OT: Miami Heat

[Slimpikins]

Drew Carey?

Daniel Tosh actually, but he may have ripped it off from Drew for all I know.

 

[IPostedWhat]

Lets put it this way.

It doesn't look good if even Michael Jordan is bashing you for what you are doing.

 

[IPostedWhat]

Daniel Tosh actually, but he may have ripped it off from Drew for all I know.

 

[Slimpikins]

Lets put it this way.

It doesn't look good if even Michael Jordan is bashing you for what you are doing.

I don't buy that at all. Jordan is so competitive that he ripped guys who were nothing compared to him in is HOF induction speech. Not exactly the definition of class.

 

[IPostedWhat]

It keeps boiling down to this as far as I can see it.

- He is the new face of the NBA

- A great player can work with the team around him and carry them to a Championship

- He was acting like a dick with his antics and being a crybaby

- He realizes he's not good enough to win a Championship in Cleveland, so he jumps ship to be 2nd banana to Dwayne Wade right away.

- The fact that they all talked about doing this for this season before it started because his contract was up is also pretty lame.

 

[dash]

The fact that they all talked about doing this for this season before it started because his contract was up is also pretty lame.

That's the part that bothers me, specifically with Bosh and the way he was asking for advice on what to do on his Twitter account. Don't get me wrong, play where you want, do what you want (within reason), but don't jerk around fans of your former team and continue to take shots at the city where you used to play.

/Keep in mind, this post comes from someone who has a strong dislike for most things in Toronto.

 

[Slimpikins]

It keeps boiling down to this as far as I can see it.

- He is the new face of the NBA

- A great player can work with the team around him and carry them to a Championship

- He was acting like a dick with his antics and being a crybaby

- He realizes he's not good enough to win a Championship in Cleveland, so he jumps ship to be 2nd banana to Dwayne Wade right away.

- The fact that they all talked about doing this for this season before it started because his contract was up is also pretty lame.

1 I don't think that matters at all. It is NBA marketing that makes him the face of the sport not his actions.

2 Cleveland has done nothing to build a championship team around him. Neither Jordan or Kobe wins multiple titles without their supporting casts. Which were WAY better than what the Cavs provided Lebron with.

3 I agree with this one. He does whine like a bitch.

4 See point two. I wouldn't have stayed either.

5 Agreed, he should have handled the whole thing better. That whole TV special was a PR abortion.

I guess my issues is that Kobe and Shaq don't get this type of criticism for being on stacked teams or acting like complete asshats but all of the sudden Lebron is the devil for doing something that is very similar. It just seems like irrational hatred to me (which is ok if they are your rival, fuck the Lakers, but it just seems petty if it is some team that is unaffiliated with your home team).

 

[Destroydacre]

I honestly don't care one way or the other. The Lakers or Celtics will win the title again this year anyway.

 

[IPostedWhat]

I think what he did is fine if you are trying to create another Dream Team for the Olympics, but he handled this whole thing about as badly as it could be, and then turns it around with his stupid commercial asking, "What should I do?"

 

[Destroydacre]

I think what he did is fine if you are trying to create another Dream Team for the Olympics, but he handled this whole thing about as badly as it could be, and then turns it around with his stupid commercial asking, "What should I do?"

On the bright side it gave South Park some good material.

 

[IPostedWhat]

[YOUTUBE]-xoLB1d47O0[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Slimpikins]

I think what he did is fine if you are trying to create another Dream Team for the Olympics, but he handled this whole thing about as badly as it could be, and then turns it around with his stupid commercial asking, "What should I do?"

I agree he is a whiny bitch and handled the move absolutely horribly. But I don't buy the 'poor Cleveland fans' angle. Poor them, they got a player who single-handedly brought their team back into relevance for the first time in over two decades. Cry me a freaking river.

Now I am supposed to feel bad for them because they pissed away their opportunity to retain this player by surrounding him with second and even third rate talent, while expecting him to shoulder this team to the championship?

I actually like his commercial (I could really care less about him or basketball in general). But why should he make his decision based on what some fans (most of them not even Cleveland fans anyway) want him to do?

 

[Slimpikins]

On the bright side it gave South Park some good material.

Captain Hindsight was awesome.

 

[elocomotive]

I gotta agree with Slimpkins' perspective on this whole thing.

The guy wants to win a championship and while everyone can sit back and say Jordan or Magic never would have done this, they didn't have to. Neither of them faced the intense sports media coverage that pervades sports today and both of them had guys who were among the sport's best to play with them. The fact is NOBODY - not Jordan, not Magic, not anyone - does it on their own.

The fact is that Lebron came into the league as an 18-year old and hasn't run afoul of the law, has treated the media and fans with respect, and has been a pretty good example of a human being by and large should be the larger thing to focus on. Maybe "The Decision" was a PR mistake, but for all the demonizing of him, it was the highest-rated television event of that night, and if memory serves, ESPN had never accomplished that with a non-sporting event. So for all the cries of he's an ego maniac, there sure were a lot of us who clearly were interested in it.

I lived in Cleveland for several years while Lebron was there. I was sad he didn't stay there because the incredible fans of that town really deserve a title. But the team repeatedly missed on opportunities (most recently Amare Stoudamire) to give him the cast needed to bring home a title. If he wins a championship in either of his last two seasons there, I really believe he stays. He didn't, so he walked. I wish he had stayed with the Cavs, but I can't fault him for what he did either.

If there is a person who's character should be called into question over this whole thing, it's Dan Gilbert. That guy behaved like a fucking CHILD in the wake of everything, and while I'm sure it played well with the home crowd, savvy Cleveland fans should realize that is not the type of behavior that is going to help attract top talent to a city that already has issues attracting it.

