Bulls Offseason Thread

[Hairyducked Idiot]

So, with the huge ratings this thing got, did Lebron just start a trend for all future big time free agents?

 

I hope so. That was awesome.

[Banedon]

So, with the huge ratings this thing got, did Lebron just start a trend for all future big time free agents?

 

I think it was pretty unique circumstances. I don't think this kind of thing is going to be as possible after the lockout (which is surely coming). In baseball they'll just always go to the Yankees or Red Sox...no drama there. Hockey couldn't pull this off...and the NFL has the franchise tag, which Cleveland obviously would've used given the opportunity.

[jersey cubs fan]

So, with the huge ratings this thing got, did Lebron just start a trend for all future big time free agents?

 

I doubt it. He's one of only a handful of truly huge global icon stars that could get that rating. Mark Teixeira's signing pales in comparison. I don't think you can pull that off with many people.

[Jon]

Darren Rovell[/url]"]As Jim Gray has told it, it was his idea to make LeBron James' free agent plan an hour special. He took the idea to James' marketing agent Maverick Carter of LRMR, who then worked with William Morris Endeavor to put the package together in front of ESPN executives.

 

ESPN didn't play down one part of the business arrangement of the deal — that Gray, the former ESPN and NBC reporter who is now working on a freelance basis, was James' preferred interviewer. But the network didn’t say, and now says they didn't know, that Gray's travel and payment for "The Decision" show was being paid by the entity set up by Team LeBron and not by ESPN, as CNBC has learned.

“We aren’t privy to Gray’s arrangement,” said ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys. “He came as part of the package. We accepted Jim knowing that we would have extensive time for our people to interview LeBron, which was bulk of the show.”

 

 

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l5ar3nom3d1qzptwgo1_500.jpg

(never mind the fact that they screwed up the ratio)

[SouthSideRyan]

And all the books are about Vitamin Water

[Guest]

Waddle and Silvy just said that LeBron fatheads are selling for $17.41 right now. Dan Gilbert owns fathead, and 1741 is Benedict Arnold's birth year.

[jersey cubs fan]

Waddle and Silvy just said that LeBron fatheads are selling for $17.41 right now. Dan Gilbert owns fathead, and 1741 is Benedict Arnold's birth year.

 

http://www.fathead.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/lebron-james/

[Guest]

If he truly is what he says he is, Miami is the worst situation for him. He's basically admitting that at age 25, he couldn't win a title by being the guy.

 

So again, he needs to get good teammates, but they can't be too good. It's an absurd argument.

 

most of the greats would enjoy beating the best instead of joining them

 

I'm sure he'll enjoy beating Kobe Bryant in the next Final.

 

Good luck.

 

It's going to be hilarious watching tons of people who dislike the Lakers root for them in the Finals if they make it there and play the Heat.

[Flames24Rulz]

It's going to be hilarious watching tons of people who dislike the Lakers root for them in the Finals if they make it there and play the Heat.

 

Oh, I don't dislike the Lakers at all anymore. I won't have any problem rooting for them next June if they play the Heat.

[SouthSideRyan]

It's going to be hilarious watching tons of people who dislike the Lakers root for them in the Finals if they make it there and play the Heat.

 

I can't wait to have everyone on here rooting alongside me before the Heat poo all over the Celtics in the 2nd round.

[Andy]

It's going to be hilarious watching tons of people who dislike the Lakers root for them in the Finals if they make it there and play the Heat.

 

I can't wait to have everyone on here rooting alongside me before the Heat poo all over the Celtics in the 2nd round.

Talk about a "can both teams lose?" situation.

[Flames24Rulz]

It's going to be hilarious watching tons of people who dislike the Lakers root for them in the Finals if they make it there and play the Heat.

 

I can't wait to have everyone on here rooting alongside me before the Heat poo all over the Celtics in the 2nd round.

Talk about a "can both teams lose?" situation.

 

Nope, I'm a big Celtics fan now too.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

when my Heat win the title, I promise not to "woo" too much in front of you guys.

[Magnetic Curses]

when my Heat win the title, I promise not to "woo" too much in front of you guys.

 

and we'll all be very proud of you for it

[Flames24Rulz]

when my Heat win the title, I promise not to "woo" too much in front of you guys.

 

Go Patriots!

[RedFlash]

when my Heat win the title, I promise not to "woo" too much in front of you guys.

 

I will happy for both of the Heat fans if they win a title.

