I will never root for LeBron James...

BTW First!!!!!!!!!!!!
Melo will stay for 3 more seasons and then yes he’s gone. Thats why jefferson is a must NOW. The next 3 seasons or bust. Also I just reupped my tix too and I wouldnt if i thought Melo was gone.

Great write-up… I agree completely.

I have been to busy to really follow everything that’s been happening with the “Summer of LeBron” over the last month, but somewhere along the way I just decided that he would never leave the Cavs. I thought there was no way he would leave, not because of loyalty to the city and team, but because he would feel like a coward for leaving.

It is basically an admission that he doesn’t believe he is good enough to win without getting a chance to play with two of the best 10 players in the league.

And the fact that he had the balls to schedule and execute a hokey and contrived “1-Hour Special” to announce his decision, during which he stabbed his team and ultimately an entire city in the back, just kills me. Really? I always knew LeBron craved the spotlight, but I never thought he would pull a stunt like this. Borderline Pathetic.

Oh well, I’ll still be watching the games, regardless of if I think LeBron is a gigantic, self-absorbed douchebag. The basketball coming out of Miami could be spectacular. But then again, it might not be… Two ball-hogging, high volume shot taking superstars in the back-court is never an easy thing to pull off.

I think LeBron has the right to chose to go where ever he wanted to go. What’s wrong with him wanting to team up two all stars. He doesn’t owe anything at all to the city of Cleveland or the Cavs organization. The point is, if he had decided to stay in Cleveland, yeah we’d be saying oh how noble, what a hometown hero, etc….

but then when he doesn’t win a ring we still blast him. He finally did the right thing and instead of listening to everyone talking shit about him and went to the team with the highest chance to win.

The only knock I have on this whole situation is the fact that he held this whole decision parade. That was completely unnecessary and showed he does have a huge ego. But the fact that minutes after his decision the owner of the Cavs goes out and has a lil hissy fit, think about it… the owner is saying “how dare you leave a team that you never chose to go to for a chance to win a ring? seriously I hope you are unlucky and never win a ring. I am cursing you because you didn’t chose me.” This sounds like a crazy ex-girlfriend saying “I’ll find you, hunt you down, cut your balls off and make sure you’re never with another girl again.” Seriously why can’t LeBron move on.

just my opinion, and I know I’m against most the other Stiff readers on this point, but I’ll stick by it

and those other teams who tanked two years so they could have a 20% chance to get Lebron should check their business strategy. But the way he handled this free-agency was pathetic. You know I would have given him credit for taking less money to go to Miami had he showed any class whatsoever but he didn’t. To not even tell the other teams whom he would go to until right before his reality TV crap and then stab Cleveland in the back in the most publicized announcement in NBA history, that shit was wrong.

This is just such a surreal story. When I first heard about the Beijing conference that included these three and Chris Paul, I thought it was the craziest and coolest thing I’ve ever heard. Four superstars subjugating their ego to win a championship together? Fast forward to tonight and it ends up making LeBron look selfish. How weird is that? If this scenario occurs in Cleveland, he’s seen as a leader and is instantly a legend. Now, as you have pointed out, he is easily the most hated player in the NBA.

After everything the average American has gone through in the past three years, he takes what little hope a working class community has and doesn’t even have the decency to refrain from showing his face in public. If he really thought this was best, he should be ashamed, hide his face and write a public statement— not this.

Worst of all? He’s not even partly prepared for the scrutiny and mistreatment he will receive. His life has been crazy, dotted by thousands of writers, photographers, agents, and groupies, but he’s never had to deal with scorn. What will it feel like to get booed every time he touches the ball in another city? Billionaire? Kiss that goodbye, his image is completely shot. Kobe is now the alpha dog, and he comes out an absolute winner in this. The Lakers will absolutely mop the floor with the Heat if it gets that far, because they have the player LeBron wishes he was.

My final question is this: will this (seemingly) universal hatred linger? My guess is it will disappear as easily as a kids’ attention span in this manufactured quick stimulus culture. Maybe LeBron gets it— maybe he knows that his disloyalty is nothing in an era of divorce, debt, and sexting.

Come on Kevin Durant, the new King of the NBA, do it for the little markets!

the camera showed him on the ‘decision’ and he looked like he just put down his dog….but I still thought it was NYC…don’t know why, maybe just rooting. I don’t think Melo will leave just due to the CBA. If there was no looming lockout I think he would def split for home.

not for the show, that was a great advertisement of his league, but because Lebron chose the smallest market of those teams that wanted him(outside of Cleveland). Had he been in NY with Amare there would be a shit load more money to make, especially if Melo was free to join them after next year.

