Comments on: LeBron James decides to become the ultimate facilitator

By: Mal

Mal — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:26:15 +0000

Ok JJ i see u did mention the cavs failures. but being from chicago, i remember pippen and rodman. but i also remember simpkins, king, purdue, blount, haley, wenington, levingston, scott williams. So actually the MJ and pippen had to overcome the sometimes tragic play of their own teammates. hell even rodman didnt do favors getting suspended for kicking a cameraman and headbutting refs.

By: Mal

Mal — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:37:21 +0000

Jordan did not have superstars. Pippen had to develop under jordan talents. He even credits MJ with helping him become a great player. Nobody else counts. MJ didnt call barkley, magic, bird, ewing and plot to win, he sought to destroy them. Now, the bulls had very skilled support players and that took years to develop. so funny you mention the bulls failures and not mention the cavs. everyone loses at some point. jordan didnt play well everytime. neither did lebron. However MJ went down swinging. please stop giving lebron an excuse for quitting on his team. its not so much that he left cleveland. (hell anyone would). but to quit and then act as if he just made that decision was classless. you are not that blind to not see his pathetic play vs the celtics. im a bulls fan and can see that. lets remember, they had the best record two years in a row (cavs). its not like they were the wizards with lebron. but lebron didnt make his teammates better. instead he played around with pre-game crap and arrogance and serious teams focused on winning. and look what happened. He got millions to do a job and he failed. thats the truth plain and simple. so no lebron will not be in the same class as mj or kobe.

By: Mal

Mal — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:23:21 +0000

First off, yes Mike did help even Rodman increase his level of play. Rodman’s first triple double came in chicago. I wont even respond to the steve kerr statement. Wonderful shooter but hardly a stud. Nice try at discrediting what I said but, sorry, Mike won three before rodman and kerr were even there. Stick to something you know about, like tennis or gymnastics. Who the hell said mike did it alone? Are you paying attention? I said he made everyone raise their game. Lebron might be your superstar, but make no mistake, he will not be mentioned with the likes of MJ (or hell, even Kobe).

By: R8RBOB

R8RBOB — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:18:04 +0000

For the record, I think the big loser in the LeBron taking his talents to South Beach is his girlfriend. Savannah might want to give a call to the ex-Mrs. Shaquille O’Neal and the ex-Mrs. Dwyane Wade about living in Miami.
Ric Flair said it best: You want to be the man, you got BEAT THE MAN.
LeBron no longer wants to be THE MAN. He is still the talented LeBron James that we all watched for the last seven years but he does not want to be Jordan. The crown is too heavy for his head.

By: MJ played all 5 positions at once

MJ played all 5 positions at once — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:59:58 +0000

So Jordans greatness made Rodman a defensive force and a rebound machine??? I don’t think so buddy. Rodman was a stud. I can see him making Pippen better, but not Rodman, or even Kerr. Kerr was a lights out shooter. Jordan could not do it alone. He had help. He had the best “support” players in the game.
Lebron will make all three players better. Period. Lebron gets to be the setup man. Offence will run through him and he will decide what he wants to do. Make no mistake, this is his team and he is the engine that will drive this machine.

By: Mal

Mal — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:35:47 +0000

One more point to defend Pippen. Yes we was a jerk for one moment and he looked bad for refusing to play ONCE. I’m sure we in chicago can overlook that because he made amends and played hard. afterwards. Everyone can make one mistake, luckily we still won that game haha. Pippen was instrumental in the next three championships we got afterward so we can for sure overlook his one mistake. He didnt just leave town and give up. I’m more upset D-wade didnt come here than the Queen. That MJ statue scared Lebron off.

By: Mal

Mal — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:18:20 +0000

Being from Chicago, I cant stand the way some people are misrepresenting the Jordan era Bulls. Let’s get the facts straight. Jordan was the ONLY star on the team for many years. His true greatness enabled his teammates to DEVELOP into high caliber support players and a great wingman in Scottie Pippen. That means Jordan made everyone around him better and into champions. Lebron simply didnt have the heart, drive, patience, or ability to do the same. The Bulls grew together as a team. Lebron is indeed taking the easy way out. Queen Lebron’s ego took an hour to announce he was going to play second fiddle to D-Wade. That’s what I dont respect about the guy. I didn’t think in the end he would fit in Chicago, but I would’ve respected him to go to a team a strap in on his back like any other real superstar has done. Those three stooges in Miami planned this move years ago, and that is the telling of all of their abilities. Well, at least Wade had one ring beforehand. Those other two clowns are masking the fact they simply are not champions at heart.

