Official Lebron watch thread! Also other 2010 NBA free agent signings

[a123456]

Wow, that was so completely unprofessional on Gilbert's part. Now, Lebron is probably glad he left rather than associate with a guy like that. NBA has a huge PR element to it. Even if that's what you're really thinking, you don't just go out and say that kind of stuff publicly.

I think Lebron could have handled the move a little better, but I don't fault him for leaving for a team that has the highest chance of winning multiple rings and starting a dynasty. He's going to take a huge hit to his money, his legacy as a GOAT (rightly or wrongly), his numbers, his MVP trophies, his old Cleveland homeland. But I guess to him, it's worth it to get some rings even if it's as a supporting role or as a co-star. Not everyone in the league is obsessed with being the greatest ever, like Jordan or Kobe.

I understand that Cleveland is disappointed and a tortured city. But seriously, burning his jersey?

By the way, Beasley is gone so those 3 guys can actually take the max. They might take slightly less to get one guy + all those minimums.

Finally, kudos to Pat Riley for being the mastermind behind this entire thing. Apparently, he had planned the whole thing since October. He ranks up there with Buss in getting Kobe + Shaq back in 96. That was a coup that led to 3 rings. We'll see where this group can take their team.

 

[MH2007]

Kobe already had more players around him, and many, many more NBA'ers wanted to come to the warm weather, large media market, enormous bouncing silicone boobies capital of the WORLD than ever wanted to go to Cleveland.

With the salary cap and other restraints (no sweetheart Gasol trade for YOU, Cleveland!), I don't think there was ANY move that Cleveland could have made that they didn't damn well make.

Not to rag on you, jj, but I HATE superficial fanboi bitching. :twisted:

I'm honestly curious, what free agents are you talking about? Of the two titles Kobe won over the last three years Ron Artest and Derek Fisher are really the only major ones that come to mind.

And apparently you don't know the background of the Gasol trade. Several teams were negotiating with Memphis and the Lakers made the best offer. I don't know whether or not Cleveland was in the mix or not but they have only themselves to blame for not offering more and getting him.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&id=3226776

Chris Wallace, Memphis Grizzlies GM:

"Well, we've been trolling these waters for a while, we've dealt with a number of teams and I didn't see that it would get any better than this," Wallace told ESPN.com Friday night in a telephone interview. "We got what was pretty much the biggest expiring contract out there [Kwame Brown], a player we like in Javaris Crittendon, two No. 1 picks and Pau Gasol's brother [Marc Gasol], who we think would be a high No. 1 pick if he came out this year instead of last year.

I am pretty sure that the Bulls were one of the teams in talks at the time and they couldn't come to terms even though they had been negotiating for an extended period of time. Apparently the large expiring Kwame Brown contract was one of the major factors that made the Lakers offer more attractive.

 

[Miramonti]

Why has Gilbert lost his mind? Because he might have just lost >$200m. (atleast his majority share of it.)

Pre-Lebron, the Cavaliers were estimated to be worth $258m, and with Lebron, they were valued at $476m!

Gilbert bought the Cavs with Lebron in 2005 for $375m, so without question, he has taken a HUGE hit at this point.

 

[MH2007]

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html

Wow that Dan Gilbert is a major douche.

 

[a123456]

Why has Gilbert lost his mind? Because he might have just lost >$200m. (atleast his majority share of it.)

Pre-Lebron, the Cavaliers were estimated to be worth $258m, and with Lebron, they were valued at $476m!

Gilbert bought the Cavs in 2005 for $375m, so without question, he has taken a HUGE hit for the time being.

Yeah, but after winning a few rings with Miami, there would have been a remote chance he would come back to the Cavs when he's 32 years old or whatever. Now it's 0%.

It is partly his own fault that Lebron left. They built the team around a win-now mode instead of a win-more later, like how OKC is building young assets to win after they mature. An aging Shaq or a downhill Jamison really isn't the answer.

On an unrelated note, this was probably the worst day ever for Goydos to shoot 59 on the PGA tour. Congrats to him even if no one will ever remember that as being a highlight for today.

 

[Miramonti]

Finally, kudos to Pat Riley for being the mastermind behind this entire thing. Apparently, he had planned the whole thing since October. He ranks up there with Buss in getting Kobe + Shaq back in 96. That was a coup that led to 3 rings. We'll see where this group can take their team.

No question Buss supplied the money to get Shaq and deserves credit, but iirc, West was relentless in the pursuit of him and busted his @ss negotiating against Orlando's offers to make it happen.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html

lol, someone is mad.

 

[a123456]

No question Buss supplied the money to get Shaq and deserves credit, but iirc, West was relentless in the pursuit of him and busted his @ss negotiating against Orlando's offers to make it happen.

