Quote Originally Posted by Fonecrusher View Post
Anyway I see all this LBJ hate and while I think some of it is justified, some of you are taking the "Cleveland judas" stuff a bit too far "he promised them a championship?" I mean really? When LBJ went to Cleveland they were a joke (much like now) he single handedly took them from cellar dwellers to being legit contenders and an Eastern Conference Final. Yes Cleveland had faith in him to select him at no.1 but he repayed that faith by bringing them success all on his own. He did this with with a team full of nobodies. Every season Dan Gilbert promised he would build a good supporting cast around LBJ who did he get? Moe Williams, Antoine Jamison, a washed up Shaq?

Am I the only who doesn't have a problem with what LBJ did? This is an age where small market teams will always struggle to hold onto their superstars, what LBJ did is no worse than what Melo did to Denver or what Chris Paul will do to the Hornets when his contract expires.

There's only one villian in Cleveland and that's Dan Gilbert, what did he do when he knew LBJ would leave? Nothing, absolutely nothing, Cleveland sat with their hands up their ass all off season, signing a bunch of smucks and look at the season they just had. He looks even more foolish for that little promise he made Cleveland fans this season that "the Cavs would win a championship before Lebron does".

Btw I'm a Celtics fan so shoot me!
I have no issues with what LBJ did - it was the way he did it.

C'mon, a half hour telecast on ESPN to announce his decision?

Cleveland's a nowhere franchise, always have been, always will be - he brought relevance to a team that nobody cared about.

I agree that's it's not his fault for jumping ship since Dan Gilbert and the Cleveland execs didn't exactly give him a Robin to his Batman.

As previously mentioned, I'm an LBJ fan, but my biggest gripe is the way he did what he did and chose to go to Miami and joining Wade.

He should have gone to the Knicks and built on his legacy further by leading that team to the championship.

Yes, granted the Knicks are also rebuilding, but they would have rebuilt around him quite quickly - James Dolan has very deep pockets and NY is a massive market that would attract other players once they've seen LBJ make the Knicks relevant again.

Quote Originally Posted by jazzcomp View Post
He's a hometown hero. He's from Ohio. You bend over backwards to give the man what he wants. Cleveland gave the most money for the superstar to stay. If you don't want to play for cleveland, then ask for a trade. If you are leaving, I think it's decent to inform your employer so that they can plan for your departure. I remember when Kobe was complaining and that getting to the playoffs wasn't enough because of the early exits. But Cleveland was #1 and reaches the conference finals and finals and just couldn't get over the hump.

I think you're alone in your view of what lebron did compared to the others like Amare, Melo, etc.

It's not just the team but the fans. The cleveland natives had so much heartbreak from their teams. This was their saving grace so you can understand the hate from them.

He was supposed to be batman and that a good team was enough to support him and doesn't need a robin. Right now, he's not even the robin to Dwade in the finals.

For someone so great that pulls his team from the cellar to contender, he doesn't seem to be the greatest in his new team now. At least in Cleveland, he was superman.
LBJ's from Akron, not Cleveland - that's like the equivalent of Sydney Vs Newcastle or Wollongong.

Akron has always been considered a lower class city than Cleveland with many residents of Cleveland looking down upon the people and the town - so no, Cleveland's not his hometown and he had no firm allegiance to them.

While it's not widely reported, after announcing his decision to take his talents to South Beach, LeBron accepted less money than what Cleveland had on the table.

He also agreed to a sign and trade so that Cleveland was not left without anything to show for losing him - it's just the media and Dan Gilbert who has made it out that he left them high and dry without anything.

I think it was quite obvious and Cleveland should have been bracing themselves that he was intending on leaving anyway, even before 'The Decision' - I mean, if he planned on staying, would he not have bothered to entertain the idea of a contract extension (which they offered)?

It's ignorant to blame him or hate him for leaving when the obvious signs were there that he was going to depart.

If you're going to hate on him, hate on him for the way he did it ('The Decision' show) not what he did (leaving).

As for the Batman/Robin/Superman comparisons - every team that has won championships in recent history has a Batman & Robin(s).

In Cleveland, he had nothing - Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, past-his-prime Shaq were definitely not anywhere near being Robin or Robins.

MJ had Pippen, Duncan had Ginobili/Parker (multiple Robins), Kobe and Shaq, Garnett/Pierce/Allen, Kobe and Gasol/Odom/Zen-Master Phil Jackson, etc

Dan Gilbert and Cleveland weren't exactly putting the right pieces around him in order for them to win a championship - LBJ still had to carry the entire team pretty much unsupported, no wonder he left.