The Lebron-athon

[FireWoman]

As a life long Cleveland Fan.. I have to say im over all this now. I knew it was coming for a long time.. and no one would agree.

I have lived here 37 years, and my heart will ALWAYS belong to this city and its sports teams.. but I have to say shame on the Cavs for thinking that "King James" would be the one and only to lead us to that promised land. Basketball is a team sport, its not about one man. You need to build the team, not just the player. We dropped the ball, pun intended.

This is just another in a long line of Cleveland sport disappointments: The Fumble, The Drive, Jose Mesa, Rocky Colavito, Modell and I could go on... but hell if even the Red Sox can win a world series after more than 86 years Cleveland still has a bit of time to pull it out.

A friend of mine said the other day, we should have listed to Beyonce, "if you liked it you shoulda put a ring on it..."

[gracie]

Maybe so, Firegirl, but to go on national tv to make a joke of a city and state that made you 'the king' is pretty low. Even for an egocentric athlete.

[FireWoman]

Maybe so, Firegirl, but to go on national tv to make a joke of a city and state that made you 'the king' is pretty low. Even for an egocentric athlete.

Ohh I agree, I have never been a LeBron fan much to the dismay of about everyone I know. Had he made the choice to stay here and prove he really did mature, it would have gone a long way to changing my views on him.

My only hope... he takes his bat-poo crazy mother with him.

[MsDiva2007]

maybe I was watching a different broadcast but I did not see him do anything but excercise his given right as a free agent to go someplace he had a chance to win. The man was willing to leave alot of cash on the table to do so.Cleveland had 7 years to build a team around Lebron. They chose to sit back and just believe being a hometown boy was enough to keep him around. I am shocked by the behavior of the Ownership and those fans who forget where the city and the team was prior to Lebron, nowhere.

Lebron has a right to be happy and chose where he wants to play. I am not sure why Dan Gilbert felt the need to vent on Lebron calling him a slacker in one breathe and PO'd in the next because he chose to excercise his right to free agency? How mature was that? Not to mention his comic book font he used. I guess it fit his maturity level though.

[remotecontrol]

Most likely they couldn't get better players around LeBron because the high quality, high profile ones would not be his teammate. Only the ones he grew up with playing AAU were willing to.

JMO, but LeBron gave up against Boston based on the rumor about is teammate. And LBJ probably tried to put some demands on the owner and coach which they couldn't / wouldn't follow. So he tanked the playoffs in an "I'll show them manner" to make sure Gilbert didn't get a ring. Selfish and immature.

And since he's planned this for at least 2 years, he didn't care if he didn't get himself a ring in Cleveland this year because he knew what he was going to do and would have years to try for one in whichever city he ended up in with Wade & Bosh.

[chitex3]

Maybe so, Firegirl, but to go on national tv to make a joke of a city and state that made you 'the king' is pretty low. Even for an egocentric athlete.

Where was the joke? Seriously, I never heard him insult anyone. I heard him thank the fans, so was it something he didn't do. Talk about joke, the owner made an a$$ of himself.

[MrMet]

maybe I was watching a different broadcast but I did not see him do anything but excercise his given right as a free agent to go someplace he had a chance to win. The man was willing to leave alot of cash on the table to do so.Cleveland had 7 years to build a team around Lebron. They chose to sit back and just believe being a hometown boy was enough to keep him around. I am shocked by the behavior of the Ownership and those fans who forget where the city and the team was prior to Lebron, nowhere.

Lebron has a right to be happy and chose where he wants to play. I am not sure why Dan Gilbert felt the need to vent on Lebron calling him a slacker in one breathe and PO'd in the next because he chose to excercise his right to free agency? How mature was that? Not to mention his comic book font he used. I guess it fit his maturity level though.

To be fair, I think that what James did was more that simply exercising his right as a free agent. Many players have exercised that freedom, and not faced the criticism that James is getting. James is getting the criticism for a couple of reasons -- first, instead of simply announcing his choice as most players do, he took it to a national TV special. Second, he did not give the teams losing out (ESPECIALLY the Cavs) the courtesey of hearing the news first.

It's common practice in sports to give that courtesey call. When high school players are recruited, they typically will reach out to schools they do not choose to let them know the decision privately. Pro-athletes in free agency usually do the same. LeBron admitted in the show that he did not. He said that the only team at the time he announced his decision that knew the decision was the Heat. It was inconsiderate to a team, and to a fanbase, that had invested quite a bit in him. He had every right and every reason to leave. But the team deserved the courtesey of finding out directly from LeBron, and not from an ESPN special.

Further, I don't think it is either accurate or fair to claim the Cavaliers and the city of Cleveland did nothing to invest in a championship in the 7 years he was with the team. They had the best record in the NBA two seasons in a row. That does not come from LeBron alone. The team made quite a few moves and acquisitions to build a talented team around him. It didn't get them a championship, and that is what really matters. But they were far from complacent figuring they had LeBron and home town loyalty, and nothing else was needed. In addition to that, Dan Gilbert gave LeBron huge leeway in calling the shots for the team. There were players traded because LeBron asked for it, such as Drew Gooden. There were people hired to the front office (including buddies of his) because LeBron asked for it. Heck, I've read the Cavs even built a new practice facility that was more conveninent to Akron to make things easier on LeBron. It's just not accurate to pretend that poor little LeBron was stuck with a team that did not build upon his greatness, so he was forced to seek greener pastures where he could finally be appreciated. In fact, its going to be interesting to see whether or not he can feel that same level of appreciation now that he's a new tenant in Wade's house.

[prhoshay]

I think I'm more interested in what moving to Miami will do to his family life. That place is dangerous...not to mention that he is only 25 years old. Good luck on the mother of his children getting him to marry her now.

I wish him nothing but luck. He fulfilled his contract. I don't blame him for seeking what he thinks are greener pastures. I can't help but think of the old saying "Be careful of what you wish for. You just might get it." His success won't affect me one way or the other.

[chitex3]

Personally, I have seen players given notice 24 hrs in advance they were being traded, and the news didn't come from the owners, who welcomed them with open arms, it came from agents. I have a neighbor on The Texans, last year, who had to report to a new training camp in less than 24 hours.

Yes, LeBron probably knew well inadvance what he was going to do, but he was also ripped apart by this owner during the playoffs. They both played a tit for tat game, which on both parts were inmature, but in the end he did what he felt was right for him, his way.

[MrMet]

Personally, I have seen players given notice 24 hrs in advance they were being traded, and the news didn't come from the owners, who welcomed them with open arms, it came from agents. I have a neighbor on The Texans, last year, who had to report to a new training camp in less than 24 hours.

Yes, LeBron probably knew well inadvance what he was going to do, but he was also ripped apart by this owner during the playoffs. They both played a tit for tat game, which on both parts were inmature, but in the end he did what he felt was right for him, his way.

You make a valid argument with regards to the notice players are given over a trade. Of course, when a player reaches the kind of star status that LeBron's talents have achieved for him, the player enjoys protections such as no-trade clauses in a contract which shields him from such surprises. Because the level of treatment is raised, I think its reasonable to assume t he level of respect in return should also be raised.

I'm aware of some strong comments that Dan Gilbert made in the couple of days after "The Decision" with regards to LeBron quitting during the playoffs. But I'm not aware of anything he said or did to rip LeBron during the playoffs. Could you elaborate?

Lastly, I guess that one could argue that in the letter he wrote, and interviews he's given, Dan Gilbert has done what he fet was right, his way. Do you believe Gilbert was wrong in writing and releasing the letter? If so, it seems to me that "his way" and "the right thing" are not necessarily always the same.