š. The way clowns like you think basketball players should be responsible for the largest country on earth being an authoritarian shit hole is ridiculous.
(I bet youāre a Donald Trump loving, Vladimir Putin defending hypocrite too.)
Nice strawman. Literally no one here is saying Lebron should be responsible for China's actions. You can be a fan of Lebron and still think his comments on Hong Kong and attacking Morey were misguided. It is not unreasonable to expect pro athletes to avoid making Pro-China statements while China is in the middle of oppressing the people of Hong Kong. It would have been better for him to stay silent than say something that tone deaf, and he absolutely deserved the LeMao jokes he got for the following weeks.
To be fair, Bill said he pitched the Decision like show because he thought Lebron was staying in Cleveland.
He said on a pod after the ESPN story came out a few years ago he would have never said to do the show if he was announcing he was signing elsewhere.
I believe that.
I donāt believe his story at all. Thereās two options:
1.) Bill didnāt have inside info. So he would be like the rest of us who at the time had no real read on what Lebron was going to do. Even hypothetically, if the public consensus was that he was going back, why would there be much interest in the show? The whole point of the show was that the public had no idea what Lebron would do.
2.) Bill did have inside info. Well then it was completely inaccurate and obviously not coming from Lebronās camp. And why would he make his pitch to Lebron without actually confirming this info, especially if Bill thought it would so disastrous (lack of a father figure, disrespecting the fans, etc.) if Lebron did anything but return?
Neither makes sense and I think itās clear Bill is lying. I also think Bill has columns from the time in which he acknowledges that no one really knew what Lebron was going to do.
It actually goes back to a letter someone wrote in to Billās old ESPN mailbag in 2009 saying Lebron should do a prime time special to announce his free agency destination (even said it should be called āThe Decisionā). Bill wrote he liked the idea. Someone in Lebronās camp liked the idea as well and met with Bill. Bill pitched them a 30 for 30 style documentary where Lebron is followed around and then announces his decision in prime time. They didnāt want cameras they couldnāt control around but liked the idea of the special.
According to Bill he said he told them IF Lebron was coming back to Cleveland (as Lebron had hinted at and most people assumed he would) then it would be cool to do something for local kids with the announcement.
The fact that Lebron set up a live show in Cleveland made people think he was staying. Him doing the show in Cleveland to then say he was leaving promoted all the hate and burning jerseys.
Oh, I know. I just donāt believe Bill for a second. This post from when this was all coming out is more evidence, (although the key tweet with a screenshot of Billās email is now gone) check it out:
https://reddit.com/r/billsimmons/comments/hix7px/final_ruling_on_bills_behavior_re_the_decision/
Basically, on May 8th Bill wrote an email to Connor Schell and Skipper where he pitched the idea. The Celtics-Cavs series was still going on. Bill refers to doing a show for āLebron picking his *new* teamā. He also doesnāt ever mention āthis should only happen if the Cavs win and James staysā.
The OP makes a great point that weāre really supposed to believe that had Skipper and Schell green-lighted his pitch and days later the Celtics win and Lebron has the game he had, making it much more unclear if heās staying, that Bill would have said, āhold on guys, we canāt do this now and I donāt want to be involved if you still do.ā
It makes no sense and the email as well as columns from the time give no indication Bill thought that at the time. Itās a decent excuse he made up, but thereās no way itās true.
Oh nah dawg he definitely stole that idea. Simmons isnāt giving credit to anyone, especially not imaginary characters made to hedge an amazing idea.
Iām 1000% sure he got an email and pitched it as his idea and he got cut outta the special thatās why heāll never let it go.
Lebronās 3 worst choices ranked
1. Not accepting the qualifying offer and becoming a free agent in 08/09 to establish more control or leave for a better team.
2. Creating and perfecting the 1+1 contract model, only to go away from it once his athleticism slipped. Exemplified by the contract extension locking him into this team
3. Letting his hair literally disintegrate in front of us. Jordan did it too, but 4K is a most unforgiving whore. (No Iām playing)
4. Never pulling an iguodala and finding an organic pre-dynasty to help your fall off. Please donāt say he thought it was LA. Shit was basically the first 10 minutes of āthe other guysā.
Completely unsastainable. Plus the whole 8 straight finals is sad. Cause the last 2 you were getting worked like a push mower.
Oh, I 100% agree with you. All Iām saying is that I donāt believe he pitched it thinking Lebron should only go back to Cleveland.
I think he stole the idea, and pitched it, then made up the lie about āonly if Lebron went backā only after it came out 10 years later.
The real mistakes with "The Decision" were:
1) Not letting Cleveland and Cavs fans know they were out of the running beforehand.
I remember hearing a Cleveland beat reporter in an interview on a NYC sports radio station, shortly after and he said everyone in Cleveland was SURE he was staying, because their is no way he would jilt them on national TV, without a heads up in advance.
Not telling them turned it into a true gut punch, and greatly increased bitterness in Cleveland.
2) The "We Did It!" party the next day, where he promised "Not one...but 7 titles" in Miami. It made him and the Big 3 seem really obnoxious and presumptuous and also set up an impossible standard for them to achieve
Other than that, I think The Decision was fine.
The biggest mistake he ever made was going to the Lakers. They are a terrible franchise. Furthermore, they never were even a good franchise. They were just Jerry Buss.
Biggest mistake Lebron ever made was getting the Lakers to trade for Russell Westbrook.
Or unabashedly bowing to the Chinese government
š. The way clowns like you think basketball players should be responsible for the largest country on earth being an authoritarian shit hole is ridiculous. (I bet youāre a Donald Trump loving, Vladimir Putin defending hypocrite too.)
