July 12, 201014 yr ^^If someone's going to go to the trouble of photoshopping this, they could at least line up the screws on the "Akron Hates You" with the signposts... just sayin'
July 12, 201014 yr ^^If someone's going to go to the trouble of photoshopping this, they could at least line up the screws on the "Akron Hates You" with the signposts... just sayin' The original does look like that. The Akron Welcomes You sign is on a different post. The screws you can see are just holding the white sign onto the green backing. Here is a link showing the sign: http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/?p=30883 It actually looks as if they removed the Home of Lebron James sign.
July 12, 201014 yr What are the salary cap consequences from the sign and trade? I assume Miami will pay him. Does he still count against the Cavalier's cap? Is that why they got the cap exception in trade?
July 12, 201014 yr Unbelievable...but its not like i don't expect it from him http://www.gacksports.com/1964/rev-jesse-jackson-dan-gilbert-sees-lebron-james-as-runaway-slave/
July 12, 201014 yr Unbelievable...but its not like i don't expect it from him http://www.gacksports.com/1964/rev-jesse-jackson-dan-gilbert-sees-lebron-james-as-runaway-slave/ If it were anyone else, I would assume that the statement was a forgery. Good. Freaking. Grief. I'm ambivalent about Gilbert's letter, though I completely understand why he wrote it and what he must have been feeling at the time. This, though, makes me want to go back and revise my opinion of Gilbert's letter upward--anything that gets under that bloviator's skin that badly can't be all bad.
July 12, 201014 yr Ah..... the parallels - YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE! Oh man, don't remind me of that. Hayden Christiansen is well.... not so good.
July 12, 201014 yr Hmmmmm. Do you think Dan Gilbert is going to be lobbying for a hard salary cap at the owners meetings? Another excellent op-ed by Terry Pluto about seeing and hearing what we wanted to hear out of LBJ. http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2010/07/fooled_by_a_different_lebron_j.html#comments
July 12, 201014 yr A very interesting perspctive...and this doesn't include the $70+ million the Chinese investors would have put into the Cavs had he resigned, which would have ment "free" advertising in China. Did LeBron James Just Cost Himself $150 Million? by Nate Silver @ 1:39 AM In the meantime, there are signs that public opinion on James has soured significantly. In an unscientific poll conducted by SI.com, 81 percent of respondents now claim to have a negative opinion of James, whereas 78 percent had a positive opinion prior to free agency. http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/07/did-lebron-james-just-cost-himself-150.html In a few weeks this will all blow over. Especially if MIA has a blockbuster season. I doubt it. He spurned three of the biggest markets and his home state. People are not likely to forget his actions. They may not forgoet in the NE Ohio, but elsewhere they will. The world and more importantly sponsors love a winner. Yes, the press may be down on James right now (and Bosh and Miami for that matter) but if MIA starts winning titles and the TV rating are there and the NBA makes money and the sponsos make money and people buy the shoes, shirts and everything else then its all forgotten..... NOW, if MIA does anything less than a title in 2011, then I agree.
July 12, 201014 yr Ah..... the parallels - YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE! Oh man, don't remind me of that. Hayden Christiansen is well.... not so good. haha yeah not in that, but he had one great movie and performance in him, so there is still some hope at least! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0323944/
July 12, 201014 yr The truth will set you free. http://adage.com/article?article_id=144882 Cuban is right, the NBA need to investigate this entire deal. With this I'm done with LeBronapocalypse
July 12, 201014 yr A very interesting perspctive...and this doesn't include the $70+ million the Chinese investors would have put into the Cavs had he resigned, which would have ment "free" advertising in China. Did LeBron James Just Cost Himself $150 Million? by Nate Silver @ 1:39 AM In the meantime, there are signs that public opinion on James has soured significantly. In an unscientific poll conducted by SI.com, 81 percent of respondents now claim to have a negative opinion of James, whereas 78 percent had a positive opinion prior to free agency. http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/07/did-lebron-james-just-cost-himself-150.html In a few weeks this will all blow over. Especially if MIA has a blockbuster season. I doubt it. He spurned three of the biggest markets and his home state. People are not likely to forget his actions. They may not forgoet in the NE Ohio, but elsewhere they will. The world and more importantly sponsors love a winner. Yes, the press may be down on James right now (and Bosh and Miami for that matter) but if MIA starts winning titles and the TV rating are there and the NBA makes money and the sponsos make money and people buy the shoes, shirts and everything else then its all forgotten..... NOW, if MIA does anything less than a title in 2011, then I agree. No matter how many rings the Prince wins in Miami, there will always be a cloud over his accomplishments. Of course the consumption culture, bandwagoning American and international fans will probably eat it up, but true NBA fans and those closely associated with the game are never going to regard the Prince as one of the greats. That ship has left the harbor. I like the quotes from Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, and Chris Webber on the issue...
