LeBron's future

[k-dog]

Originally Posted by pgellis

If he does end up in Miami, who else do they have around them? Nobody. I know you will have 3 All-Stars, but you also need 5 guys on the court at the same time and you need a bench to win it all in the NBA.

I don't think he is leaving Cleveland...but if he does go to South Beach:

The Heat have no Center worth talking about and Mario Chalmers at PG..He has averaged 8 points and 4 assists in two seasons. Unless they address those 2 positions quicklyThis potential "power trio" will need to all score 25-30 a night to even think of winning 60 games! YES...the highlights would be there...but NO...I don't see them winning a Championship anytime soon!

[barrysloate]

All of the teams who got themselves into the free agent sweepstakes, with the exception of Chicago, stripped themselves of nearly all their good players. Look at the Knicks, they have only a shell of a team around Stoudemire.

Miami will be able to put together enough middling players to complement the three superstars. Again, no championship is being handed to them. But they won't have any trouble putting on a show every night.

[old-baseball]

Not much of a basketball fan but because I live in the North-East Ohio area this is of interest to me. I really don't care one way or another if he goes or he stays but what I'm really wondering is if he leaves how he thinks he can still live in the Akron area and be treated the same way that he was when he played for the Cavs. In my opinion, if he goes on national TV and announces in an hour long show that he's abanonding his home town team / area, he moves immediately to human "turd" status in this area. I can't imagine that he's not smart enough to realize that "The Decision" also affects his kids, family and friends that are left in Ohio.

[Robextend]

Going to Miami is such a cop out....Miami is Dwyane Wade's team. Wouldn't his legacy be better served if he went somewhere he can call his team and beat a guy like Wade or Bryant in the playoffs/finals? Do you think Michael Jordan would ever go play with Kobe Bryant because he was afraid of never winning a championship?

Sorry for the rant!!

Edited to add: These are the rantings of a frustrated Knick fan that misses the days of Ewing, Oakley, Mason, etc...

[Abravefan11]

Rob I see your point but look at it some what differently.

Lebron doesn't have to win a title virtually by himself to be viewed as one of the greatest players of all time IMO, he already has that coming his way. With that said I can understand his not wanting to be included in the "Best Player To Never Win A Championship" conversation no matter how he has to get it done. He's very young and if he can win a championship in Miami in the next few years he will be able to cross that off his list and move on to other more personal goals if he chooses. I also think it speaks volumes to his desire to win a championship as opposed to being the star and not having anyone else take away from his shine.

One thing to keep in mind is Lebron is a brand and not just a player. At this point winning a championship is more important to elevating the brand than anything else.

[Robextend]

I hear ya Tim. I am just not so sure that his brand will thrive if he isn't the main focal point on a championship team. If his numbers go down to 22 pts a game with maybe 8 asissts, I am not sure his brand will soar.

He was totally wrong about some of the things he spoke about as well. He mentioned how Jordan had Pippen/Grant/Kukoc. Those guys were good role players, just like most of the guys Kobe has with the exception of maybe Gasol. It is easy to say how unselfish he is going to be and how they will all play together in harmony, but we have all seen situations where there are not enough basketballs on the court.

I remember Sprewell and Houston after one season couldn't play together because they both needed the ball to succeed. I am not saying it will be the same, but I would not be ready to hand them the championship or even the East title. I still think Orlando has the edge.

I also think Bosh is a tad overrated. I am always weary of guys who put up big numbers on bad teams, i.e, Charles Smith.

I guess we shall see...should be very interesting.

PS - Over/under on how many games before Riley takes over the team? I say 15...that guy is a snake.

[Abravefan11]

Rob I agree with everything you had to say and I look at it this way. Sports are using the same philosophy as movie companies. If something is a success, copy it and you too will have success. What Boston did in the last couple of years IMO is the model that Lebron and Miami are banking on being successful for them. With that said I think they are certainly poised to be a power house but all involved will suffer if they are not successful.