Inside look at LeBron’s free-agent coup
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FootwedgeNice to see another outsider rail on James. But I do think he should have at least conceded that his Celtics did pretty much the same damn thing. I understand that Allen didn't grow up in suburban Seattle and that KG didn't grow up in Minnesota either.
The first few paragraphs were just sour grapes. The rest of it was spot on. -
Footwedge
But one has to wonder about the credibility on this point. James was one of the team captains on that team. Doesn't add up.2kool4skool;426007 wrote:The most interesting part of the Yahoo! report is that it claims Tea USA was ready to kick Lebron out because he was such a cancer. To me, that's just as damning as the whole free agency debacle. -
jpake1
I agree with some parts of that article. LBJ is his own man and he did some questionable things, but what 25yr old kid doesn't? Not an excuse for him, just saying this won't be his last and one should expect him to make mistakes like many of us younger people on this site do everyday. But at the same time, WE enabled this monster. We gave this guy such spotlight and so many hours of our lives discussing this young man, that it's almost mind numbing to think about. He bought into the hype about himself, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I don't agree with some things he's done, but that's perfectly fine, because I'm not him. There are lessons to be learned for everybody. Dan had a great comment in his letter. He said something along the lines of 'one wanting to go to Heaven without having to die'. At times, I think that very much sums up LBJ at this point. But at the same time, it sums up most of you guys on here. You sent him to Heaven without letting him die first. Everybody was so quick to call him The King, the best in the game, without ever letting him actually accomplish that. The honeymoon is over-- for LBJ and Cleveland. Maybe, just maybe, this was in the best interest of everybody. Maybe LeBron James needed to fall from grace as much as the world needed to see him crumble before their very eyes. All I know is this-- King James had died, and the man that rises from those ashes will earn everything he gets with his back against the wall. Sometimes, that's when the greatest are at their best. -
AcidBurn
a writer from boston complaining about three superstars signing together. what a load of shit. this article shows that gilbert is just a dumbass if he thought he had a chance to resign james. if he wouldnt talk to future coach's or talk to management then why in the world would you expect to resign that player. i thought he was smart??????????????? -
imex99
Good read...
Sent from my Sprint HTC EVO 4G using Tapatalk -
hoops23
AcidBurn;426241 wrote:a writer from boston complaining about three superstars signing together. what a load of shit. this article shows that gilbert is just a dumbass if he thought he had a chance to resign james. if he wouldnt talk to future coach's or talk to management then why in the world would you expect to resign that player. i thought he was smart???????????????
You're a dumbass LOL.
What Boston did is nothing like this. KG wasn't in his prime and Ray Allen does not compare to LBJ, nor does PP compare to Wade...
Definitely not the same scenario were 3 out of the top 10 players are on one team.
Also, I'm pretty sure Gilbert is smart... He's a billionaire. A lot of people felt LBJ was going to re-sign. -
KR1245
More on Lepussy:
It was after LeBron James signed with Miami Heat that he really burned the Cleveland Cavaliers
Updated: Saturday, July 17, 2010, 10:57 PM
Brian Windhorst, The Plain Dealer
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Many people described LeBron James going on national television to announce his divorce from the Cavaliers as pouring salt in a new wound.
That may be how many fans feel but the salt to the Cavs in the entire ordeal was not the TV show. That came in the ensuing 10 days when they saw the type of contract James signed, and his actions after he left Greenwich, Conn.
When James signed his last contract with the Cavs, as is well-known, he opted to take less than the maximum contract and settled for three years so that he would be a free agent this summer. Though that may seem like a long time, from a development standpoint in the NBA, it isn't.
The Cavs were "on the clock" as it were, especially during the past two seasons as it was obvious teams like the Knicks, Nets and Heat were clearing cap space to get ready for a shot at James. The team bet "short" on a lot of roster moves in an effort to keep the team as competitive as possible at that instant.
This included making trades for older players like Ben Wallace, Shaquille O'Neal and Antawn Jamison, all deals that James pushed for because he wanted to win a title as soon as possible.
During the past two summers when free agents the Cavs were interested in called James, he was non-committal about his future. He hoped players would come play with him but he was not on the front of the recruiting lines. He was also unwilling to give any sign he was going to be in Cleveland long term.
These tactics cost the Cavs several players, most notably Trevor Ariza last summer, who did not sign with the Cavs after not getting a commitment from James.
Like leaving in free agency, this is absolutely James' right as a premier player. Forcing his team to spend money and stay competitive in the short term is him looking out for his best interests. The Cavs gladly accepted the gamble and nearly every other team in the league would have accepted the same circumstances to have a player like James.
But then James signed a six-year contract with the Heat and instantly began recruiting other free agents. He called up former teammates Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jawad Williams.
Ilgauskas signed a free-agent contract with the Miami Heat on Saturday and will now play for a team other than the Cavaliers for the first time in his NBA career.
James also pitched friend Mike Miller. He waited at the airport for Derek Fisher's private jet to land so he could make a personal plea for him to come to Miami.
There's probably been a lot more that has not become public.
Again, this is of course his right and prerogative. A star player should want players to come to his team. And now that he's signed for six years, the free agents are comfortable in coming. It is no wonder Miller signed for five years.
What the Cavs want to know is why, despite doing everything James asked and attempting to trade for as many top players as they could, they were not afforded anywhere near the same opportunity as James is already giving a team he's been with for less than two weeks.
In his comments in ESPN's "Sunday Conversation" last weekend, James blamed Cavs owner Dan Gilbert for not considering the long term.
