Re: The Official LeBron thread

[steve3344]

I heard Shaq just emailed his resume to the Heat.

Said he'll work for scraps.

[gyso]

Jeffries is not a free agent.

tj,

Yes, I see that's true now. I went back to the source and it was edited out. But the concept works, S&T someone with Beasley to get one or more pieces to the puzzle. Of course that has to happen before the three sign their contracts. They still don't have much to work with before they reach the sal-cap.

gyso

[NYCelt]

Lot's of early speculation out of Miami, with a few items in the Miami Herald online edition.

Among other things rumor of a Beasley trade as part of a four team deal that would net the Heat cap relief to the tune of $5 mil.

Also word floating in Miami that the Heat have offered Mike Miller $30 mil over 5 years which could work out depending on what Wade, James and Bosh are willing to do.

Read more: http://blogs.herald.com/miami_heat/2010/07/action-heating-up.html#ixzz0t9S5ZltF

All interesting stuff, but nothing concrete yet. No matter what, I can't wait until we play these guys.

[tjmakz]

Jeffries is not a free agent.

tj,

Yes, I see that's true now. I went back to the source and it was edited out. But the concept works, S&T someone with Beasley to get one or more pieces to the puzzle. Of course that has to happen before the three sign their contracts. They still don't have much to work with before they reach the sal-cap.

gyso

I can't see any team taking on $11-13m for Beasley and a sign and trade with Haslem or another Miami free agent.
Miami's first round picks aren't that valuable since they will be drafting near the bottom of the first round.

[tjmakz]

What a disgusting and pathetic letter was released tonight by the owner of the Cavs. He didn't mention LeBron's name 1 time.

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

[jeb]

people say and do stupid shit when their hurtin...

[tjmakz]

I hope he has to sign Brian Scalabrine to replace LeBron.
Welcome to the lottery Cleveland.

[RosalieTCeltics]

He personally guarantees that Cleveland will win a title before James?

Is he putting his money where his mouth is? What a stupid, silly letter.
He would have been much better to wait a couple of days and then a cooler
head would prevail. I CAN imagine how they felt being the loser's in this game that James played. However, he should have proved that he is a bigger person than James and kept his mouth shut for now.

[babyskyhook]

Note to Rosie- the below is not family-friendly reading. My mom would want me to warn you so you didn't get caught off guard by the language.


Deadspin NAILS Ledouche. And this was before he made his "Decision".



http://deadspin.com/5581889/lebron-james-is-a-cocksucker



LeBron James Is A Bad Guy.

Tomorrow is the day LeBron James becomes the most unlikable person in the NBA, and perhaps all of American sports. I used to think he was okay a year ago. No more. He's the villain now.

It doesn't matter where he opts to go. If he goes to Chicago, he's a Bad Guy If he goes to Miami, he's a Bad Guy. Even if he goes back to Cleveland, he's a Bad Guy. He's a self-aggrandizing sack of shit, and ESPN is a bunch of enablers for giving him a free hour of airtime tomorrow night and inevitably using 55 minutes of it to let Stu Scott give him a rimjob.

Look at what Kevin Durant did today. He signed an extension well before he could have filed for free agency, announced the signing, and then went back about his business. He didn't need all this dog-and-pony show bullshit. James does, and that means he's a dipshit. People have been kissing this man's ass SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL, and he still needs this hourlong AFI tribute special? Bullshit. BULLSHIT.

And I don't care that he asked ESPN to use the commercial airtime tomorrow night to go to charity. That's the most transparent use of charity for the sake of self-glorification I've seen since I saw some actor do it yesterday. "Hey ESPN, why don't you spend an hour kissing my ass? Oh, don't worry. We'll give the money to AIDS babies. That totally makes me selfless." No, it doesn't.

And SCREW YOU to ESPN for going along with this "Bonds on Bonds" redux. If an ESPN reporter found concrete proof tomorrow morning that James was going to Cleveland or somewhere else, do you think ESPN would let him run with it? NO. They'd stick him in a Lucite box and throw him in the cellar until 10PM. They're the whoringest whores that have ever whored. I heard they offered LeBron's crew unmentionable acts if he wins a title next year.

LeBron is now the guy you openly root against. If he leaves Cleveland tomorrow night, he'll have needlessly strung along an entire fanbase and given them the middle finger by making their breakup spectacularly public. If he stays, he'll have spent two years teasing the rest of the world about going somewhere else when he probably never wanted to leave Ohio to begin with. There's no end result tomorrow that makes LeBron a sympathetic figure. He's already gone past the point of no return. He's a Bad Guy. Fitting that his most memorable career moment will come when he doesn't even take a shot. He's a guy that cares more about the end result of playing basketball – massive, unending adulation – than he does actual basketball.

