[OT] LeBron is a POS

[Ohiofan]

It is common knowledge in Cleveland that for the last two and a half years the Cavs made no move in any direction; hirings, player movement, policies, etc., without the express consent of Mr. James. If the Cavs failed to build a winning team around Lebron, he is just as much to blame. The organization gave the reigns to him, and he failed.

As far as his "handlers" go...most of them are his high school teammates, and they are the only ones he listens to, other than his mom. I think these folks led him down the wrong path...not so much in leaving Cleveland, but in the way he did it.

[deluca67]

After reading Dan Gilbert's letter to the fans, I would almost rather be a Cleveland Cavs fan right now than a Sabres fan! :unsure: Of course everything he said in that letter is highly unlikely (winning a title before the heat, lebron taking the curse with him, etc), but at least, as a fan, I would feel like he wants to win.

It is nice to see a owner put his passion for his team out there. Cleveland fans deserve as much. Hopefully for them Dan Gilbert can find players whose passion is to win a Championship and not sitting on the beach with their friends and hookers.

[korab rules]

Really? That's your argument? What did he take...$20M instead of $25M per year....what a caring selfless person he is.

 

He took slightly less money and moved to a state where there is no state income tax, and the amount of money available in endorsements in a city like Miami is substantially greater than what's available in Cleveland (i know, he makes most of his endorsement money from multi-national corporations, but I am sure he pads his wallet with local endorsements as well).

 

I would be surprised if he ends up taking home a penny less than what Cleveland would have paid him.

 

And he's not from Cleveland, he's from Akron. Do you guys consider Syracuse your hometown? Albany? NYC?

 

And its frigging professional basketball. Who gives a ######. When my wife and I heard the news, we looked at each other and agreed that if we never watched another NBA game in our lives, it would be too soon. Not that we have seen one since Jordan left the Bulls and made a fool of himself, but you get the picture.

[deluca67]

He took slightly less money and moved to a state where there is no state income tax, and the amount of money available in endorsements in a city like Miami is substantially greater than what's available in Cleveland (i know, he makes most of his endorsement money from multi-national corporations, but I am sure he pads his wallet with local endorsements as well).

 

I would be surprised if he ends up taking home a penny less than what Cleveland would have paid him.

 

And he's not from Cleveland, he's from Akron. Do you guys consider Syracuse your hometown? Albany? NYC?

 

And its frigging professional basketball. Who gives a ######. When my wife and I heard the news, we looked at each other and agreed that if we never watched another NBA game in our lives, it would be too soon. Not that we have seen one since Jordan left the Bulls and made a fool of himself, but you get the picture.

This is what happens when you live in a city with a NHL team that takes summers off :thumbsup:

[thesportsbuff]

He took slightly less money and moved to a state where there is no state income tax, and the amount of money available in endorsements in a city like Miami is substantially greater than what's available in Cleveland (i know, he makes most of his endorsement money from multi-national corporations, but I am sure he pads his wallet with local endorsements as well).

 

I would be surprised if he ends up taking home a penny less than what Cleveland would have paid him.

 

And he's not from Cleveland, he's from Akron. Do you guys consider Syracuse your hometown? Albany? NYC?

 

And its frigging professional basketball. Who gives a ######. When my wife and I heard the news, we looked at each other and agreed that if we never watched another NBA game in our lives, it would be too soon. Not that we have seen one since Jordan left the Bulls and made a fool of himself, but you get the picture.

 

I'm from Olean but I often refer to Buffalo as my home town because of the major sports teams in the area-- and who the ###### (outside of WNY) has heard of Olean? :lol:

[billsrcursed]

It is common knowledge in Cleveland that for the last two and a half years the Cavs made no move in any direction; hirings, player movement, policies, etc., without the express consent of Mr. James. If the Cavs failed to build a winning team around Lebron, he is just as much to blame. The organization gave the reigns to him, and he failed.

As far as his "handlers" go...most of them are his high school teammates, and they are the only ones he listens to, other than his mom. I think these folks led him down the wrong path...not so much in leaving Cleveland, but in the way he did it.

I wonder if the backlash would have been as broad had he simply signed with the Heat and not done the whole presser thing. Probably not... For the sake of Clevelanders, I hope the Cavs owner holds true to his promise, and does everything in his powers to bring a championship to their fans. That city deserves it.

