Lebron James signs with the Miami Heat!

[swamprat]

Manny Ramirez had to leave Cleveland to get a World Series ring, so did CC Sabathia. Heck, it took moving an entire franchise away from Cleveland for Art Model to win a Super Bowl ring. Sounds like LBJ knows his history.

[ladiesbballcoach]

Was reading the comments at on the Plain Dealer website and some of the fans pointed out that during the hour special, Lebron never thanked the fans of Cleveland. Pointed out several times how much he had done for them, but never thanked them.

 

Also, some comments of a shot they said he took by the name of the ESPN special. THE Decision is right up there now with THE Fumble, THE Drive, and THE Shot.

[TrueBlueWildcat]

Was reading the comments at on the Plain Dealer website and some of the fans pointed out that during the hour special, Lebron never thanked the fans of Cleveland. Pointed out several times how much he had done for them, but never thanked them.

 

Also, some comments of a shot they said he took by the name of the ESPN special. THE Decision is right up there now with THE Fumble, THE Drive, and THE Shot.

 

Yeah he never really came out and thanked them and he should have.

 

 

I'm sure Lebron had little to do about the title of the show though.

[stickymitts]

Honestly, if you had to choose between Cleveland and Miami what would you do?

 

Cleveland will continue to be average at best. Miami has won a championship and has players capable of winning another one. Cleveland has 10" of snow in the winter, Miami has South Beach. Cleveland has a lake, Miami has South Beach. Cleveland is NEAR his hometown, Miami has South Beach.

[ladiesbballcoach]

Yeah he never really came out and thanked them and he should have.

 

 

I'm sure Lebron had little to do about the title of the show though.

 

His group has had full control of this all the way through.

[Zoot Soup]

 

I'm sure Lebron had little to do about the title of the show though.

 

Please. The guy tweeted about "his decision". He even started a hashtag of "lebrondecision". He also calls himself the King of Akron. You really think he's that humble?

[Zoot Soup]

Also, can we please address the fact that is was LeBron, not ESPN, that paid Jim Gray for the interview?

[CatsCatsCats]

So you feel cheated. That's fair.

 

How did LBJ sell himself short by going to play with another superstar? That's one thing that makes zero sense to me. If anything, he would have sold himself short by going to a bigger market with a less talented team, IMO.

 

I just think that if he wanted an All-Star teammate, he didn't need someone as good as Wade. I know they are friends, but he went from having basically no help to having about the best help he could. We will never know how could he could be as a true alpha dog with a good sidekick now. He is at best 1A to DWade, IMO because of the situation. We won't get to find out if he has what it takes to lead a team to a championship. JMO.

[SSC]

His group has had full control of this all the way through.

 

His group is clueless and we see it now. He is at fault for hiring only his friends to run his life. Who cares though? He has the right to hire idiots. He supposedly turned on WWW b/c he wasn't telling him what he wanted to hear. He's a 25 year old that grew up without a father figure. He's not perfect. He's a great athlete that decided to play basketball in south beach with two of his buddies. When he's older and wiser I think he'll regret how he made his "decision". I doubt he'll regret the "decision" though. The idiot in this whole thing is Gilbert.

[stickymitts]

Does anyone really think that, even if LBJ made the decision from his living room, there wouldn't have been an hour long special after the presser by ESPN anyway? For God's sake, it's 80% of SportsCenter AND they broadcasted the event.

[SSC]

I just think that if he wanted an All-Star teammate, he didn't need someone as good as Wade. I know they are friends, but he went from having basically no help to having about the best help he could. We will never know how could he could be as a true alpha dog with a good sidekick now. He is at best 1A to DWade, IMO because of the situation. We won't get to find out if he has what it takes to lead a team to a championship. JMO.

 

He is so much better of an all around player than Wade that it will be known who the best player is. LBJ has been crushed his whole life for making the right pass instead of taking the tough shot. He will thrive in late game situations now. They all three will IMO. Also, I don't think it was an accident that Wade and Bosh went first and let LBJ be the "man" on his own hour long show. I think it was a terrible way to go about showing people who the "man" is b/c of what it did to the fans in Cleveland. He didn't owe Cleveland anything though. He was free to make his own decision. Gilbert bailed him out though IMO. A lot of people are focusing more on his comments rather than how dumb it was to destroy the Cleveland fans the way he did.

[SSC]

Does anyone really think that, even if LBJ made the decision from his living room, there wouldn't have been an hour long special after the presser by ESPN anyway? For God's sake, it's 80% of SportsCenter AND they broadcasted the event.

 

They had Sportscenter from 6-9. The decision from 9-10. Sportscenter from 10-12:30. I think he handled it poorly, but if what we're hearing about the Cavs is true how could anyone think he was staying?

[Big Game Player]

I heard that this is all Kentucky's doings. Pat Riley called President Lee Todd Junior that asked Joe B Hall if thats a good idea, which Joe B Hall gave it a thumbs up, that buzzed down to Mith Barnhart which walked over to Coach Cal's office that then called World Wide Wes that then called Leon Rose that called Lebron and asked if he wanted to come play for the Miami Heat for a max contract. Lebron told Leon Rose that he would as long as he could have his own annoucement show because he didn't get one out of high school like all the other high school players, Leon then called World Wide Wes that then called Coach Cal that then walked over to Mitch Barnhart's office that then buzzed up to President Lee Todd Junior's office that called Pat Riley and told him thats its a deal.

 

 

lol...jk

[5wide]

I've seen enough LeBron for one non-basketball period of time. That said, he made a good move for his desire to win a title. I like how it proved money wasn't the number one priority. BUT, and this one's big, I think he now may have sacrificed the ability to be called the greatest of all time. If they win the title, it will be because they were awesome, but they were bought through free agency.....the Bulls grew those teams. Therefore, MJ's legacy is safe for another generation, now, IMO.

 

My initial thought as well. Winning a title or multiple titles in Miami won't enhance is legacy in the same way it would have had he done it in Cleveland.

 

It's a potentially fascinating story with regards to his legacy. As you noted, he'll take a hit because he teamed up with one of the few guys in the league who is his peer, and another superstar, all in their primes, something that's never been done before. Aside from that, who is going to be the alpha dog on this team? It's easy to say Lebron because he is the best player in the game, but Wade isn't that far behind. If Wade is "the guy" who takes and makes big shots in crunch time, and that's a real possibility, IMO, then Lebron takes another hit. Clutch play is where legends are made in the NBA, so it doesn't matter if Lebron is better than D-Wade during the season and the first 3 quarters of every game...if Wade is their money guy his star rises. I think Wade stands the gain the most from this deal.

 

This stuff is just speculation at this point. Lebron says he wants to win, and this decision bears that out. The rest is just fun to talk about.

 

I expect the Heat to have a monster regular season, but I'll reserve judgment on their title chances until I see how they fill out the roster. And, I'd be a little concerned about how Bosh will respond to being the clear third option on a team with two mega-stars.

[HammerTime]

^ Only 1 problem. He isn't getting a max contract.