****The Official 2014-15 NBA Thread****

"sports24/7 wrote:

I don't agree with that. It would be a big deal if he won 1 there, but he'd still get dinged for not winning as many as Jordan or Kobe, etc. For him to go down as the undisputed best of all time, he has to at least get close to those guys in terms of rings. His best chance to win as many rings as possible would be for him to stay in Miami next year and the following year. That's why I don't really get why people think he has to go back right now. He gets the best of both worlds if he stays in Miami for 2, then goes back to Cleveland when Irving is in his prime and Wiggins has developed.

I don't agree, trophys are trophys after 2, if he wins as many or more MVP's and say surpasses his scoring title etc, but comes up short by say 1 Championship, who is going to say that Kobe was better than him? Or Jordan? Nobody...

I don't see Lebron going back in two years if he stays in Miami. I see him going back at age 36/37 for a farewell tour.

Meanwhile Tom Winter of NBC has just debunked the Trexler rumor about Bath, OH police officers preparing extra security for an announcement.

"pocoloco wrote:

If Lebron leaves, none of you Heat fans can really be that upset

I'd be content for the remainder of my life if the Dolphins had the four year run that the Heat just had

I'll be upset for a different reason. I'll be livid that men who get paid to have their fingers on the pulse of the league missed the obvious, when another perfect example was right there to show us why this was a failed venture—if, in fact, LeBron leaves and the team falls apart.

The example was Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls.

Have you noticed the lack of a stream of upper-echelon players lining up to play in Chicago alongside Derrick—for the maximum, for the minimum, nor for anything in-between.

Because nobody wants to play with a broken superstar. No one with any championship aspirations wants to take a chance on a guy who broke, and then came back supposedly fixed, and then proved to be broken again. Nobody, no how.

Those of us not wearing the heat-colored glasses saw this season, and in this postseason, that Dwyane Wade was our Derrick Rose. Wade was—and forgive the bluntness and the cruelty of this thought—the cripple that superstars don't want to have to drag around with them, pretending it's all okay, and we're still a band of brothers, and we're gonna get through this, and you'll be fine again soon and when you are, son, you gonna make them pay!

Nobody. No how.

Why did Riley's voodoo, which worked to a scary degree in 2010 and later in convincing guys like Ray Allen to sign on to win championships with 3 superstars, why did it fail to attract any but TWO THIRD-TIER guys, one of whom the whole league is still scratching their collective head and wondering "Huh?!"?

Because one leg of the titanium tripod is broken; and it was supposed to be "fixed," yet proved to be either still broken, or still a ways off; and who knows how long that would be? Is it permanent?

A man like Pat Riley, who has ruthlessly, coldly discarded players and coaches when they no longer served the ultimate goal of winning it all, got some focacta notion of "loyalty" in his head, and gave Wade a pass, and somehow thought that the elite players in the league would somehow, magically do the same. He even miscalculated the effect that the matter would have on the centerpiece of his ongoing triumph—the greatest player in the game, possibly the best of all time—LeBron James.

Riley himself seemed to be wearing the Heat-colored glasses when he looked at Dwyane Wade and thought that everyone else would overlook the dark side of the spectrum if it were to come to pass that Wade had played his last game at a top-ten level some time ago. He ignored what everyone saw; or, what they couldn't actually see in order to decide if Wade is Derrick Rose or Kobe Bryant, or a worst-case scenario of Grant Hill, which is an even scarier thing on which to carelessly wager the precious prime years of your athletic career.

If LeBron leaves, I'll be disappointed. More than that, to be honest; we've had so precious little to cheer in Miami sports that losing James will be a gut-punch from which, if we're truly honest with ourselves, we won't recover for some time.

But the galling thing, the thing that will make me angry, is that men who are supposed to be the great minds at the top of that building which houses the Heat offices, will have willfully, or possibly naively ignored something which was obvious even to us simple fans. Some of us, anyway. The rest will continue to argue otherwise.

More dumb stuff.

