Seems like the tide is turning in this city but man I just can't stop cringing and thinking, "Ok, what bad thing's gonna happen to stomp on our hopes"?
It's kinda what 50 years a Cleveland ANYTHING fan does to you...
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy he's back and all. I'm just not "as happy" as the majority of the other people it seems. I still can't fully shake the public The Decision ordeal.
Nevertheless, welcome back home LeBron. We are instant contenders now.
You ever made a mistake before?
I know, back in '79, right?
The Essay was the perfect atonement for The Decision.
LOL - The Rish will be upset with this news as well. KS just doesn't prioritize winning...
My mistakes didn't effect and anger thousands of people, but I understand. Like I said, I'm happy, just not "as happy" as the people who are flipping and their heads are popping off in excitement.
Quote: Hopson was traded to the Pelicans last night as part of the Haywood deal. So, you can safely cross him off. Mike Miller appears close to agreeing.
I see that he has a partially guaranteed deal. That helps us. It must have been the 7 points he scored last night that made them want him. lol
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: My mistakes didn't effect and anger thousands of people, but I understand. Like I said, I'm happy, just not "as happy" as the people who are flipping and their heads are popping off in excitement.
You're free to feel however you want.
I just think it's not that big of a deal. It was in bad taste. But I don't think the point of him doing the decision was to somehow make us look bad I just don't think he had us in mind when he decided to go about it that way. It's not the end of the world.
People around here in Chicago ask me all the time why I'm not mad about it. The only thing I really tell them is I'm not going to have some years-long grudge for a guy making a choice with his own life. You want a grudge from me? Move my football team out of town.
Lebron said in his letter that who was he to hold a grudge against Dan. A guy that said some really insulting things in that letter. Who are we to do the same toward him? They worked it out, face to face. I think that's awesome. I also think that is huge going forward. People said nobody would want to play for us when Dan wrote that letter, now I believe the script is flipped. I mean Kevin Love is reported to have said he would stay long term if he gets traded here. Top 10 player, in his prime.
Quote: j/c something I want to get off my chest and I wish I could scream it to the top of my lungs to have the uninformed media morons listen to it. I tweeted Adrian Wojnarowski earlier tonight because it was really bothering me about that stupid letter and how the media claimed that the Cavs just yanked it off the web. I knew with about 90% certainty that the letter probably didn't exist BY ANY LINK but the media was not internet savvy to know that old web pages die hard. The page can exist in a directory / folder and CAN BE accessible even if there was no direct link to the page. IF you bookmarked the page or there was an old internet article linking that article, the page is accessible if the page wasn't deleted.
I tweeted Wojnarowski relayed my hypothesis and asked him to ask Gilbert if that page existed or if it was a forgotten page. (DM me and I will send you the twitter screen shots if you believe I am not truthful.) 20 minutes later Woj tweeted out the tweet explaining Gilbert had informed him that the page was pulled quite some time ago. It was another ESPN , BS line. Dan didn't just pull the page as ESPN reported. The link to the page was pulled a long time ago. The page still existed and was accessed through an old article according to Dan. Ask Purp or anyone else with any web experience. The pages, if not deleted outright, exist. All it takes is the right directory call. If an article from 10 years ago has a link to a page elsewhere and that page still exist in some forgotten directory, it will show. That letter was not intended to exist. It was bad website management; not Dan Gilbert just now yanking a page. Now how to convince the national buttheads of it.
Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert told Yahoo Sports that the explosive public letter chastising LeBron James' departure four years ago had long ago been pulled from his franchise's website.
On the night that James' live show on cable TV infuriated the Cavaliers owner and inspired his infamous letter, the Cavaliers website posted Gilbert's correspondence. Nevertheless, Gilbert insists it was taken down within months – despite recent revelations that it continued to be a part of the team's site.
"The letter was taken down from our website years ago," Gilbert told Yahoo Sports on Friday. "There was some remnant link from the NBA site that someone discovered a few days ago and when our people were notified, it was immediately killed.
"The concept that we had the letter up for four years and just took it down is absurd and flat-out wrong."
