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Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

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  • Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

    I know it has been almost a week ago, but I thought this article was the best one I have read on the whole affair. Some insight into what Ferry and Mike brown wanted, but the owner didn't give

    http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...decision070910

    Easy come, easy go for King James

    By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
    Jul 9, 11:20 am EDT

    They ended up with that split-screen of the King’s jersey burned live on his infomercial, as this sad, lost robot sat in a leafy suburban gymnasium with children as props and the world watching, those empty eyes masking a lost, dazed LeBron James(notes). This was the champagne shower for the Championship of Me, an exercise in self-aggrandizement and self-loathing that will have far-reaching implications for the NBA and James. What a spectacle, what a train wreck.

    As the worst idea in the history of marketing unfolded, James looked trapped somewhere between despondence and defiance. His bumbling buddy Maverick Carter had walked him into the public execution of his legacy, his image, and there was a part of James that clearly wished he could turn back through the doors and hide. Only, it was too late. No going back now. James goes to the Miami Heat, Cleveland goes into a basketball Hades and LeBron’s legacy becomes that of a callous carpetbagger.

    The Championship of Me became the Championship of Flee, because LeBron James doesn’t believe he can be the centerpiece of a title team. He needed Dwyane Wade, a closer, far more than Wade needed him.

    Yes, he’s ruined everything. What a wonderful idea: Divorce your childhood sweetheart on national television and tell her, hey, I’ll let you keep the “We are all Witnesses” billboards lording over downtown Cleveland.

    “I’m taking my talents to South Beach,” James said, and it was like time stopped because – even for him – this was a moment so devoid of reality and free of concern of consequences. South Beach? He wasn’t picking a basketball team as much as a party. He’s 25 years old, and yet somehow this felt like a cloistered teenager picking a party school for college.

    Yes, James will take his talent to South Beach and leave his soul in Cleveland. His hometown won’t hate him as much for leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers as for the way he left them. Leaving never would’ve been easy, but he went out of his way to humiliate them. LeBron James can never go home now. He’s the Browns leaving town, The Fumble, The Shot, all rolled into one colossal disappointment.

    Now, Clevelanders truly see it for themselves: He was a fan of the Cowboys, the Yankees – never the Browns and Indians. He was a frontrunner, and he just made the most frontrunner move in the history of the NBA. Off to Miami with Riles, D-Wade and Chris Bosh(notes).

    New York would’ve been hard, and maybe Cleveland would’ve been the hardest. With those state tax laws in Florida, he isn’t taking less money with the Heat. He’s just taking less risk and less burden in his championship chase.

    “This whole idea that he makes his own decisions, that [bleep] went out the window with this,” one NBA executive said. “Someday, he’s going to look back at this and not believe that he let those kids at LRMR talk him into doing this. This idea that he’s his own man … Come on, he’s a follower. And he’s following all the way to Miami now.”

    This was the train rolling down the tracks from miles and miles away, and James never saw it coming. He should lose his obsession to become the richest athlete ever, because the people surrounding LeBron James are much more likely to leave him broke than a billionaire. Someday, he will fire his business manager Maverick Carter for turning the two-time MVP’s free-agent moment into Geraldo and Al Capone’s vault. Carter used the cover of charity for a historically horrible event and completely destroyed the credibility of his client.

    So now people are cheering Dan Gilbert’s manifesto tearing apart James, but no one contributed more to what the world witnessed on Thursday night than the owner’s enabling of James and his inner circle for seven years. Gilbert is the biggest con going, a man who makes his fortune peddling mortgages, and he’ll make his next on casinos in downtown Cleveland. He sells illusions for a living, and now he’s selling the biggest of all: that he’s a victim here, that James betrayed everyone. That’s a lie, and no one ought to dare buy it.

    Everyone searching for a scapegoat here – Mike Brown, Danny Ferry, Delonte West(notes) – well, just understand that it was the man screaming loudest with LeBron out the door, the man most determined to deflect blame onto him now.

    Now, Gilbert is the tough guy with James leaving the Cavs behind? Listen, Ferry and Brown always warned Gilbert that giving James everything he wanted – giving it when and where and how – wouldn’t be the way they would keep him. LeBron didn’t respect them because they never demanded it.

