everyone is just getting riled up by the media

it'll go away soon enough


and kobe was a much bigger douchebag at this age than lebron -- get off the guys nuts

7/10/2010 12:56:35 PM

seriously? what kind of person holds a one hour show and surrounds themselves with kids to do the most cowardly act in sports history (yes tanya harding included)?

What kind of "legend" goes to a team two other superstars?

Lebron is the opposite of anything with integrity. Kobe is a harsh competitor that personally challenges/calls out everyone around him to put in the absolute effort towards winning. Being one of the best competitors to ever play the game isn't always going to include being "the nice guy". Kobe wasn't going to allow the lakers to milk him as a spectacle before trying to win a championship so he called them out and they responded. Kobe signed long contracts that gave the front office the ability to build around him. Kobe had the opportunity to go to phx and play with nash and amare but didn't. He never intended on leaving LA as long as they went after players. Lebron didn't do anything like that or even sign a long term contract to allow the cavs to build and heres why.

When wade and bosh went to the heat, they had just established a new team that would contend in the east for years. New york signed amare and is james went to the knicks then him, kobe and wade would all have been on a level playing field with one of the best forwards int he game as a sidekick. By going to the heat Lebron conceded that he wasn't confident in going head to head with wade each year. He took the "can't beat em, join em" approach and thats the last thing we want to teach our kids. So for him to have a room full of kids as he sat up there in a red and white square shirt to not only commit a cowardly act, but to SHIT on the state that WORSHIPED him win or lose is disgusting.

If lebron didn't hold a television show and went to a team other than the heat I would still have respect for him. The fact that he felt the need to join the heat is like a kid that cheats on a test or types in a code on a video game. It's no fun that way and he obviously has no respect for the league, Ohio, the city of Miami or even himself. "I'm taking my talents to south beach" is a complete slap in the face to the citizens of Miami, especially the blue collar class. Wade has been the complete opposite but Lebron doesn't even say he's going to Miami, instead, he says hes going to a different city, a place to party and be full of himslef.

[Edited on July 10, 2010 at 1:12 PM. Reason : LOYALTY, RESPECT, COURAGE, going against wade with even teams etc]

7/10/2010 1:09:34 PM

it's really a lot similar to the julius peppers situation

he'd spent his whole life (childhood, college and pro career) in NC and made it to the "finals" to lose once. he wanted to play where he thought he could win (it wasn't about money, but you people can continue to argue that if you want) and people in NC were upset he chose to leave

7/10/2010 1:14:57 PM

Quote :

"This is just hilarious, Lebron has never been known as a particularly egotistical athlete. He's always been charitable, likeable, and has done a great job not selling out his teammates over the years when they continutally let him down. "

It's very easy to be egotistical and still be charitable and a good teammate. They're not mutually exclusive.

Quote :

"On the other hand Kobe has been just the opposite for the past 6-7 seasons and is openly hated by most of his teammates who he has constantly thrown under the bus. "

Kobe is incredibly egotistical, there's no doubt about that. He's also been in the league enough and knows how to project his image better. Even if his teammates hate him, they sure seem glad to be playing with him, especially since he's been part of the team that's won 2 straight championships.

Quote :

" Now all of the sudden Lebron switches teams while he is a FREE AGENT i.e. not DEMANDING a trade when he is under CONTRACT and he is the self-absorbed jerk? "

He's a self-absorbed jerk for the way he handled his free agency. He's a self-absorbed jerk for acting like he was still struggling to figure out which team he was going to (not from 2 or 3, but 6!). He's a self-absorbed jerk for talking about himself in the 3rd person.

In the last month, we've seen his true self. His image has been bashed considerably by pundits, ex players, and fellow players. I won't be surprised to see some more people come out of the woodwork and bash him. He's pissed off a lot of people and lost enough respect that some people may reveal things to further tarnish his image.

That said, he'll reflect on this and get back to being the guy we all "know and love". Like Kobe, he's smart enough to project a different image that appeals to the masses. You either believe that the last month is just an outlier of his behavior, or he failed to put up the front that he's been showcasing since high school. I choose to believe the latter.

