Some events require a measured response. Other need a free-flowing essay. Others need a poem of some kind or something. Clearly, the events of the past couple of days require that I interview myself.
Good Evening, Mr. Krolik.
Good evening, you.
So, LeBron will be appearing on “Larry King Live” on Friday night.
That’s what they tell me.
In person, around the blogosphere, or on Twitter, have you seen anyone whose opinion on said appearance is along the lines of “Oh boy, I’m so glad LeBron is going to be on Larry King?”
No.
Is everyone of the opinion that this is an annoying diversion from the NBA Finals and further evidence of LeBron’s egomania?
Yes.
Why do you think people have those opinions?
Well, because it is an annoying diversion from the finals and further evidence of LeBron’s egomania.
Egomania? Explain.
Well, it’s no great secret that LeBron has enjoyed milking this free agency situation for all it’s worth. This is nothing new for people that have been following the Cavs for a few years. He loves this stuff.
And why do you think that is?
Well, remember that many, many people who are not LeBron James have believed that LeBron James is the best player in the world for a number of years now. Yes, John, I realize that we are about a week away from Kobe claiming the unofficial title of the undisputed best player in the league. Still, the fact is that LeBron was playing on a completely different level than the rest of the league was for the past 162 regular season games, had three amazing individual series performances in 2009…
Wait, three great individual series performances? They lost in the third round against the Magic.
Look at what LeBron did in that series, Krolik. His numbers were off the charts, he made a game-winning buzzer-beating three, and he scored or assisted on something like 25 of the Cavs’ final points in their other victory in the series.
Go on.
I appreciate you giving me permission, buddy. So anyways, LeBron’s looked like the best player in the league for the last two years, with the exception of that Celtics series. (I acknowledge that the majority of the populace believes that Celtics series proves that he is not the best player in the planet. Let me continue.) I think that LeBron firmly believes he is the best player in the world, and one of the best ever. I’d be disturbed if he didn’t think that.
Everyone else is going to count championships, but LeBron is very aware of what he’s done on a night-in, night-out basis. If there’s a key takeaway here, it’s this: LeBron does not evaluate himself the same way everyone else evaluates him. That is probably a good thing, in some ways.
So anyways, LeBron believes that this is a fairly unprecedented event: the best player in the NBA, maybe one of the best players ever, searching for a coach and supporting cast capable of making the most of his talents and getting him a championship.
A capable supporting cast? Cleveland won 61 games this year, you short jackass.
Yes, and LeBron accounted for 11 more (estimated) wins than any other player on a contending team. Circular logic is fun, though. You travel-sized jerk.
The best player, and inarguably the most talented player, searching for a good supporting cast for a decade. Is there any precedent for that?
Well, there’s Wilt. LeBron’s more flexible and less self-centered than Wilt was, but I’m getting way more Wilt vibes from LeBron’s career than I’m comfortable with. That combination of impossible situations and tough breaks (Frank Selvy) just seems ominous.
In a leaked excerpt from the interview, LeBron said that Cleveland has an “edge” in signing him this off-season. Does LeBron genuinely acknowledge his Cleveland roots and appreciate what the Cavalier organization has done for him over the past seven years, or is he just covering his bases in case he does decide to leave?
Yes.
So, in your opinion, why does pretty much everybody hate LeBron right now?
It comes back to that Bull Durham thing, Krolik. Remember that part where Crash is telling Nuke to clean the mold off his shower sandals? Win 20 in the show, you’re quirky. As long as you’re in the minor leagues, clean your sandals.
That’s how it is with LeBron and the championship. Win a championship, and going on Larry King is fun. Doing a scripted movie is fun. Acknowledging that the basketball world is drooling over the possibility of signing you is fun. Dancing on the court is fun. Hosting the ESPYs is fun. You have the perceived right to play GM. A championship ring makes everything that you do a thing that Champions do.
Without a championship ring, everything you do is something that losers do. Every hour you spend having a life or pursuing other interests is an hour that might have cost your team the championship, the thinking goes. Which is why LeBron should have waited until he got a ring to do this stupid movie.
So you’re saying that if you win a championship (and maybe two) as the best player on your team, people will forget that you demanded a trade, criticized moves the front office made, and may have refused to re-up with your team until they traded away a hall-of-fame center?
