Washington Post: This LeBron James decision shouldn't be all that difficult, really. He needs to find the best place for him to win one or more NBA titles, without a wait.
Article Source: NBC Sports
from:NBC SportsWinning should be all that matters to LeBron
Seeded on Fri Jul 2, 2010 12:38 AM EDT (NBC Sports)
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Does anybody really give a flying f... about Lebron James ?
Couldn't have said it better myself, thank you.....
One thing for sure...no one gives a flying F about larry coleman.
He could not even shine Bill Russell or Casey Jones shoe's, just another big mouth that can not win the big one.
George you make a great point. James showed the arrogance of ignorance by his changing no. 23 for #6 so as to honour Jordan but at the same time disrespecting Dr. J and Bill Russell. It continues with all the youngsters who believe the world began with Magic-Bird and was perfected with Jordan not challenging this ignorance and even themselves saying nonsense that Jordan is the Best of all Times!!!!
James has not reached Dr. J's level and Jordan never reached Russell's. But we live in a ME-NOW culture whereas Russell may as well be Naismith.
For me I agree with Kareem Abdul Jabbar who called Russell and Wilt Chamberlain 'the Mythologicals.'
Wilt Chamberlain is the single best player to ever play basketball and Bill Russell is the best team player to ever play. The argument begins with who's the 3rd best and none of these are close, not Jabbar, Jordan, Magic, Bird or Kobe.
This Wilborn is just as ignorant as well. A typical ME-NOW thinker who writes well but says nothing.
duwayne. . . .well said and I totally agree. I would love to hear Lebron step up and even say that he is NOT all the hype everyone makes him out to be. That would be a true leader. Sad to say but if you notice on of the best things to happen to Kobe Bryant as a person and player was the sexual assault charges from a few years ago. It seemed to deflate his personal image of himself and bring his high flying ego back down to earth. The first rulers of Rome us to have a man whispering in his ear saying "remember you are a mere mortal" in hopes to remind him that he is only one of the masses and part of a larger community. Now we have "possies" surrounding these guys and slugs in the media crowning kids like this "King James" or "everyone want to be like Mike." Their moral compass is way off target and they become a victim of their own hype.
DJ...I'm an old guy like you. James is the most physically dominating player since Wilt Chamberlain. Do you remember the NBA changing the rules to slow down Wilt in an attempt to level the playing field? (And do you remember the NBA changing the rules to open up the game to make Michael Jordan look better?)
Wilt never won a championship because there are no one man basketball teams. Same rule applies to James and everybody else. Do you remember Jordan and the Bulls never being able to get past the Pistons until everyone on the Bulls started contributing on offense?
To Wilborn
As you seem clueless as well as bitter to New York City I will attempt to address your ignorance as to why James should go to the Knicks. I am no fan of the Knicks or NYC it does not matter. I dont know where James will go but if he's not going to the Knicks then he should stay in Cleveland. He's not going to find another owner like Gilbert which would be an upgrade over his situation in Cleveland.
The reason why he should go to the Knicks is because the NBA needs that team to be a contender again for the financial health of the entire league. If he goes anywhere else he's well on his way to being a journeyman albeit a high paid one.
The NBA is a NYC based corporate entity. Madison Square Garden is the Mecca of the NBA but since Ewing's departure the Knicks have stunk. Its been OK during times of prosperity which could afford a championship run by the Spurs of the league. Why do you think the last 3 champions have been the Celtics and Lakers? Or do you want to discount this as a conspiracy theory? As a sports journalist you know several teams are in trouble. Despite the success of teams like the Spurs, Mavericks, Suns the heart of the NBA is in the Knicks, Sixers, Celtics, Lakers and Bullets ie Wizards. The economy demands the NBA present the best possible feature for the Finals.
Now if James goes to the Knicks and wins he will be counted as one of the greatest of all times. Look at how many Knicks are in the HOF. Virtually the entire starting lineup for the 2 time champs of Red Holtzman.
Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dave Debusschere. Only Bill Bradley didn't make it but he became a US senator and a viable Presidential candidate.
The Lakers dont need him. The Celtics dont need him. The NBA will never admit it but they need him as a Knick. Why do you believe all of this hyping play of words about him being Savior is so frequent? Because his name is James? Or the potential he has to save the NBA from having to face the possibility of cutting some teams.
If James goes to Chicago he's a fool. The Bulls have the same owner who fired Phil Jackson after winning 6 championships and Jordan's insistence that if Jackson left he would to. And as a Bull he will never equal let alone pass Jordan's legacy.
If James goes to the Knicks allow for the same FIX which turned Celtics and Lakers from their pathetic state to Finalists within one year. If he goes anywhere else, he's a loser as for winning championships. Either go to the Knicks or stay in Cleveland. Its better for a great player to stay with one team. Few do it. Gilbert will surround him but we must have the rubber-match between the Celtics and Lakers first.
Wilborn covers the NBA but he lacks any real deep knowledge of what it is.
In the beginning I liked this guy. Now ... I couldn't be more sick of him. He has evolved from being humble to this ultra, mega, LOOK AT ME, center of the universe money grabbing machine. He simply can't get enough attention to satisfy his ego whether it is breaking out a dance routine on the sideline during a blow out of the Bulls, to holding press conferences during the NBA finals trying to keep the spotlight on himself instead of where it belonged .. on the players that were actually good enough to get passed the second round and play for the championship. Sure he has skills, but King James? Please. And now calling a summit in Florida, with Bosch and Wade, as if these guys were Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin deciding the future of the world? This type of bloated ego, and some of these obscene salaries that pro athletes get, have turned me from a fan, to a disgusted partial observer of pro sports in America.
All that money. Kind of sounds like baseball. The team that wins the most is the one that pays for the best pitching.
So if James did like Magic late in his career, and took less money to bring on other better players, what kind of team could be, well, bought?
Yeah, right. If winning were all that mattered to these guys, they'd be signing for 25K a year. The NBA is not a sport, it's a business, just like the NFL, MLB, FIFA, NHL....
LeBron makes me appreciate Bill Russell more and more each day. Say very little and just make your basketball statements on the court.
Show me a pro-athlete who gives his all to win but maintains a sense of perspective when he doesn't - and I'll show you a complete human being. Show me an athlete who "needs to win now" because that's "all that matters", or a sports writer who says that's the way it should be, and I'll show you someone who hasn't the slightest idea what really matters in life.
If REALLY winning is the key then how could anyone disagree that the Bulls with Rose, Noah, Deng, Gibson annnddd the cap space to add another TOP free agent or two does not make Chicago the only REAL choice...that's it sports fans...plain and simple....everything else you're hearing is pure BS....OK LBJ let's see if you're all about winning or NOT....