“Izzo mulled the decision for more than a week and for five days after a visit to Cleveland last Thursday. All along, sources said a major hangup was Izzo’s inability to get a sense from LeBron James what his future would be. James, wanting to stay out of the process, is not believed to have discussed the job with Izzo.” [Brian Windhorst]
“Although it doesn’t rise to the level of experiencing a divorce (at least, for most people!), his potential departure does feel like losing a friend or family member for many whose closets include many No. 23 Cavs jerseys.” McConnell refers to a recent poll that rated Cleveland as the nation’s most miserable city and says James’ return would help boost our self-esteem. Writes McConnell, “In short, Cleveland (right or wrong) has endured considerable blows to its collective self-esteem over many years. Once again, psychological research has shown that when people take hits to their self-esteem, they try to find ways to restore it. Sometimes, those responses can be antisocial (e.g., the drunk who starts a bar fight following an insult), but in the case of Cleveland, Cavs fans have been able to be buoyed by a successful hometown talent in James.” [Mary Schmitt Boyer - PD]
“Gilbert knew finding Brown’s replacement would be difficult. He said it would be ideal to have a coach in place by July 1, but that may be unrealistic. The draft is next week, and although the Cavs don’t currently have a pick, they’ve been shopping around to obtain one.
They’ve also talked to several teams about possible trades, hoping to upgrade their roster and make it more appealing to James.” [AP]
Still trying to see the light and I’m coming up with only darkness. I’ll always have hope until the day he officially announces he’s leaving, but the more and more I look at things from his perspective, the more and more I see myself leaving.
I will say this if LeBron really orchestrated the demise of Mike Brown and Denny Ferry only to stonewall any potential new coach for the Cavs and then leave, he’s not going to win a championship for any team for the rest of his career.
I can’t believe Cleveland pro sports is going to die like this…
It’s so hard to enjoy Cavs basketball when all this crap is going on.
Well, I think it’s fairly easy to say at this point he didn’t orchestrate the firing of Ferry and Brown and that was all on Gilbert. If he isn’t going to talk to Izzo, he isn’t going to purposefully get Ferry and Brown fired.
Im honestly to the point I’m just ready for the rebuilding process to begin. Let’s do the sign and trade and get on a 3 year plan. Give me SOMETHING to look forward to even if it is three years down the road.
The clouds are gathering and rather quickly… there isn’t anything to hang a hat on right now and the clock won’t stop ticking
you guys are living and dying by the daily news cycle TOO much. LBJ is staying because to leave would be a near death blow to his image and ability to make money through endorsements based off of that image. NEVER forget that point.
and let’s not get too crazy about coach this or coach that either. phil jackson is about to go what 1-3 in his last 4 finals appearances? while doc rivers, a coach fired what twice is about to win his second in 3 years! get the right PLAYERS here and we’ll win. period. wait, let me amend that! the right BIG people and we’ll win. and trust me, no matter who they hire, defense willl be stressed. with defense, big people and LBJ we can win right away. and let’s not forget how everyone both at home in the media we’re crying about what a terrible owner gilbert was or was gonna be when he first took over. same kind of ledge jumping going on then as now. perspective, people! perspective!
If we’re not good enough for LeBron, well, he can go to H-E double Hockey Sticks. I’m tired of his me first, all about the money attitude. The pandering to the national audience is a bit ridiculous. He’s coming off like a whore. We all should’ve called him on it earlier. The simple truth of the matter is that LeBron manufactured the biggest in season distraction of all time, and no one in the national media has called him on this. If this was a coach, it would be the top story. I’m over him. We can win without him,. The sun doesn’t rise at set with him, and he doesn’t poop chocolate ice cream. It’s just basketball, and it’s not worth caring so much about someone who seemingly could give two craps about me.
“aw man, these fans…it’s unbelievable…it’s humbling…it’s over!”
Kj
Phil Jackson is about to win his 11th NBA title. Get a clue!!!!