Pat Riley is a fucking genius…. GM of the year

What, you seriously think this “narcissist” LeBron will allow D-Wade to lead the team? There’s no way in hell LeBron isn’t going to lead the team statistically and emotionally.

Sure, if he wins a ring it’ll be tainted, but not because he’s “Pippen”, but because he’ll have superstars as D-Wade and Bosh as sidekicks.

NBA video games are going to be impossible to play online and LeBron/Wade/Bosh all just ruined their fantasy capabilities.

Btw, anyone else realize that LeBron just threw away his chance for a 3rd straight MVP?

MELO FOR 2010-2011 MVP.

“The Cleveland fans should be ashamed for burning his jersey and should hang his jersey for the way he behaved himself the last 7 years and today” Biggest superstar cock sucker of all time?

Lebron can do whatever he wants, i still think they dont have enough for a championship unless Lebron really does become the best ever, they have the big 3, a decent pg and now what looks like a great 6th man in miller but no center and no other bench players but 3 2nd round picks and what will probably be some d league scrapings.

I still dont think this is anything close to the lakers getting Gasol for jack squat and his brother.

It was some low down shit, just the whole circus of how it played out and how morbidly shocking it was to see the Cavs and the entire CLE community get done like that. Part of it is ESPN and the fans totally eating up Lebron’s marketing monster. But the system is also to blame and all of the intentional tanking that took place on many teams part (Miami, NY, NJ) fed into this spectacle. Then for Bosh, Wade, Bron to act like they all took the high road and sacrificed to be winners is disgusting. I am convinced there needs to be changes, we have already seen how the cut throat nature of maximum contracts can ruin a franchise for a whole decade like what happened with Kenyon.

I am pretty sure the owners will be pissed off enough to clash with these ego maniac players and probably lock out basketball after next season. I just hope that the incident will stick out as a lasting embarrassment for the league and ensure that another fan base won’t be subject to this kind of humiliation again. Don’t even wanna think about that happening to Denver I don’t give a shit if its the Broncos town or whatever.

However Andrew, I don’t feel bad about Toronto at all. They knowingly screwed themselves time after time and had no reason to hope for holding onto their great player. What happened in Cleveland could not have been any more different than what happened in TOR.

As I said in another thread. This all but guarantees Melo signs the extension with Denver. If Lebron went to NY then I think our chances of losing Melo would have been increased. Now, with just Amare there there’s no reason for him to go

Lebron is a douchebag for the spectacle of the program tonight. However, Lebron did NOT destroy the Cavs by leaving. The Cavs did it to themselves. They always knew this was a possibility, and rather prepare for the contingency they mortgaged their future in hopes of “appeasing” Lebron. Toronto didn’t do the same….in fact I’d say Toronto has done a better job (outside of that lousy contract for Hedo) of preparing for Bosh to leave by adding pieces that are not quite there, but more future building. The Cavs chose to be afraid of Lebron leaving rather than facing it head on.

One more thing Andrew….You should NOT regret re-upping your tix for the Nuggets this year. You are a FAN remember? You support the Nuggets through thick and thin and I’d wager to say you are a good fan. So what if those games are boring and the Nuggets blow someone out. Quite frankly we didn’t have ENOUGH of that last year with the Nuggets and I will gladly take a walkover over a close loss any day. Chin up my friend. The NBA will be just fine

First of all I want to say I don’t give a crap about Cleveland. As one guy said on Deadspin, “It’s Cleveland. It blows. There’s nothing to do in that town except masturbate and cry.” LeBrand has every right to move to another city. He was a total jackass for not telling his former employer ‘hey, I’m outta here’ but that kind of shit always comes back to haunt you.

LeBrand’s silly nicknames like King James and The Chosen One really should make you just laugh. He’s a talented player but I have never watched a Cav’s game and thought, this guy is better than anyone I have ever seen play. In fact, I hate watching him because he believes he is entitled to special treatment. If history is kind to NBA fans all over, this guy will never win a championship.

One big disappointment is I used to sell my Cleveland tickets every year so I don’t have to watch LeBrand. I always liked watching Wade though. Now I have to sell the Miami tickets. Dang.

As far as my season tickets go, I won’t trade them in even if we have to go back to Big Mac to watch the games.

