SupremeCommander wrote:while I don't think LBJ is the GOAT, this often goes unnoticed... he has been the underdog in six of his eight Finals appearances. So a legitimate argument could be made that he has exceeded expectations in the Finals...
He has personnel control on the teams he is on, and he truly sucks at being a de facto GM.
Danny Ferry got spitroasted for LBJ's first Cavs run, but when Ferry went to the Hawks, he did a fantastic job there. Of course he had a free hand to run the team, but in Cleveland, his job was to be LBJ's personal valet.
In his 2nd run with the Cavs, he wanted max money he could get, so the Cavs burned assets to clear money off the deck. Then they traded Wiggins for Love. And they've been trying to trade Love off every since. They gave Tristan Thompson a contract no one understands ( well they understand his agent is Rich Paul, of Klutch Sports, which is LBJ's personal piggy bank) They burned the bank again for Mozgov, because LBJ wanted him. And gave JR Smith too much money because they were out of options.
In Miami, instead of going after a needed center, LBJ used the extra money in his paycut to sign Mike Miller and reup Haslem to a gift contract because he was Wade's buddy and bodyguard. Without Bosh radically changing his game ( will never get the credit he deserves for the way he shifted his game) and Birdman being an amnesty pick up, the Heat win ZERO rings.
LBJ, as a player, ends up going hero ball with his back to the wall because LeDummy, the de facto GM, of his teams, is actually one of the stupidest personnel guys on the entire planet. Such a fantastic player and individual talent, but rock hard dumb in every other way. He gets his butt kissed so much because he sells a ton of Nikes. That's it.
During his first free agency, World Wide Wes had arranged him LBJ to go to the Bulls. And structurally, they would have ripped off a good 3-4 titles straight. In the 2nd wave, he could have easily gone to at team like the Clippers and still got a ton of rings.
He's won a ring in a lockout shortened season. And two more that were basically Nike gifts. I won't take away his elite play as an individual player. The world might never see anyone this good again. But he creates his own messes. The only thing he does consistently is gut and drive his teams into the ground over the long haul. He comes in, he makes stupid changes, then he comes out later and acts like a victim because he can't get "help" on a cap locked roster he created.
I'd love to see a true 30 For 30 where Danny Ferry lets it all loose, along with World Wide Wes, where it's titled "LeDummy : Million Dollar Talent/10 Cent Headcase"
How great were the careers and Finals records of all those other Bulls that played with MJ? Migraine Scottie and Toni Who? Did the Worm win a WWF trophy?, I forget... 
8/23/2017 2:14 PM