Yeah, West gets the credit. My mistake.

 

[Miramonti]

Yeah, but after winning a few rings with Miami, there would have been a remote chance he would come back to the Cavs when he's 32 years old or whatever. Now it's 0%.

It is partly his own fault that Lebron left. They built the team around a win-now mode instead of a win-more later, like how OKC is building young assets to win after they mature. An aging Shaq or a downhill Jamison really isn't the answer.

On an unrelated note, this was probably the worst day ever for Goydos to shoot 59 on the PGA tour. Congrats to him even if no one will ever remember that as being a highlight for today.

Not only does it ice James out from possibly returning after this contract, his response is not exactly beneficial in attracting other valued free agents to fill the void. Really a d!ck move.

 

[MikeMike]

my facebook feed is full of people AGREEING with Dan... like, every single person.

LeBron promised, and then folded into a shell of himself while Delonte was folding his moms legs above her head.

Cleveland owes nothing to LeBron, Cleveland made him who he is, the best player on his team... wait, not anymore, he is second fiddle to Dwayne on Dwayne's team.

 

[MikeMike]

In a phone interview with the AP, Gilbert says “people have covered up for [James] for way too long. Tonight we saw who he really is.”

and you guys complaining, LeBron made Dan Gilbert WATCH THE SPECIAL to learn where he was going.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Yeah, but after winning a few rings with Miami, there would have been a remote chance he would come back to the Cavs when he's 32 years old or whatever. Now it's 0%.

It is partly his own fault that Lebron left. They built the team around a win-now mode instead of a win-more later, like how OKC is building young assets to win after they mature. An aging Shaq or a downhill Jamison really isn't the answer.

On an unrelated note, this was probably the worst day ever for Goydos to shoot 59 on the PGA tour. Congrats to him even if no one will ever remember that as being a highlight for today.

lebron James will never win a championship with Miami!!!

Sorry they just don`t have what it takes...even with Wade, james and Bosh.....

It will still be LA all the way!!

 

[Miramonti]

my facebook feed is full of people AGREEING with Dan... like, every single person.

LeBron promised, and then folded into a shell of himself while Delonte was folding his moms legs above her head.

Cleveland owes nothing to LeBron, Cleveland made him who he is, the best player on his team... wait, not anymore, he is second fiddle to Dwayne on Dwayne's team.

D@mn, Lebron doesn't owe Cleveland sh!t. He took them to the finals and clearly is one of the hardest playing dudes in the nba. All the hype coming out of high school, and he even exceeded it.

7 fvcking years of his life, yet as to be expected I guess, its just not enough for some people.

 

[Arik5405]

My multiple sources I spoke to moments ago told me Lebron is going to tweet this over to Dan Gilbert first thing tomorrow morning:
There will be a 1 hour special dedicated to cute kitty pictures and reactions from the fans.

I guarantee this will fix everything between them. I guarantee it as much Dan guarantees the Cavs winning a championship before Lebron.

 

[MH2007]

Fair enough. It's very true that Cleveland is an extremely unattractive place to play, and there's a lot of 20/20 hindsight going on. I wouldn't exactly say Kobe already had plenty more players around him...Mo Williams was an allstar (barely) and so was Z iirc (and damon jones shot pretty well for a while)...while Kobe didn't have any allstars after shaq and before Gasol.

That said, the Gasol gift from a laker HOF'er provided the Lakers the 2nd star needed. The lakers also were willing to go way over the cap, which the cavs have to be asking if they should have paid more for talent.

Seems a lot of people have the facts on the Gasol trade wrong. No wonder so many people have out-of-whack perceptions of it.

Assuming you're thinking of Jerry West, he wasn't even the Memphis Grizzlies GM who made the Gasol trade. Chris Wallace took over as GM June 18, 2007

http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/wallace_named_vp_gm-070618.html

 

[rasczak]

lebron James will never win a championship with Miami!!!

Sorry they just don`t have what it takes...even with Wade, james and Bosh.....

It will still be LA all the way!!

kobe is going to be 32? this coming year. i don't think he has much more left in the tank.

 

[MikeMike]

D@mn, Lebron doesn't owe Cleveland sh!t. He took them to the finals and clearly is one of the hardest playing dudes in the nba. All the hype coming out of high school, and he even exceeded it.

7 fvcking years of his life, yet as to be expected I guess, its just not enough for some people.

So, you would take the easy way every time in life?

You don't exceed your expectations when you don't win a title as the #1 player on a team, and instead allow yourself to become #2 on a team that probably wont win a title for the next 2 years.

