Understanding LeBron's decision.

[HarlemHeat37]

The only charity Lebron cares about is his own ego. Did it for the kids my ass.

The six million + $ to charity disagrees with you..

[Shank]

The six million + $ to charity disagrees with you..

Stop falling for that bull . You act like the guy is out there winning ing wars and rescuing children from fires. There are plenty of guys in the NBA that donate their money and time to helping the less-than-fortunate. Difference is, a guy comes off as a complete asshole if he has to flaunt that he's giving to charity. Besides, his flaunting of the donation hasn't worked for him. He's still losing the PR battle, regardless of the amount.

Stop looking up to this jerkoff as though he's some sort of savior. Don't you understand what a real hero and a real human being looks like these days? I'll give you a hint - it's not the with the massive ego getting handjobbed by all of Las Vegas. What you're doing is shameful.

[KidCongo]

Can the Heat deal with all the entourage of Wade, LJ and Bosh? Catering to LeBron as well as the other two will be the hardest thing.

[Venti Quattro]

gotta give it to HarlemHeat37, he's the only fan that I know having full-pledged support to three teams.

[Shank]

gotta give it to HarlemHeat37, he's the only fan that I know having full-pledged support to three teams.

...in the NBA.

I'd hate to see what that map looks like if you open it up to the rest of the sports world.

[Shank]

Can the Heat deal with all the entourage of Wade, LJ and Bosh? Catering to LeBron as well as the other two will be the hardest thing.

I know some of these dudes signed on for the vet minimum, trying to be part of something "special", but they've been around the block as well. I'd imagine, at some point, someone is going to be upset with the blocks of parking set aside for the 3 as well as all the favoritism, jobs for friends and perks going on behind the scenes.

[dbestpro]

Yup, as I said before, Maverick Carter might get fired one day. "The Decision" was a terrible idea.

Not even Brett Favre goes that far.

This.

Once James sales continue to plummet James will blame the whole thing on Carter.

Fast forward to 2032 we see M. Carter selling used cars with photos of James on the wall, watching TV as Lebron is being chased by police at 20 mph in a Ford Bronco.

[Shank]

This.

Once James sales continue to plummet James will blame the whole thing on Carter.

Fast forward to 2032 we see M. Carter selling used cars with photos of James on the wall, watching TV as Lebron is being chased by police at 20 mph in a Ford Bronco.

At Dan Gilbert's car lot.

[Findog]

Stop falling for that bull . You act like the guy is out there winning ing wars and rescuing children from fires. There are plenty of guys in the NBA that donate their money and time to helping the less-than-fortunate. Difference is, a guy comes off as a complete asshole if he has to flaunt that he's giving to charity. Besides, his flaunting of the donation hasn't worked for him. He's still losing the PR battle, regardless of the amount.

Stop looking up to this jerkoff as though he's some sort of savior. Don't you understand what a real hero and a real human being looks like these days? I'll give you a hint - it's not the with the massive ego getting handjobbed by all of Las Vegas. What you're doing is shameful.

LeBron didn't give one cent to the Boys and Girls Club, the money raised came from selling commercial ad space during "The Decision." He can write a check anytime he wants if he wants to donate. It's PR cover for the move of humiliating Cleveland on national television. And he didn't take the opportunity at all during "The Decision" to talk about the Boys and Girls Club and why it's so important. He just used them as props.

[Koolaid_Man]

Man I hate to be the one to break this...and you guys know I like Lebronze and all but Lebrone and Maverick Carter seem inseparable. Personally I liken it to a husband and wife situation...

Reminiscent of Nights in Rodanthe:




So my observation is quite simple Lebron and Carter got more than a business relationship going on..I can sense a certain look in their eyes and Carter always seem to be close to his man Plain and Simple.

The Beginning of this secretive yet very special relationship:




Carter keeping a close watch on his man during this handshake:




Carter showing Lebron the bulge in his pants as Lebron Blushes:




Carter even lined up this gig for Lebron to express his true self:




Lebron Laughs Off JZ's attempt to get close to his guy:



Even on vacation they can't leave each other's side. Lebron uses the woman in the front as a pawn for the cameras while he walks with his main man Carter...