7/10/2010 1:25:23 PM

^^^ You are an idiot.

You just compared signing with a team he wants to play for with hiring a hit man to take out someone's leg before a gold medal competition.

Kobe said himself he was about to join the Clippers in 2004.

Kobe has thrown everyone he's ever played with under the bus.

Kobe is such a fucking baby that in GAME 7 of the playoffs he decided he wasn't going to shoot in the 2nd half just so he could prove a point in a loss to Phoenix.

Kobe is such an egotistical fuck that in GAME 7 OF THE NBA FINALS he said he'd rather lose the game while he turns the ball over and takes shots he can't make instead of deferring to better teammates and possibly losing his coveted MVP.

[Edited on July 10, 2010 at 1:30 PM. Reason : mamba's clit is sore because the facade of Kobe being the best is completely over]

7/10/2010 1:28:07 PM

S/HES A FUCKING TROLL

why on earth are you responding point by point

especially after some of those arguments were lifted directly from gilbert's letter

7/10/2010 1:39:15 PM

Quote :

"Kobe is such an egotistical fuck that in GAME 7 OF THE NBA FINALS he said he'd rather lose the game while he turns the ball over and takes shots he can't make instead of deferring to better teammates and possibly losing his coveted MVP."

Stop making shit up. You have no credibility after typing something like this.

7/10/2010 1:43:52 PM

Quote :

"seriously? what kind of person holds a one hour show and surrounds themselves with kids to do the most cowardly act in sports history "

the same guy who's idea it was to donate all the sponsor $$ to the boys and girls club. WHAT A DICKHOLE!!

7/10/2010 1:59:38 PM

I cant believe I agree with mambagrl's argument about Lebron looking/sounding egotistical.

As a Cavs fan, I have probably paid a little bit more attention to Lebron than the average NBA fan. For years I have cringed during his interviews because of how self-centered he sounded and the way he would underhandedly blame his teammates for bad things that happened. But I would overlook his comments because he played for my team and was so good on the court, now that hes gone I dont have a problem bringing it up - I think Dan Gilbert hinted towards this same point in the terrible letter he wrote.

I am very very happy that the Cavs were able to pull off a sign and trade and could land a couple 1st round picks. I wish they were picks that we can use sooner than 2013 and 2015, but oh well.

^Lebron was going to have his fucking televised spectacle one way or another the charity part was a bullshit detail his publicist probably threw together at the last minute to try and make him look a little bit better.

[Edited on July 10, 2010 at 2:27 PM. Reason : asdf]

7/10/2010 2:25:01 PM

so, is there no way that LeBron arranged the sign and trade?

7/10/2010 2:27:18 PM

I doubt that Lebron had too much input with the sign and trade.

Gilbert was going to lose the guy anyway, he was smart to make the best of it. He's sticking it to the Miami owner since he's going to have to be doing all of the paying. He got some 1st round picks out of it...not that they're going to be lottery picks or anything, but he might be able to use the picks to wheel and deal later.

The 3 contracts are all structured very similarly...they can get out in as early as 4 years if they want. I don't know if they'll ever get a salary this high with the new CBA coming up, so I figure they'll stay as long as possible.

7/10/2010 2:49:22 PM

but unless Lebron agreed to a sign and trade, the Cavs wouldn't have gotten a damn thing.

7/10/2010 2:52:50 PM

^^well, lebron had to be involved if he wanted that sixth year

its not like gilbert could have made this happen if noone from lebrons camp wanted it. if lebron didn't want that final big money year, he could have just left for nothing. at least the picks take a little sting out of it (but probably not much)

[Edited on July 10, 2010 at 2:54 PM. Reason : .]

7/10/2010 2:53:48 PM

Quote :

"the same guy who's idea it was to donate all the sponsor $$ to the boys and girls club. WHAT A DICKHOLE!!"

The ads generated something like 2.5 million.

LeBron just signed a 6 year, 110 million dollar contact.