Last of all I want to say LeBrand is a coward. All the talk about building a team around a superstar blah blah blah. He can’t handle the pressure so he went to play on the Eastern Conference all-star team. A guy with balls would have said, fuck it, I’m going to New Jersey; I’m gonna design the team around me, I’m gonna be the superstar, and I’m gonna sell Coca Cola in Russia. I feel like Kobe Bryant would have been tall enough to take on that, Jordan too. LeBrand fell short.

these superstars feel there intitled to huge contracts and championship rings. what ever happend to loyalty,heart and team work? i’m glad a bunch of teams are throwing around boats loads of cash because in the end its only going to cripple a team a few years down the line. (nuggets kmart rings a bell) with the new cba coming those teams will be screwed. maybe denvers doing the right things right now to anticipate the future and not selling there souls for a quick championship with a team full of overpaid superstars.

Is that ESPN needs to go retard itself out of existence.

Pinnacle of sports journalism my ass.

there the ones who spent the hard earned pay to go to games and watch the HOME TOWN HERO play for cleveland. lebron is selfish and only cares about one thing and i have a problem with that.

I like what Reggie Miller said.

“Wade has already won the championship in Miami. It’s his team. Wade is Derek Jeter and Lebron is A-Rod. Lebron will never be ‘the guy’ in Miami”

He will never be the legend like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and etc.

Boozer out of Utah. Stoudemire out of Phoenix. I feel like, Pre-Cancer, we had the Lakers’ number. Things to get interesting in the west. Now we just need to get rid of Smith; he’s a poison. A smith trade, an added big plus a utility big man, and a nice run and we have one more year before we’re back to “Investment in the Future” kenny Battle, Greg Anderson, Anthony Cook status.

And LeBron is a big ol’ Douche Bag. Plain and Simple. LeDouche.

In honor of Lebron I am, from now on referring to myself as “myself.” As in, ‘You took kind of a long break for lunch didn’t ya?" “I was just explorin the best opportunity for myself.” “Well, how would you like to be exploring that opportunity in the unemployment line?” “Well, it was a difficult decision, but I, Myself, at the end of the day, had to make the best decision for myself at that time.”

Pippen was seen as secondary to Jordan everywhere.

I think A. Rod is more appropriate. Outside of NY, A. Rod and Jeter have similar start power, but NY fans will always hold Jeter in higher regard.

Same thing will happen in Miami. James and Wade will be seen as equals outside the fan base, but Wade will always be the guy to Heat fans.

I think the team’s minimum salary should be higher, so they don’t waste 2~3 years for nothing.

If James had chose the Knicks, I think it would be a foregone conclusion that Melo would be right behind him. But I don’t see Melo going to NY now that he would be the man there, and if they fail, it would all be on him and I don’t think he would like the NY media. He can stay in Denver, continue to win and not face that much heat because he has the built in excuse that Kiki handcuffed this organization for the next year, so until we get K-mart out of here and can get a legit front court pressence,Melo will have no pressure. I think he takes the extension and continues to be a Nugget.

Bravo Andrew! Excellently done and right on.

i am now rooting for Kobe. I’ve hated the Lakers for so long, but atleast I have respect for guys like Fish and Kobe and P-Jax. Let’s face it, no matter what Miami does, with the little cap room they have, there is no way they can find a competent big man and a back up big. Bosh is overrated, proved by the fact that Kenyon routinely shut him down while his knees barely held together by a thread. Odom, Bynum, and Gasol will pound the Heat down low, just like they crushed the Jazz when the only big man they had was a 6 9 booze man.

BTW, looks like Utah is out of the running for next year?

Didn’t watch it but heard part of it on the radio. Sounded embarrassing for Lebron. Choosing to play somewhere else was his choice. The way he handled it was about as classless as he possibly could have. So, does the NBA even have a salary cap? And if they do, how is Miami going to fill the rest of their roster?

might cost James $150 million. He goes through some correlation between favorability ratings and endorsement money, and uses Brett Favre’s loss of endorsement revenue as an example of lost favorability during his drawn out retirement.

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/07/did-lebron-james-just-cost-himself-150.html

Bronbron would have had more class to do this.

Can you imagine Apollo Ono going to the Korean team now. OMG!

Chris Bosh = Rose, DWade = Blanche, PRiley = Sophia and LeBron is such a Dorothy.

everytime he steps to the free throw ling

You’ll Never Win
Kobe’s Better
Overrated
Traitor

What makes this decision retarded and makes LBJ look so bad is Chicago was the obvious basketball choice.