Lebron's Crew Grows under Carters tutelage:




Carter sets up a special birthday party for his guy..only guys allowed:



Finally this is the closet they can be behind each other without reavealing their secret:

[KidCongo]

I know some of these dudes signed on for the vet minimum, trying to be part of something "special", but they've been around the block as well. I'd imagine, at some point, someone is going to be upset with the blocks of parking set aside for the 3 as well as all the favoritism, jobs for friends and perks going on behind the scenes.

Exactly, the Heat organisation will have to bend over backwards trying to accomodate. Staff and high paying fans will be the first to be ticked off.

[Koolaid_Man]

Exactly, the Heat organisation will have to bend over backwards trying to accomodate. Staff and high paying fans will be the first to be ticked off.

man u got some ing balls still repping that name...Lebron ed you royally Stephon Starbury style... and you deserved every minute of it for all that lame ass talking you did to LA fans...now he's about to deep throat Heat fan on prime-time...I'm gonna get my pop-corn ready!!!

[NASHville]

The six million + $ to charity disagrees with you..

None of that came out of his pocket.

[EIC]

1) Cleveland fans would hate the decision regardless if it was made discretely or on national TV. They are using the TV aspect of it to garner undue sympathy from the rest of the country. Cleveland fans need to understand that their ty sports state of affairs is not LeBron's fault. It is unfair for them to expect him to single-handedly wipe away decades of sports failure, or for them to expect him to sacrifice his own best interests in the process. How dare they criticize someone for not sacking himself to save their pathetic lives.

2) I honestly don't see what's wrong with making the announcement on TV. This is ing entertainment, for crying out loud. It's not like he divorced his wife on TV. I don't believe that "The Decision" was the plan from the get-go, but rather evolved as an idea in response to the massive media and public attention to his decision. For s sake, the President was opining on where LeBron should go. Don't you think it would have been a little anticlimactic for the world to find out by signing on to ESPN.com after all the hype surrounding this? He saw a way to give the public what it wanted and make a little dough for the kids in the process. What's the big deal, honestly?

3) The video in the OP shows that LeBron's primary purpose has not simply been winning, but winning with his friends. He clearly longs to be a part of a group. He saw an opportunity in Miami to recapture what he had in high school with this best friends and went after it. In this era of me-first prima-donnas who will sit out entire seasons for more money, why the are we condemning a guy who is willing to take less money* to play with his friends and for the sake of winning a championship? If anything, this at ude is too rare in sports today and should be encouraged.

4) Did any of the haters stop to think that the public response to his playoff performances against the Celtics was a big reason he chose to join a team with more than one star? If LeBron is not Superman every night, people think he is a "quitter" rather than just having a supremely ty night. (Meanwhile, Kobe sucks fat in Game 7 of The Finals and people just accept that he's having an off night because Pau Gasol and the Euro Trash Kids are there to bail his ass out.) The man is going to have off night and it's not fair to expect him to be perfect all the time.

* Anyone disputing that he took less money is a dumbass. Yes, with the tax situation in Florida, $14 million from the Heat is like $17 million from the Cavs/Knicks/Nets/Bulls/etc. But your dumbass fails to realize that if money was LeBron's primary motive, he could have simply demanded that same $17 million from the Heat. The point is that he was willing to leave money on the table for the group benefit.

[BullsDynasty]

1) Cleveland fans would hate the decision regardless if it was made discretely or on national TV. They are using the TV aspect of it to garner undue sympathy from the rest of the country. Cleveland fans need to understand that their ty sports state of affairs is not LeBron's fault. It is unfair for them to expect him to single-handedly wipe away decades of sports failure, or for them to expect him to sacrifice his own best interests in the process. How dare they criticize someone for not sacking himself to save their pathetic lives.

2) I honestly don't see what's wrong with making the announcement on TV. This is ing entertainment, for crying out loud. It's not like he divorced his wife on TV. I don't believe that "The Decision" was the plan from the get-go, but rather evolved as an idea in response to the massive media and public attention to his decision. For s sake, the President was opining on where LeBron should go. Don't you think it would have been a little anticlimactic for the world to find out by signing on to ESPN.com after all the hype surrounding this? He saw a way to give the public what it wanted and make a little dough for the kids in the process. What's the big deal, honestly?

