2013-2014 NBA Season

[lukethedrifter]

[ I also think he is a bit of a frontrunner, but that's just me.

You can argue whether it's a damnable trait, but would anyone here, even the staunchest defenders, argue that LeBron isn't a frontrunner?

Do you mean he's a front runner as in he's leading a race or front runner as in fair weather fan?

[stlouie_lipp]

[ I also think he is a bit of a frontrunner, but that's just me.

You can argue whether it's a damnable trait, but would anyone here, even the staunchest defenders, argue that LeBron isn't a frontrunner?

Do you mean he's a front runner as in he's leading a race or front runner as in fair weather fan?

In that he took the "easy" path to winning championship(s) by going to a "Super Team". It will be interesting to see if he opts out now that Wade is a shell of his former self and Bosh is just....well, there.

[cardsfansince82]

[ I also think he is a bit of a frontrunner, but that's just me.

You can argue whether it's a damnable trait, but would anyone here, even the staunchest defenders, argue that LeBron isn't a frontrunner?

Do you mean he's a front runner as in he's leading a race or front runner as in fair weather fan?

In that he took the "easy" path to winning championship(s) by going to a "Super Team". It will be interesting to see if he opts out now that Wade is a shell of his former self and Bosh is just....well, there.

The team he went to wasn't any better than the Spurs, Lakers, Celtics, Thunder already were, and that's who he had to beat to get a ring. Any team he joined (Bulls, Heat, whoever) was going to be on that level because he's that damn good. The last team to win an NBA title without 3 all star caliber players is probably the 98 Bulls, so only sixteen years ago. Everyone is telling him he's a piece of [expletive] until he wins a ring. What was he supposed to do? Stay in Cleveland and never win a ring and then have the same people call him overrated?

[obucard]

[ I also think he is a bit of a frontrunner, but that's just me.

You can argue whether it's a damnable trait, but would anyone here, even the staunchest defenders, argue that LeBron isn't a frontrunner?

Do you mean he's a front runner as in he's leading a race or front runner as in fair weather fan?

In that he took the "easy" path to winning championship(s) by going to a "Super Team". It will be interesting to see if he opts out now that Wade is a shell of his former self and Bosh is just....well, there.

The team he went to wasn't any better than the Spurs, Lakers, Celtics, Thunder already were, and that's who he had to beat to get a ring. Any team he joined (Bulls, Heat, whoever) was going to be on that level because he's that damn good. The last team to win an NBA title without 3 all star caliber players is probably the 98 Bulls, so only sixteen years ago. Everyone is telling him he's a piece of [expletive] until he wins a ring. What was he supposed to do? Stay in Cleveland and never win a ring and then have the same people call him overrated?

The issue a lot of people had is that he joined Wade in Miami. If he convinced Wade and Bosh to go to Cleveland, there would have been a fraction of the hate (and likely a ton of praise for convincing the other two to join him). If all 3 go to New York, the focus stays on the Knicks championship drought and how the Big 3 can end it. Instead, he went to Miami, which was already Wade's team (and stayed that way until Wade's knees forced him into the back seat). By going to a team that already had an alpha dog player (who already had a ring), LeBron effectively told everyone he didn't have what it took to be an alpha dog; he would rather be second fiddle. For someone with his talent, it was seen as a waste. It was only after they won a title that the focus really shifted to the collusion/super-team angle.

[MrSaigon]

He's a frontrunner because he doesn't mind winning with a stacked deck. Yes, I suppose every NBA Champion team (or any team with LeBron) is a stacked deck, but what LeBron did was different. Four years ago Wade, Bosh and LeBron all could have been anchors for NBA teams. Now he's trying to lasso Carmelo as well (reportedly, anyway), for expletive's sake. I asked it before and I'll ask it again, would LeBron like Team USA to play in the league, and would he like to play for that team? He has a different idea of what winning is/means than me and many others.

