LeBron Shames- "Quitness"

[thefed]

I am disgruntled, so i apologize in advance. the way he handled this whole thing is a real shame. i wouldve been okay with him leaving had he done it with some class and dignity. i'm not going to rant right now....but i may soon.


anyone see the letter our owner, Dan Gilbert, put of on the cavs home page?

NBA.com

[ronin]

The ego has landed.

[aaronc879]

It seems to me James had an impossible decison. If he stays in Cleveland then people will say he did it just for the money he doesn't care about winning a championship. If he leaves Cleveland then he "abandoned" Cleveland because he can't win a championship there. Now, even if he wins a championship, people will say he only won because he's on an all-star team. He didn't win, they won. He loses no matter what. If he wins a title or even several titles it won't make him a better player than if he stayed in Cleveland and won nothing. He's still going to be one of the best ever. I would've stayed in Cleveland to be close to home and also make more money than I could anywhere else. Screw the championships.
My prediction is the Lakers win 1 more championship then Miami wins at least 2 of the next 4. Cleveland becomes a bottom 4 team in the East.

[dex]

The only thing professional athletes are hired for is their athletic ability. To expect anything more than that is to set yourself up for disappointment.

[Sue J]

I hope he keeps his house here (Summit County, OH) he pays $93,000 in property taxes, twice a year.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sue J I hope he keeps his house here (Summit County, OH) he pays $93,000 in property taxes, twice a year.

He'll probably keep that as his off-season/summer house. It would be very difficult to find a buyer for a 35,000sq ft house anywhere in Ohio.

[thefed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sue J I hope he keeps his house here (Summit County, OH) he pays $93,000 in property taxes, twice a year.

are you also in summit county?


out of curiosity i drove by today and there is lots of security there....cops patrolling as well...lol

[mickeyd]

P.T Barnum is put to shame by big guy with ball.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefed I am disgruntled, so i apologize in advance. the way he handled this whole thing is a real shame. i wouldve been okay with him leaving had he done it with some class and dignity. i'm not going to rant right now....but i may soon. anyone see the letter our owner, Dan Gilbert, put of on the cavs home page? NBA.com

Sounds like he is bitter.... so be it...


NOW... I really do not care at all how he did this... and to be honest I did not follow it at all... who really cares WHERE he plays...

But I will say that with the teammates he has, he will be winning the championship before Cleveland does... (unless of course they swap teams with Boston or LA)....

I also do not think it is a betrayal... he is a free agent... he has the right to work where he wants... IMO, good riddance to egos like he has...

[Rustic23]

I saw a piece on Fox, and he did it for the money! He makes five mil more in Florida, after tax, no income tax, than he would have in Ohio.

[RunningBum]

5 mil is chump change, and the cost of a house will be a lot more down there, not to mention whether he can unload his current mansion.

I don't like the circus he put on, but James completely fulfilled his contract and has the right to go anywhere. The owner is making himself look like an idiot. Good luck getting another superstar to play for you with those kind of comments, especially as tough as it would be to get one to come to Cleveland. They'll be back down to getting a #1 or #2 pick in the draft soon enough again.

[mickeyd]

Quote:

no income tax, than he would have in Ohio.

Actually the NBA players are supposed to pay state income tax where the income is earned (game played). Lebron will have to pay Ohio tax whenever the Heat play in Cleveland.

[KM]

I am a Celtics fan and knew he wasnt coming to Boston, so I really didn't care one way or the other where he went. But I think the sideshow he put on was sort of classless. I believe one sportswriter referred to it as "narcisstic". Lots of athletes go to free agency and change teams. Few do it with the "look at me" hand-waving he did.

But I think it shows his youth and immaturity more than anything else. This is a kid that had way too much money and attention at way too young of an age. I suspect he can't really relate to the common man.

The owner's rant was pretty classless too, though.

[Rustic23]

Mickeyd
That was addressed and they talked about states that had a professional athletes tax. I don't remember the number, but not all states have it. They took that into effect, and noted that the half of his games would be played in FL. I can't speak for James, but, I do have a nephew that was a pro ball player, and money was money. Five million is still a lot of cash, but a possible championship is even more important.