I don't begrudge him that attitude. I'd be the same way if I were a basketball player. All I'd give a shit about would be what I make and where I'm drinking tonight. And I don't begrudge him the right to play somewhere other than Cleveland. It's Cleveland. It blows. There's nothing to do in that town except cry. But there's a normal way of doing things, and there's the dick way of doing things, and making your own free agency a two-year drama capped off with an infomercial directed by Senor Spielbergo falls squarely in the purview of FLAMING DICK MOVES. James is trying to bullshit the world into believing this whole process is some great entertainment he's lavishing upon you. It's not. It's a con. Right now, a lot of people aren't buying the shit this man is selling. And really, that's all LeBron James is these days: a salesman.

[babyskyhook]

I'd say that pretty much sums things up.

[Sam]

Note on posting on this board.

In general, I believe we've been pretty lenlent in allowing certain language on this board. for example, there are just certain emotional times when it seems that nothing but the sh-- word will seem to do the job. As a rule, I try to observe the most forgiving guidelines that I've seen utilized in prime time television.

However, I've recently had to do some edits because of the excessive use of over-the-top words. I decided to change words rather than to delete entire posts because I believe people have the right to have the theme of their opinions heard, even if they may have strayed from a reasonable definition of propriety in their word choices. It's not the intent that's the problem, it's the means of putting that intent into words.

I hope anyone whose posts I've edited don't take offense and realizes that I took the time to do the editing so that their opinions could continue to be read. I hope that, if they have occasion to reread said posts at a later time when such emotionality is not so overwhelming, they'll be rather relieved that the elected style of their posts doesn't diminish their usual strong contributions to this board.

I'm going to repost this in its own thread; but, for various reasons, I wanted to emphasize it on this thread.

Thanks for your understanding. And, as usual, you're welcome to contact me via PM or email (SlipSamCelt@aol.com) at any time.

Sam

[babyskyhook]

oops. Sorry Sam.

[dbrown4]

A couple of observations from last night:

1) Really looking forward to the 29 Giant Slayers, some more than others, turning up their games every night to make life on the Miami Heat a living hell and full of confusion.
2) Clearly Byron Scott woke up this morning with something all over his hands. Not really sure what it is but it smells awful at the moment.
3) If there is any coach in the NBA on the shortest leash ever imagined, Eric Spoelstra is the man. If he even loses two games in a row, the trap door that will be installed around the Miami coaches box will snap open so fast it will make your head spin. Usher in Pat Riley. Talk about managing egos. Only Phil can handle this mess.
4) LeBron was true to his word, as least as far as he believes with those surrounding him. All he said he wanted to do is be put in the best position to win championships. Now he has done it. He couldn't do it in Cleveland. There can be no excuses now.
5) Boston is going to eat this up and be a huge dragon slayer over the next 6 years, along with Chicago, Orlando, New York, LA and Cleveland . I've just signed up for the 6-year NBA League Pass Package!
6) I like Dan Gilbert going out on the ledge there. Now he has to live up to it. I hope he does. Only I hope Miami doesn't win one over the next 6 years. Show me someone who is not a sore loser and I'll show you a loser. I know it's sour grapes right now in Cleveland. But he did make alot of the points we made about LeBron on this site.
7) The description of Cleveland being hit by a nuclear bomb and LeBron being the fallout was in a very sick way hilarious. So appropos and correct for now.
Refs will finally have to start calling some/more fouls on "superstars" in Miami. The other two bozos in the starting line-up can only take 10. League average has to be around 22.
9) Look for Shaq in Miami at the min.
10) LeBron actually used the word team several times last night.

[sinus007]

Hi,
I just have a few things to say.
My wife, a die-hard Cavs fan, is ready to switch to be Celtics fan (finally - peace in the family )
I wasn't going to watch that freak show but she wanted to, so I went along. After that I had a very strong inclination to take a shower to wash all the dirt and slime. Here're just a couple samples.
The background. To use children to advertise and aggrandize yourself is sleazy.
The answer: "I decided to ..... just this morning". What an insult to the millions of viewers and fans.
As for the reactions from Cleveland fans and Gilbert - you created the monster, you're as guilty as he is.
As for Miami, let's start counting chickens in the Fall. But I'll be glad if they fall apart during the regular season and/or playoffs.

AK

[jeb]

When Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce came together in Boston, they did so as 30-somethings on whom reality had long since dawned. They needed each other and they were willing to do whatever necessary to make it work. The subjugation of egos was a critical development in that, something Garnett has proven time and time again by making himself part of a team rather than isolating himself from it. That is why Tom Brady, too, continues to hold weekly media sessions at his locker rather than at a podium.

Maybe that is all real, maybe it’s not. But it is symbolic if nothing else.

