<p>He sounds like a 14-year old who’s just been dumped and is having a tantrum. How is this going to sound to other players who might be considering coming to play for the Cavaliers?</p>
<p>LeBron gave the Cavaliers a lot of years, and made them a great deal of money. He owes them nothing. Free agent = free agent.</p>
<p>Teriwtt - this is why I don’t watch local Chicago news :-). </p>
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<p>LOL - exactly!</p>
<p>The entire affair strikes me as ‘what rot!’</p>
<p>I’m a big basketball fan but the last month or so has been too much! Dan Gilbert is a hypocrite. It’s a business. If he’s so concerned about the children of Cleveland, let him start giving away thousands of free tickets to kids and let’s see him showing up Cleveland’s public schools to inspire young people with no mention of basketball.</p>
<p>“The only thing I fault LeBron James for is rubbing salt in the wound by making a big production out of his announcement. That was tacky and classless. (Is that a word?)”</p>
<p>It is a word, and it applies here. I assumed that the national TV special meant he was staying in Cleveland – I thought he was going to throw a big party for Ohio where he’d announce that it’s all about the kids, yada yada. IMHO, setting up this humiliating public disappointment for his former employers/fan base is very bad for his brand, and even winning championships in Miami might not make up for what this will cost him financially.</p>
<p>LeBron James <em>should have</em> held a classy and BRIEF press conference explaining that he had something he wanted to accomplish–win a championship–and he felt his best chances were with the Miami Heat. (Who could blame him? Don’t most people who play a sport want to win? There comes a point where more money is meaningless.) He should have thanked the Cavs fans and the city of Cleveland for their support. The end. </p>
<p>The Cavs owner <em>should have</em> issued a statement saying how disappointed he was that James decided to go to another team, but he appreciated everything LeBron did for the team and the city while he was there. (Talk about burning bridges.)</p>
<p>Instead, things were blown out of proportion and the situation has become ugly. Yes, it was a disappointing outcome for many fans, but it didn’t need to come to this.</p>
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<p>True. But there is “me”. Let’s see how it all works out in Miami.</p>
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<p>They’re going to make less money, and they have no realistic hope of winning a title in the near future. This doesn’t help them at all.</p>
<p>[Cavs</a> owner’s letter mocked for Comic Sans font - CNN.com](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/07/09/comic.sans.cavs.james/index.html]Cavs”>Cavs owner's letter mocked for Comic Sans font - CNN.com)</p>
<p>This article made me chuckle. :D</p>
<p>Like teri, I live in Chicagoland. I look at it this way. LeBron wore #23. That’s Jordan’s #. MJ is still big here, and LeBron could never be the 2nd MJ, maybe even if he won 6 titles.</p>
<p>Agree with gloworm. I didn’t really want him in Miami, but now I see that team has the potential to win multiple champoinships. I could have done without the media event, but I think it is a good deal for a player that I enjoy watching. I would have loved to have him as a Bull (Chicagoland myself), but I can see why he wouldn’t want to try to compete in the house that Michael built.</p>
<p>WSJ reported that Florida has no income tax, so he will be keeping an extra 7% of his salary compared to Ohio.</p>
<p>Also, LeBron James fatheads (really big posters) are on sale for $17.41</p>
<p>1741 is the year that Benedict Arnold was born.</p>
<p>[LeBron</a> James Slam Dunk - Cleveland Cavaliers - NBA - Fathead Official Site](<a href=“http://www.fathead.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/lebron-james/]LeBron”>Cleveland Cavaliers Wall Decor – Fathead)</p>
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<p>Better yet - take some of the money that gets spent on these basketball players and use it towards improving some of the Cleveland inner-city schools, so kids who want to learn and don’t necessarily have athletic talent to lift themselves out of the surroundings have that opportunity.</p>
<p>I love this thread. I live in Cleveland and people are starting to drive me crazy with their attitudes, and the hatred of Lebron. Some people are going as far as saying he is worse than Art Modell. Now that is ridiculous. </p>
<p>People think Cleveland is entitled to keep him just because he was born in Akron. But Lebron didn’t even root for any Cleveland sports teams as a kid. He was a front runner. He was a Bulls, Cowboys, and Yankees fan, all 3 dominated/or where on top of their respective leagues when Lebron was growing up. </p>
<p>I don’t really blame Gilbert for his reaction. Sure it was childish, but his investment just went down the sheeeeetter, and Lebron didn’t even have to courtesy to tell him before hand. </p>
<p>I don’t hate Lebron, I don’t blame him at all. Career wise, I would would have gone to Chicago. Young core, solid all around, and it would be HIS team, not D-Wades. Sure he would have to play in MJ’s shadow, but now his legacy will never be nearly as good as MJ’s was. </p>
<p>I don’t really hate the Heat now (I used to really like watching them and Wade play), but I have to root against them. Seeing this team fail or have all of the egos implode would be great.</p>
<p>It’s funny to see all the talk of how good a fit the Bulls would’ve been. Their roster is very similar to what Utah has had the last two seasons. He could’ve gone there - if it were just a basketball decision.</p>
<p>I can see why so many have sour grapes about the whole LeBron thing (poor Cleveland!) but in South Florida we are crazy about this “tri-nasty!” Wade is a gentleman and the consummate host. Pat Riley is a genius and the icing on the cake would be if he comes out of the office and back to head coaching. (not holding my breath on that one, though) There are no guarantees of anything, I just hope for an exciting season because I love NBA basketball and I would watch this “dream team” trio play anywhere. </p>
<p>As far as the spectacle of “the decision”, definitely unprecedented and over the top, but it raised a bunch of $$$ for charity, so I say “don’t hate; congratulate!”</p>
<p>There’s no “I” in team but there is in WIN!</p>
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Maybe, but I think the letter itself is one pretty good clue as to why James left. I mean, would you want to work for the guy who wrote that? I sure wouldn’t.</p>
<p>What I was so surprised about was how fast the letter became public. My daughter had it linked on her twitter account at 10:28PM, EST, that night.</p>
<p>but there is something that all competitive athletes want to do. WIN!
KNowing that you played well, without cheating, without using performance enhancers, not acting like a prima donna and being a team player last longer than the last award.</p>
<p>Not all athletes take themselves so seriously.
It’s a game, right?
:rolleyes:
[url=<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Martínez]Edgar”>Edgar Martínez - Wikipedia]Edgar</a> Mart</p>
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<p>Not really. Granted none of us know the details of what went on the last couple months with the Cavs, but Gilbert was a very good owner. Probably too good to Lebron. He built a new state of the art facility in the Cleveland suburbs and the Cavs were viewed in the NBA as one of the best run organizations with an enthusiastic owner. </p>
<p>The team won’t admit it, but Lebron had a lot of pull with the team, in the front office deciding what players to go after, and on the court where there are rumors him and former coach Mike Brown butted heads a lot and Lebron didn’t like being yelled at. But those were just rumors and scuttlebutt, but I could very easily see them being true. </p>
<p>Oh well. Gilbert just let his anger get the best of him. But all he did was basically sum up the feelings of many Ohioans right now.</p>
<p>[Rev</a>. Jesse Jackson: Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert put LeBron James in danger - ESPN](<a href=“Kiley McDaniel's 2023 midseason top 50 MLB prospects - ESPN”>Rev. Jesse Jackson: Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert put LeBron James in danger - ESPN)</p>
<p>Now, I think Gilbert acted excessively and like an idiot in the letter, but Jesse Jackson is full of it. Comparing Lebron to a runaway slave, really?</p>