Thursday night amongst a ton of hoopla, fan fare, and with the world watching, Lebron James made the decision to leave Cleveland for sunny Miami. James’ decision made him public enemy number one Cleveland and led to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert ripping James on the team’s website. I know it stings but here is my message to the fan of the “mistake by the lake”: Lebron does not owe you anything, GET OVER IT!
I absolutely love and adore my home city of Baltimore Maryland and I was devastated when local product Mark Teixeira chose not to come here 2 seasons ago. Furthermore I would have been absolutely crushed if Cal Ripken had never won a championship for Baltimore and left in his prime. I get it, I understand, but that is life. While I agree it was self centered and narcissistic for Lebron to hold a 1 hour special to announce his decision, I think his decision can not be criticized by anyone. I will break it down this way: my dream is to get paid to do sports talk radio for a living. Currently I have a job that I like with lots of opportunity for advancement. If someone came up to me tomorrow and offered me a job for significantly less money, to pursue my dream I would take it in a second. How many people out there have changed jobs because they felt it was a better opportunity? And how many of those people were willing to take less money work for an organization with a better chance to produce results? Most people change jobs and careers because it is more financially lucrative, yet those are the same people criticizing James for turning down 30 millions dollars to reach the ultimate goal in his profession.
Lebron James wanted to stay in Cleveland and he made that known, but he did not owe them anything. They felt entitled that they could put out a mediocre supporting cast around James, and that he should stay there because its is his hometown and they drafted him into the NBA. Had Lebron left Cleveland for the Kicks or Clippers or some other team that is going nowhere just for the money, fame, and to be the superstar of the team, then Cleveland fans would have every right to be pissed. The fact is, if anyone had their choice of playing with Daniel Gibson, Delonte West and Antwaan Jamison, or playing with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, everyone would choose the latter. Lebron tried to recruit Bosh to Cleveland, but Bosh refused to play in Cleveland. Lebron was the reason Cleveland was relevant, and while I criticized him for not delivering against the Celtics, I was aware that he was the reason the Cavs had the best record in basketball. The Cavaliers were irrelevant before Lebron got to Cleveland, and he gave the Cavs seven great seasons with a supporting cast that would not have made the playoffs without him. No free agents wanted to come to Cleveland, which meant that Lebron would have once again had to be in MVP form just to give the Cavs a shot of winning the conference. Why did they lose to the Magic and Celtics in the playoffs the last two seasons? Because they were not the better TEAM, they just had the best PLAYER. Lebron wants to be part of a winning a team, even if it means sacrificing money, shots and points to reach the ultimate goal of winning.
When you go into your job Monday and someone offers you a chance to go to a better company, with better resources, more successful people and the chance top succeed in your profession, look around your office and tell me you wouldn’t grab your things and bolt out the door faster then Usain Bolt in the 100 yard dash. And in 99 percent of those cases, you would likely be taking a significant pay raise to switch companies.
If you wanted Lebron to stay then you should have gotten some pieces around him. Lebron doesn’t owe the city of Cleveland and the Cavs organization ANYTHING; they owe him for making them relevant for the last seven seasons.
Like Art Modell, Lebron left for greener pastures, and you are left with an inferior product with nobody to blame but yourself for not improving the team.
Get over it Cleveland and take a long look in the mirror.
Listening to “Miami” by Will Smith as we speak- The Little Roman.
Filed under: Basketball | Tagged: cleveland cavaliers, LeBron James, little roman, Miami Heat
I think you’re missing the point Marco…very few people are upset w/this decision from a basketball standpoint including yours truly…I love the idea that we will now have a team everyone outside of Miami loves to hate and wants to beat.
It’s absurd to act as though LeBron didn’t owe the city a proper exit. You bring up the real world of job comings and goings in your blog. The simple fact is, people of integrity give their boss 2 weeks notice or some advanced knowledge that they are going in a different direction when they quit. LeBron did none of this. He’s a complete jerk and as unprofessional a human being as you are going to find in how he handled his exit strategy.
While he might not owe his owner, who profited tons off of him, a thing, there were plenty of GM’s, scouts, team execs, trainers and fans who deserved better. Basketball decision aside, he handled this like a complete a-hole.
Again, people’s anger would not exist to this level if he had told the Cavs, “I’m not re-signing w/you” and had, had a separate press conference saying he was signing w/Miami. Instead, we got Apollo Creed in Rocky IV.