    Gilbert always believed he should do everything James wanted – hire his buddies into jobs, throw them on summer-league rosters, allow him to do those stupid pregame choreographed dances – that James would love him, that he would never leave. Only, James is a taker, and he took and took until he had bled Gilbert and that franchise to the bone.

    So now, Gilbert unleashes the most revisionist and self-serving screed that a scorned owner’s ever done. Gilbert is a bully and a baby. As much as James, Gilbert revealed himself, too. He asked for this humiliation and deserves it. Only those fans in Cleveland don’t deserve this. They were loyal, true, and ultimately they must know Gilbert lashed out to make James the villain for a most self-serving reason: to avoid the blame himself. Damn right James quit on the Cavaliers in that playoff series, but that was because Gilbert was always there to make it easy for him. All those times Ferry and Brown warned the owner they had to make stands with James, that they had to force him to have some level of respect within that organization or there would be an ultimate price to pay.

    And here it came on Thursday night, in this bizarre, sad set-up that turned LeBron James into a caricature. His puppet seems more human than him. Listen, James’ people tried to leak this story to soften the blow on Cleveland, but here was the problem: He’s so insincere, and they’re so over their heads, that most of us were uneasy with believing what they were selling in the hours leading up to Jim Gray holding everyone hostage. There had to be an agenda, a bait-and-switch, and yet source after source within LeBron’s world insisted: He’s leaving. He wants out. They had been doing this for weeks, even months. So, armed with that knowledge, why would they ever stage this event to rub it in the face of James’ hometown? Lots of stars have moved on, but never one that had such a unique history with a town, a city, a franchise.

    We kept writing it with qualifiers because deep down a lot of us doubted his courage to leave that cocoon. He would make Cleveland feel like it had lost him, and then swoop back into town and be celebrated all over again. Only, LeBron’s people were telling the truth. He was gone. He was always gone. He never considered staying, and that’s the most frightening part of all.

    For the hand-wringing out of Gilbert and James’ apologists who protected him – and who would still be protecting him had he simply said, “Cleveland,” on Thursday night – they need to stop with this nonsense that somehow LeBron James has transformed into someone else. This is him, and it’s always been him. He’s a creation of our times, of an industry and system that wants to manufacture the next M.J. at the expense of a young man having a sense of himself.

    So there was LeBron James, the MVP, the man of the hour, sitting in the middle of his own “Truman Show” on Thursday night. His personal network ran his commercials and celebrated his greatness and let him hijack a platform to build his brand and break hearts. He can never go home again now, and he can never completely rebuild what he let his cast of buddies talk him into losing that night. He’s taking his talents to South Beach, and the kid going away for the first time will have some party down there. After all these years, it was clear he had been coddled and protected and ultimately prepared to do one thing: Take the easy way out. Wherever he was going, he looked conflicted, lost and completely confused.

    What a spectacle, what a train wreck.

    What a shame.
    Last edited by Unclebuck; 07-14-2010, 09:28 AM.

  • #2
    Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

    Wow!

    I started reading this thinking I wouldn't agree with most of what was written. Overall, I think he summed up the situation very well... with one caveat. I don't think Lebron's legacy will be tarnished because of this decision.

    Just look at Boozer and what he did to the Cavs years ago. Most have forgotten that incident and he's gone on to multiple All-Star appearances and even won a gold medal with Team USA in Beijing. When he signed with the Bulls that incident wasn't mentioned once in the media. People are forgetful and have short memories. You don't here the chants of "No Means No" when Kobe plays against the Nuggets anymore either.

    Lebron is a player on a higer level and profile but for every fan that is angry about Lebron leaving Cleveland, there are 2 fans excited about seeing him play in Miami with DWade and Bosh. That ESPN special might've been a fiasco but I think signing with Miami was an excellent decision.
    Last edited by naptownmenace; 07-14-2010, 11:00 AM.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

      I don't think Lebron even thinks about his legacy, he's twenty-five years old.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

        Originally posted by Will Galen View Post
        I don't think Lebron even thinks about his legacy, he's twenty-five years old.
        Yeah, I agree. Legacies are for the talking heads of the world to yap about. Lebron really doesn't care what people think of him. He just wants to have a good time balling with his buds in South Beach while hopefully winning a couple of titles in the process.