I hope you’re not talking about Kobe and Shaq. They traded him away because he wanted an extension. THERE IS NOTHING MORE TO THAT STORY. Never mind what Phil Jackson said in his book. I’m sure he was just in a bad mood.
Would this be a good time to mention that Kobe made a rap album?
Is there ever a bad one?
Now you’re just being mean to Kobe.
No, I’m using him to defend LeBron. Kobe managed to play GM for a few years, get Shaq out of town, be a superstar, and produce a rap album over the course of a career that got him five championships. That’s great for him. In hindsight, there’s nothing he should have done differently. Where I have a problem is when people say Kobe’s won these championships because he’s a borderline sociopath basketball robot who doesn’t do anything else. Kobe’s such a great player. I don’t understand why fans have to make him into something he’s not in order to appreciate him.
Kobe’s a workaholic, but he’s also a human being who does things other than basketball. For that matter, so was MJ. (WHO BECAME A BRAND AND STARRED IN A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE. AND RETIRED FOR TWO FREAKING YEARS TO PLAY BASEBALL. AND STARTED GOLFING IN COLLEGE AND WAS A SCRATCH GOLFER BY THE TIME HE RETIRED. AND IS A FULL-ON GAMBLING ADDICT. ALSO, SECRET FAMILY.) While we’re on the subject, Tiger Woods was the hardest-working golfer on the planet, bar none, while juggling like 12 mistresses. Players can work very hard at their craft and work very hard in their personal lives. In fact, the two qualities often go hand in hand.
How can LeBron change public opinion about him?
LeBron will become a changed, humbled man .0000001 seconds after his team wins an NBA Championship. If doing well at the Masters can “humble” Tiger for some reason, clearly the magic healing powers of winning playoff games will help LeBron.
Are you finding it hard to root against Ron Artest, in spite of everything?
Extremely hard. I can’t remember a post-Gasol Laker with legitimate cult/underdog appeal. Well, except for Odom. (Do NOT try to sell me Shannon Brown.) Say Queensbridge.
Do you wish you were recapping an NBA Finals game right now instead of discussing LeBron appearing on a talk show?
Yes.
How tall are you John?
Wait, so after one game we are crowning the Lakers? Good to know.
Another garbage interview/article. Lebron is hated because his been a star since high school. It was apparent he would be fantastically rich since the eleventh grade and most people being envious cretins just can’t stand it. They have been waiting seven long years for a reason to lay him low because he had the nerve to be talented and make a buck off his talent. You don’t want Lebron to be humble. You want him to apologize for being exceptional.
The Cavs are not in finals because Lebron has outside interests.
The Cavs are not in the finals because the team is poorly constructed and coached. Despite the Cavs record the last two seasons, the Cavs as Tracy McGrady(of all people) pointed out are not that good. But because lebron is such a tremendous talent and casts such a large shadow very few people can see that. Lebron during the regular season hides and compensates for alot of the flaws and short comings of the poorly managed organization he is the center of. So, please stop blaming interviews,movies,handshakes, speeding tickets, T-shirts, award shows, and dancing for the Cavs demise. The problem this year, like the last few years is the ‘great job” of Gilbert and Ferry have done by surrounding James with garbage, the old and decrepit and the inexperienced.
And is Lebron really a egomaniac? Maybe so. But his egomania really isn’t a problem. I find it annoying and problematic that so many people whom i’m sure would describe themselves as being well adjusted and in possesion of the important virtues of life have the nerve to complain about the exposure Lebron gets, and then turn on a dime to exploit his name for their own modest gain. It is laughable to hear all the talking heads,experts and would be shrinks, who have been chasing after Lebron since he was 15 or 16 bemoan Lebron’s presence and then dive head first into his world. if you’re tired of Lebron stop covering him. Cover Kobe and his amazing, unmatched work ethic. Or, talk about kevin Durant. isn’t he next?
I’m bored of LeBron and the Lakers. Bring on the World Cup, please!
I’m with Chris, especially regarding LeBron. He’ll either re-sign or he won’t. All this other flim flam is just silly. Can’t wait until June 12.
Yes Eric. One player is good enough to win 60+ games in back to back years. The team does suck.