[thesportsbuff]

Meanwhile the Yankees are about to trade for Cliff Lee... sometimes I wish I cared about more sports than hockey and football. I could totally go for being a Yankees fan.

[Corp000085]

Say what you want about Dominik Hasek's departure, but at least the guy faced the fire with a press conference in Buffalo before he left. I posted this on TBD, but LeBron just wrote a check he can't cash with the devil. You DO NOT mess with the sports gods the way that he did last night. At the end of the day, he MAY win a championship, but I guarantee he'll either lose or be injured first.

[shrader]

It is nice to see a owner put his passion for his team out there. Cleveland fans deserve as much. Hopefully for them Dan Gilbert can find players whose passion is to win a Championship and not sitting on the beach with their friends and hookers.

 

I have a hard time seeing why a player would want to go there right now. You're the guy trying to replace Lebron. Good luck with that. And I haven't read the letter and have only seen the parts that ESPN wants to show us, but that thing looks really bad for Gilbert. He's an awful person, he quit on us in the playoffs, blah blah blah. All this bad stuff yet you were trying to re-sign him? Gilbert comes across as whiny as Lebron does egotistical.

 

There is one good thing out of all of this though. Pro sports has its villain now. He's going to be pretty much universally hated by everyone outside of Miami. It's been a while since sports had someone like that... maybe Barry Bonds?

 

I wonder if the backlash would have been as broad had he simply signed with the Heat and not done the whole presser thing. Probably not... For the sake of Clevelanders, I hope the Cavs owner holds true to his promise, and does everything in his powers to bring a championship to their fans. That city deserves it.

 

You're dead on. There was going to be some minor backlash for leaving, but the one hour special put him way over the top.

[thesportsbuff]

I have a hard time seeing why a player would want to go there right now. You're the guy trying to replace Lebron. Good luck with that. And I haven't read the letter and have only seen the parts that ESPN wants to show us, but that thing looks really bad for Gilbert. He's an awful person, he quit on us in the playoffs, blah blah blah. All this bad stuff yet you were trying to re-sign him? Gilbert comes across as whiny as Lebron does egotistical.

 

Big deal. Cleveland just lost the biggest player in recent NBA history -- what's he supposed to do, act like he doesn't care? Like I said before, most of the letter is just BS, but it's nice to have an owner that cares about his team and is legitimately pissed off about it. Did Darcy even care when Drury and Briere left, or was he happy he wouldn't have to write their checks??

[deluca67]

I have a hard time seeing why a player would want to go there right now. You're the guy trying to replace Lebron. Good luck with that. And I haven't read the letter and have only seen the parts that ESPN wants to show us, but that thing looks really bad for Gilbert. He's an awful person, he quit on us in the playoffs, blah blah blah. All this bad stuff yet you were trying to re-sign him? Gilbert comes across as whiny as Lebron does egotistical.

 

There is one good thing out of all of this though. Pro sports has its villain now. He's going to be pretty much universally hated by everyone outside of Miami. It's been a while since sports had someone like that... maybe Barry Bonds?

 

 

 

You're dead on. There was going to be some minor backlash for leaving, but the one hour special put him way over the top.

I'll go with Mike Vick then Tiger Woods.

[wonderbread]

I'm from Olean but I often refer to Buffalo as my home town because of the major sports teams in the area-- and who the ###### (outside of WNY) has heard of Olean? :lol:

 

I have! I used to come up to go to the headstore then head over to treh Beef 'N Barrel.

[deluca67]

I have! I used to come up to go to the headstore then head over to treh Beef 'N Barrel.

Is that a strip club? :rolleyes:

[shrader]

Big deal. Cleveland just lost the biggest player in recent NBA history -- what's he supposed to do, act like he doesn't care? Like I said before, most of the letter is just BS, but it's nice to have an owner that cares about his team and is legitimately pissed off about it. Did Darcy even care when Drury and Briere left, or was he happy he wouldn't have to write their checks??

 

It's fine if he leaves all the insults out, but that stuff just makes him look like a fool. He's the embarassed teenage girl who turns to the internet and makes up rumors about the other girl who her boyfriend left her for. The whole thing makes him look like a sideshow loser and it will turn other players away from his organization.

[wonderbread]

Is that a strip club? :rolleyes:

No but it's sinfully good with a few Labatt Blues.