        Miami with your buddies or Cleveland where you were a one man show? Not a hard decision........

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

          Originally posted by naptownmenace View Post
          Wow!

          I started reading this thinking I wouldn't agree with most of what was written. Overall, I think he summed up the situation very well... with one caveat. I don't think Lebron's legacy will be tarnished because of this decision.

          Just look at Boozer and what he did to the Cavs years ago. Most have forgotten that incident and he's gone on to multiple All-Star appearances and even won a gold medal with Team USA in Beijing. When he signed with the Bulls that incident wasn't mentioned once in the media. People are forgetful and have short memories. You don't here the chants of "No Means No" when Kobe plays against the Nuggets anymore either.

          Lebron is a player on a higer level and profile but for every fan that is angry about Lebron leaving Cleveland, there are 2 fans excited about seeing him play in Miami with DWade and Bosh. That ESPN special might've been a fiasco but I think signing with Miami was an excellent decision.

          Disagree completely BECAUSE Lebron is a player on a higher level. Who cared about Boozer that wasn't a Cavs fan? I didn't.
          LOTS of people know Lebron or at least who he is.
          And he came off looking very bad to most.
          I've seen nothing to suggest that 2/1 fans are in favor of his choice.
          I would bet it was closer to the other way.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

            Originally posted by Adam1987 View Post
            Yeah, I agree. Legacies are for the talking heads of the world to yap about. Lebron really doesn't care what people think of him. He just wants to have a good time balling with his buds in South Beach while hopefully winning a couple of titles in the process.

            Miami with your buddies or Cleveland where you were a one man show? Not a hard decision........
            You don't think Lebron cares about being considered one of the best ever?

            Kobe clearly did at that age..

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

              Originally posted by Sookie View Post
              You don't think Lebron cares about being considered one of the best ever?

              Kobe clearly did at that age..

              I think he cares about winning rings. If he does that then he'll be an all time great by default.

              Legacies aren't written when guys are 25 and have played 7 years in the league. You wouldn't have written Shaq's legacy after he played 7 years - if you would have it would have looked ridiculously different than it does now. The way people have been writing Lebron's legacy over the past week is nothing short of laughable, IMO.

              The Heat are so talented that they will make an NBA finals by default. Maybe it won't be next season, but it will be soon. Lebron is entering the absolute prime years of his career and will be on a team where he has the opportunity year after year to do big things in the playoffs but also not have the burden of knowing he can't have a bad game or else the team will lose. In 5 years Lebron could very well have 2 finals MVP's. Anything is possible with that Heat roster.

              Lebron, like the other all-time greats, will finally be playing alongside some stars who can be counted upon to produce in the playoffs.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

                Originally posted by Adam1987 View Post
                I think he cares about winning rings. If he does that then he'll be an all time great by default.

                Legacies aren't written when guys are 25 and have played 7 years in the league. You wouldn't have written Shaq's legacy after he played 7 years - if you would have it would have looked ridiculously different than it does now. The way people have been writing Lebron's legacy over the past week is nothing short of laughable, IMO.

                The Heat are so talented that they will make an NBA finals by default. Maybe it won't be next season, but it will be soon. Lebron is entering the absolute prime years of his career and will be on a team where he has the opportunity year after year to do big things in the playoffs but also not have the burden of knowing he can't have a bad game or else the team will lose. In 5 years Lebron could very well have 2 finals MVP's. Anything is possible with that Heat roster.

                Lebron, like the other all-time greats, will finally be playing alongside some stars who can be counted upon to produce in the playoffs.
                Is Horry an all time great?

                Obviously Lebron is a better player. But Wade will be the closer. And it's "Wade's team" and Wade had already won a ring before. He's the one that's going to look good. Lebron's going to look like Pippen 2.0

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

                  Originally posted by Sookie View Post
                  Is Horry an all time great?