He went to another team that he thought gave him a better chance to win a title, took less money for it, and is playing with guys who he genuinely likes and are his friends. Last I checked, those are all qualities and value that we hope our athletes aspire to.

So I'm not a Heat fan, I'll root with mild interest for the Cavaliers and the Wizards because I don't care too much about the NBA anyway. But I won't root against the Heat or think less of Lebron for the decision he made, because he did what was best for him based on what he wants from his career. And if people want to judge his character b/c he went on national television one time for a special announcement (that DID have our interest, hell, the President was even lobbying for him for his home team), then they really aren't looking at the sum of the parts and are overlooking years of being a team-first player and an all around good dude to the community he played in.

/Rant.

 

[IPostedWhat]

What should he do?​

 

[Slimpikins]

What should he do?​

Fix my sprinkler system?

 

[ritari330]

The last 2 South Park Episodes sucked IMO....

 

[Slimpikins]

I gotta agree with Slimpkins' perspective on this whole thing.

The guy wants to win a championship and while everyone can sit back and say Jordan or Magic never would have done this, they didn't have to. Neither of them faced the intense sports media coverage that pervades sports today and both of them had guys who were among the sport's best to play with them. The fact is NOBODY - not Jordan, not Magic, not anyone - does it on their own.

The fact is that Lebron came into the league as an 18-year old and hasn't run afoul of the law, has treated the media and fans with respect, and has been a pretty good example of a human being by and large should be the larger thing to focus on. Maybe "The Decision" was a PR mistake, but for all the demonizing of him, it was the highest-rated television event of that night, and if memory serves, ESPN had never accomplished that with a non-sporting event. So for all the cries of he's an ego maniac, there sure were a lot of us who clearly were interested in it.

I lived in Cleveland for several years while Lebron was there. I was sad he didn't stay there because the incredible fans of that town really deserve a title. But the team repeatedly missed on opportunities (most recently Amare Stoudamire) to give him the cast needed to bring home a title. If he wins a championship in either of his last two seasons there, I really believe he stays. He didn't, so he walked. I wish he had stayed with the Cavs, but I can't fault him for what he did either.

If there is a person who's character should be called into question over this whole thing, it's Dan Gilbert. That guy behaved like a fucking CHILD in the wake of everything, and while I'm sure it played well with the home crowd, savvy Cleveland fans should realize that is not the type of behavior that is going to help attract top talent to a city that already has issues attracting it.

He went to another team that he thought gave him a better chance to win a title, took less money for it, and is playing with guys who he genuinely likes and are his friends. Last I checked, those are all qualities and value that we hope our athletes aspire to.

So I'm not a Heat fan, I'll root with mild interest for the Cavaliers and the Wizards because I don't care too much about the NBA anyway. But I won't root against the Heat or think less of Lebron for the decision he made, because he did what was best for him based on what he wants from his career. And if people want to judge his character b/c he went on national television one time for a special announcement (that DID have our interest, hell, the President was even lobbying for him for his home team), then they really aren't looking at the sum of the parts and are overlooking years of being a team-first player and an all around good dude to the community he played in.

/Rant.

Good point. Gilbert was completely unprofessional but gets a pass. When your next two biggest threats are Ilgauskas and a guy named Boobie Gibson you did not put a serious effort into building a championship team.

 

[IPostedWhat]

I gotta agree with Slimpkins' perspective on this whole thing.

The guy wants to win a championship and while everyone can sit back and say Jordan or Magic never would have done this, they didn't have to. Neither of them faced the intense sports media coverage that pervades sports today and both of them had guys who were among the sport's best to play with them. The fact is NOBODY - not Jordan, not Magic, not anyone - does it on their own.

The fact is that Lebron came into the league as an 18-year old and hasn't run afoul of the law, has treated the media and fans with respect, and has been a pretty good example of a human being by and large should be the larger thing to focus on. Maybe "The Decision" was a PR mistake, but for all the demonizing of him, it was the highest-rated television event of that night, and if memory serves, ESPN had never accomplished that with a non-sporting event. So for all the cries of he's an ego maniac, there sure were a lot of us who clearly were interested in it.

I lived in Cleveland for several years while Lebron was there. I was sad he didn't stay there because the incredible fans of that town really deserve a title. But the team repeatedly missed on opportunities (most recently Amare Stoudamire) to give him the cast needed to bring home a title. If he wins a championship in either of his last two seasons there, I really believe he stays. He didn't, so he walked. I wish he had stayed with the Cavs, but I can't fault him for what he did either.

If there is a person who's character should be called into question over this whole thing, it's Dan Gilbert. That guy behaved like a fucking CHILD in the wake of everything, and while I'm sure it played well with the home crowd, savvy Cleveland fans should realize that is not the type of behavior that is going to help attract top talent to a city that already has issues attracting it.

He went to another team that he thought gave him a better chance to win a title, took less money for it, and is playing with guys who he genuinely likes and are his friends. Last I checked, those are all qualities and value that we hope our athletes aspire to.

So I'm not a Heat fan, I'll root with mild interest for the Cavaliers and the Wizards because I don't care too much about the NBA anyway. But I won't root against the Heat or think less of Lebron for the decision he made, because he did what was best for him based on what he wants from his career. And if people want to judge his character b/c he went on national television one time for a special announcement (that DID have our interest, hell, the President was even lobbying for him for his home team), then they really aren't looking at the sum of the parts and are overlooking years of being a team-first player and an all around good dude to the community he played in.

/Rant.

What should I do?​

 

[Slimpikins]

What should I do?​

Get a good tan and eat some popcorn?