I think 3 years is more than enough time for a GM to build a le contender in today's league, but for the sake of argument, let's say 7 years, typically half the career of most super stars, could it get done? Honestly, I don't think these ex-players are put off by Lebron wanting to play with better talent. I think they are put off by all the hype that Lebron received without earning it over the course of his career. MJ spoke on this in a previous interview by saying these guys are given everything without earning it.
Lebron finally came to the realization that he needed to make a drastic move to leave the type of legacy that the greats before him left. The problem with that is, he was born and raised in the city that he became famous in. It's easy to say that Magic or Bird wouldn't have left because they were drafted as the final pieces to great teams, but I think both players could look at Lebron's situation and say to themselves that there was no way they would have left Cleveland the way Lebron did. Dirk has been wearing the same shoes Lebron has been wearing for much longer, but I bet Dirk stayed put because of his close ties to the city, and he feels like that's his team. Lebron thinks that if he wins 5-6 les it will enhance his career, but at the end of the day all people wanted to see was if he could dominate on the big stage, now no one will ever now.