[jIMOh]

The whole announcement show was good-bad

its good James has the following to command that much attention
its probably bad that he chose to do it that way
its good he raised money for some charities
its good he was able to leave on his own terms
its bad that the people chastise him for being selfish and self centered

But the Cavs owner trumped James as far as ego and narcissism is concerned.

James played in Cleveland for 7 years
by end of year 1, it was clear James was the real deal (by end of game 1, it might have been obvious). That means at year 2 Cleveland should have been adding talent around James which was ready to win now. It took 5 years to add a decent point guard, and 6 years to bring in a #2 scorer (Shaq). Too little too late, and the person to blame is the owner.

James did what he had to do to find
a) a team with proven management of winning
b) surrounding himself with talent which was better than the other 4 Cleveland starters
c) finding a city which he wanted to live in (for example sharing a city with Kobe probably not best choice).

Cleveland had 7 years to do a) and 7 years to do b) and its clear Cleveland had c), but failed miserably on a) and b). I put that blame on ownership and front office, not the marquee player. James cannot make trades to add talent, or sign other free agents- that is someone else's job.

Basketball is a game of superstars which cannot do it alone. Jordan had Pippen, Shaq had Kobe, Kobe had Gasol, Wade had Shaq, Bird had McHale (and Parrish and Johnson), Magic had Kareem. Drexler had Olajuwan (and a retired Jordan), and Duncan had Robinson, then later had Ginobli.

James in Cleveland had who again? The fact the Cavs made it deep into playoffs without the supporting cast shows just how good James is. But it also shows how bad the front office is to not surround him with decent players.

Wade-Bosh-James will be as good as any threesome in NBA except Rhondo-Pierce and Allen, but Pierce and Allen might only be together for 50-60 games as they are "up there" in NBA age.

Boston's big 3 are rhondo, allen and pierce (sorry Garnett) with 2 good-great role players (Garnett and Perkins I believe).

Heat are eastern conference champs next 4 years. Not sure if they can beat Kobe and Gasol though...

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickeyd Actually the NBA players are supposed to pay state income tax where the income is earned (game played). Lebron will have to pay Ohio tax whenever the Heat play in Cleveland.

As mentioned by someone else... it matters where you make your money... if you only play a few game in Ohio, very little money... FL has no income tax so at least half his games are 'tax free' to the state...

Also, (and I am going from other states... but most seem the same)... IF you make half your money outside the state (like he did this last year)... you would figure his tax on his full income... then allocate half to out of state and he pays the other half... this means that you pay more tax than if you just earned half as much (not sure if this make sense to you... but it does to me)...

[Dawg52]

Dawg52 was not impressed with the 'look at me' espn interview. Dawg52 had to change the channel.

[thefed]

Cavaliers: Cavaliers Complete Sign-and-Trade Deal with Miami


what a scumbag

[Orchidflower]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawg52 Dawg52 was not impressed with the 'look at me' espn interview. Dawg52 had to change the channel.

The quote I caught on sports tv was something to the effect that "this HOUR was to announce one line? Shows how important he thinks he is." Of course, I'm paraphrasing.
Cleveland was on tv showing folks burning their shirts with his name on it. Not very happy there with him.

[harley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefed Cavaliers: Cavaliers Complete Sign-and-Trade Deal with Miami what a scumbag

Of course, had he stayed in Cleveland and continued acting the same, he wouldn't have been a scumbag.

I have given up on major league sports, with the exception of fantasy football which requires a league for the players to perform in for the fantasy owners. Pro athletes run the gamut of personalities, but most of the superstars are narcissists. Who could avoid it, having been fawned over since puberty. I doubt any of us would be much better if we had been made mega-multi-zillionaires in our 20s.

I haven't seen any interviews or followed this at all. My only comment is, all things being equal, if I was young, rich, talented, horny, and completely self centered, I would far prefer to be in South Beach than "the mistake on the lake". Nothing too personal, I've never been there, but seriously...Miami vs. Cleveland?