Let's say Patrick won a chip that year. Of course everyone would've said he had great help around him (Oakley and Starks). But no one would say he won it because of those 2. People would say he did it the way its supposed to be done.

playa2 wrote:

joec32033 wrote:....ok..my phone limited my post....

What Kobe did was morally and ethically worse than LBJ's theatrics. No arguments there at all. Kobe just was able to cloud what may or may not have happened with reasonable doubt.

Lebron gets no such luxury wherever he turns. Whether he was used, tricked, manipulated, fooled, coerced, fearful, whatever...it all boils down to Lebron let it happen. He decided on the show. He decided where to to. He plowed hims to get fooled. It all goes against the image he built. I don't think anyone will look at Lebron the same way again.

Until he wins the ring ! Some just don't understand why he did what he did. He wants to be the bad guy now, it probably makes he take on more of the assassin mentality this yr.

How much did Briggs lose on the MSG Stock buy ?

While attempting to rehabilitate James' vanished integrity, you seem to be making stuff up as you go along. So now you see him as Hulk Hogan becoming a "bad guy?"

It finally dawned on me that you really don't understand that this (a ring) will do nothing to restore his prestige, do you? Winning a ring has nothing to do with the damage that has been done to his rep as an athlete, a competitor, and as a person.

This is an extreme example, but do you think that the rings Adam Morrison has won as a Laker in any way shape or form validates his career as that of a successful NBA player, worthy of being picked where he was in the draft? Is he no longer a bust because he is in a team picture?
Do think he now goes around showing off the rings and telling people that he was not the worst pick in one of the worst drafts?

Well guess what, James winning a title while kissing Wade's butt and following Bosh's lead, can never set him right in the eyes of fans who thought he was special and more than a simple tool.

And if James even thinks he is an "assassin," it will only be because he knows he has Big Daddy Wade to back him up and carry the baton when James drops it. Was the assassin idea yours, or has James been sending you some secret Tweets, or something.

And unlike you, we all "understand why he did what he did." Your statement that we don't understand is condescension born of your cluelessness, so I'm not really hurt by it, but you should look at your own ideas when talking about people who really don't understand.

Paladin55 wrote:

playa2 wrote:

joec32033 wrote:....ok..my phone limited my post....

What Kobe did was morally and ethically worse than LBJ's theatrics. No arguments there at all. Kobe just was able to cloud what may or may not have happened with reasonable doubt.

Lebron gets no such luxury wherever he turns. Whether he was used, tricked, manipulated, fooled, coerced, fearful, whatever...it all boils down to Lebron let it happen. He decided on the show. He decided where to to. He plowed hims to get fooled. It all goes against the image he built. I don't think anyone will look at Lebron the same way again.

Until he wins the ring ! Some just don't understand why he did what he did. He wants to be the bad guy now, it probably makes he take on more of the assassin mentality this yr.

How much did Briggs lose on the MSG Stock buy ?

While attempting to rehabilitate James' vanished integrity, you seem to be making stuff up as you go along. So now you see him as Hulk Hogan becoming a "bad guy?"

It finally dawned on me that you really don't understand that this (a ring) will do nothing to restore his prestige, do you? Winning a ring has nothing to do with the damage that has been done to his rep as an athlete, a competitor, and as a person.

This is an extreme example, but do you think that the rings Adam Morrison has won as a Laker in any way shape or form validates his career as that of a successful NBA player, worthy of being picked where he was in the draft? Is he no longer a bust because he is in a team picture?
Do think he now goes around showing off the rings and telling people that he was not the worst pick in one of the worst drafts?

Well guess what, James winning a title while kissing Wade's butt and following Bosh's lead, can never set him right in the eyes of fans who thought he was special and more than a simple tool.

And if James even thinks he is an "assassin," it will only be because he knows he has Big Daddy Wade to back him up and carry the baton when James drops it. Was the assassin idea yours, or has James been sending you some secret Tweets, or something.

And unlike you, we all "understand why he did what he did." Your statement that we don't understand is condescension born of your cluelessness, so I'm not really hurt by it, but you should look at your own ideas when talking about people who really don't understand.

Aside from the negativity directed towards Playa (IF THERE WAS ANY), this was well said.

playa2 wrote:The media called him "King James" the media made him a star that never won anything before. The media made him who is is today, and he used the media to help some kids at boys clubs all over the USA WITH proceeeds that came from the 1 hr ESPN decision broadcast that mostly everybody watched in optimism and horror.

Lebron used it to do a lot of good for a lot of kids. All the money made by advertising from last night’s special will go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, a total which comes to at least $2.5 million, plus additional donations from the University of Phoenix, Nike, and Sprite .

A number of the kids were asked what they would do if they were given millions and following LeBron’s lead, they all said they would donate to charity.

http://blogs.babble.com/famecrawler/2010/07/09/kids-from-the-boys-girls-club-react-to-lebrons-donation-think-he-should-buy-lots-of-cars-video/

Playa, Lebron was MORE than happy to go along with the media creation.We were all, ahem, witness, so to speak...

LeBron has “CHOSEN1″ tattooed on his back. Rumors that this tattoo was there when LeBron was born remain unconfirmed. Kidding aside, he got that after Sports Illustrated gave him the title on one of the covers, while he was still in High School.

