). That's just b*tcha$$ness.
This goes back further than simply The Decision. There's no doubt Lebron quit on his team in the playoffs last year against the Celtics. Lebron can say, "No, that's corny" - er, whatever that means, but that's what happened. He completely quit. He stood on the sideline and watched the offense run through other players as if to say, "Hey, without me, you're terrible," regardless of the fact that we were in the midst of a heated playoff series with Boston. Dan Gilbert calls into question 2 of Lebron's games - I believe Games 3 and 5. I'm not entirely sure about both games as I'm not masochistic enough to watch them ever again, but there was one game where LeBron entirely quit and it maddened the entire city both when it happened and later on when he left. In Cleveland, we're used to losing but all we ask is that you give it your all. That wasn't his all. He refused to shoot, he turned the ball over constantly and he stood around waiting for things to happen.
So fast forward to the decision. Clevelanders actually thought he was going to re-sign. Could a local hero actually go on national television simply for the sake of breaking all of our hearts? No way, right? Except that's exactly what he did. And so much has been made of what a poor way to go about it that was that I don't really need to delve into it again.
Why wouldn't Clevelanders hate the guy? He knew he was leaving when he quit in the playoffs, his apprehension to honesty only allowed Cleveland to nab two late-first round picks and a trade exception, and now he's 3 wins away from giving Miami another title when that's what Cleveland has been begging for since 1964.
As the guy from Cleveland said, he quit in the playoffs. I've never seen anything like that.
Also, for me personally, I can't stand the "me first" nonsense. The powder in the air before the games and all that crap. Hate it.
You also see it on the court. How many times does he hold the ball the entire possession and then throw up a bad/off-balance 3? He frequently makes them, which just goes to show what an amazing player he is (I don't care for him personally but I'd be foolish not to admit that he's an incredible talent).
The Decision was a joke but he's admitted it was a mistake so I give him credit for that. The fact that he went to Miami with D Wade was a turn off for me personally as well, just seemed like a cop out and the easy thing to do.
But to me it all comes down to what you saw in Game 2. Showboating/celebrating before the game is over. Just like the nonsense in the press conference before the season even started. Celebrating before you've even one anything. Ever see MJ do that? No.
As the guy from Cleveland said, he quit in the playoffs. I've never seen anything like that.
You mean other than the time Kobe did it in a Game 7 against the Suns?
Quote:
Originally Posted by usedtobeanyer
Celebrating before you've even one anything. Ever see MJ do that? No.
Kinda like the Nike, Gatorade, and Wheaties commericals Mike was making while the Pistons and the Celtics were routinely putting his Bulls out of the playoffs. I got ya.
So Lebron can't win. If he passes the ball to Varejao in a critical moment of a playoff game, that's seen as a cop out. If he shoots, then he's being selfish.
And so what that he throws powder in the air? This bothers you because??? Since they keep showing shots of him doing that, someone must be entertained by it, and that's all it is. How is that any different from MJ clapping his hands full of powder in front of the scorer's table? If he didn't do anything like that, then we'd call him boring just like we do Tim Duncan.
Because he blames others for him being a choke artist, has to go find someone else who can lead a championship team yet tries to act as if he is a leader, refers to his move as taking his talents to South Beach, he likes that people dislike him, etc.
You mean other than the time Kobe did it in a Game 7 against the Suns?
Kinda like the Nike, Gatorade, and Wheaties commericals Mike was making while the Pistons and the Celtics were routinely putting his Bulls out of the playoffs. I got ya.
So Lebron can't win. If he passes the ball to Varejao in a critical moment of a playoff game, that's seen as a cop out. If he shoots, then he's being selfish.
And so what that he throws powder in the air? This bothers you because??? Since they keep showing shots of him doing that, someone must be entertained by it, and that's all it is. How is that any different from MJ clapping his hands full of powder in front of the scorer's table? If he didn't do anything like that, then we'd call him boring just like we do Tim Duncan.
Kobe quit when Lakers were down 20 & game was over. Lebron was in the middle of a very competitive game/series.
I don't mind endorsements.
The powder thing bothers me because it's all "look at me!". Jordan did it but he didn't throw it 20 feet in the air. If you weren't looking, you'd never notice.
It's not about if he's boring or exciting, I think he's an ass.
LeBron's a frontrunner. His best play comes while his teams are up and rolling.
Players like Jordan, Kobe and Dirk have built their reps while the pressure was on.
Case in point; I remember LeBron chest thumping Wade down the court during the premature Heat celebration in Game 2. Then completely disappearing over the next 7 minutes.
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