Soul

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.

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.

They got the big man down low who can score though, right? That's been the biggest thing cited with this team over the past several years. Certainly, it's not enough. But the Bulls didn't come away empty. My expectations for the franchise since Jordan left have never been all that high, frankly. I totally agree they shouldn't do anything rash.

I can't see that happening. It's too good a big 3. I don't think even Kobe & crew can stop this, especially since my understanding is that they will take less money to help the Heat fill out the roster. Pat Riley -- just an unbelievable victory for him. He's pulled off the incredible with this offseason.

BIIIG Cleveland sports fan about 2 offices down from me. I'm interested whether I will see anger or depression from him tomorrow. Right now it's denial, definitely. I kind of feel for him. Believeland.

This hour long show is definitely must-miss TV. I realize it will bring in fantastic ratings, but pretty much anything else would be more worthwhile for me. Just flash the decision on a ticker somewhere.

I'm guessing the Lebron "Witness" billboard in Cleveland is taken down soon. By tomorrow morning maybe. That city is losing the only thing it had sports-wise.

I have heard that both Wade & Bosh will take significantly less if Lebron comes, so I guess we'll see how it shakes out.

Those 3 are better than the Celtics 3 though. Wade is easily better than any of the 3 Celtics by himself, and he would be the 2nd best player on the Heat. They could make up for not having a Rondo on their team, but I'm sure they can get the equivalent of Perkins, Big Baby, Tony Allen, and whoever else. Really? Celts got pretty good mileage from a guy like Perkins, for example. I don't think there are guys like that just laying around for minimum money. They struck gold in Rondo; that would be a heck of a lucky stroke if the Heat also did the equivalent.

I don't pretend to know the ins-and-outs of basketball salary structure and roster building, but I would be very interested to see what exactly Miami could even do. I mean, the Celtics won it all after acquiring 2 guys to go with their star Paul Pierce. OK, we all know that. But they actually did put some nice pieces around those 3 after the fact. It wasn't just ALL those 3 players and absolutely nothing else. It seems like Miami would be less able to do that than Boston was. If that's the case, and it's literally junk up & down the roster after Lebron, Wade, and Bosh, then are those 3 really enough? Maybe not. In the absence of any depth whatever, does the idea that superstars win championships in the NBA still hold true? That theory may be put to its fullest test ever if Lebron goes South.

We found the team we can beat. Now all we need to do is add about 30 more games to our schedule with the DBacks, and we're set.

I don't think Bosh is better than Boozer & Noah as a combo.

no In a vacuum? I agree with you.

I guess because he really is all about building the empire of wealth. He must feel like wherever he goes he will find a way to win a championship, and what he really wants is to be in a place where he can become the biggest celebrity sports icon ever.

I actually just watched the TV game on my DVR a few days ago. I was on a plane getting ready for takeoff overseas when I saw the update on my iPhone. In a way, this just happened for me :) I love this Hawks team. As long as we have our key pieces, which we do, I'm extremely excited for October!

It's gonna be pretty intense coverage for a 44 win team next year. This is probably the only team I wanted to get Lebron less than the Bulls (Though I'm still not sold he's not staying in Cleveland) I'd guess much better than 44 wins. But what do I know.

If it is Greenwich, then I don't see why it would mean anything else. Unless it's a big mind game I guess.

Get ready for insufferable NY blanket coverage in basketball for the next 10 years.

For what it's worth, I'm all but convinced he's leaving Cleveland now. This just seems like a "Yes, I'm leaving and breaking your hearts but I'm still totally committed to the community, SEE!?" To me, I think it's down to NY, Miami, or Chicago. And out of those three, I still think Chicago is the most attractive place for LeBron. Or, at least, it should be. If he goes to Miami, sure, he'll have Wade and Bosh - but that's all he'll have. It will be Wade, Bosh, James, and a bunch of minimum salary nobodies. If he comes to Chicago on the other hand, he has Rose, Noah, and enough money left to still get another max guy. That said, I still doubt he comes here. :x It could really be NY. My goodness. I just don't like to see NY win at much of anything :( Life is a sunny day when NY fails, IMO.

What he's talking about can contribute to some players deciding to go elsewhere though. The Cubs have not suffered from players refusing to join the team. No, not in aggregate, but they may have missed out on a few individual players because of it. And may miss out on some in the future. I don't buy it. Not for a minute. Scott Rolen is prick. Actually, I find these comments particularly interesting coming from him. When he left the Phils we were in need of a 3rd baseman, and Rolen didn't give the Cubs much thought. It was really only the Cards he wanted to play for. Could this have been one reason why? I'm definitely not saying Wrigley is the reason we fail though. It's probably one factor that counts as a negative with a few players. Others find way more positives and choose the Cubs over other teams. Wrigley likely counts as a net positive more than it does a net negative. I'm just saying, when you boil it down to individual guys, a few might stay away. Big deal -- there are plenty of good players out there and we've had our crack at more than enough to be successful.

I don't follow basketball all that much, but it seems like if he'd go to Miami, who I understand has the cap room for him, they wouldn't have any other players to put around Wade, Bosh, and LeBron. It would be a bunch of league-minimum guys. If you have those 3 guys, though, I don't think you really need much else, but I'd think it would factor in. I'd say New York now has an edge as I'm sure he'd like to play alongside another superstar like Stoudemire. However, I'm a loyal sap so I'd be happy if he stayed in Cleveland and won multiple titles there. It seems like they'd have to put more around him, though, if he wanted to win. That's the same argument I heard with the Celtics though. Didn't really stop them from becoming a champion.

What he's talking about can contribute to some players deciding to go elsewhere though. The Cubs have not suffered from players refusing to join the team. No, not in aggregate, but they may have missed out on a few individual players because of it. And may miss out on some in the future.

Wait till Lebron stays in Cleveland or goes to Miami. And watch it freaking explode if he goes to NY. And then Boozer signs with New Jersey and Lee with Minnesota or something. This could be disastrous. It's already a significant failure even if Boozer does come here. Actually I'm not sure it changes much whether or not Booz/Lee comes here. On one hand, you get better to the point where you can win a few more games and land a better seed. But certainly not enough to contend. On the other hand, you keep your salary flexibility if they don't (presumably -- new CBA looming). Once you lose out on the top tier guys, I can't say it's more of a disaster to then also miss out on the 2nd tier guys. Only the top cream really matters in this league.

What he's talking about can contribute to some players deciding to go elsewhere though.

If you live outside Chicago, think of all the money you will save not having to buy the NBA package.