TMS wrote:

joec32033 wrote:

fixed

HaHaHa! Now time to clean the coffee of my shirt and phone....

joec32033 wrote:

playa2 wrote:The media called him "King James" the media made him a star that never won anything before. The media made him who is is today, and he used the media to help some kids at boys clubs all over the USA WITH proceeeds that came from the 1 hr ESPN decision broadcast that mostly everybody watched in optimism and horror.

Lebron used it to do a lot of good for a lot of kids. All the money made by advertising from last night’s special will go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, a total which comes to at least $2.5 million, plus additional donations from the University of Phoenix, Nike, and Sprite .

A number of the kids were asked what they would do if they were given millions and following LeBron’s lead, they all said they would donate to charity.

http://blogs.babble.com/famecrawler/2010/07/09/kids-from-the-boys-girls-club-react-to-lebrons-donation-think-he-should-buy-lots-of-cars-video/

Playa, Lebron was MORE than happy to go along with the media creation.We were all, ahem, witness, so to speak...

LeBron has “CHOSEN1″ tattooed on his back. Rumors that this tattoo was there when LeBron was born remain unconfirmed. Kidding aside, he got that after Sports Illustrated gave him the title on one of the covers, while he was still in High School.

So you are saying he should have shunned the media and all the hype ?

Why try and steal away the good report he did for the Boysclubs of America. I can appreciate what he did , the boys club kept me busy during the summer as a kid.

Jordan's individual dominance pulled the spotlight away from the team game and focused more on the ability to carry ones own team. Maybe this move by Lebron will lead the league back to the super teams of the 80's. If theother teams in the league want to compete, they might not have a choice. Ask Paul and Melo.

joec32033 wrote:

Uptown wrote:While it looks bad now, Lebron may be looked at as a trailblazer (Not Portland) who started the new trend of teaming up and forming super teams. You already see minor effects of Paul wanting to play with other superstars and possibly Melo. Before Jordan, it was all about the the great team players and the super teams. Magic, one of the top 10 players ever, was the ultimate team player (and he played with another top 10 player of all time in Kareem, mind you) lead the stacked Laker teams. Bird, another selfless player led the stacked Celtics teams who had 4 hall of famers in their starting lineup. The Sixers went out and got Moses Malone to form their own super team in order to compete with the Celts and Lakers.

Jordan's individual dominance pulled the spotlight away from the team game and focused more on the ability to carry ones own team. Maybe this move by Lebron will lead the league back to the super teams of the 80's. If theother teams in the league want to compete, they might not have a choice. Ask Paul and Melo.

That may have been OK with 20 teams. It is not good when you have 30-32

I dont disagree with that statement, and I really believe the league needs to consider contraction. I've been saying this for 5 years now. The product was watered down even before the the stars considered teaming up.

But at 18 when do you know what a world image should be, the media molded him who they wanted him to be as long as it sold their products and shows , interviews ratings etc... Nobody to record has experienced the fame Lebron has at such a young age , how could he have down played the image the media made for him. The media didn't just start the ball rolling, it paved the way for more interviews more shows so that more fans and people who weren't even basketball fans to take notice just like Stern used Jordan to boost NBA Basketball in the 80 's. You can say what you want about the motives of Lebron' charity of choice, but one thing you have to take into account, the Boys Club of America got more than 2.5 mil in donations, it also received major exposure for such an 1 st and maybe never again done that way anticipated event. It reminded millions what the Boys Club does for young people. Lebron has never had bad press personally so he didn't need to boost his image bro, only his mom Gloria had dirt and that's was another incentive to escape to the south where the media is asleep. The kids were asked the question what would they do with millions of dollars since they all looked up to Lebron, and they said they would give it to charity. What a great impression he left to the impressionable young ones still trying to learn their way.

Charity thing first. I am happy the B&G club got so much money. I am just saying that I don't think the reasons were as pure as the public is lead to believe. This is just based on how this played out. Hell, Wade used his own kids to build drama for his documentary! You don't think that it may have crossed the minds of the queens to buy some good will knowing what Lebron was gonna do?

As an aside, I really think another part of the charity thing was to get people doing what you are doing now. Justifying the actions because of the good. It's PR spin to me. Also let me rephrase. When I said an image boost I meant it in the context of feeding his ego. Bad choice of words.

Lebron's image at 18 was what it was. I understand where you are coming from but this argument goes back to a nature vs nurture question in children. Are some children prone to being successful due to genetics or does the environment play a bigger role?

You have so many kids now that are built up and followed. You have kids that don't let the media tell them who they are and you have kids who do. Guys like Iverson, OJ Mayo, Kobe, hell even John Wall looks like he can handle it who can handle the pressure. These guys are the natural leaders. Each of these guys was hyped (each guy was hyped more than the last). Then you got guys like Steph, Beasley, Derrick Coleman, Kenny Anderson, who were hyped and couldn't.

I don't think that Lebron was a case of an immature 18 year old. I think it is a case of Lebron just being an immature guy. A follower. A guy who knows he has a problem with tough decisions and is smart enough to try to surround himself with people to help him. But is dumb enough to make his childhood friends those people and not professionals.

At 18 Lebron probably was unprepared and I understand everything you say about it snowballing on him and he just kept getting bigger...there is a flip side though. That is who he is now. A follower with an image that is not him. A king in his own mind. Lebron has become a spoiled, petchulant, indecisive man. At this point it doesn't matter how he got there, just that he is there now. The decisions and dramas he caused were of his own doing, not of the mainstream media from 9 years ago.