July 12, 201014 yr I LOL'd at this comment from the Ad Age article: "With the big numbers the LeBron show posted, maybe ESPN should could consider a regular show: "LeBron Decides". We could follow the big man as he makes crucial choices like Coke or Pepsi, paper or plastic, pen or pencil, romantic comedy or action film, etc"
July 12, 201014 yr And the always popular, "Boxers or briefs?" With this I'm done with LeBronapocalypse That seems like the 3rd or 4th time you have said that in this thread. Ok I am really starting to hate LeBron based on the fact that I keep thinking about him. If he wanted to be in the heads of millions he succeeded. He really is the anti-Iverson. More interested in winning a title than personal stats or being an all-time great.
July 12, 201014 yr Certainly not on the same level when it happened, but I liken james to Thome leaving Cleveland. Nothing to gain, but everything to lose. Thome would have been worshiped as a god had he stayed. Instead he left for not much more money and as I wished for, no championships or even playoffs in Philly until after he left. unfortunately, he did get that long desired playoff appearance.
July 12, 201014 yr And the always popular, "Boxers or briefs?" With this I'm done with LeBronapocalypse That seems like the 3rd or 4th time you have said that in this thread. Ok I am really starting to hate LeBron based on the fact that I keep thinking about him. If he wanted to be in the heads of millions he succeeded. He really is the anti-Iverson. More interested in winning a title than personal stats or being an all-time great. I know, but after seeing him this weekend, I finally was upset with him. He was about 20 feet away from me and I wanted to walk across the room and bitch punch him.
July 12, 201014 yr And the always popular, "Boxers or briefs?" With this I'm done with LeBronapocalypse That seems like the 3rd or 4th time you have said that in this thread. Ok I am really starting to hate LeBron based on the fact that I keep thinking about him. If he wanted to be in the heads of millions he succeeded. He really is the anti-Iverson. More interested in winning a title than personal stats or being an all-time great. I know, but after seeing him this weekend, I finally was upset with him. He was about 20 feet away from me and I wanted to walk across the room and bitch punch him. I would've paid money to see that, and I'm sure others would've too. Maybe you should use your media connections to hold a bitch-punching event and donate the proceeds to the Boys and Girls Club of America. That could make way more than the couple mil from the other night :lol:
July 12, 201014 yr And the always popular, "Boxers or briefs?" With this I'm done with LeBronapocalypse That seems like the 3rd or 4th time you have said that in this thread. Ok I am really starting to hate LeBron based on the fact that I keep thinking about him. If he wanted to be in the heads of millions he succeeded. He really is the anti-Iverson. More interested in winning a title than personal stats or being an all-time great. I know, but after seeing him this weekend, I finally was upset with him. He was about 20 feet away from me and I wanted to walk across the room and bitch punch him. I would've paid money to see that, and I'm sure others would've too. Maybe you should use your media connections to hold a bitch-punching event and donate the proceeds to the Boys and Girls Club of America. That could make way more than the couple mil from the other night :D ROFLMAO!