I'm far less of a LeBron hater these days, too. His championships meant plenty, and a lot more than I thought they would when he formed Team LeBron (another thing I hate about The Decision is how little it has to with the team/city/fans). He used to be a frontrunner because he gave up on his team when they were losing (I mean within a game). So, he's developed as well. Obviously he's a brilliant player, but he seems to be a pretty decent guy too.

And I may have made mistakes when I was 25... and 30... and yesterday. But I usually tried to make them right, or at least apologize.

[cardsfansince82]

By going to a team that already had an alpha dog player (who already had a ring), LeBron effectively told everyone he didn't have what it took to be an alpha dog; he would rather be second fiddle. For someone with his talent, it was seen as a waste. It was only after they won a title that the focus really shifted to the collusion/super-team angle.

I'm pretty sure he proved he was an "alpha dog" when he made it to the Finals in Cleveland with probably the worst Finals roster ever. And never at any point was he not the alpha dog in Miami. That was always his team but he deferred too much to Wade the first year out of friendship and it cost him a title. Once he stopped giving a [expletive] what Wade or anyone else thought he got his ring.

And I may have made mistakes when I was 25... and 30... and yesterday. But I usually tried to make them right, or at least apologize.

2011, before ever winning a ring

In his post-game comments following the Heat's 97-87 win over the Celtics to win their series 4-1, LeBron James apologized for the way "The Decision" want down.
James told reporters that he was sorry for how the one-hour special occurred, but felt that teaming up with Bosh and Wade in Miami was necessary to get past the Celtics.

As CBSSports.com's Ken Berger reports, James told reporters:
"I knew I had to go through Boston at some point. I went through a lot signing to be here and the way it panned out. I apologize for the way it happened, but I knew that this opportunity was once in a lifetime."

James will continue to receive condemnation over the event, for his attitude, approach, and behavior. But after the game, he spoke candidly to TNT's Craig Sager about how much of a demon the Celtics represented to him:
"First of all thanks to the Boston Celtics, coach Rivers, that coaching staff, those player, they make you fight for everything. You can never take a second off. "
James was tortured by the Celtics, who swooped in after his 2007 Finals run and took over the Eastern Conference. Their own version of the Big 3 raised the bar for rosters, leaving James frustrated with how his Cavaliers team compared. Right or wrong, James felt compelled to raise the talent around to him to a higher level. He did so, and on Tuesday night, that decision, "The Decision" proved to be the right one for his career agenda.


How he did it was wrong. It was always wrong, and somewhere inside him, James knew that, despite refusing to apologize for it in Cleveland earlier this year. It may seem easy to apologize now that he's made the Conference Finals and gotten past the Celtics, but for someone who has made so many P.R. gaffes over the last year, it's a step in the right direction, this humilty. This is the LeBron James Reclamation Project now. It started with beating the Celitcs in Miami. It will only truly end with a championship ring.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entr ... 4/29248218

[Felix The Cat]

The team he went to wasn't any better than the Spurs, Lakers, Celtics, Thunder already were, and that's who he had to beat to get a ring. Any team he joined (Bulls, Heat, whoever) was going to be on that level because he's that damn good. The last team to win an NBA title without 3 all star caliber players is probably the 98 Bulls, so only sixteen years ago. Everyone is telling him he's a piece of [expletive] until he wins a ring. What was he supposed to do? Stay in Cleveland and never win a ring and then have the same people call him overrated?

Um...what? I've heard quite a few discussions about NBA championship teams with minimal star players and that's the first time I've ever heard any of MJ's Bulls teams mentioned in that light.

[MrSaigon]

Oh, my mistake. I remembered him saying something, but I didn't realize he used the words 'I apologize.' I thought it was more of a politician's 'I did nothing wrong but I'll sort of allude to something less than wonderful happening.'

[Socnorb11]

Lebron was never the "alpha" in Miami, in my opinion. They had already shown that they could win a championship without him, before he ever went there. It wouldn't be that much different than Carmelo Anthony joining them next year. "Frontrunner" is a pretty good description.

[lukethedrifter]

Now that's just silly.