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Exactly. Jordan had a top 5 player in the league in Pippen for his titles and most people think he's the greatest ever. I think Pippen and Wade are comparable if Wade wins a couple more titles in his career. Magic had Kareem and most people think he's the best PG ever. Most of the greats had lots of players around them who are also labeled greats. You win a couple titles as the alpha dog and you have a legacy.
If they trade Calderon I could easily see them becoming the 29th best defensive team in the league.
Only if it's his only championship. Kobe has no-showed in a couple championships some LA won and some they lost but no one focuses on those.
Maybe that's true. But if he's going to piss off and alienate the community he grew up in, don't you think he'd leave for a better situation? Joining the Knicks would basically put him in the same position he is now. The only difference is he'd have to burn a ton of bridges to get there. It just doesn't make any sense at all. Joining the Heat or the Bulls (to a lesser degree) makes sense becuase they'd put him closer to a championship. Joining the Knicks, Nets or Clippers never made any sense on any level IMO.
If he went to NY/NJ it would be about money , not winning.If he went to Chicago it would be about winning ( but it is a bad fit witht eh player attitudes and ownership IMO)If he stayed in Cleveland it would be about an obligaiton to the team / city, but no real chance of winning.If he joins the Heat he plays with his close freinds and has the chance to win multiple championships.\Look back over the rosters of the Great NBA Champs of the past .. very few were teams built from the draft that did not add a superstar... Even the Bulls added Harper and Rodman to compliment Jordan and Pippen for the last 3 titles.
Not really. He gives an alright effort, but he's just not very quick. The nuggets also played him at the 2 3 and 4, which didn't help his short comings, against small forwards he's below average, but against sgs and pfs he is pretty much worthless. He'll fit right in.
There seems to be something lingering from the Dynasty days along with the handling of Del Negro that have sunken the Chicago ship in many minds that many include James himself. I don't understand player attitudes at all. Rose wanted to play with Johnson but to turn that into he doesn't want James is silly.
He looked miserable during the playoffs last season, to the point he looked disinterested. Not sure how much love he has for losing which will be the MO next year in Cleveland.
First what Miami would have would tower over what Minny had. Second, you are confusing the NBA w/ the NCAA. Wade, James, Bosh plus You and Me CRUSH THE EAST.
Would any team be good if they lost 2 of their top 3 players? Kobe losing Gasol/Artest would go back to the Lakers teams that never made it out of the first round with Bynum and Odom around him.
Super friends don't bang each others mothers.
KAHN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111111111111111111111111
Well if he chooses his friends based on how good they are at basketball then I can buy into it.
Weird, the Cavs going to move Mo? The Wolves have a shot at signing Rubio?
Gray was on the Dan Patrick show this morning. Going into it I didn't think I could like the guy (Gray) less - turns out I was wrong. He's one reprehensible sleaze bag. Whenever I hear someone (usually Gray himself) state his name I always subconsciously play the "known as the rat" line from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in my head.
Kobe is one of the all time great shooting guards and Shaq is one of the all time great centers. They've both won a bunch of titles and have had great careers.How do you view it? *cringe*
What I found more interesting about the article was him stating that the Heat win maybe 50 games next year with LeBron but the Bulls with LeBron and Bosh win multiple titles. He goes no to say that even now the Bulls are the better team to join with Boozer instead of Bosh.The other interesting is the number of "experts" who think Rose becomes an elite player this year. I see the possibility for sure but it seems they are expecting it to happen. I just can't be that optimistic yet.
They had the best record in the league last year. They were in the '07 Finals. I don't think LeBron's prospects are quite as bleak in Cleveland as you (and many others) are suggesting.
This guy gets it.
I guess maybe a better way to frame it is using the analogy of floors and ceilings. The Heat, with LeBron, Wade and Bosh, have a high, HIGH ceiling. However, I also believe that the Heat (with those three) have a much lower floor as well. Boom or Bust. Boom if everyone is healthy, accepts their new "role" (being "a" guy instead of "the" guy), and logs a lot of minutes. Bust if anyone gets seriously hurt, pouts or throws a tantrum because _________ is taking away their shot attempts, isos, PPG average, etc.And FWIW, Malik Sealy, Sam Mitchell and others were every bit as good (or better) than what the Heat will have filling out the rest of their roster in my previous "KG, pre-Sprell and Sam" analogy. KG was on an island though. He didn't have a LeBron and Wade to help him out. That was my point. If LeBron and Wade miss significant time, you think Bosh will keep that team playing at a championship level?
I'm really not getting this. I'm not a Heat fan, not a LeBron fan, don't care about Wade or Bosh, and I don't especially like Pat Reilly. BUT- if these three guys play together, somebody's taking a pay cut- probably all three. It goes against the maxim, stated on this thread only yesterday, that athletes are only interested in the money. More importantly, it's great for the NBA. It's the most exciting thing to happen in years. It's the sort of thing you always want to happen in sports, but almost never does. How many times do we say, "Wouldn't it be great if these guys played together"?. If you don't root for the Heat, I'm sorry it didn't happen to your team. Heck, I'm sorry it's not happening to the Lakers. But I'm glad its happening.