July 12, 201014 yr I LOL'd at this comment from the Ad Age article: "With the big numbers the LeBron show posted, maybe ESPN should could consider a regular show: "LeBron Decides". We could follow the big man as he makes crucial choices like Coke or Pepsi, paper or plastic, pen or pencil, romantic comedy or action film, etc" Stay with his girlfriend and kids or abandon them like his father did to him and become the Wilt Chamberlain of South Florida.
July 12, 201014 yr Certainly not on the same level when it happened, but I liken james to Thome leaving Cleveland. Nothing to gain, but everything to lose. Thome would have been worshiped as a god had he stayed. Instead he left for not much more money and as I wished for, no championships or even playoffs in Philly until after he left. unfortunately, he did get that long desired playoff appearance. The Thome situation was very different. First and foremost he wasn't a homegrown talent that the entire city embraced as their own. Second, I really believe that he wanted to stay but was forced to take the higher contract offered by Philly because the players union wanted him to set a precedent and effectively increase the pay scale across the entire league. Lebron led us on and on saying time and time again that he would stay. Free agents leave teams for 3 reasons: They aren't winning, they want to move closer to home, or they want more money. The Cavs had the best record in the regular season last year, he's playing in his hometown (as close as he can get), and the Cavs could offer him the most money. This type of move by a free agent is unprecedented in the NBA. People that don't understand why Clevelanders are so pissed at Lebron simply don't understand that all of Lebron's actions in this process went against conventional wisdom and against the very team and city that he claimed his loyalty to over and over again.
July 12, 201014 yr Certainly not on the same level when it happened, but I liken james to Thome leaving Cleveland. Nothing to gain, but everything to lose. Thome would have been worshiped as a god had he stayed. Instead he left for not much more money and as I wished for, no championships or even playoffs in Philly until after he left. unfortunately, he did get that long desired playoff appearance. The Thome situation was very different. First and foremost he wasn't a homegrown talent that the entire city embraced as their own. Second, I really believe that he wanted to stay but was forced to take the higher contract offered by Philly because the players union wanted him to set a precedent and effectively increase the pay scale across the entire league. Lebron led us on and on saying time and time again that he would stay. Free agents leave teams for 3 reasons: They aren't winning, they want to move closer to home, or they want more money. The Cavs had the best record in the regular season last year, he's playing in his hometown (as close as he can get), and the Cavs could offer him the most money. This type of move by a free agent is unprecedented in the NBA. People that don't understand why Clevelanders are so pissed at Lebron simply don't understand that all of Lebron's actions in this process went against conventional wisdom and against the very team and city that he claimed his loyalty to over and over again. When did he say that?
July 13, 201014 yr ^Well he didn't say it in so many words, but when asked about free agency and his plans he would routinely point to his "loyalty" tattoo. The guy new he would bolt from Cleveland if given the chance to play with Wade and/or Bosh, but he made Cavs fans believe they had nothing to worry about. Maybe he was being genuine and simply didn't believe it would be possible to play with Wade and Bosh while still getting paid. I find that hard to believe though since he took less money to make it happen. In the end the guy showed no loyalty to the city and team he said he would make a champion. He knew exactly what he was going to do as early as 4 years ago and he couldn't have been more excited to do it on a global stage. Shameful.
July 13, 201014 yr ^Well he didn't say it in so many words, but when asked about free agency and his plans he would routinely point to his "loyalty" tattoo. The guy new he would bolt from Cleveland if given the chance to play with Wade and/or Bosh, but he made Cavs fans believe they had nothing to worry about. Maybe he was being genuine and simply didn't believe it would be possible to play with Wade and Bosh while still getting paid. I find that hard to believe though since he took less money to make it happen. In the end the guy showed no loyalty to the city and team he said he would make a champion. He knew exactly what he was going to do as early as 4 years ago and he couldn't have been more excited to do it on a global stage. Shameful. What someone says and what you assume are two different things. He sent mixed signals but never confirmed nor denied he was staying. Lets be clear here. The way he went about things is wrong, but lets not take assumptions/gestures/perceptions and turn them into facts. We dont know for sure if it was four years ago. There is no concrete evidence only speculation.
