NBA Free Agency (Page 4)

IMO, lebron is conceded.  it's wade's team, he and bosh announced already they would go to miami, why the holdout/press conference for james?  He's already putting himself on a pedastool over the other two.  Wade has a ring, Kobe five rings...i hope he blows out a knee mid season and they win a championship without him so it comes with an asterisk when he gets his ring.  Then I hope they never win again and he has his tainted ring...earned without his help.  can't believe all the butt-kissing the press gives him...what a joke.   Where will 7 time champion lance show up on sportscenter? nowhere.  and if i have to listen to him butcher the words "organization" and "asked (axed)" one more time...i hate him. hope kobe gets a couple more to rub it in

I was really thinking he was going to play for the Cowboys... oh well

I grew up outside of Cleveland. moved away for a while,  moved back and was there when Modell pulled the Browns, and still have a few friends there... Right now we should just give Cleveland to Canada and put those people out of their misery.  It's always listed as one of the top tortured sports towns. ANd to be broken up with on national TV like it's the bachlor.. wow.. and Yet


I give him a lot of credit for leaving, It's hard to have that type of pressure just because you are the local kid.   You always read about how athletes are all about the money and not winning,, Here is a guy leaving his hometown, knowing he will be hated, to take less money, in order to play with people that he trusts on and off the court to win multiple titles.  It's not bad to say good for LeBron if he wants to live in South Beach and play with some of his closest friends state tax free?

I remember when he came into the league and would get double teamed he would pass to the open person, what every player is taught to do, and he got killed in the media. Not enough heart to take the shot, He should ignore his team and beat both players, Crazy stuff.    I can see him being a player more like magic where his scoring is down, but his assist, rebounds are up, averaging a triple double for the season is a big possibility now

Edited by Gaarryy 2010-07-08 9:21 PM

Totally.  It's like when people butcher the words "conceited" and "pedestal" and I have to read it.

 

I say he'll win 2 or 3 championships in Miami and then return to Cleveland.

From the article:

"If he spurns [the Knicks], then suddenly we're looking at the most disastrous decade in the history of New York sports -- first the Layden Era, then the Isiah Era, then Walsh spending two years gutting the team so he could spend $100 million on a guy with a bad knee and a bad eye who hasn't played defense in six years. Do you realize the Knicks will have given away top-10 lottery picks in 2004, '06, '07, '09, '10 and, potentially, '11 and '12 without making the playoffs or landing one superstar? How is that even possible?"

Ok, I think I just puked in my mouth a little....

 could be..

Remember he is only ?26?  and is signing a five year deal.. most likely with an opt out in four years.. so worse case is that he can sign a true max deal again at age 31-32.

Same with Bosh even though he is older,, a 33 y/o big man that defends and rebounds, with a good touch around the rim will get another deal after this one.

Just hope Wade holds up for Miami..

 and this was there pitch to Lebron       

like a damsel in distress.. Come and save us, and we will love you forever.. or a year or two

Great open letter from the Cavs owner. Instead of being PC and wishing him the best:

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

"In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:

"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE" "

That's totally messed up!  I've never heard anything like that from an owner.  What's up with the font???  

I still can't believe he did that to Cleveland on Live TV.  Talk about a huge eff you!

 

there is absolutely no way this will ever happen. because 1)he's dead to cleveland, and 2) the bulls only had one jack haley, and the lakers only had one mark madsen; the heat will have 9.

 in the age of the bachelor type shows,    I saw it on ESPN, but one thing this process has shown is that they will run anything without verifying it. I did go to the cavs home page and saw it there.  While I do believe it's true, maybe they will claim they were hacked, after they let it out there for a while.

that is pretty wild that the owner wrote that.. I've said it before almost all the owners are sucessful business people in other areas. I'm sure they have pretty huge ego's also..

My biggest wonder is this, He knows James very well.. I wonder if Lebron is superstitious at all. It's been said many times by the locals that they are cursed.  Maybe he knows James well enough that when/if anything goes wrong in Miami, a bad injury, money issues, anything that he will bring this up again claiming the Cleveland curse left with him.  To us it doesn't seem rational, but some people really believe this, Maybe Bron is one of them?  Crazier things have happened.

 or more likely a rallying cry to the city to get them going

So who is going to be the Heat Rebounder?

x2   I wonder if they will win 55 games next season.  Unless they structure their contracts in such a way to get help then the team will have NO depth whatsoever.  There is no way Wade, Bosh and James' bodies hold up all season playing 42-45 minutes per game.  Last year he played 39 mpg and looked sluggish in the playoffs.  Wade falls in the 36-38 and is injury prone.  Those extra minutes add up quickly over 82 games and an extended playoff series. 

Just to put it in perspective, Rudy Gay showed up in a suit and tie to sign his contract and thank Memphis. He then took out a full page ad thanking the city and vowing to prove his worth. It was all very classy! 

they are gettting one in 3 years when they have money.

I am with you. I want to see them not get a ring, not because of injuries  or any bad voodoo/karma thing!

 And I think the reason I want to see it not work is because of the way it was done. If you want to join a team, just do it, Don't make it a three ring circus with all the media hype!  Just do it!

I think "The Decision" was a bad idea and did not do James any good at all.

Edited by jford2309 2010-07-09 9:55 AM

I agree. I think (although I’m admittedly biased) that it would have been different if he had either stayed in Cleveland or gone to NYC. To go through all this rigmarole and nonsense so that he could basically say, Dah-dah-dah!…(drumroll….) “I’m going to go move to South Beach and play with my best friend in a much less pressure-filled environment!” was kind of silly.

If he had announced that he was staying with his hometown team or going to the biggest stage in the NBA to resurrect the Knicks, that would have had more impact than basically announcing that he’s going to roll his Bentley down Ocean Drive and pick up cocktail waitresses.

Now, having said that, I don’t blame him at all for going to Miami. The pressure of trying to win in either Cleveland NYC would have been stifling. If he had come to NYC, he’d have about two years to win a championship before the media started calling him overrated and the fans started booing him every time he missed a jumper.

Seriously?  He guarantees a championship before the Heat?  Odds are the Heat win in 2011.  Thats certainly where I'd put my money as of last night.  I get that he wants people to still believe in the organization in Cleveland.  But throwing out unreasonable promises is childish at best.

I don't think the Heat will win in 2011. Their bench will likely be dreadful and while the big 3 may have played nice for a summer in 2008 in China, that is a far cry from the 82 game grind of the NBA season. I think they will regularly contend and may win one or two after a couple of MLE's and draft picks added.

I still think the Lakers are the favorites.

LeBron >> Artest
Wade < Kobe
Bosh < Gasol
Scrub #1 <<<< Bynum
Scrub #2 <<<< Odom

Party on South Beach!!!!   Now we just have to have Pat Riley take over as coach.   Maybenot at first, but if theydo not win 80% of games in 1st half of season, he steps in no question.  

Yes, handled poorly if you are anywhere but South Florida.     Heat were savy in keeping 30% of tyhe seating out of hands of season ticket holders.   More people will get to go to games and they will make more $$$$.    I am ok with this.  

Good day to be heat fan.   Heck, bring Shaq back for anniversary tour @ this point.   

Fixed that for ya.