So LeBron has said some stuff in GQ; he hated Cleveland growing up (shocking!), he spoke in third person (keep that up, buddy!) and he doesn't agree with Charles Barkley criticism (again, shocking!). The best part is that he hasn't even played a game for the Heat and he's already speculating about coming back to the Cavaliers ("If there was an opportunity for me to return and those fans welcome me back, that'd be a great story.").
This is why I'm critical of all the Never Retire LeBron's Number EVER talks. That's such a long time from now. Could I see a future in which LeBron returns to the Cavaliers? Maybe, it's not totally out of the question. It all depends on how good the Cavs are when LeBron reaches his ring chasing years (wait, maybe not the best example... they were a 60 win team and he went chasing rings in Miami. But you get my point). If a 34 year old LeBron signs on with a pretty solid Cavs team, I believe most fans would welcome him back. But maybe I'm weird.
With regards to him returning, LeBron says this about the fans: "Maybe the ones burning my jersey were never LeBron fans anyway." Here's the thing. I'm a Cavs fan. Yes, I like certain players more than others and yes, I even enjoy watching players for another team. Maybe LeBron doesn't get this, being a Bulls, Cowboys and Yankee fan, but most people (I assume) root for their home team regardless of the players. I certainly considered myself a LeBron fan during his time in Cleveland (all those Kobe vs LeBron arguments sure seem dumb now, huh?) but I was a Cavs fan first and a LBJ fan second. I don't think I'm odd in that respect. Team before players, right?
But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I became a Cavs fan because of Mark Price. Because man, that guy was awesome (via Stephien Rules).
I cannot wait for the season to start. I'm sick of LeBron and his drama. I care but I don't. I just want the games to start. I want to see how the Cavs do sans James (J.J. Hickson time!!!). Hell, I miss the NBA so much that today my friend and I discussed getting courtside seats to a preseason game (in Pittsburgh, no less). Preseason! Pittsburgh!
7 comments:
Preseason starts in like a month dude. Hang in there.
F* Lebron... Until he wins, ESPN can't repair his image for him. So he will be hated for a little while longer. The thing is you don't see guys like Mark Price anymore. 88'-89' season he shot 52% from the field 44% from 3's and 90% from FT line. Ohh yeah he also had 631 assists and 115 steals! I remember a buddy tried to convince a CAVS hater that Mark Price was an elite PG. Do those stats lie? Nope! Thats why I fell in love with the Cavs! Cause I watched great players like that who put the team in front of their ego's!
God I hate doing this, but I'm defending Lebron James on this. First, I'll cover what he did wrong: The Decision was the single dumbest thing in the history of sports. It was one part stupid, two parts ego and one part ESPN set up so their anchors could slam him for 3 months. His handlers should ALL be fired, end of story.
Talking in the 3rd person - just stop it!
Now onto my half hearted defense: he did nothing else wrong, that I can see.
Why is it that a team getting rid of a player is called a "buisness decision" but these players are supposed to treat it like its their religion. How dare he leave us! F*** you Gilbert, if the Lakers offered you Kobe and Gasol in a trade you'd kick LBJ out the door so fast his shorts would be on fire!
Lebron needs help (just like EVERY all time great) and the Cavs were utterly incapable of giving it. In the 7 years he was there the best players they could get were Mo Williams and Antoine Jamison, neither of whom would even start for any championship team in the last decade. Basketball is a team sport, more so than sports writers give it credit for, and without help you're not going to win.
People are down on him because he lost to the Celtics. He WAS the best player on the floor, but the next 4 were wearing green. No one could have won that series with that team.
I blame this trend on 2 things: Kobe and the big 3 in boston. Kobe showed that no matter how great a player is, they can't win by themselves. He begged to get out of LA and if it weren't for Jerry West (ex Laker) GIVING Pau Gasol over to the Lakers (which I still believe the league should have voided as competely unfair) then Kobe would have been traded or left via free agency. And the Big 3 in Boston showed that even stars WAY past their prime are able to win a Championship.
Lebron leaving is just a buisness decision, plain and simple. In the NBA you need rings to be considered even good, and thats a fact. Ewing, Starks, Wilkins, Malone, Stockton, Barkley. All GREAT PLAYERS, none of them considered top ten because their teams never won a ring.
And the old stars are all forgeting they had help. Jordan never won a thing without Pippen, Magic never won a thing without Kareem and Bird never won without McHale and friends, so just stop it. They were all also in massive citys with massive bank rolls, so stop acting like you would have stayed in Cleveland if you were in Lebrons shoes because you wouldn't.
And don't get me started on Barkley. The blow hard is such a 2 faced punk. Lebron left after 7 years via free agency, he left after 8 years by demanding a trade to a specific team, which gave them nothing in return, in the 2nd year of a 5 year deal. Then after that team failed to beat Jordan in the finals he demanded another trade to Houston where he slowly rotted away. Barkley's idea of hell is a room without a phone in it to ask him his opinion.
And personally I applaud him for staying in the Ohio area for all his stuff, I sure as hell wouldn't.
As a guy who went through the same thing when Shaq left Orlando, let me just say that time heals all wounds. You're rightfully pissed and no one has the right to take your time of mourning away, but people need to stop acting like he did something horrible. Kobe did something horrible in Colorado, and hes one of the most beloved players in the league.
Thats my 2 cents.
Your last sentence summed up LeBron's confusion perfectly: "Team before players, right?" Exactly! He was surprised that people burned his jersey because he thought local people loved him for him. Wrong. We don't know him. We cheered him because he was representing our city, region, state, etc. Then he rejected our city and in doing so rejected us. Many athletes fall for the idea that fans love them. No, we cheer and appreciate what they do to help the teams we root for that represent our city. That's all.
So we're totally going to be sitting courtside for the Cavs-Spurs preseason game in Pittsburgh. Should be fun. I'm excited.
and ya, team before players. I was a huge Albert Belle fan until he left for the White Sox (then he was just an asshole).
It's really the way these things work. You don't get to shit on the team and city in your going away special and then have everyone just follow you to Miami. That's not how this shit works.
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