I don't know about that. I found it on the nba.com/cavaliers site with a simple google search as recently as a week or two ago. I probably typed in something like "dan gilbert letter" and it popped right up. I remember this specifically because I was going to type a post on here about why I didn't think LBJ was coming back, but abandoned the post because I figured I had already ragged on the Cavs too much. But I seriously was thinking that it was inexplicable why the letter was still up at that point. Maybe it was in some obscure directory or some such but if that were the case, it would be odd for it to come up as one of the first results on google.
I think that Lebron's letter/essay hit such a completely perfect tone in so many ways that it's incredible. He addressed every single issue that he, or anyone else, could even think of. For this to work, there has to be forgiveness on all sides of the issue. Like Lebron said, he had to watch his family suffer through seeing his jersey burned and all kinds of other stuff that people did back then. Lebron injured the fans of Cleveland. He injured his teammates. He injured his coach, GM, and Dan Gilbert. Dan Gilbert injured Lebron with that letter. I think that many people saw that as a bit if a catharsis, and even loved the passion that Gilbert showed, but it had to hurt Lebron, and again, his family. The fans lashed out at Lebron. I imagine that it was hard for his family to hear people saying stuff about Lebron. Imagine turning on the radio and hearing people calling someone you love a traitor. (and worse)
I think that there had to be forgiveness all the way around. In a way, everyone involved was hurt, and hurt someone else. Anyone could claim offense, and make a case. In a way, everyone needed to forgive, and be forgiven. I think that has largely happened. Some fans are still mad about the way he did things, and I can understand that .... but I think that Lebron felt that he had to do what he did at the time, and I think that he would do things in a hugely different way if it had happened today.
One other thing ....... in a way, the "Decision" was the right choice for all concerned. Lebron played in 4 Finals, winning 2. The Cavaliers were able to retool, stripping the roster down, getting much younger, and adding quality and depth to the roster. Gilbert showed that he would do anything to help this team by taking on a massive contract like when he took Baron Davis' contract ,,, which, of course, brought us Kyrie Irving. The Cavaliers can't make that deal if Lebron is here. The Cavaliers were able to load up on draft picks, taking on salary in exchange for picks, serving as a salary dumping ground for a while. They would never have been able to do so if James were still on the roster. Some have joked that Lebron and Gilbert planned this ...... and while I don't believe that, it is not some wildly unbelievable idea, given the way it has worked out so far.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: j/c something I want to get off my chest and I wish I could scream it to the top of my lungs to have the uninformed media morons listen to it. I tweeted Adrian Wojnarowski earlier tonight because it was really bothering me about that stupid letter and how the media claimed that the Cavs just yanked it off the web. I knew with about 90% certainty that the letter probably didn't exist BY ANY LINK but the media was not internet savvy to know that old web pages die hard. The page can exist in a directory / folder and CAN BE accessible even if there was no direct link to the page. IF you bookmarked the page or there was an old internet article linking that article, the page is accessible if the page wasn't deleted.
I tweeted Wojnarowski relayed my hypothesis and asked him to ask Gilbert if that page existed or if it was a forgotten page. (DM me and I will send you the twitter screen shots if you believe I am not truthful.) 20 minutes later Woj tweeted out the tweet explaining Gilbert had informed him that the page was pulled quite some time ago. It was another ESPN , BS line. Dan didn't just pull the page as ESPN reported. The link to the page was pulled a long time ago. The page still existed and was accessed through an old article according to Dan. Ask Purp or anyone else with any web experience. The pages, if not deleted outright, exist. All it takes is the right directory call. If an article from 10 years ago has a link to a page elsewhere and that page still exist in some forgotten directory, it will show. That letter was not intended to exist. It was bad website management; not Dan Gilbert just now yanking a page. Now how to convince the national buttheads of it.
Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert told Yahoo Sports that the explosive public letter chastising LeBron James' departure four years ago had long ago been pulled from his franchise's website.
On the night that James' live show on cable TV infuriated the Cavaliers owner and inspired his infamous letter, the Cavaliers website posted Gilbert's correspondence. Nevertheless, Gilbert insists it was taken down within months – despite recent revelations that it continued to be a part of the team's site.
"The letter was taken down from our website years ago," Gilbert told Yahoo Sports on Friday. "There was some remnant link from the NBA site that someone discovered a few days ago and when our people were notified, it was immediately killed.