There is no way Miami wins this coming year, they have no one but 3 people.
Next year is the lockout, and who knows how much basketball will be played
Three years to build a complete and dominant team... THREE YEARS.

 

[a123456]

I'm still shocked over Gilbert's reaction. He was one of the ones that "helped cover for Lebron."

I guess this rules out a sign and trade with Lebron to get him more money.

Wolves just got a great deal. The 2008 #2 overall pick (Beasley) in exchange for a 2nd round pick next year.

So, you would take the easy way every time in life?

You don't exceed your expectations when you don't win a title as the #1 player on a team, and instead allow yourself to become #2 on a team that probably wont win a title for the next 2 years.

There is no way Miami wins this coming year, they have no one but 3 people.
Next year is the lockout, and who knows how much basketball will be played
Three years to build a complete and dominant team... THREE YEARS.

Yeah, they're probably not going to win for 3 years. But, to him, having a really good chance to win in 3 years is worth it over having a really small chance to win for the next 6 years and from the past 7 years. The Cavs, with their inept management really didn't look like they had the smarts to put together a team to win it all.

You saw KG's interview after Boston won their title in 2008? He regretted not moving sooner and throwing away his prime years on the Wolves, where they had no title chances. There is a such thing as too much loyalty. Ask KG if he regrets winning a ring not as the #1 player on the team. Same with Gary Payton and Ray Bourque and so on. Obviously, it doesn't work every time, as with Malone, but throwing away your good years on a bad team isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

As a fan, I realize it's cool to see another Jordan come to fruition, who takes a losing franchise and turns it into a huge winner as a #1 player. But Lebron's got to do what's important for him and by his choice, obviously, it's to get as many rings as possible over his entire career, even if it's as a #2. His choice, his priorities, even if we may not agree with them.

 

[rasczak]

So, you would take the easy way every time in life?

You don't exceed your expectations when you don't win a title as the #1 player on a team, and instead allow yourself to become #2 on a team that probably wont win a title for the next 2 years.

There is no way Miami wins this coming year, they have no one but 3 people.
Next year is the lockout, and who knows how much basketball will be played
Three years to build a complete and dominant team... THREE YEARS.

and cleveland had seven? they failed more than lebron did with this "The Decision" special. You want to blame someone, blame the front office for not doing enough to get better talent either through the draft or via free agency. plus they should have NEVER let boozer walk. that was their first and biggest mistake. had booze stayed, cleveland probably would have won a title or two by now. lebron was promised a better team when he reupped his rookie contract, but the team failed him in that regard. had they done a better job then he would have stayed. what did they bring in, antawn jamison? lol. and OLD shaq? lol. you can't blame lebron for wanting to win. he saw the writing on the door. cleveland just can't get the big name free agents to sign up. they failed you guys not lebron.

 

[MikeMike]

and cleveland had seven? they failed more than lebron did with this "The Decision" special. You want to blame someone, blame the front office for not doing enough to get better talent either through the draft or via free agency. plus they should have NEVER let boozer walk. that was their first and biggest mistake. had booze stayed, cleveland probably would have won a title or two by now. lebron was promised a better team when he reupped his rookie contract, but the team failed him in that regard. had they done a better job then he would have stayed. what did they bring in, antawn jamison? lol. and OLD shaq? lol. you can't blame lebron for wanting to win. he saw the writing on the door. cleveland just can't get the big name free agents to sign up. they failed you guys not lebron.

bullshit, have you seen the team that was created around LeBron from the insane trades, multiple deals, and what not? the team had NOTHING, and became a very powerful and dominant team towards the end, had LeBron not just caved in on himself like a pussy against the Celtics, he would have gone to the championship again...

LeBron is a fucking pussy ass mother fucker who takes the easy way in life.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...bron.event/index.html?eref=sihp#ixzz0t9h2BTmf

 

[Blackjack200]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/michael_rosenberg/07/08/lebron.event/

Boom! Roasted.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

james called it a "humbling experience".
lol. i think he needs to look up the word humble.

 

[Miramonti]

Seems a lot of people have the facts on the Gasol trade wrong. No wonder so many people have out-of-whack perceptions of it.

Assuming you're thinking of Jerry West, he wasn't even the Memphis Grizzlies GM who made the Gasol trade. Chris Wallace took over as GM June 18, 2007

http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/wallace_named_vp_gm-070618.html

My bad, but let's not get distracted...the emphasis is on *gift* whether it came from Chris Wallace or William Wallace of Scotland.

 

[Miramonti]

Poor people of Cleveland...I think they just realized they are in Cleveland.

 

[zerocool84]

Poor people of Cleveland...I think they just realized they are in Cleveland.

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