Philanthropic enough to use everyone's money but his own.

7/10/2010 2:55:48 PM

i, too, just assume he doesn't contribute any of his own money to any charities ever

7/10/2010 2:59:26 PM

Of course Lebron would have to have some input in order for the sign-and-trade to go down...I did say he didn't have much of it. He probably said something along the lines of "I'll agree to whatever if you can make the sixth year work."

7/10/2010 3:04:14 PM

all the input he needs is to say yes

7/10/2010 3:16:44 PM

lebron puts on his selfish dog and pony show under the guise of being a big charity donation, and half of you stupid asses eat it up OMG CHARITY

then you whine when people dont like Lebron?

7/10/2010 3:44:02 PM

THIS MOTHERFUCKER'S RELENTLESS

Quote :

"Lakers free-agent point guard Derek Fisher flew to Miami on a private plane Friday night for a meeting with Heat president Pat Riley and team owner Mickey Arison Saturday afternoon. That was the official itinerary. When Fisher landed in Miami, a surprise meeting was added to the schedule. LeBron James met Fisher at the airport and gave his own pitch as to why the five-time NBA champion should join forces with James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. It was a short meeting, as James was at the airport and on his way to New York to attend Denver star Carmelo Anthony's wedding Saturday evening. But James clearly went out of his way to wait for Fisher to arrive and meet with him for a few minutes. Fisher has stated consistently that his preference was to return to the Lakers, but that he wanted to explore his options."

7/10/2010 3:46:58 PM

Damn. Not sure how I feel about this Fisher business. My Heat get even stronger while my Lakers get weaker.

7/10/2010 3:49:46 PM

reminds me of this i made

7/10/2010 3:49:46 PM

they need to sign this guy...if he is this good at man defense AGAINST the Heat...imagine what he could do WITH the Heat

7/10/2010 3:51:07 PM

Quote :

"My Heat get even stronger while my Lakers get weaker."

pick a team, bitch

7/10/2010 3:51:47 PM

fuck me, I was really going to get behind the heat next yr and they have to get derrick fisher, I can't stand that guy

7/10/2010 3:52:35 PM

it's Derek, not Derrick

7/10/2010 4:28:21 PM

Quote :

"My Heat get even stronger while my Lakers get weaker"

get the fuck out of here with that pussy shit

did you have a hard time watching the super bowl last year between your saints and your colts too?

7/10/2010 4:55:13 PM

I think its funny seeing all the Cleveland fans talk enormous amounts of shit about Lebron now, but have never had a negative thing to say about him in the past and would be riding his dick at this moment had he chosen to stay in Cleveland. I know it's been used a million times, but the "being dumped by your girlfriend" analogy is spot on in this situation.

Oh...and Broussard hit the nail on the fucking head with this one:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=broussard_chris&page=gilbertlbj-100709

Quote :

