Will Be Painful Watching the Warriors

[AbeVigodaLive]

LeBron is an amazing all-time top talent.

But he's also a world-class marketer/global branding maven, too. Just reading what Drew wrote shows the power of James and his PR team...

[thedoper]

I get some of the criticisms of LeBron. The way he left Cleveland was shitty. And I hate the way he has called out teammates at times through the media, especially in that passive aggressive way he's known for.

But beyond that, I think he kind of gets a bad rap.

The decision to go to Miami did set an unfortunate precedent for creating a superteam, but players are free to do that and the decision wasn't only to try to win but also to play with one of his closest friends. Would anybody here criticize a co-worker for taking a job with another company because it would be a better company and they could work with a friend?

When he went back to Cleveland, that was arguably one of the more admirable decisions in the free agency era. Cleveland still sucked, and Miami was easily poised to make another run at the finals. I'm pretty sure there couldn't have been predication on the Cavs getting Love or anybody else because LeBron announced his decision without even talking to Cleveland and before the Love trade. And he chose to return to a team whose owner had insulted him publicly, which shows he was willing to be the bigger person. And the bottom line was he chose to return to a crappy team in order to win a championship for a city that hadn't won one in decades--and he did it. It's pretty tough to question a guy's commitment to fans if they do that. Seriously, it's almost so sappy if you pitched it as a story before it happened, people might not believe it.

Then when he went to the Lakers, the Lakers were a pretty bad team and they didn't acquire any other stars when LeBron joined, and it was widely and credibly reported that he went there because after taking his family back to Cleveland, he'd promised his wife he'd go wherever she wanted next, and she picked L.A. So that's a dude making a career decision that puts his family first. We have a stereotype of the Lakers as an organization, a stereotype fed by the Pat Riley era, but that team was weak when he joined.

As far as we know, LeBron has never requested a trade or told a team he wouldn't re-sign with them to force one, even though that's basically become commonplace during this era.

As for the comparison to MJ, Kobe, and Magic regarding staying with the same franchise--MJ and Magic played in a completely different time in terms of free agency. Basically no stars left their teams in those years, while almost all stars leave their teams these days, so I'm not sure it's fair to view LeBron critically in comparison to MJ and Magic. Also, if we're going to criticize LeBron for his relationships with teammates, uhhhh . . . did you watch The Last Dance?? MJ was a borderline abusive psychopath to his teammates. (Also, Krause showed little loyalty to any of his players, and they returned the favor). As for Kobe's loyalty, he actually did publicly request a trade. Also, if we're going to root against LeBron for his free agency decisions, even though he never forced a trade, why is he drawing the criticism before the Clippers (Kawhi and PG), Dallas (KP), Miami (Butler), or Brooklyn (Irving and Harden). I'm all for criticizing the Lakers for AD, but it's weird that LeBron gets the flak. And before criticizing LeBron, shouldn't we lay into the Sixers for tanking for years?

I'm not some sort of LeBron apologist. He's not my favorite player. I think he's earned criticism with the way he left Cleveland and the way he's called out teammates publicly in the past. But I'm not sure the other reasons people often cite for disliking him are supported by facts as much as they are built around a stereotype of the Lakers, our perspective as fans of a small-market team that has lost stars (we all remember Love forcing his way out), and a general dislike of the free agency era for which LeBron has become a symbol even though he's never really made the kinds of trade demands we associate with the worst cases.

Not trying to start an argument or anything. You guys make fair points and I respect you all. But personally, I don't think LeBron deserves some of the criticism he's getting here.

Im not that down on Lebron. He's definitely ego-centric but being the best in the world at something likely reinforces the ego.

Mostly its the Lakers I hate, and the fact that Lebron went to that empire only lump him in with my disdain.

[Monster]

Drew -

I've always hated the Lakers because they're the Lakers. They've always been the big gorilla with a Hollywood glitz that, combined with their storied history and LA weather, gives them a huge advantage over every other team (except perhaps Miami) in attracting elite players. And it's not just marque free agents like LeBron, it's also draft prospects like Kobe whose agent maneuvers his client to get drafted by the Lakers and trade prospects like AD. Rooting against the Lakers is the flip side of rooting for the underdog.

As for LeBron. I appreciate his great talent and achievements. I disliked him when he left Cleveland for Miami. In that instance it was the fact he left but also the way he left. He significantly redeemed himself when it went back to Cleveland, but even then his return was predicated on the Cavs getting players like Kevin Love to join him. Then he ended up seeking the glitz and glory of the Lakers to close out his career. Good for him, but his mercenary approach to the game diminishes him in my eyes. And that's why I don't put him on the same plain as MJ or past Lakers like Kobe and Magic. Those three stayed with the teams that drafted them through early lean years in MJ's case and even as personnel changed around them. Their franchises were loyal to them and they returned that loyalty. They didn't go searching for championships, sunshine or glitz in other places, but instead fought to bring championships to the teams they started with and the fans who supported them.

