Lebron 2018 Free Agency

[usagre2]

People are fixated on how many teams you play for. The only relevant factor is how well you play for the teams you’re on. If he wins another title he in all likelihood be the main reason and the best player on that team. That’s all that matters. His greatness and legacy will be further advanced if he leads another franchise to the promised land. It will just further prove that he is not the product of some successful system or franchise. He is the franchise. If he brought a title to New York after 45+ years or Philly after 35+years his legend would grow exponentially. Even if he leads the Lakers to a title it will only enhance his status. His number will be retired in Cleveland, Miami and probably his third and final team.

 

[CHBB2]

I completely agree. Comparing himself when he joined the Cavs and the Celtics as a washed up player to current LeBron who is still the best player in the world is idiotic to say the least. More like he was the best from 1999-2003. Still really good ‘04-‘05 definitely top 5. 2006 more like top 10.

Yeah, Shaq really does say some dumb things. And he completely overrates himself at times, like in that comparison. He was easily the best big in the game with the Lakers and still dominant with the Heat but that's it.

LeBron going back to Miami would make no sense imo. That was a young man thing. The time for it has passed. He's a father and much more mature basketball player now than he was even then. That would be a step back at this point, playing for a team that will always be seen as Wade's.

 

[usagre2]

Yeah, Shaq really does say some dumb things. And he completely overrates himself at times, like in that comparison. He was easily the best big in the game with the Lakers and still dominant with the Heat but that's it.

LeBron going back to Miami would make no sense imo. That was a young man thing. The time for it has passed. He's a father and much more mature basketball player now than he was even then. That would be a step back at this point, playing for a team that will always be seen as Wade's.

Yeah I agree no reason or connection to Miami right now. What he accomplished there speaks for itself and can stand alone.
People forget why he ended up in Miami in the first place. LeBron had no intention of leaving Cleveland in 2010. He tried to recruit Wade, Bosh or other star free agents there but had no luck. Understandable since you would be playing in a city like Cleveland for an owner like Dan Gilbert. When he realized this LeBron made his move and Miami at the time under the brilliance of Pat Riley made it happen and put together a strong team.

 

[Erkan122]

 

[Shawshank2]

Yeah I agree no reason or connection to Miami right now. What he accomplished there speaks for itself and can stand alone.
People forget why he ended up in Miami in the first place. LeBron had no intention of leaving Cleveland in 2010. He tried to recruit Wade, Bosh or other star free agents there but had no luck. Understandable since you would be playing in a city like Cleveland for an owner like Dan Gilbert. When he realized this LeBron made his move and Miami at the time under the brilliance of Pat Riley made it happen and put together a strong team.

it wasnt exactly that.Lebron realised that he cant make star player come to cleveland in 2007-2009 seasons.In 2010 he had mind already made with leaving.Alot of people to this day believes he quit on team in 2010 versus Celtics when they leaded 2-1.After gm6 coimmentators,cameras everything were showing unhappy men and that he is leaving.Exactly that happend that summer.

But that desicion making super team is hunting him now playing versus super team Warriors.If not that lebron televised desicion and those nonsenses win not 5,not 6 rings made this Durant desicion way easier.I dont believe such not stable character Durant had balls to leave his franchise,if he havent seen Lebron do that before.Now after seeing Lebron,Durant do that no franchise is safe.We are seeing same thing in Kawhi situation right now...The last person who can cry because warriors are so dominant is Lebron.

 

[CHBB2]

I agree with most of what he said other than the idea that the East only has one team you have to go through. The East is becoming the much deeper conference because most Western teams aren't building themselves intelligently.

Keep in mind that before the Warriors started building themselves to beat Eastern teams, the East was dominating the Finals. The Heat were the undisputed best team in the league for that entire run even though they didn't win it every year. Prior to the Lakers going back to back, it was the Celtics and Pistons who were the two best teams. Once the Lakers were done there was no Western dynasty until Golden State. And remember that both Lakers wins were close, as was the Spurs/Pistons in '05. The Heat were really the only true post-Lakers dynasty until Golden State. The West might have the Rockets and Warriors but most Western teams are a lot more flawed than their Eastern counterparts. Still, only Boston proved to be a legit contender though Toronto in all honesty should have won their series with Cleveland. But for right now, most Eastern teams are either too young or missing pieces they need in order to be legit contenders.

If I'm him, I sign with Philly or re-sign with Cleveland then jump West in a few years if at all. The Warriors aren't exactly young and have already had injury issues. Without Steph being Steph, Cleveland has their second parade in three years. And Houston only has one young player, and that's Capela. Utah and Portland are really the only two current young up and coming teams in the West. You really can't count New Orleans until we see what they do next season, and Minnesota still has a lot to prove. Still, it makes a lot more sense to form a superteam in the East until Golden State falls off.