You see, it is people like you who cause LeBron haters to exist. You build him up to be something he isn’t. He isn’t the best player ever. He isn’t the greatest thing since sliced bread. He is a really good basketball player who hasn’t won a title. However, to give him ALL of the credit for winning so many regular season games while giving his teammates none is one thing. To then give him NONE of the blame in the playoffs and give his “poor supporting cast” all of it is astonishing. Either LeBron is good enough to win 60+ games by himself, or he isn’t. And if he isn’t, then his team must be better than you think. You can’t give LeBron all of the credit for regular season wins, and none of the blame for playoff losses. Only people who blindely worship at the altar of LeBron would do that and it is those people who create an overinflated image of LeBron to the point that people turn to hate.
This team has talent. Poorly constructed teams don’t win 60 games. They just don’t. One player does not win 60 games by himself. They just don’t. Stop excusing LeBron for everything and maybe look at him objectively and find it in yourself to point out his flaws. He does have a large ego (granted, so do a lot of NBA players and it doesn’t seem to get mentioned). He was bad against the Celtics. He has played up his FA throughout the years (again, so have other players though, and it doesn’t get mentioned). He does like the spotlight. He isn’t perfect. He isn’t even the best player ever. Deal with it and stop worshipping in this man as if he is a god.
I do, however, enjoy the potential for the self-interview format. Wonderful as always, small fry.
Too-short-to-be-an-anecdote anecdote about Kobe: Friend of mine plays soccer in a park near his house. Even during the regular season, he’s out there playing catch with his daughters. Apparently his wife pitches. (My friend first noticed them when she saw this “unbelievably beautiful woman standing on the mound pitching to a little girl.) So, he does that too.
Needless to say, I’m playing a lot of soccer over the summer.
Hold up one second there. You mean Kobe does not live, sleep, and breathe basketball 24/7??OMG HE CLEARLY ISNT A WINNERZZZ!!
ferry just resigned. damn it…
Forget Ferry. Who signs Varejao to a $50 million contract? Later baldy.
I’m apathetic towards Ferry. He wasn’t terrible. He wasn’t great. He was afraid of LeBron, and you can never be afraid of players if you’re trying to run an organization. He made good moves, like the Mo Williams trade. But that trade only happened because of his prior bad moves, like Larry Hughes getting 60 million dollars.
And like Kevin said, he gave Anderson Varejao incredibly to much money, despite what the Varejao fanboys will tell you.
John K – what do you make of the Ferry news! The instant analysis is absolutely polarizing: Some say, uh-oh, Lebron liked Danny and this eats away the supposed stability that was supposed to have been a major selling point. Others (notably Bill Simmons) say that a clean house is a better approach. What say you, pocket-sized scribe?
LeBron did Charlie Rose last Summer. http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10628
Lebron has been eliminated in the playoffs 5 times. Of those 5 times he’s been eliminated he was absolutely HORRIBLE for 4 of the 5 series. The ONLY series, where he played well and the Cavs lost was 2009 ECF against Orlando. Here are the numbers:
2006 Eliminated against Detroit: He averaged 26.5 points, 44% from the field, and 4.5 TURNOVERS A GAME. Those numbers aren’t pathetic, but they’re definitely below his regular season numbers, not ABOVE them.
2007 Finals against Spurs: Through 4 games he averaged 22 points, 6 TURNOVERS, and 35% shooting going 32-90 from the field and getting swept. Those numbers are horrible.
2008 Conference Semi’s against Boston: Lebron through the first 6 games averaged 23 points per game, 6 TURNOVERS A GAME, and 32% shooting. He shot 41-126 in the first six games. That’s HORRIBLE.
2010 Conference Semi’s against Boston: Had a Monster game 3 but struggled every other game with his FG%, and Turnovers.
The Lakers trade Marc Gasol for Pau Gasol, who in 2008 wasn’t even a top 5 power forward in the league (KG was better, Tim Duncan just won a chip in 2007, Carlos Boozer just got to the WCF in 2007, Dirk Nowitzki just got MVP in 2007, and Chris Bosh was Chris Bosh) we gave up a very skilled big man in Marc Gasol. By contrast, Cleveland picked up Shaq, Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, Leon Powe, Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker all for Joe Smith and Wally Szerbiak and some off-season signings. The Idea that Lebron plays well and his team stinks it up is a facade. Most NBA PEOPLE, have been saying all Post-Season that Kobe’s the best player in the league and that the Cavs were a very good team that couldn’t get it done.