[shrader]

I'll go with Mike Vick then Tiger Woods.

 

I guess I should've thrown in the qualifier that they actually have to be a good player because Vick's a nobody. Woods is just hated by the media. He's getting plenty of positive reactions on the course. The only backlash against him happened during golf's offseason and it's long gone now, short of idiot media members who won't let go.

[North Buffalo]

i think he's a piece of ###### for turning free agency into a self-centered circus, not so much just for leaving cleveland. it's a business. athletes want to win. no different than briere and drury leaving Buffalo (except that he was a home-grown cleveland product).

 

Agreed, but it is the NBA so really what's the diff. They seem to grow players with this type of mentality on trees. The joke is that so many people really care. I agree with the Cavalier's owner, he laid down in the playoffs, probably so it was easier to leave and then tried to justify it by saying he is all about winning. LOL, whatever, I don't believe a word coming out of his mouth. The funny thing is that management and ownership has no right to criticize Lebron. They are just as hypocritical.

 

My response to the Cleveland owner... Pot let me introduce you to the kettle...

 

I would rather watch the other professional basketball league... the NCAA tournament where somehow they still manage have a stranglehold on power creating a certain amount of parity and diversity. Just my mo.

 

Finally, that interview was really boring and disingenuous. ESPN looks pathetic, they hyped it so much that it was really a non-story once where he was going came out.

[thesportsbuff]

Agreed, but it is the NBA so really what's the diff. They seem to grow players with this type of mentality on trees. The joke is that so many people really care. I agree with the Cavalier's owner, he laid down in the playoffs, probably so it was easier to leave and then tried to justify it by saying he is all about winning. LOL, whatever, I don't believe a word coming out of his mouth. The funny thing is that management and ownership has no right to criticize Lebron. They are just as hypocritical.

 

My response to the Cleveland owner... Pot let me introduce you to the kettle...

 

I would rather watch the other professional basketball league... the NCAA tournament where somehow they still manage have a stranglehold on power creating a certain amount of parity and diversity. Just my mo.

 

Finally, that interview was really boring and disingenuous. ESPN looks pathetic, they hyped it so much that it was really a non-story once where he was going came out.

 

ESPN also said he would make his announcement within the first 10 minutes of the program!

[thesportsbuff]

Chad Ochocinco via Facebook: People of in the state of OHIO, Lebron might be gone but you still have my crazy, unpredictable, ###### talkin, exciting ###### to watch !!

 

He's also been trying to recruit TO to the Bengals. :lol: :lol:

[CallawaySabres]

I could not give a crap about the NBA or Lebron but to say he is a POS is ridiculous. That owner is the POS......

[Robviously]

Chad Ochocinco via Facebook: People of in the state of OHIO, Lebron might be gone but you still have my crazy, unpredictable, ###### talkin, exciting ###### to watch !!

 

He's also been trying to recruit TO to the Bengals. :lol: :lol:

Which would be amazing. :lol:

[BuffalOhio]

You are exactly right Ink, about the whole thing. I watched the playoffs...Lebron sucked wind at the end and couldn't get it done, like he had promised he would. Shouldn't make promises like that. Now there is nothing but bitterness and anger here. He put guards on his house earlier tonight, before the presser. This ranks right up there with what Modell did. Bad $hit...for the city, for the fans...I grew up in BUFFALO and moved to CLEVELAND and I can't believe I love the teams in both cities and my fate is sealed...to be an anguished sports fan for the rest of my life :(

 

 

I'm in the same boat, OF. Sucks. I knew he was gone when Bosh and DWade announced their intentions earlier. Did you read Gilbert's open letter? Ouch! Seems as the LeGone wore out his welcome with the owner even before he announced he was leaving.

[jpgr909]

First of all, The Cavs were NOT built for a Championship run. We'll just agree to disagree there.

 

Second, if everything you're saying about the press conference is true, then sure, it would seem to be a "look at me" move. Unfortunately, it's all speculation in regards to who set it up, who laid the ground rules down, etc. For all we know, ESPN contacted Lebron and asked if he'd be willing to do it, to which Lebron said, "Hey, great. Another way to raise money while promoting the League and it's players".

 

Let me know if you find anything that would indicate Lebron set this whole thing up.