July 13, 201014 yr "I don't want to go ring-chasing. I want to stay with the Cavs and build a champion." - The Prince in 2006
July 13, 201014 yr "I don't want to go ring-chasing. I want to stay with the Cavs and build a champion." - The Prince in 2006 Please show me that quote in full and article.
July 13, 201014 yr http://bleacherreport.com/articles/419381-i-dont-want-to-go-ring-chasing-lebron-james-2006 ESPN the magazine article in '06. Of course this was before the '08 Olympics when "The Decision" was likely made.
July 13, 201014 yr ^Well he didn't say it in so many words, but when asked about free agency and his plans he would routinely point to his "loyalty" tattoo. The guy new he would bolt from Cleveland if given the chance to play with Wade and/or Bosh, but he made Cavs fans believe they had nothing to worry about. Maybe he was being genuine and simply didn't believe it would be possible to play with Wade and Bosh while still getting paid. I find that hard to believe though since he took less money to make it happen. In the end the guy showed no loyalty to the city and team he said he would make a champion. He knew exactly what he was going to do as early as 4 years ago and he couldn't have been more excited to do it on a global stage. Shameful. He went out of the way to be vague over the last two years. He has a right to do that but I never got the impression that he wanted to stay the last two seasons. He never made loyalty statements like he did earlier in his carrer. Let's face it, he admitted he needed help. He thought he could take on the world by himself and realized he wasn't good enough. Gilbert has a point in this regard: LBJ of 2007 was a person who slashed the Pistons to death, LBJ of 2010 was a person who stared off into the distance against the Celtics and shot 30%. His playoff performances are getting weaker since 2007. Maybe he knows he's never gonna be as good as he was as well.
July 13, 201014 yr ^Well he didn't say it in so many words, but when asked about free agency and his plans he would routinely point to his "loyalty" tattoo. The guy new he would bolt from Cleveland if given the chance to play with Wade and/or Bosh, but he made Cavs fans believe they had nothing to worry about. Maybe he was being genuine and simply didn't believe it would be possible to play with Wade and Bosh while still getting paid. I find that hard to believe though since he took less money to make it happen. In the end the guy showed no loyalty to the city and team he said he would make a champion. He knew exactly what he was going to do as early as 4 years ago and he couldn't have been more excited to do it on a global stage. Shameful. He went out of the way to be vague over the last two years. He has a right to do that but I never got the impression that he wanted to stay the last two seasons. He never made loyalty statements like he did earlier in his carrer. Let's face it, he admitted he needed help. He thought he could take on the world by himself and realized he wasn't good enough. Gilbert has a point in this regard: LBJ of 2007 was a person who slashed the Pistons to death, LBJ of 2010 was a person who stared off into the distance against the Celtics and shot 30%. His playoff performances are getting weaker since 2007. Maybe he knows he's never gonna be as good as he was as well. You got that right on. The loss to san antonio in 2007 I think was the turning point. he realized the supporting cast was never going to get any better.
July 13, 201014 yr Actuallly I think the 2007 season was a big part of the problem, had they lost to Detroit they probably would have made some long term minded trades instead of swapping in bodies to try and get over the hump. Mike Brown probably wouldn't have lasted as long either. All spectulation anyway, not that it matters now. Looks like 2011-12 season will be a lockout ....
July 13, 201014 yr You got that right on. The loss to san antonio in 2007 I think was the turning point. he realized the supporting cast was never going to get any better. But the supporting cast did get better... a lot better. Lebron James just got worse.