                  Obviously Lebron is a better player. But Wade will be the closer. And it's "Wade's team" and Wade had already won a ring before. He's the one that's going to look good. Lebron's going to look like Pippen 2.0

                  Horry? Bringing him up in this is straw man to the max. You and I both know Horry has no business in this convo.

                  How do you know Wade will be the closer? How do you know that Lebron isn't going to be "looking good" as well? Have they played any games yet?

                  It's only "Wade's team" in the sense that Wade has been there 7 years while Lebron just arrived. But that doesn't have much bearing on how they will actually play basketball. Lebron could very well be the closer in many, many playoff games that this team plays. Lebron can be the best player on a finals team.

                  He won't be Pippen. There was a big difference between Jordan and Pippen. Wade and Lebron OTOH are pretty equal and I think they will split up closing playoff games.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

                    Originally posted by Adam1987 View Post
                    Horry? Bringing him up in this is straw man to the max. You and I both know Horry has no business in this convo.

                    How do you know Wade will be the closer? How do you know that Lebron isn't going to be "looking good" as well? Have they played any games yet?

                    It's only "Wade's team" in the sense that Wade has been there 7 years while Lebron just arrived. But that doesn't have much bearing on how they will actually play basketball. Lebron could very well be the closer in many, many playoff games that this team plays. Lebron can be the best player on a finals team.

                    He won't be Pippen. There was a big difference between Jordan and Pippen. Wade and Lebron OTOH are pretty equal and I think they will split up closing playoff games.
                    It wasn't intended to be a strawman, the point was simple..when you're talking greatest ever, rings aren't the only things that matter. Being "the man" matters.

                    Because Wade is already known as a closer. Miami is Wade's town, and Lebron has shown to defer to other players (most prominently, Kobe during the Olympics)

                    I don't have a problem with that, really. If Lebron would rather defer a bit, then that's fine. But looking back, it's going to reflect on where he goes down in terms of "best ever". And I think that's the point. Lebron is a player many thought could challenge for best ever, and this action hurts that.
                    Will he be thought of as a great player? Sure. But, for example, Kobe knew,that in order to be in the top 5 of all time, in order to truly get the Jordan comparisons..he had to have his team built around him. He had to win the finals MVPs. And that was important to him. He wanted to be "the man." And when people look back at a player's history, being "the man" is important. Heck what's the argument against Kobe "Yea, but those first three rings are "shaq's" rings."

                    And that's what's going to be said about Lebron. That he needed two superstars. Why won't it be said about Wade..because it was Wade's team, and Wade has already won. Why not Bosh? Because who cares really. Bosh wasn't in contention for top 20 all time..he just wants a ring.

                    Anyway, this article is fantastic. And I like what was said about Gilbert. He took Lebron in as a kid, told Lebron he was god, treated him like he was god. Made everything easy for him, gave him what he wanted. Of COURSE Lebron is going to feel entitled, going to be a bit narcisitic. When you raise a kid to think he's god, then he's going to think he's god. Gilbert wasn't a victim.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

                      Originally posted by naptownmenace View Post
                      Just look at Boozer and what he did to the Cavs years ago. Most have forgotten that incident and he's gone on to multiple All-Star appearances and even won a gold medal with Team USA in Beijing. When he signed with the Bulls that incident wasn't mentioned once in the media. People are forgetful and have short memories. You don't here the chants of "No Means No" when Kobe plays against the Nuggets anymore either.
                      First off, Boozer isn't even on the same page as LeBron, let alone, the same sentence.

                      What he did to Cleveland isn't anything compred to this situation, because the magnitude of the situation isn't the same. Boozer is a very, very good player. But he's clearly not a centerpiece to a team. Boozer won't go down as a top 5 player at his position, and probably not even a top 10 player at his position. LeBron was(is) in the discussion of best ever at any position. Boozer wasn't born and raised in the region of Cleveland. Boozer wasn't advertised as the "savior." Boozer wasn't the biggest name in FA in the biggest FA year in the history of the NBA. Every level of comparison between Boozer and LeBron, LeBron dwarfs him.