The decision from a basketball standpoint was fine by me. The means he took to announce that decision were piss poor and, anyone who says otherwise isn’t very ethical.
P.S. If someone ever gave you a shot in sports talk radio, would you bounce on your current employers without proper notification? Would you do it in an unprofessional manner? You want to talk about burning bridges, if for no other reason than to keep your future options open, wouldn’t you make an attempt to leave under professional circumstances?
LeBron’s exit was a joke and as bush league as it gets. If you ever get a shot at sports talk radio, I hope you don’t announce on the air that you’re leaving your current job and have one of “your people” tell your current company that you’re no longer an employee of theres.
Let’s use some common sense when looking at this decision and all admit that the way he handled his announcement and choice was disrespectful to his current employer and city.
You can’t compare normal jobs to NBA superstars making tens of millions per year. LeBron has a ton of money and I’d be willing to bet that he makes the majority of his income from endorsements anyway. Is LeBron even going to notice the money he is missing out on by signing with Miami?
Furthermore, I’m not an NBA contract guru, but I thought that extra money (from Cleveland) came, because they can offer him an additional year. Plus the fact that there is no income tax in FL helps to make up for the difference.
I don’t fault LeBron for bolting from Cleveland, but he went about things completely wrong. Tex signed with the Yanks like a normal person. He didn’t think about doing a shoe tour with Nike and he didn’t orchestrate an hour long special to promote his empire.
Finally, I think signing with Wade and Bosh and relinquishing his spot as “The Man” on his team shows a lack of self confidence. He could have gone to Chicago and had a fine cast of supporting characters to try and win it all with. Even NY would have been better…he’d have Amarie and probably Chris Paul soon after that. Going to play with Wade and Bosh is a move that a desperate superstar makes in the waning years of his career…it’s Malone to the Lakers, not something LeBron should have ever considered doing in his prime.
Couldn’t agree more…I think me and Pat feel like most people do…you can go either way on the basketball decision but, there is no denying it was a horrible way to exit the city on a professional, respectful level.
Clevelanders aren’t as pissed he left as they are pissed about the manner in which he did so.
He didn’t have to give them two weeks. They should have been prepared that he might leave. I do think calling them and stating why he wanted to go to Miami before just having Cleveland hear it for the first time on the special would have been much better and maybe softened the blow. But he announced he was going to explore other options the whole time and never once said he was definitely staying in Cleveland and then bailed. So its techinically like putting in your two weeks.
I have no problem with it whatsoever, but I can see both sides.
It would be different if Lebron was some fringe player who the Cavs drafted just because he was local boy who they wanted to give a shot and then he became superstar and left for greener pastures. Lebron was going to be the number 1 pick regardless and the Cavs won a lottery to get him. They didnt do anything so therefore he does not owe them anything.
I hope if you ever leave your current job you don’t take on the attitude that you don’t owe your bosses a level of respect and have some courtesy when it comes to your exit plan.
Few are complaining because LeBron left Cleveland for Miami…most are complaining because of the bush league manner in how he did so.
He does owe Cleveland respect and he didn’t give them it…this was a city that didn’t even badmouth him in the local papers (something even Jordan couldn’t get around). This was a city that stood by him even though he’s the biggest front runner I’ve ever seen (Yanks fan, Cowboys fan, Bulls fan growing up…probably had a Cowboys Starter Jacket in Grade School).
I’m sorry but LeBron is an unprofessional jerk for how he handled his exit out of Cleveland. That city put him on a pedestal, loved him and gave him the respect and common courtesy he couldn’t return. No one is saying he owed Cleveland the right to keep him as a player. He absolutely should have handled moving on to Miami with more class.
Don’t give your boss 2 weeks notice here in Bmore….see how many bridges that burns.
I am having a hard time getting over the fact that our hero called up ESPN, requested to be on air for an hour and publicly take a dump on my head. I am having a hard time understanding how the fans here deserved such a lack of respect. I could give a damn where he plays, but next time I hope he doesn’t hijack sports talk for a year and then humiliate the couple of guys down in Miami that give a damn.
I have two buildings
These’s comments are racially insensitive
Hey its me Cleveland again. Im still pretty pissed about lebron. Oh and could someone get Shelly Smith out of here? She is really bringing us all down even further.