"I'm beginning to wonder if Dan Gilbert's real name is Benjamin Button. You know, the character from the hit movie, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," who looks old when he's young and young when he's old. How else to explain a 48-year-old man -- an intelligent, accomplished, incredibly wealthy 48-year-old man -- sounding off like an acne-riddled 13-year-old who'd just been jilted by his first love? LeBron James has been roundly criticized for the stunning way he handled his departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, and rightly so. James should have informed the team of his decision to leave in person and as soon as he could, thus giving it the chance to formulate a practical Plan B rather than having to react to such devastating news on the fly. He dumped them -- and northeast Ohio -- on national TV, making the ending unnecessarily dramatic and harsh. But James is 25 years old. And though in some ways he's unusually mature for his age, he's still 25 years old. No excuses, but at that age, we can all be self-absorbed and unaware of -- if not flat-out defiant of -- proper protocol. But Gilbert's nearly twice James' age. And when you're two winters away from 50, you should know better than to act off pure emotion. If you want to react spontaneously in your living room, ranting and raving like a heartbroken teenager, immaturely pointing out flaws in the one you'd gladly spend the rest of your life with, issuing ridiculous threats that are about as likely as purple rain, and -- get this -- casting spells (apparently, like many teens, Gilbert's a Harry Potter fan), go right ahead. But to do that publicly? Uhh, two words: Grow up. But the childishness didn't stop there. On Friday, Gilbert, the owner of Fathead, dropped the price of James fatheads from $99.99 to $17.41. Benedict Arnold was born in 1741. With the way this is going, I'm expecting Gilbert to tape "Kick Me" signs to the seats on the visitors bench when Miami visits The Q next season. That'll be a good one! Let's be honest: Gilbert, and most every other owner or league executive, makes a habit of being just as cold-blooded and callous as James was in making his decision. They do it with NBA players all the time, telling them to their faces they have no intention of trading them and then picking up their cell phone and offering them to a competitor as soon as the player leaves the room. Heck, the Cavs are doing that at this very moment. Everyone on that roster not named LeBron has been available in a trade since that May semifinals series loss to Boston. Think Gilbert's told them that? What Gilbert did was especially reckless and immature when you consider how volatile the situation in Cleveland was Thursday night. With fans burning James jerseys and throwing things at murals and paintings of James, he thought it best to exacerbate their anger rather than to call for calm. So now, I'm told, James' close friends -- and perhaps even the player himself -- have been threatened with violence, told that their homes in Cleveland and Akron may be burned down. They've got friends and relatives living in the area, and Gilbert thought it right to stir up the fury of the masses even more? In his incendiary e-mail, Gilbert wrote that James' decision to leave Cleveland was "the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn." Yet in his letter, he seemed to threaten to expose potentially embarrassing information about James, writing that he plans to communicate "events of the recent past" to the public over "the next several days and weeks." Is that how Gilbert wants children to act when they don't get their way? Gilbert's diatribes -- he further attacked James' character in a subsequent interview with The Associated Press -- were hypocritical in so many ways. He called James a quitter, saying he quit in five playoff games over the past two years, yet he was willing to pay him $125 million to stay on his team. He called James a "self-declared King," yet failed to mention that it was he himself who promoted the "King James" brand throughout his arena. He said James has "gotten a free pass" and that "people have covered up for him for way too long," yet it was Gilbert who overruled the objections of former GM Danny Ferry and gave James and his friends carte blanche throughout the organization. If James was enabled, Gilbert was the enabler. Then Gilbert said James' actions Thursday night revealed "who he really is." Well, perhaps James is saying the same thing about Gilbert. Perhaps he's known all along that Gilbert didn't respect him; that Gilbert thought he was a "coward;" that Gilbert thought his "King," "Chosen One" and "Witness" nicknames were a joke; that he'd mock and trash them, and him, as soon as James was no longer making him money. Maybe that's why James didn't return Gilbert's phone calls and e-mails over the past two months -- because he knew the owner looked at him as a moneymaker and nothing more. Maybe James no longer wanted to play for someone like that: someone who, in the heat of the moment, refuses to act his age. "

7/10/2010 5:09:17 PM

Boom. Roasted.

7/10/2010 5:14:35 PM

Quote :

" get the fuck out of here with that pussy shit did you have a hard time watching the super bowl last year between your saints and your colts too?"

I didn't watch the Super Bowl. Let's get back on topic.

[Edited on July 10, 2010 at 5:19 PM. Reason : And for the record my boo lives in Miami and my kid in LA.]

7/10/2010 5:15:50 PM

how would you have reacted if LeBron went to your knicks or your bulls? would you be equally torn?

7/10/2010 5:19:24 PM

That would have been tough.

7/10/2010 5:20:44 PM

my globetrotters never had a true chance

7/10/2010 5:21:57 PM

hey now is the ncstatetke of NBA fans

7/10/2010 5:24:12 PM

^^our Globetrotters

^

[Edited on July 10, 2010 at 5:25 PM. Reason : f]

7/10/2010 5:24:23 PM

Hasn't DROD renounced the NBA like seven times since he got dumped by Lebron

Why's he keep coming back

7/10/2010 5:25:55 PM

Seriously. And he's all on my nuts.

