It's NOT that LeBron left Cleveland, it's HOW he did it...

...selfish, arrogant d**k. Seek attention much Mr. I'll Never Win a Title Even in Miami?

are you that worried?

I have read everyone's take and I agree that lebron of course has the right to change teams. That being said my friend and I were just talking about the way it went down. JoeyBee is right. It feels dirty and self indulgent. It isn't good for the NBA. What made Jordan so special is that he stuck it out. The teams were homegrown and he drove them to victory. Even Kobe did that. Jerry West of old didn't win a championship until the end of his career. It is what makes legacies.

One makes his reputation by going through the hard times.

It is what separates a GW Bush from Barack Obama. It is why most people look at people of the "lucky sperm" club(forbes, bush, etc.) with such disdain when they "lecture us" on capitalism.

Fans like to see a couple of things-loyalty, hard work and dedication. cleveland tried to assemble a team around Lebron and brought in players like Shaq and Jamison to get them over the top. They spent money. Their guard play just wasn't good enough.

My friend said it best. Lebron will never be remembered like Jordan.

It just isn't good for the NBA to assemble teams like this. Makes you feel like it's Steinbrenner.

Wow, you have a way more inflated opinion of him than I do. What about his multiple retirements, his ridiculous baseball career, his takeover of the refs, his horrible records as an owner/manager, his defection to Washington, and his playing, in all seriousness, while his retired jersey was hanging in the rafters?

If you want sportsmanship and loyalty, look no farther than Joe Dumars.

Jordan retired because he was avoiding a gambling problem.

The feeling of betrayal is amazing. It's not just a sports issue. Even though I myself am not a sports fan, I understand that sports are an important part of the fabric of NE Ohio. Rabid sports fans are the norm here. And successful sports teams DO bring a certain amount of prestige to a city. And that prestige can translate into jobs and a boost to a local economy. The Cavs are just as important to the soul of Cleveland as the Cleveland Orchestra, The CMA or even Cleveland Playhouse. And, I think everyone, the nation over, knows that Cleveland's rabid fans are great and they deserve a championship in some sport.
NE Ohio had a lot of pride invested in Lebron. Words cannot really adequately describe it. Not simply because he played for the Cavs, but because he was a local boy living out his childhood dream playing for his favorite team! Leaving Cleveland is a slap in the face to his fans. Sports are entertainment. And you should never treat your fans badly. The NBA exists because of its fans. Will he have the adoration and local pride that he instilled here? I seriously doubt it. And he already has more money than the Catholic Church. Foolish move. He showed he is not deserving of the title "King" Just selfish.

...hated by the fans who were loyal to him to a fault

And that is no easy feat in NE Ohio.

Favre didn't create a media circus to rub Green Bay's nose in it like LeBron, but he did finagle his way to Green Bay's most hated rival just to stick it to the general manager. Really all he was doing was turning against his GB fans.

When Jordan (finally) retired, his non-hardcore basketball fans did, too, and the NBA hasn't recovered. Instead, they've tried to force players like LeBron and Yao Ming into Jordan's role with big money, big media hype and even bigger expectations. LeBron has shown he has superstar potential, for sure. But he's still a couple of years away from being the super-duper superstar that Jordan was.
(link)

My instincts were right on the money--a couple of years later, James is STILL a potential superstar. He's become a very good player, but not a great one, and definitely not a franchise-maker. That's why I think he chose Miami--instead of going where he'd be expected to be a one-man team, he can win and get paid if he can figure out to co-exist with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh (co-existing was something Shaq and Kobe couldn't do).

Nonetheless, the TV special was horrid idea--not in the best interest of the game, and a majorly crappy way to say goodbye to the city were he both played and lived.

:headbang:
rocktivity

He made himself larger than the game. That is no way to promote a sport. He also changed the way basketball was called (the fact that he never technically fouled out of a game speaks for itself), and his will he/won't he retirement antics were a farce and a slap in the face to sportsmanship.

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson made the NBA fun. Michael Jordan was a single-man wrecking ball. The league hasn't recovered from HIM, but it's not because of his skills, it's because the sixth man in every game he played was his ego.

To get a measure of who Jordan really is as a person, read his insane, megalamaniacal speech.

~"This wasn’t a Hall of Fame induction speech, but a bully tripping nerds with lunch trays in the school cafeteria. He had a responsibility to his standing in history, to players past and present, and he let everyone down. This was a night to leave behind the petty grievances and past slights – real and imagined. This was a night to be gracious, to be generous with praise and credit.

