Dont we have enough thread for the people that want to attack Gilbert and the organization? It is possible for Cavs fans to talk about the Cavs without people chiming in with their negative comments. Give it a rest. There are like 5 different threads about the Cavs right now. If you want to bash them do it over there.
Anyways.......AC's blog on Lebron.
Hey, Cavalier fans and CavFanatics. It’s A.C. here – what’s happening?
Was I surprised with his decision? Yes and no. What I found interesting was, during the playoffs, Kevin Garnett made a statement after one of the games. When they asked him about LeBron, he essentially said that sometimes loyalty robs you of your youth. And I know that rung a bell with LeBron – he heard that loud and clear.
LeBron’s always seemed to have an affinity for the big city. He thinks that’s where he needs to be. And now it seems like he couldn’t carry the production as lead man, so now he’s going to be one of its supporting actors.
Three superstars joining forces on a single team isn’t unprecedented. Years ago, the Lakers got Chamberlain, West and Baylor together. They played together three or four years and I think won just one Championship.
But I don’t think this situation is good for the league. There are enough financial problems in the NBA as it is, and to concentrate all those guys together in one place, I don’t think it’s good. By the same token, now you have a team that’s a “target” – the team everyone will bring their A-game for.
The talent level in the league is nowhere near as strong as it needs to be and this doesn’t help. This could create a problem, but we’ll see. I still think the organization with the best “team concept” will win. Each of those guys in Miami will have to subvert their game to make it work. Who’s going to take the final shot? LeBron or Wade?
It’s Wade’s team. He’s won the Championship. Not LeBron or Bosh. It’ll come down to how much each of them is willing to back off.
It’s interesting to see all this happen, because I believe it was definitely orchestrated before Thursday night. Really, there’s no telling how long this has been in the works.
All the cities that were juked into thinking he would come, there will definitely be some backlash against LeBron. There’s definitely going to be some backlash in Akron and Cleveland and it’s already begun. I don’t know if he’ll be able to come back here.
I don’t begrudge him for leaving; that’s his prerogative. But the way he did it was selfish and self-promoting and I didn’t think he had that in him. But he’s not the same person as when I first met him in high school. He’s a lot more aloof and a little bit strong on himself right now.
He’s always had that self-confidence, but at any given moment, something can change your course in life. And he’s got to understand that.
As much as LeBron likes to talk about being a winner and businessman, the two things he’s shown me in this process is that it’s not about winning, and it’s really not about doing good business. It’s about LeBron, and it’s not about anything else. And that’s starting to show through more now.
This move is going to be a test for him. I hope he doesn’t think this is going to be a cakewalk. He’s going to have to back off his game. And this hurts his brand. They’ll promote them as a threesome now and not him, individually. If he thinks this is the way to go, more power to him.
Getting almost as much attention as LeBron’s decision was the Open Letter Dan Gilbert fired off after it.
When I first saw the letter, I could feel the hurt. And a lot of what I read in the letter, to me, was true.
And again, I don’t understand why LeBron would do the ownership that way. They’ve given him everything he’s wanted. They’ve bent over backwards to give him everything he’s wanted. And to not even give the man a phonecall, it’s very tacky. It’s very unprofessional.
Most of the moves that management made was because of LeBron and his timetable. And that’s why I’m surprised he’d leave us in a lurch like that. All of the moves were made to help him in a Championship. So he should have at least given us the respect to make some moves this summer – instead of dragging it on like he did.
That left us in a hole. That tells me the disdain he had for the organization. He knows he shouldn’t have done it this way. For him to do it this way after what the organization has done to try to appease him, to me, it’s just not right. You don’t do people like that. And when you put vibes like that out into the world, they don’t come back to you in a positive way.
Moving forward, however, I think Byron Scott is definitely the right man for the job. And the statement he made – that he’s turned around worse teams than this – he understands he has an owner that’s going to get the pieces and parts to rebuild this into a Championship contender. He knows that.
What we have to do now is refill that talent pool. We definitely have work to do, but I don’t think our management group is above a little work.
LeBron James has always known how to orchestrate. And I think this whole free agency thing that he and his team orchestrated backfired on them. I didn’t think he’d turn out to be the villain. Even Bosh only looks like a follower, not a traitor. And that’s the difference in the perception.
LeBron tried it here for seven years as Batman. Now he’s going to try to win it as Robin.
KR1245
Senior Member
4,317
posts
KR1245
Senior Member
4,317
posts
Fri, Jul 9, 2010 4:47 PM
Jul 9, 2010 4:47 PM
Jul 9, 2010 4:47pm