Rich, I never said Lebron was the greatest player ever. When did I write that
Einstein? And if the Cavs are such so talented, why are so many of you afraid he’ll walk out the door? No, one man can’t win 60 games by himself. But i think it’s safe to say that lebron was responsible for about 50 of those wins. I think I’ve explained why people like you hate Lebron. Oh,and for the record I don’t worship Lebron. I’m an Orlando Magic fan. That is why I can look at the Cavs and clearly see the real problems. If anything you are the one worshipping at his feet. You are the one who’s disappointed that he’s not the greatest ever. And I would suggest that you follow your own advice and objectively look at the piss poor job Gilbert/Ferry have done with the Cavs. If you did that you too would understand why,despite having a great talent like Lebron the Cavs suck. But anyhoo, you are are absolutely right when you point out he’s not the greatest,but he is great. And that is why he’s coveted. If he would leave the Cavs(he should)he’ll get another job before Mike Brown and Danny Ferry. And they have a head start. That’s something you need to deal with.
Vahagn, people like you amaze me. The reason Lebron’s numbers are worse during the playoffs is because opposing teams double and triple Lebron. That doesn’t happen consistently during the regular season. Opposing teams can afford to double and triple relentlessly because no one on that team is a constsitent threat. Like Paul Pierce said when the Celtics tossed the Cavs out of the playoffs. One man can’t beat three.
Yes, you are right when you say Pau Gasol wasn’t a top five power forward. you are correct when you mention that Garnett,Duncan and even Boozer was better. But here’s the thing, who on the Cavs is better than Pau Gasol? Is it the “energy player Andy V? Or is it jj Hickson, who’ll develope into a solid rotational player any day now? You picked up Shaq? No. you picked up the carcass of Shaq. Mo Wiliiams? He’s nothing but a fourth option. Jamison? slightly better than mediocre. Powe, Moon, Parker? they are nothing but garbage. Hate to break it to you but te Cavs are not a very good team.
Well, if you are an Orlando fan you have your own problems to worry about. Your best player seems to have peeked and still doesn’t have a solid post move. You are paying Rashard Lewis, who is no better than Antawn Jamison, 20 million dollars a year OVER THE NEXT THREE SEASONS. Good luck going into the playoffs year in and year out with that guy.
if you really want a laugh, look up tony parker’s rap album. makes kobe look like he deserves a grammy.
Rich, I’m willing to bet that the Magic solve their problems before the Cavs do. We have tradeable pieces,a gm and a good coach. Besides Lebron what do the Cavs have ? The Cavs are the one’s who will need luck in the coming years. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Lebron isn’t dazzeling the NBA with his post game either.
“Is it the “energy player Andy V? Or is it jj Hickson, who’ll develope into a solid rotational player any day now? You picked up Shaq? No. you picked up the carcass of Shaq. Mo Wiliiams? He’s nothing but a fourth option. Jamison? slightly better than mediocre. Powe, Moon, Parker? they are nothing but garbage. Hate to break it to you but the Cavs are not a very good team.”
Welcome to the subtle mysteries of the NBA. aka “The Matrix” or perhaps a better movie analogy would be “Dark City” a movie that predates the Matrix and is much more telling. Much of what we see in the NBA is a quiet farce, equally sized balls, rolling down the same hill, but some get to the bottom first.
How?
Lets start with scheduling, and the grind of an 82 game season.
You can give a “nudge” to a team, a small, almost imperceptible nudge by careful scheduling. Back to Back games?
Limit them for the favored team, for the back to back games they DO have to suffer, keep them geographically close, so at least favored team can get some shut eye before games, vs arriving at the airport 4 am for a 2pm tip off.
Favored team is going to play a strong team on the road?
Have “strong team” play THAT game after THEY have been on a 5 game road trip with a few back 2 backs -Advantage Visitors!
But WAIT! there’s more!
Lets look at style of play and referee predilections! Starstruck refs? Have them referee the LeBron or Kobe games! Some refs hate the mouthy ‘thug’ players … have them assigned to the Allen Iverson games!
Not a guarantee of outcome by any means, but a nudge, and when a game is balanced and almost equal, a NUDGE is all it takes :)
what? no outcry?
from whom?
Mark Cuban perhaps?
Up two games against the Heat and up 15 in the 4th of game 3?
hahahahahahahaha