Forget LeBron. I was a Cavs fan when they had Daugherty-Price, when they had Kemp-Sura, when they had Ricky Davis , and when the had LeBron-Shaq. Guess what? None of them won the title. If LeBron leaves, he wasn’t the chosen one. Wasn’t meant to be. I’ll still be an NBA fan. And with Gilbert, we can get another star. Not every player is an ego maniac like LeBron. We can just give someone the max and have some good drafts. The way LeBron treats his fans, I want to tell him to shove it up his ass.
Someone tell me how LeBron has been treating the fans any worse than say Chris Bosh or Dwayne Wade? How does being silent = slapping the fans in the face? Good god you guys take everything he does so personally, that somehow being silent is now an insult to you as well.
Yeah Keith, “We can just give someone the max and have some good drafts” That’s funny! It’s almost as funny as “we can get another star” which is hysterical!
Agree with Rich. While Cavs fans have every right to be upset by game 5 (and the complete and utter lack of any explanation as to why that happened) – it doesn’t mean it’s right to assume the worst about LBJ’s character at every possible impasse. Since the series ended, he hasn’t said much, he’s kept quiet, and stayed out of the public eye with the exception of the Larry King interview.
Instead of overreacting to every single tweet or “source” or whatever – like some of our dear friends do, maybe we need to just do what Colin is doing. Sit back, flush it out of our system, and see what happens.
Look at it this way, if LBJ DOES resign, it would be WAY WAY WAY too easy for people to come out of the woodwork with ‘SEE! He IS loyal! He DOES care about his hometown. He really DIDN’T have anything to do with the firing of MB or the resignation of DF and he really ISN’T running the franchise like a puppet master. His elbow WAS the problem in game 5 and now it’s better” etc etc. If he leaves, THEN everyone can do the “I KNEW he was a egomaniac all along!”
Instead of looking stupid by trying to figure out this complex puzzle with nothing but Adrian Wojnarowski’s contradicting flame jobs and the Plain Dealer’s daily “Will Bron Leave o Meter” let’s not let this run our lives.
As much as I want LBJ to stay (and believe he will), I’ll continue to be a cavs fan regardless. I’m no more a fan because of LBJ and I won’t be any less a Cavs fan if he leaves. However, IF he stays in Cleveland and signs a full term contract (rather than a three year type deal) I would become more of an LBJ fan. The idea of being loyal to a team that has been loyal to you, staying in the same city your entire career and committing to delivering a championship to a starved city all would make me appreciate him more. Leaving a team that’s been loyal to you and running to another superstar or two in order to jump on a bandwagon and win a championship – in my mind diminishes LBJ’s stature. He’s the best in the league (or #2 depending on opinions) and I’ll give him credit for his talent, but I don’t see myself remaining an LBJ fan if he goes to Miami/Chicago etc.
I agree completely with Tom and The Nupe. Blaming LeBron for front office failures (failing to get Izzo, failing to bring in talent for w/e reason, failing to assemble a young core, w/e you want it to be) is insane. I blame LeBron for when he fails at the job he is paid to do..play basketball. His games 4-6 against Boston were horrible, with the obvious game 5 meltdown. I blame him for that. He deserves it.
However, blaming him for 2005 like Colin did in the other thread, or blaming him for Izzo, or blaming him for Stoudemire or w/e else people are blaming him for is the equivalent of blaming Danny Ferry for Lebrons game 5. It is the same as blaming Dan Gilbert for the teams inability to shoot FTs. I blame players for failing on the court. I blame upper management for failing in the front office. I don’t blame them for someone else messing up.
Now, to what Nupe said, I totally agree. I want LBJ to stay. I love the guy. But I’ll be a cavs fan regardless, and will become the biggest anti-LBJ guy this side of the moon if he leaves. I love the team, I love the city. However, I’m not gonna start my hate train before he leaves because of stuff that he shouldn’t be getting blamed for. LeBron is a player. He is meant to play. We ask him to be the best player on the court every night. Generally, he does well at that. However, now fans are expecting him to ALSO recruit players AND interview coaches? Umm…that isn’t his job. Those are the areas of upper management and it’s unfair to put the blame on LeBron for the failings on upper management.