                      And secondly, "No means No" was just chanted every game in Boston to Kobe.
                      Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

                        I am liking Adrian Wojo more and more.

                        Also I think that it is so easy to blame and push the blame. I think this is a perfect storm of underachieving.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

                          Originally posted by Adam1987 View Post
                          Lebron really doesn't care what people think of him.
                          Oh, I completely disagree there. I think he definitely cares about what people think. At least people in the Northern Ohio area, that's for sure. You could tell right after they showed him the video of the fans burning his jersey, he was a bit taken back, then got defensive saying his "true" fans would understand and still support him.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

                            Originally posted by Since86 View Post
                            First off, Boozer isn't even on the same page as LeBron, let alone, the same sentence.

                            What he did to Cleveland isn't anything compred to this situation, because the magnitude of the situation isn't the same. Boozer is a very, very good player. But he's clearly not a centerpiece to a team. Boozer won't go down as a top 5 player at his position, and probably not even a top 10 player at his position. LeBron was(is) in the discussion of best ever at any position. Boozer wasn't born and raised in the region of Cleveland. Boozer wasn't advertised as the "savior." Boozer wasn't the biggest name in FA in the biggest FA year in the history of the NBA. Every level of comparison between Boozer and LeBron, LeBron dwarfs him.
                            I pointed out in the very next paragraph that Lebron is on a larger level and profile. I wasn't trying to compare the player in the situation, just comparing how outrage dies over time. I guess I could've used the example of how Shaq left Orlando for LA and it would've been a much better comparison.

                            The main point I was trying to make is that after Lebron has some sucess with the Heat, many of the same talking heads that are dogging him now will be singing his praises in a few years.

                            Originally posted by Since86 View Post
                            And secondly, "No means No" was just chanted every game in Boston to Kobe.
                            I totally missed that if that was the case. I heard some "Kobe Sucks" chants but overall people have dubbed Kobe the best player ever (put him in the argument anyway) and I haven't heard anyone from the media bring up the Colorado incident in years.

                            Speaking of Kobe, he couldn't win without getting another All-Star to team up with and this year Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, and Ron Artest should get credit for 3 of those 4 Finals victories. Lebron has seen that you can't win the Championship (beat the Lakers or Celtics) without at least 2 superstars. I think his goal was not to win a championship but to win 4-in-a-row or 6 titles in 8 years like Jordan's Bulls. If he does that, he'll look like a genius when it's all said and done.
                            Last edited by naptownmenace; 07-14-2010, 05:38 PM.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Best column I've read on the whole Lebron vs Gilbert feud

                              I think all the vitriol is misplaced.

                              Fans and media dog players all the time for being all about the money. Everyone always signs where they will make the most money. No one ever thinks about winning.

                              LeBron signed where he thinks he can do the most winning! He wants to win! Good for him! Oh wait, now that's a bad thing because he is a superstar? Please. Dude wants to win games, period.

                              LBJ formed a super team so he could win a bunch of a titles and that makes him a worse player? Have you heard of Magic, Kareem, Worthy? Bird McHale Parish? Not to mention the other studs on those teams? West, Baylor, Chamberlain? Just because Bird and Magic were LUCKY to go to teams that ALREADY had awesome players doesn't mean LeBron is now ineligible for greatness because he had to actively go somewhere else to be on a great team.

                              This idea of Wade being the closer. Firstly, I'd like to see exactly how things play out first. I'm okay with the idea of Wade being the best scorer on the team. Wade is really really awesome! But aren't we in an age where we understand that scoring is not the only important thing on the court? Can't LeBron still be "greater" than Wade without taking the last shot most of the time? I guarantee LeBron gets more rebounds and assists and blocks. He's a better defender. Hell, there's a decent chance his PPG is more than Wade's anyways. Wasn't Ginobli always considered the "closer" on those Spurs teams? Does that in any way lessen Duncan's achievements?

                              What looks better, trying and trying and failing in Cleveland... ok, let's say he wins one ring there. Trying and trying and winning one ring in Cleveland, or winning 3+ rings in Miami?

                              I can't believe some dumb TV special has made LeBron the most hated man in the NBA, at least for this week.

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