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:54:58 +0000

I hope when Miami plays in Cleveland that LeBron is booed big time and is harrassed by the fans. Serves the jerk right.

By: Tony

Tony — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:44:35 +0000

Who takes the last shot? You now have 3 options, dont forget Bosh! Teams can choose there death!

By: Derrick

Derrick — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 09:52:33 +0000

When they talk about lower tax rate. They are talking about local and state personal income tax not sales tax. Florida has no state income tax.

By: Sniper rifle

Sniper rifle — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:33:03 +0000

Funny you use the double-barrel shotgun analogy…it has poor accuracy.

By: terry

terry — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:22:43 +0000

Of the 12 players on the Bulls team in 1998 every one of them – with the exception of MJ – and EVERY coach came to Chicago because of Jerry Krause.
On the plane back from Utah after winning #6 in 1998 MJ told Krause he was through but asked him to keep it quiet. Krause said he would and was good to his word even though MJ kept it a secret to give the players’ association more leverage in the strike that started not long after that and lasted into the next season – AFTER the new contract was signed MJ made the announcement.
PJ – he made no secret of the fact that he was through – remember a few days after the parade when he got on his brand new motorcycle and took off?
So that leaves Pippen. Pippen has made no secret of the fact that he is sick of Krause. Pippen also wants a super contract. Krause knows that the team will have to be rebuilt from the ground up. Krause knows that Pippen is damaged goods – remember his back trouble among other things – and is NOT worth that contract. Rebuilding around Pippen makes no sense at all.
So what does he do? He does a max contract sign and trade for Pippen and trades him. Did Pippen ever win another? No. And don’t forget that Krause engineered trades for some of the others such as Longley and Kerr.
Because of the farcical spectacle that EVERYONE made of ‘the decision’ I have lost some respect for James, but I am afraid that this could turn out to be quite a move because I think that James realizes that he is NOT the MAN. Wade is. Remember that between them there are 21 seasons and ONE ring – Wade’s. He won it because he took over the series in 2006 when the Mavs were whipping butt on the Heat. Sam Smith made the point not long ago that Wade didn’t want to play WITH James, he wanted to BEAT James. James’ coming to Wade’s neighborhood to me shows that he realizes that Wade is alpha-dog here.

By: Norbert R

Norbert R — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:57:07 +0000

The fact is that Miami questionably has the best three player combination in the universe and it’s possible that they could or should win a championship or for that matter many championships; but there’re no guarranties. Case in point; for many years the US Dream Teams had approximately six or seven of the worlds greatest players with a pretty good supporting cast and couldn’t win a international gold medal. Now imagine this and it’s going to take a big imagination, the Celtics winning the East…lol; obviously you guessed that I’m a Celtic fan. But remember them years the Rockets, Villanova, the Marlins, US Hockey Team, Casias Clay, etc. all won championships when they didn’t have a chance based on all us experts? Then there are injuries.
Howard Cosell: “I got to tell it how it isss”.

By: #1bullsfan

#1bullsfan — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:23:55 +0000

Not to mention GM Gilbert didn’t…not wouldn’t…send D-West packing. Lebron stated he went to South Beach because it’s all about family. Read between the lines Cleveland. There’s truth to the rumor regarding Lebron’s mother and Delonte West. Shame on you Dan Gilbert!

By: Bob D.

Bob D. — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:41:55 +0000

MaY – AyE to what you Say. Good stuff.

By: Bob D.