 

[CHBB2]

it wasnt exactly that.Lebron realised that he cant make good player come to cleveland in 2007-2009 seasons.In 2010 he had mind already made with leaving.Alot of people to this day believes he quit on team in 2010 versus Celtics when they leaded 2-1.After gm6 coimmentators,cameras everything were showing unhappy men and that he is leaving.Exactly that happend that summer.

But that desicion making super team is hunting him now playing versus super team Warriors.If not that lebron televised desicion and those nonsense win not 5,not 6 rings made this Durant desicion way easier.I dont believe such not stable character Durant had balls to leave his franchise,if he havent seen Lebron do that before.Now after seeing Lebron,Durant do that no franchise is safe.We are seeing same thing in Kawhi situation right now...The last men who can cry because warriors is such dominant is Lebron.

Kawhi really can't be compared to any of them.

And I don't know where this BS narrative came from but LeBron's teammates cost him that series by thinking they were the stars. I watched every single second of that series. His teammates were selfish and didn't stop taking close shots despite the fact they kept bricking them. That is why he left. Not only did they put nothing around him but they let those wannabe stars take the ball away from him and gave him a just plain terrible coach in Mike Brown. Find some tape of those games if you don't believe me.

KD on the other hand had the best young roster in the league and did jackshit other than one year. He's a choke artist and primadonna of the highest order.

 

[usagre2]

it wasnt exactly that.Lebron realised that he cant make star player come to cleveland in 2007-2009 seasons.In 2010 he had mind already made with leaving.Alot of people to this day believes he quit on team in 2010 versus Celtics when they leaded 2-1.After gm6 coimmentators,cameras everything were showing unhappy men and that he is leaving.Exactly that happend that summer.

But that desicion making super team is hunting him now playing versus super team Warriors.If not that lebron televised desicion and those nonsenses win not 5,not 6 rings made this Durant desicion way easier.I dont believe such not stable character Durant had balls to leave his franchise,if he havent seen Lebron do that before.Now after seeing Lebron,Durant do that no franchise is safe.We are seeing same thing in Kawhi situation right now...The last person who can cry because warriors are so dominant is Lebron.

Not true at all. LeBron tried to bring Bosh and Wade to Cleveland in the summer of 2010. That’s when it could happen due to the free agency of all three. They weren’t free agents in the previous years you mentioned. And finding out that a teammate banged his mother might have something to do with his attitude and performance or what you called quitting.
A teammate doing that is betrayal and leads one to question the trust.

I know you are a Durant fan and dislike LeBron but you keep trying to equate the two free agency decisions as if they were similar. When the second or third best player in the world joins an NBA championship team that won more regular season games than any team that has ever played basketball and also beat and eliminated him in the final 4, that’s a super team.
When the best player in the world joins another top 10 player and another top 20 or so player on a team that has never played together, if I use my brain and common sense I will not call that forming a super team.

It’s so funny when people mention that pep rally the Heat had. That’s all it was, it was intended for their fans and season ticket holders. It was picked up by Espn and shown everywhere. The decision on the other hand was a pre planned show that I also feel gets wrongfully knocked. This was the best player in the world basically going to announce what team was going to win championships in the next couple of years. It was underplayed if you ask me.

I repeat the Durant decision to join the Warriors is something we never saw before in the history of basketball. And honestly i can’t imagine ever seeing that again. He has to live with that.

 

[Erkan122]

 

[PaulLee32]

Los Angeles Lakers

 

[Shawshank2]

Lebron started this all nba players ruled league thing, when nba star players decides ( not gms) in their prime ( not washed up veterans) to join forces and play together and not compete againts each other
.Heat took 2 best east side players at that time plus all star bosh, that was first super team in their prime that wasnt drafted .Before lebron desicion in 2010 there was no such example in nba.When other star saw that lebron went to miami and made super team and won rings ofcourse other star players , franchise players begin to look to loyalty with diffrent eyes.Im not saying its same as Durant, but im saying where durant desicion came from when he saw lebron winning rings with other star players.Durant went even further sure, but im saying from where it came.Now Durant won rings doing similiar shit, now Leonard wants to go similiar road and so on.

That super team thing is hunting now lebron himself, i believe he would won more rings if never did that desicion in 2010 , because now he wouldnt have to face such powerhouses like warriors with durant .Its all started that not fair superteam in making in 2010 miami...

Now lebron want join forces with other top5 nba player leonard and make another super team why this is so diffrent? Who is better James+Leonard or Durant+Curry?

When he will finish his career James will play like with10 hall of famers...but i all hear Lebron already lost 6 finals because he never had any help...

 

[CHBB2]

Kawhi can't be compared to KD at all. He's a legit franchise player, not a complementary player who needs his teammates to do everything for him other than score. You put him on any team in the league, and he's their starting two guard or small forward except the Bucks. He is the guy you build your team around. He's also never once indicated he wants to join a superteam. He wants to go to LA because it's his home.