"The concept that we had the letter up for four years and just took it down is absurd and flat-out wrong."
I don't know about that. I found it on the nba.com/cavaliers site with a simple google search as recently as a week or two ago. I probably typed in something like "dan gilbert letter" and it popped right up. I remember this specifically because I was going to type a post on here about why I didn't think LBJ was coming back, but abandoned the post because I figured I had already ragged on the Cavs too much. But I seriously was thinking that it was inexplicable why the letter was still up at that point. Maybe it was in some obscure directory or some such but if that were the case, it would be odd for it to come up as one of the first results on google.
The NBA mirrors most, if not all of the individual teams content. The Cavaliers put the letter up, and eventually took it down, (and I am not sure of the time frame) but it still could have been mirrored on the NBA's site, even if it didn't have a direct link to it. Such a page would still be able to be found on a Google search, but unless someone with the Cavaliers went specifically looking for it, and they really had no reason to do so, they would not have realized that it was there. The Cavaliers likely administer their specific site ...... but the NBA site at large is administered by the NBA.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Lebron needs to teach Wiggins from day 1 about defense. That will be Wiggins biggest contribution this year. We're going to need his and Lebrons athleticism when we play Chicago and Indiana. Damn, how nuts is that? We're going to have the 2 best athletes on the court every night.
Quote: Lebron needs to teach Wiggins from day 1 about defense. That will be Wiggins biggest contribution this year. We're going to need his and Lebrons athleticism when we play Chicago and Indiana. Damn, how nuts is that? We're going to have the 2 best athletes on the court every night.
Yeah I've thought about that too. Add in a rim protector at the 5 and the Cavs could be a really good defensive team from game 1.
Also YTown, that is a reasonable enough explanation. It probably doesn't matter much at this point though. It's good to see cooler heads prevail.
And I would guess that Houston will match on Parsons as well.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
I can forgive him for leaving. He is a free person. The TV fiasco was sucky but eh who cares. I can forgive that too.
I won't forgive him for purposely losing so he could have an excuse to leave though. I haven't watched professional basketball since he threw that game.
Now that he used up his prime to win a championship elsewhere when he couldn't handle the pressure here and wants to retire at home I should bend over for him? Not gonna happen. Good luck to him but I won't be watching so I don't care one way or the other.
You can't fix stupid but you can destroy ignorance. When you destroy ignorance you remove the justifications for evil. If you want to destroy evil then educate our people. Hate is a tool of the stupid to deal with what they can't understand.
LeBron James announcing that he was coming home might go down as the biggest moment in Cleveland sports history.
Over the past few months, rumblings/rumors started to fly that there was a chance that LeBron might return to the Cavaliers. After James entered free agency, the rumors started to look like a reality. It would be the perfect ending to an amazing story. The song that would become the backdrop for every tribute was Skylar Grey's 'Coming Home".
On Friday James announced that he was indeed coming home. And later that day, Skylar Grey posted a special version of her hit 'Coming Home' with the lyrics “I know Cleveland awaits, they’ve forgiven my mistakes. I’m coming home. I’m coming home. Tell the world that I’m coming… Welcome home, LeBron.”
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: He has 5-6 good years left where he could still be the best player in the world. Jordan won championships at 35 or 36..
He's logged a lot of games. 11 seasons, playoff runs in all but 2 seasons. Never bounced in the first round... However, he has avoided the injury bug his whole career. It's amazing. You just don't see that anymore.
I got over it a long time ago. I still rooted for the Heat to lose, but it stopped bothering me after the Dallas finals, and now any lingering resentment is erased.
For as badly as he gets ripped for The Decision - which deserved scorn...if you told me a kid would on the cover of SI as an underclass high schooler and given the nickname 'The Chosen One' before he could vote...I would expect a lot worse out of him.
If The Decision ends up being the worst thing he does over the course of his career, I'd chalk that up as a decent guy who made a mistake. Can't get too mad about that.
Not telling anyone how to feel, that's just my take.
Not long after the Heat lost their first Finals, I remember starting a thread asking if you would welcome him back or not if he chose to come back. Really wish I could find that. I'm usually good at archive digging, but I think it's gone.