I’m working on a mini-essay that deals with the logical conclusion that one reaches if they take the stance that LeBron is to blame for the lack of players/coaches/trades/building/etc. Basically, all of the things management is paid to do, LeBron is getting blamed for. So, I’ll post that later. Should be a solid read.
KEVIN: LBJ is staying because to leave would be a near death blow to his image and ability to make money through endorsements based off of that image. NEVER forget that point.
Are you serious? All it takes is one championship to reclaim all those endorsements and ability to make money. I personally don’t think he’s gonna lose anything if he leaves, other than the 6th year of a deal with the Cavs which in his world is negligible and worth giving up most likely. And if he forces a sign and trade, he loses NOTHING.
The only loss will be to the city of Cleveland and to the owner of the Cavs. His new city and owner will be winners. He will have endorsements in the new city that will more than make up for what he gave up in Cleveland.
For all you people saying his image will take a huge hit if he leaves, you’re living in a fantasy land. In this day and age, its all about winning. A-rod was berated every day for every possible minor thing until this year. Brett Favre is still looked at with rose-colored glasses by media and most fans. Tiger’s sexcapades will be nothing if and when he starts winning again. Ben Roethlisberger will be back in good graces should he win another SB. Hell, if Kobe can get over his rape rap, Lebron can get over this. NEVER forget that point.
“The idea of being loyal to a team that has been loyal to you..”
Do people really think its about loyalty really??? Loyalty is so far down on the spectrum of reasons to sign here, there of wherever. The reason the Cavs are “loyal” to Lebron is because he makes them gobs and gobs of cash. He increases the franchises value and puts fans in the seat. The reason Lebron is “loyal” to the Cavs is because they can pay him the most and give him a oppurtunity to win.
LOYALTY DOES NOT EXIST IN SPORTS OTHER THAN FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO USE IT AS AN EXCUSE TO ROOT FOR OR AGAINST A PLAYER.
Saying the Cavs have been loyal to Lebron is just silly. What else were they supposed to do with a player of his caliber? Where is the outrage when the Cavs showed no “loyalty” to Sasha, Drew, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, et al. Because those guys are not Lebron.
@jimmy
you’re wrong. period. your example of tiger was particularly funny. the dude is an endorsement nightmare now. and listen, it’s not just clevlanders saying this about LBJ!! you’re the one living in a “fantasyland” if you think that MOST of america doesn’t wants LBJ to stay! and guess what? “MOST of america” is who buys the products that LBJ endorses.
your other examples are equally laughable. a-rod? oh yeah, he was an endorsement giant. farve. yeah, he’s got that low-priced jeans market sewed up (pun unintentional)! NONE of those guys including kobe have or had anywhere near the number of endorsements LBJ does!! and all of those guys you named are clearly the most polarizing athletes in the country. trust me, when you’re endorsing a product or picking a guy to endorse your product, you don’t look for a guy who’s polarizing. sheesh…
newspaper articles have been written and writers have been interview on record from other cities besides celveland saying LBJ leaving would be a massive hit to his image that would take years to recover. and seriously jimmy, where’s he gonna go that he’ll win a title in the next 2 or 3 years? come on. so that means 3 years or more of a shitty public image? yeah, that’s worth the risk. i hope to god you’re not a businessman cuz your risk assessment skills, if your post is anything to go by, are severely lacking…
@jimmy
but i think you’re right about the loyalty thing. 100%.
@steve
maybe or maybe not but i do know that he is 1-2 in his last 2 finals appearances and he still may end up 1-3. i believe my earlier point stands. players, not coaches, still win titles, ultimately.
oops, meant 1-2 in his last THREE finals appearances. sorry.
KJ, if you took a minute off your internet nerdrage and actually read what I said about LBJ’s image and endorsment potential, you’d see it for what it is.
You really think NBA fans in Oklahoma, or Florida or Iowa or wherever outside of Cleveland give a damn if he is loyal to Cleveland or not? You think they’re really thinking “if that punk leaves Cleveland, I’m not buying a single thing he endorses again. Haha, that is if that lsoer ever gets another endorsement again – what company is gonna give that guy a contract if he leaves, hahaha loser!!” Oh that’s right, you’re the only one who thinks that way.