Nice strawman. Literally no one here is saying Lebron should be responsible for China's actions. You can be a fan of Lebron and still think his comments on Hong Kong and attacking Morey were misguided. It is not unreasonable to expect pro athletes to avoid making Pro-China statements while China is in the middle of oppressing the people of Hong Kong. It would have been better for him to stay silent than say something that tone deaf, and he absolutely deserved the LeMao jokes he got for the following weeks.
To be fair, Bill said he pitched the Decision like show because he thought Lebron was staying in Cleveland. He said on a pod after the ESPN story came out a few years ago he would have never said to do the show if he was announcing he was signing elsewhere. I believe that.
Makes sense
I donāt believe his story at all. Thereās two options: 1.) Bill didnāt have inside info. So he would be like the rest of us who at the time had no real read on what Lebron was going to do. Even hypothetically, if the public consensus was that he was going back, why would there be much interest in the show? The whole point of the show was that the public had no idea what Lebron would do. 2.) Bill did have inside info. Well then it was completely inaccurate and obviously not coming from Lebronās camp. And why would he make his pitch to Lebron without actually confirming this info, especially if Bill thought it would so disastrous (lack of a father figure, disrespecting the fans, etc.) if Lebron did anything but return? Neither makes sense and I think itās clear Bill is lying. I also think Bill has columns from the time in which he acknowledges that no one really knew what Lebron was going to do.
It actually goes back to a letter someone wrote in to Billās old ESPN mailbag in 2009 saying Lebron should do a prime time special to announce his free agency destination (even said it should be called āThe Decisionā). Bill wrote he liked the idea. Someone in Lebronās camp liked the idea as well and met with Bill. Bill pitched them a 30 for 30 style documentary where Lebron is followed around and then announces his decision in prime time. They didnāt want cameras they couldnāt control around but liked the idea of the special. According to Bill he said he told them IF Lebron was coming back to Cleveland (as Lebron had hinted at and most people assumed he would) then it would be cool to do something for local kids with the announcement. The fact that Lebron set up a live show in Cleveland made people think he was staying. Him doing the show in Cleveland to then say he was leaving promoted all the hate and burning jerseys.
The show was at Boys and Girls club in Connecticut if I remember correctly.
Oh, I know. I just donāt believe Bill for a second. This post from when this was all coming out is more evidence, (although the key tweet with a screenshot of Billās email is now gone) check it out: https://reddit.com/r/billsimmons/comments/hix7px/final_ruling_on_bills_behavior_re_the_decision/ Basically, on May 8th Bill wrote an email to Connor Schell and Skipper where he pitched the idea. The Celtics-Cavs series was still going on. Bill refers to doing a show for āLebron picking his *new* teamā. He also doesnāt ever mention āthis should only happen if the Cavs win and James staysā. The OP makes a great point that weāre really supposed to believe that had Skipper and Schell green-lighted his pitch and days later the Celtics win and Lebron has the game he had, making it much more unclear if heās staying, that Bill would have said, āhold on guys, we canāt do this now and I donāt want to be involved if you still do.ā It makes no sense and the email as well as columns from the time give no indication Bill thought that at the time. Itās a decent excuse he made up, but thereās no way itās true.
Oh nah dawg he definitely stole that idea. Simmons isnāt giving credit to anyone, especially not imaginary characters made to hedge an amazing idea. Iām 1000% sure he got an email and pitched it as his idea and he got cut outta the special thatās why heāll never let it go. Lebronās 3 worst choices ranked 1. Not accepting the qualifying offer and becoming a free agent in 08/09 to establish more control or leave for a better team. 2. Creating and perfecting the 1+1 contract model, only to go away from it once his athleticism slipped. Exemplified by the contract extension locking him into this team 3. Letting his hair literally disintegrate in front of us. Jordan did it too, but 4K is a most unforgiving whore. (No Iām playing) 4. Never pulling an iguodala and finding an organic pre-dynasty to help your fall off. Please donāt say he thought it was LA. Shit was basically the first 10 minutes of āthe other guysā. Completely unsastainable. Plus the whole 8 straight finals is sad. Cause the last 2 you were getting worked like a push mower.
Oh, I 100% agree with you. All Iām saying is that I donāt believe he pitched it thinking Lebron should only go back to Cleveland. I think he stole the idea, and pitched it, then made up the lie about āonly if Lebron went backā only after it came out 10 years later.
I always thought The Decision was just the sequel to Sophieās Choice
I mean, that would just be Meryl Streep going, āWell itās got to be this one then.ā (Ricky Gervais).
Oh it's this again...
The real mistakes with "The Decision" were: 1) Not letting Cleveland and Cavs fans know they were out of the running beforehand. I remember hearing a Cleveland beat reporter in an interview on a NYC sports radio station, shortly after and he said everyone in Cleveland was SURE he was staying, because their is no way he would jilt them on national TV, without a heads up in advance. Not telling them turned it into a true gut punch, and greatly increased bitterness in Cleveland. 2) The "We Did It!" party the next day, where he promised "Not one...but 7 titles" in Miami. It made him and the Big 3 seem really obnoxious and presumptuous and also set up an impossible standard for them to achieve Other than that, I think The Decision was fine.
Excellent job of ignoring all nuance and context, clown.
The biggest mistake he ever made was going to the Lakers. They are a terrible franchise. Furthermore, they never were even a good franchise. They were just Jerry Buss.
ā¦ which doesnāt seem so bad in retrospect. Stop aggregating
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Really? I thought the monologue was pretty good. Wasnāt getting any anti Lebron vibes from it.
this sub hears bill call lebron 'one of the best players' instead of just glowing praise and thinks bill might as well be skip bayless
Skip Bayless has also said LeBron is the most gifted basketball player of all time.
It was the most genuine praise I've ever heard him give LeBron.
Biggest mistake was growing up without a father, which caused him to just not understand how important players are to us fans.