@PhilTrexler Folks in Bath feel strongly that LBJ will sign w/ CLE. LBJ's camp contacted cops hour ago to alert them of tonight's annoucement. #kingjames
‏@Tom_Winter Bath Township, Ohio police -- home to Lebron James -- tells NBC News they are NOT preparing for an announcement or extra police details.

Hah. Oops.

I continue to lament that Bovada does not have a line up on LeBron's destination.

"finyank13 wrote:

I don't agree, trophys are trophys after 2, if he wins as many or more MVP's and say surpasses his scoring title etc, but comes up short by say 1 Championship, who is going to say that Kobe was better than him? Or Jordan? Nobody...

People don't care about MVPs. Kobe only won 1. People care about rings. That's always the argument against LeBron compared to Jordan. And he'll have to win multiple championships in CLE to get close to Jordan, and that's not going to happen IMO. It could here.

"ckparrothead wrote:

I continue to lament that Bovada does not have a line up on LeBron's destination.

I've said it before. The world is full of people who think Occum's Razor is a shaving apparatus

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA 1m
Cavs pressed Celtics/Nets officials to complete paperwork on 3-way trade in last hour, needed it done "immediately." Cap space is clear now.

...

"ckparrothead wrote:

I continue to lament that Bovada does not have a line up on LeBron's destination.

Yeah, BOL has nothing either. They had one for Peyton. Can't think of another they've had.

"sports24/7 wrote:

People don't care about MVPs. Kobe only won 1. People care about rings. That's always the argument against LeBron compared to Jordan. And he'll have to win multiple championships in CLE to get close to Jordan, and that's not going to happen IMO. It could here.

And it sounds as dumb as when people say Marino wasn't an all-time great because he has none....

"finyank13 wrote:

...

Hmm...

Per Woj; Cleveland pressed Celtics/Nets to complete Jack trade because cap space was needed "immediately". Trade is now complete.

Who the hell knows?

What's the purpose of leaking that info?

Really, it serves nobody.

"schmolioot wrote:

What's the purpose of leaking that info?

Really, it serves nobody.

Revenge

Mike Ryan on 790 making a good point that the "immediately" leak sounds like a desperate Cleveland leak.

What is the rush? As long as LeBron commits, he can physically sign the contract whenever. Whether it's today, tomorrow or a week from now.

that happened bc of the boston side trade exception was going to expire we knew about that yesterday

"Rouk wrote:

that happened bc of the boston side trade exception was going to expire we knew about that yesterday

So it's a desperate Cleveland leak.

Sam Amico has clarified. He says there are no less than 5 police officers at LeBron James home and that they are expecting a 3:30pm ET announcement.

I'm about to start click-banging LeBron James' website, LOL.

Not sure if true....

Peter Owen ‏@PeterOwen00 2m
RT @SamAmicoFSO: To be more precise, no less than five police officers at LeBron James home. They were told to expect 3:30 ET announcement.

Sam Amico ‏@SamAmicoFSO 10m
Can confirm extra security stationed on/around property of LeBron's Akron home as of 3 pm ET.

Why would a mob show up? Only because you are mad thats why...happy people get drunk at bars while celebrating...

"NaboCane wrote:

Those of us not wearing the heat-colored glasses saw this season, and in this postseason, that Dwyane Wade was our Derrick Rose.

There are so many things wrong with this statement. The sheer lack of perspective is baffling, let alone the lack of facts.

Dwyane Wade missed 28 games. Derrick Rose missed two years.

Dwyane Wade looked phenomenal when he played except for the Spurs series. Derrick Rose looks phenomenal in a suit.

I can keep going.

NBA Legion ‏@MySportsLegion 3m
Here's what the outside of LeBron's house looks like...currently one cop car. (via @_marykilpatrick)

Lebron will never be perceived as better than Jordan. He can win 8 rings and Jordan supporters will say Jordan went 6-0 in the Finals. Lebron's already lost 3 finals.

I won't be surprised either way he goes.