That's it, I'm done with LeBron

ace3g wrote:he is signing with the Miami Heat, so we now have the Miami Thrice: Wade, James, Bosh

ace3g wrote:he is signing with the Miami Heat, so we now have the Miami Thrice: Wade, James, Bosh

Stofe wrote:The more this drags on, the more I'm disliking LeBron. At this point, I would cheer for Kobe to win another ring before I would cheer for LeBron to win one.

b1gdon wrote:

Stofe wrote:The more this drags on, the more I'm disliking LeBron. At this point, I would cheer for Kobe to win another ring before I would cheer for LeBron to win one.

WOW, in one hour, LeBron James just went from one of the most loved athletes in the world to one of the most reviled.

ace3g wrote:This is sort of a double standard:

First, In one way I would have loved to see him stay in Cleveland: his hometown, the team that drafted him, etc. He was the main guy, the Cavs were his team and if he brought a championship he would literally be the King of Cleveland. He was suppose be the "chosen one" to bring a championship and good luck back to Cleveland Sports. It seemed like the Cavs front office did everything they could to build a roster that could succeed around LeBron. Now none of those things happened, but none the less I would have liked to have seen LeBron stay in Cleveland and win a title there"

Either way one side was going to be upset by this decision and you could tell during the press conference that it wasn't an easy decision to leave Cleveland, he felt the move to Miami was his best opportunity to win; and in sports, winning is what makes a legacy.

Open Letter to Fans from Cavaliers Majority Owner Dan Gilbert
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Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;

As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.

This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.

Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.

The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.

There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.

You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.

You have given so much and deserve so much more.

In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:

"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE"

You can take it to the bank.

If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our "motivation" to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.

Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.

Sorry, but that's simply not how it works.

This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown "chosen one" sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And "who" we would want them to grow-up to become.

But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called "curse" on Cleveland, Ohio.

The self-declared former "King" will be taking the "curse" with him down south. And until he does "right" by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.

Just watch.

Sleep well, Cleveland.

Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day....

I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:

DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue....



Dan Gilbert
Majority Owner
Cleveland Cavaliers

What a fraud. What a scared little kid. Greatest player of all time? This guy? Nope. Not now. Not ever. Not even if LeBron James wins five rings in the next five years -- which he should.

He'll win those rings, but it'll be beneath him. It'll be beneath a player of his talent to win a title with -- and only with -- fellow free-agent mercenaries Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. When LeBron James wins the 2011 NBA title with the Miami Heat, it'll be like a breast augmentation for Jessica Biel. Sure, she'd be even sexier with bigger boobs. I guess. But it wouldn't be sincere. She'd no longer be real.

Same with LeBron and the rings he's about to start collecting. They'll be flashy. Stupid people will be fooled. But not me. Hopefully not you. Because those rings he's about to win, they won't be real. They'll be trinkets. Worthless. When he's not wearing them, he can store them in a box of Cracker Jack.

Miami Heat fans, you're forgiven for not liking my opinion. Seriously, I get it. You just landed the biggest free-agent combo in the history of sports. Your team won 47 games last season ... and just added Chris Bosh and LeBron James. If everyone stays healthy, your team could win 77 games next season. So you're excited. I get it. Be happy. You've done nothing wrong. This isn't about you.

This is about him.

I can barely write his name, I'm so disappointed in him. James just gave up his claim to all-time greatness. He obviously doesn't know it, but that's what he did. He just put an asterisk by the titles he'll win in Miami, because when he wins those five titles in the next five years, we'll know he couldn’t do it like Michael Jordan did it. He couldn't do it like Tim Duncan did it. He couldn't do it like Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson or Hakeem Olajuwon did it. Hell, he couldn't even do it like Kobe Bryant did it.

Those guys played the hand they were dealt, and they made it work. Some of those guys were dealt better hands than others, but they weren't all playing royal flushes. Some of them were holding a bunch of 3's and 4's until their team found Scottie Pippen or Joe Dumars hiding in the deck. LeBron couldn't do it that way. He couldn't attract anyone to Cleveland. You saw what happened this offseason: Bosh chose Miami. Carlos Boozer chose Chicago. Joe Johnson stayed in Atlanta. There are rules as far as the salary cap goes, but there are sign-and-trade possibilities to get around those rules, and anyway, things can get done if the players want it done. But nobody wanted to join LeBron in Cleveland, so he sold out and hopped on Pat Riley's bandwagon in Miami.

Now, winning a title isn't simply a possibility for James. It's a mandate. This is the Biggest Three, the likes of which we haven't seen in the NBA since the Lakers of the 1980s had Magic, Kareem and Worthy. Don't tell me about the Celtics' Big Three, because that's a joke compared to this one. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are all future Hall of Famers, and they won their title, but only Pierce was in his prime when that trio came together in 2007. This trio now? Bosh and Wade and James? Average age: 26. They're future Hall of Famers, and they're in their prime.

Los Angeles had a better supporting cast than whatever pieces Miami will be able to put around its trio, but as far as star power goes, Miami is like the Lakers of the 1980s. The Lakers traded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975. They drafted Magic Johnson in 1979. They drafted James Worthy in 1982. That took some work, some patience and, sure, some luck. But that's how it happened in Los Angeles.

How did it happen for Miami? They pulled out their checkbook and convinced Wade to stay. They grabbed their platinum MasterCard and charged Chris Bosh. And then they hocked their grandmother's engagement ring to buy LeBron James. That's great for the Heat, really. This is not me ripping the Miami Heat, because they played by the rules and put together the NBA's best trio in a quarter-century.

This is me ripping James, because -- stupid me -- I thought he had the guts to pursue an NBA championship without taking such a blatant shortcut. But in the end, James is no different from baseball's Alex Rodriguez, whose megalomania is such that he has been photographed kissing his image in the mirror. James' megalomania is such that he became the first athlete to require an hour of prime-time television to announce his next career move.

Both were too scared to win a title the right way. After failing admirably in Seattle and then failing dishonorably in Texas, A-Rod freaked out and hooked up with the best team money could buy, the Yankees, and finally got himself that championship ring.

James failed in Cleveland. He failed admirably at first, dragging his modest little team into the 2007 NBA Finals, and then he failed dishonorably, pouting his way off the court after the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals and then disappearing in the 2010 Eastern semis. Both years the Cavaliers had the best regular-season record in the league. Neither year did they reach the NBA Finals.

James bailed. Followed the stars to South Beach. And he'll win his ring in Miami -- lots of them. Anything less than a ring-a-year for James, and this will have been a disaster. That's how high the bar should be set for the Heat while James, Wade and Bosh are in their primes. How many years do they have at that level, five? Then the Heat should win five rings.

I hope they win none.

Nothing against the Heat. Nothing against Wade or Bosh.

But LeBron James is a coward, not a king. And I can't root for a coward.

For more from Gregg Doyel, check him out on Twitter: @greggdoyelcbs