The way he has carried himself over the years. He calles himself the “King”. He has Loyalty and Chosen1 tattooed on himself. He has called his teammates his supporting cast. He wears shirts that say “LBJ MVP”. He quit in game 5 and said he’s has 3 bad games in 7 years and says he “spoils” us with his play and talks about being a winner and a leader and all that bullshit. Then he goes to Dwades town to join him and another big star. Thats a bitch move. Thats a bitch fuckin move.

Seriously…fuck his bitch ass.

We beat Miami like a drum,Lakers too.BYE ByE K-Mart.

I guarantee Carmelo Anthony will win a title before LeBron James does.

It may not be with the Nuggets, but Melo will win before James.

and having a panicked air about them for the last two years….they guaranteed they had zero backup plan for Lebron leaving. That’s where I fault the Cavs.

Two things can be true….Lebron is a douche, and the Cavs fucked themselves and their future.

Gilbert also owns fathead and has lowered the Lebron fatheads to $17.41 because 1741 was the birth year of infamous traitor Benedict Arnold.

i missed the call but the lady said she has good news for me…haha.

only outlaws would root for lebron.

What has happened the last 24 hours is beyond what anybody ever could have imagined when this Summer’s free agency bonanza got underway a couple of weeks ago. We are witnessing history in rare form that has never taken place this way before. For the first time the most powerful athlete in all of sports chose where he wanted to play, and what resulted is the most unjustifiable, cynical display of hate I have ever seen.

How many times have you done something wrong in your lifetime that you wish later on you could have done differently? Probably this scenario has played out many times in the average person’s lifetime. But the difference is you don’t have the world watching your every step. You don’t have different people breathing their personal agenda down your neck with every waning minute. In other words, you have no idea whatsoever it must feel like to walk in Lebron James shoes. You can sit here with your personal computer and rip to the maximum amount possible this man’s every goddamn decision because he was built up to be some sort of perfect human being by your fellow bloggers, annalists, journalists, friends, etc., but in reality you have no right to cut this man down for a personal decision, no matter how badly he may have handled it.

It’s an absolute disgrace that people across the country are referring to Lebron James as a “dickhead” and a “bad guy”. It’s beyond my personal grasp as to how you, Andrew, can deduce this fact based on the manner in which Lebron James made a personal business decision. It’s classless for you to say such things, just as it was for a man who has no idea what it means to represent the state of Ohio (Gilbert) to call Lebron James a Benedict Arnold. Staying on this subject, since I feel Gilbert metaphorically represents the general public’s feelings towards Lebron James right now, lets talk a little bit about him. How ironic is it that here’s a man who’s career and wealth are a compilation of business decisions based on what’s best for him, yet he can’t understand the fact that Lebron James chose to play in a situation that is better for him? Then to have the nerve to call out Lebron in the fashion in which he did was disgusting. That man knows nothing in the slightest form of what it means to represent and carry a region of the United States on his back like Lebron James has for the past 6 years. James did everything he could for that city and what exactly did he get back in terms of help from Gilbert and his crew? A 37 year old Shaq? Mo Williams? Larry Hughes? Antawn Jamison for 2 months? One question Gilbert, WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU EXPECT???

I don’t know about the rest of you but the criticism towards Lebron James right now is gross on the highest level. No matter what decision he made Thursday, someones feelings were going to get hurt. But if you want someone to blame for all this, blame yourself. We are the ones that judge an NBA athlete’s’ success based on the amount of rings they earn, so in theory, we are the ones that made Lebron jettison Cleveland as his best chance to win these was in Miami at the moment. We are the ones that feed this ever growing hype machine. We are the ones that all tuned in when Lebron announced he was going to hold the one hour special. We give Lebron the power he has right now, and then we get mad when he misuses it. The bottom line is there is so much hypocrisy behind this whole scenario that it’s dumb and incorrect to place blame on the shoulders of a 25 year old basketball player who decided to change teams. HE DID NOTHING WRONG!!!

I don’t hang around here much, mostly due to the fact that I’m not a big basketball fan, but I had to read this. If I never hear the name “LeBron James” again, it’ll be too soon.

I don’t care what team he went to, I don’t care how he did it and yeah, I know he’s a super talented ball player but… I never liked him. If you ever watch him in a live game, not on the cold-filtered version that TV gives you, where the announcers smooth over any LeBron transgression and blame ‘the other guy’, you will see that he’s always been a big jerk.

Yes, I know it was a run on sentence.

he wins his championship with the heat. he will ask pat riley to allow him to become a free agent. lebron returns to cleveland to pick up where he left off. seriously…… you were born and raised around cleveland, ohio. time for a change of scenery. you cannot go home again.