Bob D. — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:25:00 +0000

No superstar has won a basketball championship by himself, including Jordan. The writer continually mentions Pippen, yet makes such a ridulous statement. There have been superstars that, despite being some of the best ever, either never won a championship or won one late in their career when they were no longer the ‘player’. Charles Barkley and Oscar Robertson immediately come to mind. Sometimes even two great players can’t get it done; Karl Malone and John Stockton.
I believe many NBA fans view this new triumvirate of super-talent the same way they would a hand-picked group of the very best playground ballplayers going against those not so blessed. The Lakers are much despised outside of LA for this very reason. Sort of a stacked deck; definitely not as competitive if otherwise. Then again, many Americans have no real sense of competition going hand-in-hand with sportsmanship. The appalling blogs, comments etc. that they compose are hateful and simply stupid.
As a bball fan I will be behind teams like the Suns, Jazz, Wizards, and now Cleveland. One victory over the Heat or Lakers is much sweeter than anything those two superpowers might do. HEY, maybe we should expect the Heat to win every game. After all, they are loaded (and full of it).

By: MaY

MaY — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:10:58 +0000

On previous post…please pardon the poor spelling…my mind was working clear, but my hands were not steady, just quick! :~)

By: MaY

MaY — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:05:36 +0000

Good comments all…however, I pose a few questions…how many GREAT basketball players were there before MJ? Lots. How many played together on the same team? Lots. Pick you GREAT and tell me how many other players who are in or will end up in the Hall of Fame plyaed with them on Championship teams? Lots. Now, since MJ is the greatest player ever, why did he not win a Championship w/o Pippen or Phil? Why did Kobe lose with Shaq and also win with Shaq? Why did Russell win so many championships? Why are so many of his teammates in the HoF? Frankly, it realy does take teams, with some great, some really good all-star caliber players to win a championship, period. Was Russel a better indicidual basketball player than Chamberlain? Not according to Russel and the NBA record books. Russell played with more HoF players than anyone on one team ever, and he has more championships…maybe that’s no coiecedence. LeBron was free to make a choice and he made it…Let me see…Kareem plyed for more than 1 team, as did Chamberlain, MJ, Pippen, etc. Greatness is, I believe decided by your accomplishments over your career, not at age 25. For those who say if the Heat win 3 or 4 or 5 Championshiops it won’t mean anyting because they are now guaranteed to win…please revisit some basketball history and the comments of some great players that never won one. It matters! And its never guaranteed! You have to do it on the court. Is this threesome significantly better than MJ, Pippen and Rodman/Grant? How bout Magic, Kareem, and Worthy? How bout Bird, Parrish/Walton and McHale? How bout Shaq, Kobe & Horry (or whoever)? How bout KG, Paul and Ray? How bout Russell, Cousy and Nelson? Chamberlain, Greer, and Cunnignham? Pick your own trio, but understand, the competitive balance of the NBA is NOT destroyed! The Heat are NOT guaranteed anything! Much less a Championship! They still have to earn it on the court against other great players on all the other teams…some teams will always have more top-notch talent that others and the best team will win. MJ didn’t win championships because he had the worst team, he won because he had the best team, period. If he could have done it with the worst team (of the two playing in the championship), he would have won a championship w/o the aforementioned players and so would Russell or Kobe or any other player anyone thinks is a GREAT player. Guess what…no player has won a championship w/o having a great team, period! LeBron may not be considered the greatest player ever, but is Kobe? Shaq? Kareem? Magic? Bird? Perhaps, just perhaps, MJ is considered the greatest player by a lot of people because, individually, his skill set and flare for the dramatic earned him that title over the course of his entire career. Would you still consider him the greatest after his first 7 years? He accomplished quite a bit during that time, and never reached the finals or won an MVP! Let’s wait and see how this NEW thing in Miami plays out and then judge what they ultimately do before we proclaim that LeBron is Wade’s flunbky side-kick just yet or that LeBron can never be considered the best basektball player because he chose to play with his friends who are also great ball palyers. Great ball players choose to play together all over the NBA, now and in the past. They have more freedom of choice now, but does that truly make less great basketball players? Is Kobe better than MJ because he stayed with one team? Is he less great than Magic because he won 3 rings with Shaq? Just food for thought.

By: luffy

luffy — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:04:21 +0000

This move just shows that LBJ wants a ring badly and at the same time doesn’t believe and himself and the Cavs management… Understand both sides, just hope this is the right move for Baby James, being w/King Dwyane and Queen Chris…
Chicago – Rose, Korver, Deng, Boozer, Noah, Pargo, Gibson, Miller
2011 East Finals, Chicago vs. Boston, Boston wins in 7 games…
2011 Finals, LA vs. Boston, LA wins in 6 games…
2012 East Fianls, Chicago vs. Orlando/Miami, Chicago in 7 games…
2012 Finals, LA vs. Chicago, LA wins in 7 games…
2013 East Finals, Chicago/Orlando vs. Miami, Miami in 6 games…
2013 Finals, OKC vs. Miami, ?????????…..