I think the Dallas series put a bow on it for me too. I stoped rooting against him. The next year I wasn't rooting for them, but in a way I was happy that he finally got what he wanted. And in a way I was relieved because I felt lke everyone could move forward. Of course not everyone did, but people cope in different ways I guess.
If Lebron ends up winning a title in this next run, or multiple, I think down the line people will view it differently. I mean we don't have Irving, Wiggins, Waiters (possibly Love) without him leaving. And as a sports story, the first run, the decision, the Heat, and the return, finishing with him hoisting Cleveland's first title in 50+ years (assuming the Browns or Tribe don't beat them to the punch)? That's an amazing story.
I seriously cannot waIt for this fall. Hell, even the Tribe found .500 last night. Can you imagine if they get in again, and you have this Browns team, and Lebron with this team of young exciting players? Wow.
It makes me nervous to talk about it, but yeah, his lack of injuries is really mind-boggling. Especially given his earlier years when we'd just go iso and he'd bang through the lane every other possession.
He's probably only missed like 20-25 games due to injury in his career, and nothing more severe than an ankle sprain.
Hard to say how long his 'prime' will last. He's been taking care of his body from a very early age. And he's developed range on his jumper, which will extend his career.
I think he'll still be a difference maker at 37-38 at this rate. Maybe not an alpha or in his prime, but still a guy who can contribute on a contender.
But you never know. In the NBA, when it goes, it goes fast.
He's missed more games in Miami the last few years, but they have also healthy scratched him (sorry for the hockey term) just to give him rest. Pop does it, and now everyone follows suit) But I bet if someone were able to look it up, the amount of games he's missed truly because of injury is minmal.
I could be wrong but it just seems like athletes these days get hurt more. I know the studies and medical care is better, so maybe there is more precaution, but guys are always getting hurt. Don't even start with MLB pitchers, jeez.
I truly believe that Lebron did not understand how fans think. He seemed to think that people were Lebron fans more than being Cavaliers fans. I think that he expected fans to just follow him to Miami like nothing had happened. I also think, that despite the maturity he showed since being drafted, he was still a very immature person inside, and maybe a little too full of himself. (which sounds weird to say, given that he is, by far, the best basketball player on the planet today) I believe that he was absolutely stunned that he became the villain .... because he always saw himself as the superhero.
I also think that he thought that going to Miami was going to be easy. I think that he was genuinely shocked that the Heat did not win in their 1st year. They did win in the next 2 season, but I think that this year really stressed to him that he is on a different level even than Wade and Bosh.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: Just read an article today - don't have a link - he's missed about 44 games in his 11 years.
I think that most of those have been at or near the end of each season, as he rested for the playoffs.
I would guess that he has had a "break" game leading up to the playoffs in each year he has played. I remember that he sat out a game against the Cavaliers in the past couple of years.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: Melo is going t stay in New York which I think is good for us.
Most money and Phil Jackson saying that he is going to build a team around him. Not a bad pair of reasons to stay put.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: I truly believe that Lebron did not understand how fans think. He seemed to think that people were Lebron fans more than being Cavaliers fans. I think that he expected fans to just follow him to Miami like nothing had happened. I also think, that despite the maturity he showed since being drafted, he was still a very immature person inside, and maybe a little too full of himself. (which sounds weird to say, given that he is, by far, the best basketball player on the planet today) I believe that he was absolutely stunned that he became the villain .... because he always saw himself as the superhero.
That's what happens when you've been told by everyone around you how great you are since the age of 16.
Quote: I truly believe that Lebron did not understand how fans think. He seemed to think that people were Lebron fans more than being Cavaliers fans. I think that he expected fans to just follow him to Miami like nothing had happened. I also think, that despite the maturity he showed since being drafted, he was still a very immature person inside, and maybe a little too full of himself. (which sounds weird to say, given that he is, by far, the best basketball player on the planet today) I believe that he was absolutely stunned that he became the villain .... because he always saw himself as the superhero.
That's what happens when you've been told by everyone around you how great you are since the age of 16.
I think that it started before 16.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: This has been a dream perfect offseason for me. We got rid of Potato Head. We drafted Wiggins. We get the best basketball player on the planet.
Anthony Bennett will be the least talked about 1st overall pick ever.
I don't know about Bennett. I have a feeling he might start to beast out this year. Lot's of things didn't work in his favor last year.