3) The video in the OP shows that LeBron's primary purpose has not simply been winning, but winning with his friends. He clearly longs to be a part of a group. He saw an opportunity in Miami to recapture what he had in high school with this best friends and went after it. In this era of me-first prima-donnas who will sit out entire seasons for more money, why the are we condemning a guy who is willing to take less money* to play with his friends and for the sake of winning a championship? If anything, this at ude is too rare in sports today and should be encouraged.

4) Did any of the haters stop to think that the public response to his playoff performances against the Celtics was a big reason he chose to join a team with more than one star? If LeBron is not Superman every night, people think he is a "quitter" rather than just having a supremely ty night. (Meanwhile, Kobe sucks fat in Game 7 of The Finals and people just accept that he's having an off night because Pau Gasol and the Euro Trash Kids are there to bail his ass out.) The man is going to have off night and it's not fair to expect him to be perfect all the time.

* Anyone disputing that he took less money is a dumbass. Yes, with the tax situation in Florida, $14 million from the Heat is like $17 million from the Cavs/Knicks/Nets/Bulls/etc. But your dumbass fails to realize that if money was LeBron's primary motive, he could have simply demanded that same $17 million from the Heat. The point is that he was willing to leave money on the table for the group benefit.

Of course Cleveland would hated the decision no matter how he handled it the fact that he put it on national television makes them hate the decision even more.... You think Dan Gilbert would have put Lebron on blast with that letter had he told him before hand 'Hey I'm leaving'. IMO its pretty re ed of Lebron to put his team and city on the spot like that on national television

[midnightpulp]

...now he's about to deep throat Heat fan on prime-time...I'm gonna get my pop-corn ready!!!

So what you're saying is that the idea of oral sex between two men entertains you?

[JamStone]

LeBron was fine leaving. And I even think if he felt special enough to do that ESPN special, ok... I guess. I had more of a problem with him not even calling Dan Gilbert personally. For me, I think LeBron as a professional should have had the decency and courtesy to tell Dan Gilbert himself, preferably face to face, but at the very least he should have been the one to have called Gilbert, not one of the guys on his "team." I'd go so far as to say he should have called each of the other owners/GMs he had talks/negotiations with and called them personally as well. That's not to defend Dan Gilbert though, because I think he was an ass as well in how he reacted and responded with that online letter. Ridiculous for an NBA owner to do that.

The other two things I think could have given him a chance to not look like such a pompous egomaniac were if he and his team didn't try to justify the spectacle as a charity even for the Boys & Girls Club. That just made it seem so pretentious. You know what? Want to really do it for the kids? Don't tell anyone, not the media, not anyone that you gave all the proceeds to the Boys & Girls Club. Just give them the money. Don't have a big check for them on the show. Don't have it at a Boys & Girls Club. Take the entire $6 million and quietly, even anonymously, send them the check. It would have gotten out sooner or later and at least he wouldn't have seemed like such a fake good guy. The other things is take a full page ad in the local Cleveland newspaper, give a sincere message thanking the Cavaliers fans and the City of Cleveland and even Dan Gilbert for your 7 years with the organization. Express that you're doing what you felt was best for you, your family, and your career, tell them you are sorry you couldn't bring them a championship, tell them you wish things could have turned out better, wish them and the organization the best, tell them you still got love for all the fans, and ask them to try to understand and respect your decision. Can give the Boys & Girls Club $2.5 million but can't fork over a couple hundred dollars to say goodbye to the fans who were a big part in helping make you who you are?

Even if you want to say ESPN special wasn't that bad of a thing, which isn't really all that arguable, there are peripheral things that he could have handled much, much, much better. As an adult, as a professional, even as a role model, he handled it extremely poorly.

[florige]

If for nothing else he owes the city of Cleveland an explanation of his crappy play the last two games of his career there. And he of all people should know all that town has been through sports wise and at the very least publicy said something to them directly. At least Art Modell did that much. All this is doing is partying up in Miami. I hope he never wins crap.