As for the Heat, Wade was not anywhere near the best player in the East by then. Rose, Dwight, and multiple others had leapfrogged him by then. And those players only had to team up because both the Heat and the Cavs did a terrible job surrounding them with talent. KD on the other hand had everybody cater to him on top of being on a stacked team for pretty much his whole career. No different than PG in Indiana. You don't have to do that when you come into the league and within five years have McHale, Parrish, etc or Kareem, Worthy, Thompson, etc or Pippen and a very good bunch of role players. None of that happened with LeBron, and while Wade had a very good team his first few years, the Shaq trade and draft/free agent mistakes killed their future. I honestly thought Miami would lose him to Chicago because of it.

 

[Joško Poljak Fan2]

I disagree that Cavs and Heat did a terrible job surrounding them with talent, it's more like that whoever got there would suck due to the way Lebron's teams mostly play.

 

[usagre2]

Keep banging that drum Shawshank. First of all new now Kevin Love and Chris Bosh are now supposed to be considered great players ? Hall of Famers as you said. Do me a favor and go look up some of the players that are in the Hall of Fame.
It's so watered down it doesn't mean what you think. They are role players on truly great championship teams. Here are some facts. LeBron played only one year with a top player, 2010-11 Miami (Wade second team all NBA) That's it. The only other player who realistically we can compare him to played with one (Pippen) his entire career. Stop the non sense you are
making yourself look bad.

First superteam was actually created in 1968 when Wilt forced his way onto Lakers, joining Elgin and West. I find it hilarious when '80s and 90s players complain just because they didn't have the ability to do the same thing. Which they would have done.

The 2008 Celtic formation can be considered a super team. Or how about adding Moses Malone the best player in the world to a multiple time NBA Finalist. Of course non of these are the Durant situation which is unprecedented and unbelievable. People for some strange hypocritical reason like when GMs collude and conspire to stack the deck and form such teams but get offended when players do it. Just plain stupid.

 

[usagre2]

I disagree that Cavs and Heat did a terrible job surrounding them with talent, it's more like that whoever got there would suck due to the way Lebron's teams mostly play.

You are probably as knowledgeable as they come in this forum but I think your dislike of LeBron is clouding your view here.
Long range shooters on LeBron's teams rarely face contested shots all due to his penetrating ability. It's on them that they don't make them at a higher rate. For me a good example of the greatness of LeBron and the limitations of his so called great teammates is illustrated in the 2016 Finals. Every single game was tilted when he took a breather. And that was with guys like Kyrie and Love on the court.

From 2010- on he has been surrounded with average complimentary championship caliber teammates. Just replace LeBron on his title teams with whoever you wish and tell me what those teams would have accomplished. But 2003-2009, I don't think there has been another player in the history of basketball that could have done better with those teammates.

 

[usagre2]

Lebron is not haunted by any decision he’s made except probably realizing how incompetent Cleveland management was and not bolting earlier than the first 7 years he gave them. It is all just a matter of circumstance. His management was clueless while Michael Jordan’s was excellent. He didn’t win anything either his first 6 years but his management drafted and traded well and put him in the position to succeed 6 years later.

The fact remains that all he did was join a top 10 player and a top 20 player on a new team that’s it. He didn’t join a championship team that won more games in the history of the league and just eliminated him in the final four. People can use their biases on put blinders or whatever, but what Durant did is unbelievable and will always stand on its own. He joined the reigning two time league MVP for Christ’s sake, not some top player ! He basically ruined the league for a couple of years or more. But if LeBron/Kawhi/Paul George is formed then you have three great two way wings including the best there is and you can round out the starting 5 with me and Shawshank and they will be right there with Golden State and probably better in my opinion.

 

[CHBB2]

I really wouldn't call PG two-way. He's nothing but a disruptor, defensively. But you put him next to Kawhi and he becomes a nightmare the same way KD can be at times next to Draymond.

I completely agree about the Cavs. That was by far the worst Finals team in history, and the rest of his teams were just as bad. They traded their first round pick for a washed up Antawn Jamison and people acted like it was a steal! The only legitimately impressive player LeBron played with on those teams was Larry Hughes, who was done thanks to injuries at that point. I mean Boobie freaking Gibson was by far his best teammate his entire time in Cleveland! Those teams were beyond terrible.

 

[usagre2]

Stunning to me that Paul George resigned with OKC, maybe year two there will be better. It is interesting to see that DeRozan, Westbrook and now George all LA natives were seriously linked to the Lakers over the past couple of summers and now they are 0-3.

As for LeBron these are the scenarios I still can see in no particular order of probability.

Cleveland with Kawhi Leonard
Lakers with Kawhi Leonard
Philly with Kawhi Leonard
Lakers with Cousins
Philly as is with minor additions

 

[CHBB2]

Lakers.

Really can't respect this. Sorry. Going to the softest NBA market there is.

 

[Dtown2]

When Paul George signed with OKC I wrote the Lakers off. Wow, this seems like a 100% lifestyle choice rather than Basketball choice.