I like the way LeBron plays the game and respect his incredibly talent. But I don't like his mercenary self-centered approach. He's aloof and doesn't bond with organizations, teammates or fans. And now he's with the Lakers. What's not to hate? :)

First of all I would like to say as an earlier poster said let's enjoy the greatness of Lebron while he is playing. I'm not really a big fan of Lebron. If I HAD to pick I would pick MJ over him. As someone said a few years ago MJ is the standard that great Players like Kobe and Lebron have been chasing. I'm not even a huge fan of LeBron but I do dislike the hate the guy gets.

If you don't like that Lebron does all the marketing or whatever you could probably blame Jordon to some extent for moving athletes in that direction. That guy is still THE athlete in terms of brand and he hasn't played in what like 20 years?

Lip it's been a few years ago so maybe LeBron has changed but I remember hearing Shane Battier talking about how Lebron would spend lots time to really connect with his teammates. He said Lebron really took time both on and off the floor to improve his teammates.

I think we can understand why he left Cleveland in the first place. He wasn't playing with Scottie Pippen he was playing with Mo Williams. When he left Miami he went back to Cleveland. The last time he left Cleveland...well let's just say there were some various problems there. Kyrie is a really weird dude. Is it upsetting Lebron picked the Lakers who were honestly a bit of a disaster themselves? Yes. Of course 2 years later they won a championship the 3rd different team Lebron has led to a title. That's kind of impressive.

The idea that a star player now should stay in one spot because they should be the ones to make everything better and be loyal when there are players traded like 4 times in an offseason because they happen to have the right contract number...yeah that doesn't add up for me. The whole league is moving players if it fits what they want to do.

Should I have stayed with the company that paid barely over minimum wage and was one of the worst in the industry or should I have gone to a company that does better work for better pay and I get to be much happier? The idea that athletes should just stay someplace because they should be the ones to make the whole team better doesn't seem realistic to me. Are they supposed to hire the GM, coach, and or draft well themselves? Could I have stayed with that poor company worked hard risen up through the ranks and tried to turn it around? I considered that. Ultimately I made the decision that was not my path and I have zero regrets. I think we forget athletes are actually living their lives. Do they have incredible opportunities that many of us can only dream of? Absolutely. They also have to make decisions about moving family what might work for them personally in terms of best fit for them on and off the court with an organization. Are the things they are hearing actually accurate or is someone around them feeding them a like to gain something for themselves? Is there someone in their family that has a specific health need that may need to be addressed and living in an area better than another one? Athletes are people and are a part of a family. They have a built in social network because of their jobs but building relationships can be difficult. Having the possibility of being traded at anytime has to be a little unnerving.

Again I don't love LeBron. I have always seen some flaws in his game but damn the guy is a great all around player and will go down as one of the best to ever play the game. He is a guy I simply haven't connected with. We all have guys we simply have that more with than others. As far as we know Lebron hasn't done anything wrong seems loyal and gainful to his family and has done some things to improve the community and seems like a reasonably good human being. It's also kinda fun to have players to cheer against though so I get that as well. I'm usually going for the underdog and LeBron hasn't been that guy much in his career. He has lived up to and exceeded most expectations and they have always been pretty lofty.

[TAFKASP]

I'm a homer, loyal to my hometown teams. When those teams repay that loyalty by relocating they become my most hated. If the Stars never won another game that'd be fine by me, same with the Lakers. I've never understood fans who manage to retain their team loyalty when the team does not.

Regarding James, I hated the way he bailed on Cleveland, especially given it was his hometown. I hated the "Taking my talents..." televised BS, it just rubs me the wrong way. When he returned to Cleveland I regained some respect for him, but running off the LA put an end to that. I just cannot respect the modern players who are all time greats, but chase ready made championships rather than take the lead in building them. In Lebron's case he had as much control over the building of that Cleveland team the second time as did anybody, including the owner, so the fact they were built for a short window is as much his fault as anybodies.

I recognize that Lebron is a great talent, but I respect Jordan more for his loyalty and not jumping ship for a ready made situation. He did that in spite of his differences with the teams management. To me winning all those titles with Chicago is more valuable than Lebron chasing after them. And I feel the same way about KD, the Golden State championship is about as empty as any championship can be IMO. They were winning them without him, as great as he is individually, I'd have more respect had he never won, but continued to try to push OKC to beat GS, rather than join them.

Screw KD, Lebron, and especially the Lakers! LOL

And finally:



Edit: As much as I dislike the bully that KG was I have great respect for the fact that right up until he was traded he wanted to win a championship in Minnesota. He wasn't asking to be traded to a ready made situation, he wasn't asking to be traded at all, in spite of the fact that the team was wasting his best years through incompetent management. I'll always respect that loyalty, always!