[JoeTait75]

He fabricated an injury and quit on his team in a playoff series they could have won, in a year they could have won the le.

Everything else is commentary.

4) Did any of the haters stop to think that the public response to his playoff performances against the Celtics was a big reason he chose to join a team with more than one star? If LeBron is not Superman every night, people think he is a "quitter" rather than just having a supremely ty night. (Meanwhile, Kobe sucks fat in Game 7 of The Finals and people just accept that he's having an off night because Pau Gasol and the Euro Trash Kids are there to bail his ass out.) The man is going to have off night and it's not fair to expect him to be perfect all the time.

That's because LeBron didn't "play poorly." He tanked.

It isn't as if he hasn't played poorly in the playoffs before. 35 percent against the Spurs in the 2007 Finals, 35 percent against the C's in the 2008 ECSF. 8-for-42, 19 turnovers in the first two games of that 2008 Boston series.

He was still trying, though. And people in Cleveland were always happy to let LeBron slide on whatever they could.

He's played poorly before. This time he just stopped trying. Galaxy of difference there.

Christ, all you have to do in this city is TRY. It's not as if we're demanding championships.

[Giuseppe]

Christ, all you have to do in this city is TRY. It's not as if we're demanding championships.

On a Rutigliano Super Bowl team, da, da, da, da.

[JoeTait75]

On a Rutigliano Super Bowl team, da, da, da, da.

They still get misty over those Kardiac Kids, Cully.

A team that didn't even win a playoff game.

[EIC]

He fabricated an injury and quit on his team in a playoff series they could have won, in a year they could have won the le.

Everything else is commentary.

LeBron didn't "play poorly." He tanked.

It isn't as if he hasn't played poorly in the playoffs before. 35 percent against the Spurs in the 2007 Finals, 35 percent against the C's in the 2008 ECSF. 8-for-42, 19 turnovers in the first two games of that 2008 Boston series.

He was still trying, though. And people in Cleveland were always happy to let LeBron slide on whatever they could.

He's played poorly before. This time he just stopped trying. Galaxy of difference there.

Christ, all you have to do in this city is TRY. It's not as if we're demanding championships.

I've heard this claim many times, but no one has bothered to offer an explanation as to LeBron's motive for "tanking." What would possess him to rip up in the regular season, only to suddenly throw on the brakes in the Celtics series? Doesn't make sense.

I mean, even if you think he'd already formed the intent to leave Cleveland, you'd think he would have busted his ass to bring a championship to them so he could say he fulfilled his promise and go out on top.

The only thing I'll give you is that he should have called the Cavaliers beforehand. That's something that is regrettable. But that single misstep does not justify the amount of hate being sent his way. Frankly, the hate is bizarre and makes Clevenland fans look re ed, IMO.

[EIC]

Of course Cleveland would hated the decision no matter how he handled it the fact that he put it on national television makes them hate the decision even more.... You think Dan Gilbert would have put Lebron on blast with that letter had he told him before hand 'Hey I'm leaving'. IMO its pretty re ed of Lebron to put his team and city on the spot like that on national television

Maybe not that exact letter, but something like it. What are you saying?

LeBron calls Gilbert before ESPN special = Gilbert takes it in stride

Gilbert gets news for first time on ESPN = Gilbert goes ballistic

Just doesn't make sense that the act of not being given prior notice results in that volume of hate. It's wildly disproportional.

Let's call a spade a spade. Cleveland fans and Gilbert are using "The Decision" to scapegoat the real basis for their anger: The fact that LeBron chose to leave the city behind. But they can't criticize LeBron for simply leaving them, because deep down they know that hating a man for choosing to live his life as he sees fit would come across as extremely selfish and disgusting.

[HarlemHeat37]

Lebron took more FTAs in game 5 than his average FTA per game for the playoffs..I thought he wasn't attacking the basket, according to these people..

He had a triple double in game 6, and a usage % of 35+ IIRC..there's absolutely no reason to think he wasn't trying, and it's disrespectful to the Celtics' D to say that he just quit..