As far as Tiger, my point was, if you read, “if and when” he starts winning again, all this current crap he is going thru will be in the past. He may not get all the endorsements he had in the past, but he will get them again. And be real, how many actually knew what endorsements he had altogether. That Swiss watch thing, to me at least, was a joke. Oh no, THEY dropped him!! Did Buick drop him – I don’t even know. Gillette? All I know is he still has Nike and probably still making a ton off them and I haven’t heard of a single solitary boycott of Nike products due to them keeping Tiger. Also, how many companies are laying low, waiting for him to show signs of being on the comeback before they start signing him to endorse their product again. I bet a lot more than have dropped him.
My point with A-rod was regarding his image – he was portrayed as a tool, a needy individual, every minor screwup he had was glamorized. After winning a WS, you don’t hear so much as a peep now.
And since I had to break it out into 2 posts due to some reason I couldn’t make one long post, here is the rest…
So, in the end, Lebron stays or goes, nobody except Cleveland and his new city care. He will continue to have endorsements, companies will still line up to have him promote them. And shall he win one or more rings, the happenings of the summer of Lebron will only be remembered by us Cleveland fans. People either love or hate Lebron. Same with Jordan. By the way, if Jordan didn’t win, how prominent do you think his gambling and womanizing stories have been as opposed to him winning. Companies knew who he was, yet the guy kept winning so they kept paying and the stories stayed on the down-low. Barkley had tons of outstanding issues with fans, in bars, with kids, with the cops – he FORCED his way out of Philly to try and win before he retired. A much more polarizing figure than Lebron ever has been – that’s right, I just got a chalupa the other day cuz Sir Chuck told me to. That 5 dollar box, it rocks.
@jimmy,
you’re wrong. and since you can’t seem to grasp what i’m saying let me say it again: sportswriters from other cites have written about this and talked about his on radio and tv shows. that is a FACT. if he leaves clevleand he takes a major hit. if you like, i’m sure i can provide some links. i also know that the last time i saw espn poll on this very question like 70%+ wanted LBJ to stay.
and for you to say no one else cares about this? really? larry king doesn’t care? every sport media outlet in the country, if not world, doesn’t care? shall i go on or will you admit that’s just about the stupidest thing you could’ve possibly said?
also, you fail to answer my question of where and when LBJ will be winning these rings that will cleanse his image. name me a single team he could go to that would be a serious title contender in the next two years? i’m sure you’d say chicago but they don’t have the big men to truly compete, have a mike brown redux rookie head coach and owner who is not exactly known for his big pockets. so, he waits for 2 to 3 years all the while his image is in the can but you seem to think that wouldn’t matter. honest to god, that is insane.
and a-rod is a NON-ENTITY. not a cuz he won a world series but because NO ONE CARES! he never had a lot of endorsements to begin with and he is a known steroid user. he is not thought of at ALL by the public which is WORSE than be hated! you’re examples are for shit, jimmy. as i said, none of the people you mention had the level of endorsements that LBJ has except tiger. and you admit you don’t know whether buick or gilette dropped him. pretty sure they did, chief. and as for nike, no one is boycotting nike the overall brand but is ANYONE buying tiger nike products? i bet not.
and i like how just because jimmy doesn’t buy things because of who endorses them, then NO ONE buys things because of who endorses them. typical logical fallacy. ya see, jimmy, companies must think endorsements = sales cuz they keep doing those kind of deals. all the time. and again, you end with a terrible example. barkely? never the endorser or global figure LBJ is. the only real, valid comparison is MJ.
I gotta go with KJ here. A-rod is a non-entity. No one outside of new york is really talking/caring about a-rod at this point. LeBron, in Cleveland, is the biggest sports icon in the country. More people than just Cleveland clearly care about LeBron and his decision.