July 13, 201014 yr You got that right on. The loss to san antonio in 2007 I think was the turning point. he realized the supporting cast was never going to get any better. But the supporting cast did get better... a lot better. Lebron James just got worse. Yep. Nobody at ESPN wants to talk about that. He bailed cause he couldn't do it himself. Gilbert still had a point even if he worded it wrong due to the emotional situation: It wasn't that James "quit", it just wasn't the James of '07 or the James who almost singlehandedly took out the C's, who won it all, in '08. Every ESPN "analyst" has seemingly forgotten all of this. He got MVP's for his regular season work but his playoff numbers aren't as impressive as they used to be. Gilbert thinks it's a "master plan", I think he's already peaked. It's interesting that he's already worried about "bad knees", I'm old enough to know that Jordan never talked like this at 25. Still, "worse" for James, is still better than 95% of the league in the post season.
July 13, 201014 yr You got that right on. The loss to san antonio in 2007 I think was the turning point. he realized the supporting cast was never going to get any better. But the supporting cast did get better... a lot better. Lebron James just got worse. Did it really? Take the 2009 play-offs against Orlando. Sure the Cavs had the best "player" in the league, but Orlando had a better "team" in the league. The Cavs minus James are sporadic.
July 13, 201014 yr The team was not built to play without James. It was constructed over the years in a manner that would best compliment his abilities. No, we never got that true second superstar, but we improved every year from a talent standpoint. This year, prior to the collapse (for whatever reason) against Boston, there were many NBA analysts who said we had the best "team" in the league. I remember Van Gundy saying those exact words when we were whoopin' Boston by 30 on their home floor in Game 3.
July 13, 201014 yr The team was not built to play without James. It was constructed over the years in a manner that would best compliment his abilities. No, we never got that true second superstar, but we improved every year from a talent standpoint. This year, prior to the collapse (for whatever reason) against Boston, there were many NBA analysts who said we had the best "team" in the league. I remember Van Gundy saying those exact words when we were whoopin' Boston by 30 on their home floor in Game 3. Completely agree. The Cavs handed the Celtics their worst playoff home loss in their history, making the Celtics look like the Washington Generals, just let that soak in for a minute.. They then lost three straight to Boston. I hope that Brian Windhorst holds nothing back once he starts to "tell all". Windy's sources are most likely people left behind by Lebron. There's no way Lebron could take everyone with him to Miami, some were left behind and they'll be talking..
July 13, 201014 yr You got that right on. The loss to san antonio in 2007 I think was the turning point. he realized the supporting cast was never going to get any better. But the supporting cast did get better... a lot better. Lebron James just got worse. Did it really? Take the 2009 play-offs against Orlando. Sure the Cavs had the best "player" in the league, but Orlando had a better "team" in the league. The Cavs minus James are sporadic. You won't hear me argue that the Cavs were a better team in 2008-2009 when they got smoked by the Orlando Magic. They were missing a piece, but overall that team was much better than the 2006-2007 team that made the NBA finals. The Cavs roster in 2006-2007: LeBron James Larry Hughes Zydrunas Ilgauskas Drew Gooden Sasha Pavlovic Donyell Marshall Anderson Varejao Damon Jones Eric Snow Daniel Gibson Shannon Brown The Cavs roster in 2009-2010: LeBron James Mo Williams J.J. Hickson Anderson Varejao Shaquille O'Neal Anthony Parker Delonte West Zydrunas Ilgauskas Antawn Jamison Daniel Gibson Jamario Moon Jawad Williams
July 13, 201014 yr Take the 2009 play-offs against Orlando. Sure the Cavs had the best "player" in the league, but Orlando had a better "team" in the league. The Cavs minus James are sporadic. You mean like the sporadic Magic team that was on fire for the Cavs series and then cooled off for the Finals and got swept?
July 13, 201014 yr Hoot, you beat me to it. Also, consider who was starting for those teams. that 07 team doesn't make it out of the second round in 08-09.
July 13, 201014 yr http://bleacherreport.com/articles/419381-i-dont-want-to-go-ring-chasing-lebron-james-2006 ESPN the magazine article in '06. Of course this was before the '08 Olympics when "The Decision" was likely made. Ahh....thanks!