What the Cavs wanted to scream at the TV and have been seething about privately all during the Vegas Summer League is how could they when James himself had them shackled to the short term. -
2quik4u
From Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski to managing director Jerry Colangelo to NBA elders, the issue of James’ immaturity and downright disrespectfulness had become a consuming topic on the march to the Olympics. The course of history could’ve changed dramatically, because there was a real risk that James wouldn’t be brought to Beijing based on fears his monumental talents weren’t worth the daily grind of dealing with him.
When the mandate had been to gather these immense egos and get the NBA’s greatest players to fit into a program, no one had a more difficult time meshing into the framework than James. Other players made it a point to learn the names of staffers and modestly go about their business without barking orders and brash demands.
No one could stand James as a 19-year-old in the 2004 Athens Olympics, nor the 2006 World Championships. Officials feared James could become the instigator of everything they wanted to rid themselves for the ’08 Olympics. For as gifted as James was, Krzyzewski and Colangelo subscribed to a belief that with Kobe Bryant(notes) joining the national team in 2007, they could win a gold medal in ’08 with or without LeBron James. Behind the scenes, officials had taken to calling James’ inner circle, “The Enablers.” No one ever told him to grow up. No one ever challenged him. And yet, James was still a powerful pull for his teammates, and everyone had to agree they could no longer let his bossy and belittling act go unchecked. These weren’t the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Team USA wasn’t beholden to him.
After the NBA witnessed the behavior of James and his business manager Maverick Carter during the 2007 All-Star Weekend, the commissioner’s office sent word to USA Basketball the league wouldn’t force James on them for the Olympics. Before Team USA gathered for the 2007 Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas, an unmistakable message had been delivered to James through Nike: Unless you change, we’re serious about leaving you home.
“Legacies were on the line,” one league official said, “and they weren’t going to let LeBron [expletive] it up for everyone in China.”
Through Nike, James ultimately heeded the message and became more tolerable to coaches, teammates and staff. Team USA assigned Jason Kidd(notes) to babysit him at the Tournament of the Americas in 2007, to try to teach him something the Cavaliers never had a veteran to do: professionalism.
this cracks me up so much, lol all of you cav fans were bamboozled you all thought lebron was such a great guy lol.
where the fuck is SQ at i need to laugh at this bum looks like lebron was really the leader of the olympic team -
I Wear PantsWe all should have seen this coming I guess.
But we wanted him to be a Jordan for Cleveland so much that we ignored all the signs. -
3reppom
2kool4skool;426007 wrote:The most interesting part of the Yahoo! report is that it claims Tea USA was ready to kick Lebron out because he was such a cancer. To me, that's just as damning as the whole free agency debacle.
the two are not mutually exclusive. LeBron has always lived a very isolated and insular life since he came into the NBA. He lacks perspective on a lot of issues because of his level of maturity and the isolated lifestyle that effects him. and his "decision" is just the latest and largest example of it. -
enigmaax"There's probably been a lot more that has not become public."
Wow, that is great journalism. Sorry, can't take anything seriously in that entire article when you throw this in - clearly you are grasping at straws. -
2quik4u
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/print?id=17297
Way back in 2006, Mike Krzyzewski's coaching staff -- D'Antoni, Nate McMillan and Jim Boeheim -- were asked to vote on which players to cut first to get down to the 15-player traveling roster. They ended up cutting Shawn Marion, Adam Morrison and Luke Ridnour. But, as I reported in 2006, three out of four members of that staff voted to make James the first player cut. It has never been made public which coach voted which way, and Mike D'Antoni would not comment on the topic now.
And the whole thing ended up not mattering, as Team USA honcho Jerry Colangelo overruled the coaches anyway. -
AcidBurn
wishful thinking. gilbert didnt want it out that he hadnt talked to james so he could sell more seats. gilbert knew he wasnt signing. u might want to check the stats on the paul pierce/wade comparison. bosh was not a top ten player. bosh should be a top ten player now with james and wade. unless youre a bosh nutsucker its pretty apparent what his value was before the signing. he had to ride the coattails of either wade or james to get a deal.hoops23;426297 wrote:You're a dumbass LOL.
What Boston did is nothing like this. KG wasn't in his prime and Ray Allen does not compare to LBJ, nor does PP compare to Wade...
Definitely not the same scenario were 3 out of the top 10 players are on one team.
Also, I'm pretty sure Gilbert is smart... He's a billionaire. A lot of people felt LBJ was going to re-sign. -
hoops23
AcidBurn;426839 wrote:wishful thinking. gilbert didnt want it out that he hadnt talked to james so he could sell more seats. gilbert knew he wasnt signing. u might want to check the stats on the paul pierce/wade comparison. bosh was not a top ten player. bosh should be a top ten player now with james and wade. unless youre a bosh nutsucker its pretty apparent what his value was before the signing. he had to ride the coattails of either wade or james to get a deal.
You do realize that Bosh is considered the best PF in the game and routinely puts up 20/10 every season right?
And if you honestly think Pierce is better than Wade then I don't know what to tell you.
Also, Gilbert knew nothing about LeBron seeing as how LeBron never talked to him after the season ended. The season tix were sold before the season ended, so once again, you're ill-informed. -
AcidBurn
for the raptors yes? pierce was as good as wade 3 years ago, not now. so if your star player doesnt talk to you(the owner), you think u(gilbert) might get a clue as to what he was thinking. thats all im saying. if he put gilbert on ignore then gilbert should have known what was up.