I personally hope LeBron signs with Miami...not to see a "Dream Team" and have him win a bunch of titles. Rather, to see them fail to win any titles.
Anybody look at what the Heat, Bulls, Knicks, Nets, etc. did this off-season (dumping contracts/value to clear cap space) and see the analogy to auction leagues and FFL? Sure, if you want RB Chris Johnson, Titans badly enough, you can get him. You can burn 80-90% of your cap room on him if you have to! However, what happens when he's hurt? Or has influenza? Or his wife yells at him all night and asks for a divorce? Or what happens when the defense (second team, in the case of basketball) is on the field/court?
If LeBron, Wade and Bosh will prove anything, it will be that basketball is a team sport. The first time one of the three misses significant time with an injury, they'll go from being dominant on the floor to very good. If two of them are off the floor and/or injured for any significant period of time? You'll have the Minnesota Timberwolves, circa-Kevin Garnett pre-Sprewell and Cassell. Probably worse...since the Wolves' bit/role players would likely have been superior to the bit/role players that Miami will be able to sign. If all THREE of them miss significant time at the same time...then you'll have the Washington Generals.
I don't hate the Heat, and I certainly don't hate LeBron! I just hate that professional basketball is often more about "me" than "we."
Not really.
I think many see the situation very differently from you or I. I see those titles for what they were. Shaq was the most dominant player in the league. Kobe was an elite performer all three regular seasons. However, his performance in the 2000 playoffs was no where near elite. In 2001 and 2002, he was an elite playoff performer on the level of alpha title winning players. So I think out of his 5 titles, Kobe was an elite player for 4 of them but was a much lesser player during the first title run so he deserves much less credit for that title.Also, I am not saying it will hurt LeBron's legacy in my eyes. I just feel that perception will split into two main camps just like for Kobe. Many believe that Kobe didn't earn a title until the recent repeat while many others believe he deserves elite credit for all 5. Both are incorrect. Many will believe that James used Wade to win titles he couldn't win without him while many others will see the best player in the league merely getting the help that any player needs to win a title. Both will probably be incorrect. We have yet to see what happens. If Wade outplays LeBron on the same team and Wade wins multiple MVP's in the regular season and the finals is a much different story then if LeBron is collecting MVP's. Of course, Durant might be winning all the regular season awards while the Heat fail to win titles. You don't see how LeBron winning titles with Wade and the Heat would add less to his legacy in many eyes than winning a title without a Wade when many people discredit Kobe for the same reason?
who, besides LBJ, will improve on that team? Everyone on that team is a known commodity and their potential is tapped. The only other player with any upside is maybe Hickson? They just aren't going to get any better while the rest of the league is.
YES
that's just throwing money away.
My sources tell me Lebron was out partying with Tyreke Evans and Chris Webber at the Palm last night. Read into that what you will.
Assuming LeBron goes to the Heat then he and Wade are the best players. Bosh is a far 3rd. How great would any team be if they lost their best 2 players? Maybe the Celts before the Perk injury would still be a playoff team. I'm not sure any other team in the league would be good enough to even make the playoffs if you dump their 2 best.The Lakers are pretty deep. Would they be a playoff team without Kobe and Gasol I doubt it?
On the rare occasions when a "superteam" is created, we hear this negative argument every time. We heard it when Malone and Payton joined Kobe and Shaq. We heard it when Garnett and Allen joined Pierce. Of course the injury part is true; it's true for every team, though. The Lakers might have beaten Detroit in 2004 if Karl Malone hadn't been injured in the previous series. But Wade, James, and Bosh are young and healthy and injury is unlikely. But the second argument, that "there's not enough balls to go around"- is IMO not true, and has never been true. Believe me, these guys will find a way to play together; they're too good not to. It may take half a season for the chemistry to come together to it's full potential, but by playoff time they're going to be an incredible team.
Okay, I'll just come out and say it. I think that if LeBron was most interested in winning titles, there is only one choice he has to make: the Chicago Bulls. That is a good team, with a good (at least better) collection of players around their stars. You put an LBJ on that team, then LBJ (or Rose...or ???) shreds an ACL mid-season, that's a team that can go deep into the playoffs regardless. Miami doesn't have that. The Knicks and Nets don't have that. The Cavaliers certainly will no longer have that. The Clippers? Sadly enough, they are probably closer to having that than the Knicks and Nets, but they have the "Al Davis" of the NBA as an owner.Those three (LBJ, Wade, Bosh) will be fantastic in Miami, if they all stay healthy and accept their bit of "reduced" roles. If you want to hang lots of banners though, you go to Chicago. Jordan's shadow or not.And FWIW, I don't have a dog in this fight, as my team is the lowly Timberwolves.
Is Magic's legacy diminished even though he never won a title without Kareem or Riley at HC?
Sure, but those people are wrong and they suck.
Come on, where else are you going to find a small forward capable of putting up 9 points and 4 rebounds while shooting 43% from the field?