“M.J. was introduced as the greatest player ever and he’s still standing there trying to settle scores,” one Hall of Famer said privately later." ~




http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-jordanhall091209

Michael Jordan harmed the game more than any player, past or present, and LeBron is the sorry stepchild of that.

I can make the argument that the style of basketball that the Pistons played damaged the game by bringing roughhousing and cheap shots into the game. If the shit that Lambeer did was ever done on the playground he would have had his ass kicked immediately. He ran behind the referees. chickenshit

though I think I probably prefer a more defensive style of play than you do. Though the Pistons got called for their fouls, which is more than Jordan ever did!!!

However, after his playing days, Laimbeer devoted a lot of time and effort to the Detroit Shock. He turned out to be a great coach, and a supporter of women's basketball. He supposedly became interested in the women's game after coaching his daughters. He and Mahorn helped bring a lot more titles to Detroit (don't get me started on how Bill Davidson's jerk widow summarily sold them off, so that I no longer have a WNBA team to root for).

I don't see Jordan doing anything like that.

and was a Knick fan who had the original "Defense" chant. There is a difference between good defense and cheap shots. When I played the black guys hated when I guarded them, They used to say to me that I was the biggest pain in the ass. I was quick enough in the half court game and I would body them. I couldn't play them in a full court game.

Just because Lambeer did something for women's basketball doesn't excuse him for the crappy and cheap way he played the game. He was a shit. Dumars on the other hand was great.

but he did more for the game post-basketball than Jordan ever did or will. I wish a team would give him (Laimbeer) a shot at coaching. I think he'd do well. I'll also add that if he'd been on your team, you'd have liked him better. He was no dirtier than the Mailman. Once Isiah had to get more than 40 stitches after a run in with him.

Jordan's dirty play was much more insidious. I'll always hate him.

if he was on my team. Complete bullshit. Lambeer was a punk. Malone was not a punk. Lambeer did his shit repeatedly and then hid behind the referees. He was a pussy. Like I said if you played basketball in the playground he would have had his ass kicked. There is an unwritten rule in the street. This guy was all cheap shots. he is the guy who would submarine you.

which is not saying much!!!!

I don't know if you played much basketball but I played around 2,000 games with a women who played in the first women's pro league. She started for the New Orleans franchise and her name was sandra Smallwood. She was a contemporary of Ann Meyers. If you played a lot there is no comparison on who was dirtier. malone didn't try to deliberately try to hurt you.

Ever see that picture (I think it's him) where he's kicking the guy in the teeth?

but that is no justification for the actions of Lambeer. If you played against someone in the playground who played like Lambeer fights would break out. What made Lambeer so bad is he would hide Lehind the refs. none of the other players you mentioned did that. I only wish Willis Reed played lambeer because there would have been a fight and Lambeer would have been a bloody mess.

He isn't a piece of property. He's a human being. He doesn't have to apologize for doing what he wants to do.

to shit on them as he left.

Outside of all the hype (and most of that was generated by ESPN) what did he do?

...it was largely his doing, yeah ESPN played along like he knew they would. Miami isn't a large enough city for that jackass' ego.

a one-hour special on ESPN?! fuckin egomaniac. and i'd say the same damn thing if it was kobe pulling this shit. people who know lebron say that he's changed, and not in a positive way.

...regardless of whether or not LeBron's handlers were involved. I don't see how it's egomaniacal on LeBron's part.

It's not like ESPN was going to ignore his announcement.

He was treate like god here. And not just because he played basketball. It was because he came from here. He was a local kid in whom the hopes and sports dreams of a whole geographical region rested. And he loved te adoration. Was it wrong for the fans to believe that he would care about his hometown in reurn? If Lebron hadn't grown up in Cavs country, he would be forgiven. But he was one of us. And that makes the sting worse. Much worse.

If Lebron hadn't grown up in Cavs country, he would be forgiven. But he was one of us.

And under those circumstances, he should have had enough consideration for Cleveland's feelings to find a more graceful, less hurtful way to say goodbye. I don't hold it against him that he left. I hold it against him that he left in a way that suggests he placed no value on how his hometown felt about him.

:(
rocktivity

Like most of the posts above, it was the arrogance and contempt that he displayed that will be the lasting memory of this. He could have made the move with some dignity, but he really twisted the knife in Cleveland's back. No excuse. He's just another egomaniac.

ESPN, Jim Gray, and James all made themselves look like total idiots. ESPN for showing "the decision", Gray for one of the crappiest interviews in history, and James for being a HUGE egomaniac.
But, one wonders how many people will watch the broadcast when Miami visits Cleveland? It draws attention, and ratings, to the NBA even from a relative non fan like me. So I suppose that's good for the NBA when it comes to being a money making machine.