By: MaY

MaY — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:59:20 +0000

By: virginia beach gal

virginia beach gal — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:19:21 +0000

I think LeBron James and his whole management team should be ashamed of the way they handled this whole “DECISION”. A call should have been made first of all to the Cavs to let them know he was not returning. He then should have publicly thanked all of his Cleveland fans for their support. The backlash would not have been nearly as bad. His management team needs an overhaul and he needs to learn some humility, after all, he is just a man. I was a fan but no longer.

By: Cleareye

Cleareye — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:58:01 +0000

Byron Scott now has the best job in the NBA. He is employed by an owner who will spend anything to beat Miami. Everyone should be careful of their free agents. Anyone could bolt now to create another super team. Cleveland is now very dangerous.

By: Gift from the bbal GODS

Gift from the bbal GODS — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:38:19 +0000

This is just the next generation of basketball. And there is nothing wrong with what they did. It’s the goal to stack a team and Riley behind it all is the best part. The Lakers will need to play their best basketball to hold on to the championship.

By: George

George — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:21:47 +0000

After hearing what the Cleveland coach said, and listening to all of the Cleveland fans whine, now reading all of this bad mouthing, I clearly understand why Cleveland is ranked as the most miserable place in America to live. Those people are obnoxious. No wonder that players don’t want to go there………..and Lebron is thrilled to get away. He is in a much better place.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:41:09 +0000

What was the upshot to stay in Cleveland? For him to become Barry Sanders? Be the best player on a team that never won a title? To ALWAYS know the supporting cast wasn’t coming? This is a guy who stepped right out of high school and into the starting lineup and was expected to save Cleveland from being the dregs of the NBA alongside the Clippers. Even Kobe didn’t step onto the court in LA and become “the Man.” Jordan didn’t even win it on his own until he got the other guys who could carry a team on their own. And who’s Barkley to talk? Not like he stayed with the 76ers his whole career!

By: vinnie

vinnie — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:35:57 +0000

REAL ENJOYMENT WATCHING THE BEST PALYERS ONE 1 TEAM . ARE YOU KIDDING ME ??? WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE ??? NO BALANCE WHATSOEVER . LEBRON IS A EGOMANIAC THAT COULD NOT TOUGH IT OUT IN CLEVELAND .DAN GILBERT OF THE CAVS I APPLAUD YOU . YOU GAVE LEBRON EVERYTHING AND MORE AND THIS RAT STABBED YOU IN THE BACK AND THE FANS OF CLEVELAND .I SAY WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND LEBRON !!!!!!

By: Jerome

Jerome — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:30:40 +0000

I don’t think any reasonable person can blame James for wanting to play with great players. But considering the impact of James departure from the Cavs – it was in the way it was done that created the reactions of both the fans and managment of the Cavs.

By: HeHateMe

HeHateMe — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:19:07 +0000

People need to stop the hate. This will go down as the best team of all time. Dynasty for the next 5 seasons. Enjoy you fools, this is a gift from the basketball gods.

By: Wade's World

Wade's World — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:18:24 +0000

When Shaq joined Miami he knew that he was going to be a Role player and he handled it with dignity. I remember him saying “This is Dwyane’s team”. Anyone hear Dwyane giving up the team to Lebron? It’s not going to happen. What Lebron decided last night was to win championships (and he will). But Dwyane will be enshrined as the man who never abandoned his team and won it all several times. You go Dwyane!

By: Disappointed in NY

Disappointed in NY — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:56:55 +0000

Like many I was initially disappointed in James. I felt like he took the easy path to glory. Today, I’m feeling he was thinking bigger then basketball. He’s thinking about his family. Who wouldn’t want to live in a Mansion on Miami beach. Step outside of basketball… would you want your family in Penthouse in NY, Suburbs of Cleveland or beach front property in Miami. Good luck Lebron, smile as you stand beside Wade holding the trophy and remember your place as Role Player.