7/10/2010 5:27:37 PM

Quote :

"First of all, I am a HUGE NBA fan. But I will say this: I am personally turned off by all of this. In my opinion, if LeBron goes and plays in Miami and Wade and Bosh, then he's throwing his teammates in Cleveland under the bus as if it were their fault that they didn't win in the NBA last year. I've always talked with Bill Russell, the greatest champion in team sports, and he always said it was his duty to make his teammates better. If LeBron goes to Miami, he's saying it wasn't his fault, it was someone else's. I would not want to have that opinion of LeBron."

JoeChat has spoken

7/10/2010 6:26:53 PM

I didnt realize this discussions in this thread counted as watching games. Dont you worry, once the season starts I will not be watching any games or taking part in any discussions. Ernie, make a mental note of that since you seem to love keeping tabs on me

and as far as the cavs fans talking shit about lebron now that he's gone, I think that all comes from the way he left and the fact that he was a classless asshole making a spectacle out of the situation. He proved to be a hypocrite by saying over and over how much he loves ohio, the cavs, the fans, etc. etc. and then he rubbed everyone's faces into the ground when he announced his decision.

So yes, if he wouldve stayed, then that would imply that he didnt show his ass during "The Decision" and the hatred towards Lebron wouldnt have started.

I would say to everyone talking shit to Cavs fans to imagine how you would feel if something like this happened to your team. But some of you hardcore Charlotte fans should already know just by remembering how you felt when the Hornets left town (that is if you were a real Hornets fan to begin with)

7/10/2010 6:31:56 PM

I don't really understand why the sign and trade is going down now, seems like a step backward for miami when there was no talk of wanting to do a sign and trade beforehand

7/10/2010 6:36:28 PM

maybe it was LeBron wanting to make sure Cleveland got something. if so, what an asshole!

7/10/2010 6:39:02 PM

Quote :

"my globetrotters never had a true chance"

if lebron wanted to be a true champion, he wouldn't have gone to the globetrotters. he would have gone to the washington generals.

7/10/2010 6:42:54 PM

If you guys haven't heard Lebetard's rant yet, you owe it to yourself to check it out

Yeah, I don't usually like the guy either

But he knocks this one out of the park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZr2qOXQJ4w

7/10/2010 8:58:29 PM

LADIES, GET READY TO WASH THE GIANT ROYAL PENIS

7/10/2010 9:10:34 PM

^^ahaha. i loled

7/10/2010 9:19:31 PM

Quote :

"double rainbow"

7/10/2010 10:08:21 PM

^^^^ RUN THE POINT NIGHT!!!!!

7/11/2010 3:03:53 AM

was just watching sportscenter and they were doing a piece on the reaction of the city of miami, one of the fans/citizens they interviewed said that Lebron shouldve stayed in Cleveland and its always going to be Wade's team.

I thought Cleveland fans, who are against the trade, were the only people making that point, I wonder if hes not going to be embraced as much in miami as he would like. I guess once they start winning games he will convert the doubtful, but I just found it interesting and wonder if its a common sentiment down there. Miami isnt exactly known for having the most fervent or educated fanbase, but maybe they just interviewed the wrong guy on the street.

7/11/2010 8:03:28 AM

^Seriously? It was like a 17 year old tatted out kid on a bike they interviewed, not exactly the pulse of Miami. The other 98% of the segment people were elated, including the kid who drew "JAMES 6" on the back of his t-shirt with sharpie marker.

7/11/2010 9:05:50 AM

they interviewed bar owners, who will of course be excited, and then two people from the streets, the kid who said its always going to be Wades team, and then the kid who made a t-shirt jersey. I think both of those people accurately portray the average Heat fan, and I dont know which one is worse. One who thinks Lebron doesnt belong on the team, or one who is too weak of a fan to buy a real jersey

7/11/2010 10:30:16 AM

we get it, you're still pissed he left the mega-metropolis of cleveland for the shit-hole called miami

7/11/2010 11:20:36 AM