[SpongeWorthy]

I have to take minor exception to the idea that Lebron took the Cavs to previously unexplored levels of success. They went to a whole new level in the public eye, sure, but they barely did anything more than what the Price/Ehlo/Daugherty/Nance teams did. That 2007 Finals "performance" was such an abortion that I barely count it.

[chuckywang]

when my Heat win the title, I promise not to "woo" too much in front of you guys.

 

I will happy for both of the Heat fans if they win a title.

 

The Heat are the first team with more dream teamers than fans.

[Guest]

It may have hurt him to leave, but he did leave. I don't think Cleveland will get over it, because Lebron is all they had.

 

That said, it is what it is. Sports stars change teams sometimes. That's the reality.

 

Cleveland would have dealt with it just fine if he'd talked to them...explained that he felt like he needed to go somewhere else, and was just a decent human being about it. Sure, he'd have had haters, but nothing like this. Certainly not Gilbert throwing a temper tantrum. Instead, James decided to announce on a TV special to the Cavs (and 4 or so other teams) that he wasn't going to be joining them.

 

I've lost a massive amount of respect for Lebron James through this....even if he had come to the Bulls, which I still wanted. Clearly a very skilled basketball player, but clearly not as mature as most thought.

 

Probably true. I think the Cleveland hate was coming no matter what. Maybe it would have been less.

 

By doing this, I don't think Lebron really cares about whether people in the cities who lost out respect him or not. He wants rings. Rings = legacy. It was obvious to me that's how he thinks of it. He was concerned he would never get the legacy he wanted in the NBA if he stayed in Cleveland.

 

To me, that makes him a lesser legend than Jordan automatically. And I know many, many others feel the same way.

 

But, this is apparently the new NBA. Work out a team-up deal and get your rings. To hell with everything else. Now watch the cavalcade of almost-retired pseudo-stars who will want to play on this team for peanuts to get their rings, too.

 

I'm not saying I like it. But I'm not losing any sleep over it. The NBA isn't important enough to me for that.

 

A lot of that happened in Boston after KG and Allen went there. A lot of guys went there just to be role players and win a title.

 

I'm guessing that's happened for a while now. Karl Malone and Gary Payton joined the Lakers for the 03-04 season to try to win a title.

[SpongeWorthy]

The Celtics did not pick up that many ring chasers if I'm remembering correctly. Posey maybe?

 

Rondo, Perkins, Baby, those guys were already there.

 

Edit: I guess they did pick up Eddie House, Posey, and then Cassell and PJ Brown near the end of the season.

[Tyrant]

So, with the huge ratings this thing got, did Lebron just start a trend for all future big time free agents?

 

I hope so. That was awesome.

 

Just stop.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

So, with the huge ratings this thing got, did Lebron just start a trend for all future big time free agents?

 

I hope so. That was awesome.

 

Just stop.

 

Honestly: What was wrong with it?

 

As far as I can tell, people just get all up-in-arms about this sort of thing because they enjoy getting angry at rich celebrities.

 

This is sports. We take things too seriously. Is a free agent announcing his signing on live TV worse than the NFL draft on live TV? Or breathless reports from football minicamps? Or 8 hours of Super Bowl pre-game shows?

 

I hope more FAs do this in the future. It's the next logical step in sports.

[SpongeWorthy]

From his body language I bet Lebron would rather get his teeth pulled than go through that again. He looked really uncomfortable.

[Soul]

Not many Lebrons laying around who are making huge team moves. Maybe we'll see this sort of thing again, but with this level of ratings muster? Doubtful.

 

There's also the law of diminishing returns to think about...

[jersey cubs fan]

So, with the huge ratings this thing got, did Lebron just start a trend for all future big time free agents?

 

I hope so. That was awesome.

 

Just stop.

 

Honestly: What was wrong with it?

 

As far as I can tell, people just get all up-in-arms about this sort of thing because they enjoy getting angry at rich celebrities.

 

This is sports. We take things too seriously. Is a free agent announcing his signing on live TV worse than the NFL draft on live TV? Or breathless reports from football minicamps? Or 8 hours of Super Bowl pre-game shows?

 

I hope more FAs do this in the future. It's the next logical step in sports.

 

There's nothing logical about it. The draft was intriguing because every fan of every team had a reason to hope that they could get better. This is a unique and ridiculous situation. Quit pretending to be the only enlightened one who understands what's going on here.