July 13, 201014 yr In other Cavs news, JJ Hickson is back playing in the Vegas summer league working on his footwork and jumpshot. There is an article on CLEdotbomb today. Sounds like he wants to be ready to step in his larger roll.
July 13, 201014 yr hmmm.... :lol: Iron Maiden Fans Hate Canada More Than They Hate LeBron James 7/13/10 at 11:15 AM Last night at MSG — in between hopping around the stage like an eager So You Think You Can Dance contestant and sharing the spotlight with a ten-foot, ax-shredding demon creature — Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson demonstrated that not even front men for legendary British metal bands were able to avoid The Decision. During a bit of stage banter, Dickinson mentioned the band had just played New Jersey and promptly received a hearty impromptu round of boos. "It's real easy to wind you up, isn't it?" Dickinson responded. "How would you feel if I mentioned LeBron James?" More boos! (By the way, you haven't heard anyone say "LeBron James" until you've heard them say "LeBron James" in a theatrical British accent from the stage at MSG). Dickinson moved on, touching on the band's recent Canadian trek ... and got even more boos! "Wow!" a genuinely surprised Dickinson shot back. "You hate Canada even more than you hate LeBron James!" So, it's official: New York–area Iron Maiden fans hate Canada even more than they hate LeBron James. http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/07/iron_maiden_fans_hate_canada_m.html
July 13, 201014 yr It'll be really interesting to see how this team reacts this season. People seem to expect them to drop off a cliff and struggle to make the playoffs. I don't expect as large a drop off. If you look at the roster there are still some very talented players on that team (Jamison, Hickson, Williams, BOOBY, Andy, Moon, Parker). They won't be as talented as Boston, Orlando, Miami, but I expect them to be the 5th or 6th best team in the East (Atlanta and Chicago are wildcards right now). I'm excited to see these guys play now that they've been "unleashed". Byron Scott should get the most out of these guys too... that was a good hire IMO.
July 13, 201014 yr curious why do you keep calling him the prince? Because he's certainly not a king.
July 13, 201014 yr curious why do you keep calling him the prince? Because he's certainly not a king. He's clearly a child...
July 13, 201014 yr It'll be really interesting to see how this team reacts this season. People seem to expect them to drop off a cliff and struggle to make the playoffs. I don't expect as large a drop off. If you look at the roster there are still some very talented players on that team (Jamison, Hickson, Williams, BOOBY, Andy, Moon, Parker). They won't be as talented as Boston, Orlando, Miami, but I expect them to be the 5th or 6th best team in the East (Atlanta and Chicago are wildcards right now). I'm excited to see these guys play now that they've been "unleashed". Byron Scott should get the most out of these guys too... that was a good hire IMO. Call me an optimistic fool, but I still think they can make the playoffs, but they need another piece or two. Byron Scott is going to run with this team, and most of the players on the squad are well-suited for such a system.
July 13, 201014 yr It'll be really interesting to see how this team reacts this season. People seem to expect them to drop off a cliff and struggle to make the playoffs. I don't expect as large a drop off. If you look at the roster there are still some very talented players on that team (Jamison, Hickson, Williams, BOOBY, Andy, Moon, Parker). They won't be as talented as Boston, Orlando, Miami, but I expect them to be the 5th or 6th best team in the East (Atlanta and Chicago are wildcards right now). I'm excited to see these guys play now that they've been "unleashed". Byron Scott should get the most out of these guys too... that was a good hire IMO. (gasp).... it's "Boobie" Agreed though. Unless they start dumping some of their veterans and go on a youth movement, they are a playoff team. All depends on how they deal with this adversity. Individual stats will increase. They need someone to step up as the #1 option though. There is a lot of debate over whether they should build on what they have or whether that is going to lead them down a path to prolonged mediocrity. I think they have a shot at a 50 win season as the team stands now, but I am not sure that would be good for long-term success and the ultimate goal of a championship.
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