I'm not ready to write him off either.
I'm not either. He looks like he has completely reworked his body, and that is a testament to the work he put in over the off-season. If he is willing to work that hard, then he has a chance of being something special. He could be a stretch 4, and playing alongside Lebron could still be an impact player.
I am not saying that it is a certainty, before anyone says that .... but him working as hard as he has to have worked is a hugely encouraging sign.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Not only is he in better shape and can work out and train properly, he won't have the hindrance of trying to learn from mike brown. There isn't a single thing last year that helped him. it was basically a wash for him last year to get a few minutes and try to get back in shape..This year I expect to see a substantial step forward
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
And how old is the guy....20? The kid is still a kid. Ok, if he doesn't show anything this year, misses his first 300 shots and plays 3 minutes a game...then sure, I am on the bust boat. He ends up like Jop Drop, or whatever the heck his name was.....big dude from Africa...maybe the Congo....he sucked.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
Quote: I truly believe that Lebron did not understand how fans think. He seemed to think that people were Lebron fans more than being Cavaliers fans. I think that he expected fans to just follow him to Miami like nothing had happened. I also think, that despite the maturity he showed since being drafted, he was still a very immature person inside, and maybe a little too full of himself. (which sounds weird to say, given that he is, by far, the best basketball player on the planet today) I believe that he was absolutely stunned that he became the villain .... because he always saw himself as the superhero.
That's what happens when you've been told by everyone around you how great you are since the age of 16.
I think that it started before 16.
Yeah.
Like I said, if The Decision is the worst thing he ever does...that's not bad.
Easy to lose yourself under those circumstances.
Either way, he's back now and it's all in the past. I did not think he would come back. I certainly didn't expect the way he did it.
You've got to give it up to the guy...that was great. He let the string play out a bit, because I think he likes the attention, but he had an entire industry talking about him 24/7, and only one prominent media member cracked his plans, and even then he threw a curveball with the essay.
I don't doubt him for a second when he talks about being a billionaire. I wouldn't bet against him owning the team one day.
Hats off to Lee Jenkins on that, too.
On another note...everyone ready to dislike the Spurs again?
Quote: And how old is the guy....20? The kid is still a kid. Ok, if he doesn't show anything this year, misses his first 300 shots and plays 3 minutes a game...then sure, I am on the bust boat. He ends up like Jop Drop, or whatever the heck his name was.....big dude from Africa...maybe the Congo....he sucked.
4 years ago, Lebron was immature and naive. He saw the decision as his chance to experience the college "thrill" of picking a hat off a table like high school students do when picking a college. He never got to experience that. He just didn't have the people around him telling him that was a bad idea. That it's not quite the same when one of those team's fans have invested 7 years into your career and the team is completely built around you being there.
I think he realized pretty quickly that it was a mistake. He said within a few months that he wished he would of done things differently. He also took the high road when visiting Cleveland. Fans lashed out at him in his first game back and he took all of it without lashing back. I think he sort of knew it was deserved.
After the decision, I was mad at first, but even a few weeks or so afterwards, I realized it was his best option. And in reality it was in the best interest of the team. We were stuck in limbo with him here. We were capped-out with no assets and our draft picks weren't any higher than 20. There was really nothing we could do to get talent in here while he was here carrying us to 60 win seasons. By leaving, it allowed us to get all these new guys. (Winning the lottery frequently helped a bit too)
Like PDR and Sperg I was pretty much over it after the Mavericks beat them. I wasn't ever going to cheer for that team to win, but I wasn't really angry at him. He also sort of lost the "heel" persona he took on in Miami that first year he was there. He didn't like being the bad guy. Heck by year 3 or so, I was starting to defend his legacy again against obnoxious Kobe fans again.
And since the Decision, he never really did anything to scorn Cleveland again. He always talked nicely about what the team was doing, continued to do his charity work in Ohio, and never really lashed out at fans that burned his jerseys and shouted obscenities at him ... when he very easily could have.
I can forgive him for one bad choice. Especially since, in the long run, it has put Cleveland in a MUCH better position to win championships. His recent open letter was perfect. He admits he's an Ohio son, like the rest of us. He's willing to look past our mistakes and the team's shortcomings to be back home. We should do the same.
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