 

I just don't understand how it's ok for some guys to go to winning teams to get a Championship under their belt but it's not ok for the best player in their respective League to do the same.

 

I'm REALLY trying to find fault hear. I hate this move, I'm a Magic fan for christ's sake. I know what this means for the Division, as well as the Magic's chances going forward. I just can't blame the guy when his reasons for making this decision are genuine; he wants to win.

 

EDIT: Welcome to the board! :thumbsup:

Thanks for the welcome!

 

My problem with this whole melodrama, aside from the absurd uber-coverage led by ESPN, is more with how the NBA has its own players colluding to join a single team to try to win a title. I don't knock players for wanting to move to win a title in and of itself. We've seen that in most sports. But here, it appears (the evidence is purely circumstantial, but it looks pretty damning) that these three Olympians hatched a plan in 2008 that had them all joining up to form a super-team. One NBA journalist reported this long ago. Some say he was merely speculating, though he said he was in the know. Right now it's either a large coincidence or he was indeed in the know. Imagine the outrage, even putting labor laws proscribing collusion and CBA considerations aside, if a few owners or GMs were getting together coming up with similar schemes. Again, aside from the illegality, there would be outrage. And rightfully so. This sort of stuff is why the NBA is, and has been for some time, a joke, at least to me. I'll stick to the NCAA.

 

As for the "speculation" as to who arranged this Lebron presser, I wrote assuming everyone knew who'd set it up. It wasn't a secret. SportsCenter reported it beginning maybe as early as last Sunday. Lebron's "people" contacted ESPN and arranged this press conference. SportsCenter announced it and it was running as "breaking news" on their little ticker...I think on Monday. I do agree that if ESPN had initiated it, that would make it a little different, plus I'm pretty confident ESPN would've done so anyway based on their non-stop love-in with everything NBA/Lebron. But Lebron beat 'em to it.

 

I don't hate Lebron, I just have no respect for this move and the way it was handled. Pretty weak. He couldn't get it done in Cleveland and so he teamed up with his boys to put themselves in strong position to win one. But he was free to do what he did, so no begrudging him there, but what does all this say about the NBA? That's the bigger question...for those who care.

[Eleven]

Thanks for the welcome!

 

My problem with this whole melodrama, aside from the absurd uber-coverage led by ESPN, is more with how the NBA has its own players colluding to join a single team to try to win a title. I don't knock players for wanting to move to win a title in and of itself. We've seen that in most sports. But here, it appears (the evidence is purely circumstantial, but it looks pretty damning) that these three Olympians hatched a plan in 2008 that had them all joining up to form a super-team. One NBA journalist reported this long ago. Some say he was merely speculating, though he said he was in the know. Right now it's either a large coincidence or he was indeed in the know. Imagine the outrage, even putting labor laws proscribing collusion and CBA considerations aside, if a few owners or GMs were getting together coming up with similar schemes. Again, aside from the illegality, there would be outrage. And rightfully so. This sort of stuff is why the NBA is, and has been for some time, a joke, at least to me. I'll stick to the NCAA.

 

As for the "speculation" as to who arranged this Lebron presser, I wrote assuming everyone knew who'd set it up. It wasn't a secret. SportsCenter reported it beginning maybe as early as last Sunday. Lebron's "people" contacted ESPN and arranged this press conference. SportsCenter announced it and it was running as "breaking news" on their little ticker...I think on Monday. I do agree that if ESPN had initiated it, that would make it a little different, plus I'm pretty confident ESPN would've done so anyway based on their non-stop love-in with everything NBA/Lebron. But Lebron beat 'em to it.

 

I don't hate Lebron, I just have no respect for this move and the way it was handled. Pretty weak. He couldn't get it done in Cleveland and so he teamed up with his boys to put themselves in strong position to win one. But he was free to do what he did, so no begrudging him there, but what does all this say about the NBA? That's the bigger question...for those who care.

 

This is the one thing I think is kind of cool about the whole situation--players deciding they play well together and want to win together. It brings sports back to its roots a little bit, well, until there's a one-hour special on ESPN. Then the roots are even more distant.

[LexLuthor871]

He won't win a thing in Miami. They have no money left for big men or a bench.

 

As the lone Sabres and Heat fan out there (honest) I say this: You're kidding me right? They have three-fifths of the dream team. What are Jon Barry and some of you smoking who say they won't win immediately?