Now, I dunno if Lebron stays. My head is telling me no. I think he SHOULD stay. Not because of loyalty because that isn’t a two way street with fans. But, I do think it honestly helps his legacy if he stays in Cleveland AND I think he just flat out has a better chance to win here for the next 2-3 years than he would in Chicago/NJ/NY/Miami. The only one of those that might be better off is Chicago and that is ONLY iff they also manage to pull off a sign and trade for Bosh. That’s it though. Other than that, the Cavs still currently have a better roster than any of those teams. So, I think he should stay based on those things, but I don’t think he will anymore based on a bunch of reasons, the biggest of which is the latest front-office blunder with Izzo.
Jimmy is right ofcourse. I’m a Spurs fan and while I would “prefer” that LeBron stay with the Cavs for all those feel-good reasons like loyalty, honor, etc., if he leaves then I’m still going to think he’s a bad mofo of a ball player and would continue to buy many of the his products and the products he endorses multiple times. I believe most people will feel this way too, outside Cleveland obviously. I suppose it could be “correct” to say that he would become a polarizing sports figure should he leave, but I have a feeling all the LeBron “haters” would be in the Cleveland area, and all the LeBron “lovers” and “couldn’t care less-ers” would be everywhere else in the world, and thus many companies will not care if he changes teams. Cleveland needs LeBron, not the other way around. San Antonio needed Duncan, not the other way around. Orlando needed Shaq, not the other way around. I understand these are all different eras with different circumstances, but cities need great players, great players don’t “need” any particular city, ever, to prosper. It would take a truly magnificent screw up to damage the LeBron mythos, and I’m afraid changing teams does not even qualify as a road bump, image-wise. So what if many sports writers write negative things about him? So what if he doesn’t win a title in the next 2-3 years on another team? Any moderately competent basketball fan understands the notion of “building a team”, so only the crazy people will blame LeBron for the failings of an entire organization. There is no such thing as bad publicity for a guy like LeBron. GLOBAL ICON.
Except it’s those sports writers and media members who get to mold the image. If they paint LeBron as a traitor, you don’t think fans will start to do the same? If they paint him as someone who ran away from his home town (like they already are) you don’t think other people will do the same. I dunno where you’ve bee, but outside of Cleveland the LeBron aura has taken an even bigger hit. Read an article by Shoals, or Dwyer, or Woj, or etc. etc. They are all outside of Cleveland and are all firmly on the “Kill LeBron Now” train.
And I agree players don’t need cities. LeBron doesn’t have to stay in Cleveland to become a legend. It still would mean even more if he did win his first title here though. It just would.
Also, agree on the Duncan and Shaq things, but the reason this is different is because this is actually this guys home town (Plz, don’t come in here with the Akron Cleveland thing..they are 40 minutes a part). Easier to accept a guy bailing if he isn’t really one of you..but LeBron really is one of us. It makes it harder to stomach I think.
Cleveland Cavaliers, 2010/11 NBA champions? It’s in your hands now, Lebron.
Praise God. The whole idea of bringing Izzo in was down right absurd.
You don’t send a boy to do a man’s job. The cavs need a guy who has previous nba coaching experience, not college.
The type of nba coaching job for Izzo is on a team rebuilding, not a serious championship contending team.
Oh, and I’m glad to see Ferry gone.
Why should Lebron be loyal to failure? The Cavs had seven years to put something together that’s legit. They failed. Why should Lebron sacrifice his goals for Cleveland? At the end of his career and he doesn’t have any championships I don’t very seriously he will take solace in the fact he stayed home so he could be loved by the locals. Lebron would be a complete idiot not to put himself in the best situation possible in order to win a championship. Cleveland is not that place.
Eric, 96.7% of all teams in the NBA in the last 7 years didn’t win championships. The Cavs came much closer than a lot of those 96.7% of teams. No championships = failure? Come on.
ben tej, If not winning a championship isn’t failure then what is it?
Going 10 and 72
Sorry, missed the “it” at the end of your question.
Not winning a championship is not necessarily always a failure. I would say the last two years for the Cavs, not winning a championship was a failure. The first 5 years? Not a failure at all. I would say winning the first round of the playoffs many of those years was a great success.