In the case of James, he is 25. He will turn 26 on December 30. He doesn’t know a fraction of what he thinks he does. The unification of James, Bosh, and Wade feels more like an arranged marriage than anything else, as if LeBron is using Bosh and Wade (already a title winner) to get his championship the way a mail-order bride gains citizenship. Thus far, James has not been able to win a title on his own merit, and he has heretofore blamed everyone but himself. During Cleveland’s loss to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals – the King’s last act as a Cav – James sometimes seemed to play as if he wanted to lose, as if he wanted to make a point, as if he wanted to grease the skids for his departure from Cleveland. You see? I just can’t win here. A truly great player, of course, would have hoisted the team on his back – or at least tried.

a good piece of writing...a new low for the nba. Ever closer to rollerball and the wwf. or better yet ROME.

[bobheckler]

jeb,

Ave et Vale! Nos moritumi te salutamos!

Bread and Christian-eating lions at halftime.

bob

.

[jeb]

This is a jump the shark moment for the nba and it's "star" fetish. I think there will be a heavy backlash. Heavy. How long did "king" james know he was going to miami? How long did he play everyone but Miami?

This is a new low. Their will be a lot of poor lost souls who follow James to the heat ( same bunch that followed Phil to La) but my guess is that the Heat and James will be one of the most hated teams ever. This is a selfish kid. This is a guy whose ego is running things. He wont change. He will screw this up. He needs to be the man and he needs the spotlight. Miami just made a Faustian bargain and the gods of karma are licking their lips to get a them.

As hard as they were to bear I feel for the cleve fans. Doode threw them under the bus and my guess is he did it long about game 5 in the Celtics series.

This crap is right out of the old testament or Homer.

[RosalieTCeltics]

My thinking here is that sooner or later you are going to see the NBA HAVE
to make rules about trading or giving away most of your team to clear space on the roster for superstars like this. If this keeps up, all the rich teams will take the chance on this and the losers will be the fans.

Jeb, I made that point about the Big Three from Boston early on in the postings about James, Wade, Bosh, et al. These guys are in the prime of their careers, with their talent, they SHOULD be winning championships. This makes me appreciate much more what the Celtics accomplished three years ago. Three guys who knew they were not going anywhere, gave up
parts of their game and sacrificed to come on board and win a title. This took alot more than these three guys.

Good luck to them, I will not dump on them. May they get to the Eastern
Conference finals to find Boston waiting at the door for them with a hammer in their hands.

[jeb]

Well said as usual Rosalie. Time will tell. It always does.

[babyskyhook]

Lebron showed the world who he really is last night- a giant douchebag.


I have no problem with him leaving the Cavs. They didn't build the team around him the way OKC is doing with Durant (although they apparently did build the team the way Lebron wanted them to).

My problem lies with the way he did all of this. We all knew he was out of there when he said after game 6 vs Boston, whenasked if he had made any decisions on leaving, "Me and my team have a plan and we're going to execute it."

It was clear he was out of there. he should have manned up and said I'm leaving the Cavs. I've given 7 years of effort here, but it didn't work out, so I'm going to try a different approach. I'm going to team up with my buddis from the Olympics- at least with one of them in Miami.

It would have been simple and easy. But instead, he put all of those teams, and worse, all of his fans in Cleveland through a humiliating charade where they were begging him to stay. All for his own self-aggrandizement.

And to top it all off, he stabbed his most loyal fans in the heart with a one hour giant FU ego trip special on national tv.

It's like when someone proposes to their girlfriend on the jumbotron at a game and the crowd goes wild. Except this was a horrible reverse version- it's like he got on the jumbotron with his wife of seven years and announced he was leaving her.

It was a pathetic and shameful display of narcissism, and I am going to be so happy cheering against the Heat every time they play next year.

[babyskyhook]

PS- I've never seen an athlete destroy his public personna so quickly and thoroughly as LBJ has over the last couple of weeks.

he is now the most-hated man in the NBA, which is ironic for a guy who was so concerned about his "brand".

Karma's a bitch and he's getting some payback now.

[bobheckler]

Here's an article in the NY Daily News. In it, they say LeBron speciically refers to the Boston Celtics Big 3 as model for why they did what they did. Then, the writer goes about eviscerating him.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/2010/07/10/2010-07-10_lebrons_crown_loses_its_luster.html?obref=obinsite

bob

.

[bobheckler]

Bill Simmons printed some of the emails he received after the LeBron-a-thon. I thought this one was great. The author was from Columbus, OH.


"I think this is the first time in history one man managed to destroy an entire city by himself. Even the Enola Gay had a flight crew."


bob

.

[bobheckler]

Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is also the owner of Fathead, Inc., the sporting goods and sporting memorabilia internet site. They also sell something called "a Fathead" which is a huge, life-sized poster that can be stuck onto any flat surface, like a wall, and pretty much filling that wall.

All LeBron bobbleheads, Fatheads and other such LeBron products have been marked down by Fathead, Inc. from their previous price (Fatheads cost $99.99) to either $17.41 (Benedict Arnold was born in 1741) or $17.76.

This is actually starting to turn into an amusing feud. And it couldn't happen to a more deserving athlete...

bob

.

[beat]

Bob

Godzilla did it to Toyko many times!



beat

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