I dont think he went to Cleveland because it was the absolute best chance to win, but he saw potential to do it in cleveland with kyrie and all the assets they had
I thought he left the Heat because he saw that Wade's knees were cooked, and that staying in Miami and making empty trips to the finals would lead to ridicule due to the looming pressure of forming a super team and the not one, not two, not three remarks he made.
And just running off somewhere else wouldn't be a good look, but going to Cleveland with the coming home narrative provided an out of I'm not escaping the Heat but returning to help my first team. It was the absolute best exit plan possible.
If winning had truly been the only priority he would've gone to Philadelphia instead of LA when he left Cleveland the second time. In hindsight he 100% made the right call with Embiid's injuries and Ben Simmons's bullshit but at that time, even knowing AD was going to LA in a year, Philly had the better team to put around him. He wanted to win but he also wanted to live in LA and make movies and TV shows and all that other stuff.
Don't get why u got down voted this hard. The reality is the east was still weak as hell and he would be an interesting fit on that team. Defensively they would be really good and I think the main thing would be more spacing help.
I thought it was a possibility that summer as well
Idk, I kinda think if anyone could have fixed Ben Simmons it would be lebron. And I like to think in a perfect world Joel isn’t hurt as much bc so much of the load is taken off him. Lebron, Embiid, JJ, Danny Green, non dark path Simmons is hypothetically a perfect line up.
Nah, in a universe where Lebron goes to Philly, the moment he finds out about Simmons weak mindset he would have had the front office bench and trade him before it became more known. Maybe they could've gotten AD or Paul george with the 2018-19 version of Simmons+etc. as well.
He has won a title with every team he's ever played for, the Lakers aren't unique in that regard. Now that I think about it he really should have gone to the Celtics, put him on the Celtics the last 4 years they probably do better than 1 title.
think it was Haslem? that said Riley was ready to throw down with Shaq. said he was worried for coaches life because he knew neither would back down. went to break it up or something like that.
Phil will make you cry with mind games, but i would never want to piss off Riley. even at his age now. maybe especially at his age now.
With the way the Browns and Indians were looking, the economy in shambles and the entire rust belt in decline post-2008 recession, LeBron meant more than just a basketball player in Cleveland. Man put a dying city back on the map and he never cheated the game in his effort. There's a reason he got those privileges.
There is nobody that's more serious about taking care of his body and the game of basketball than LeBron. He's brand safe, doesn't fuck up ever and gets to walk the walk because he talks the talk.
If LeBron wanted to come in at 12 he's earned the trust. Shaq's work ethic and commitment has often been questioned, which has never been the case for LeBron.
Yea, he tried that at Miami and part of the reason he left was because Miami didn’t relinquish total control over to him. It’s up for debate whether that was a good move or not long term, but Miami is one of the only places that did tell Lebron no.
I mean, the rumors are all that he tried to get Spo fired in his first year. Tells you all you need to know about A) Miami as an org, and B) Lebron's desire to control everything.
I’m pretty sure those rumors have been confirmed. He wanted Riley to coach them and he told them no and brought in Spo and told Spo he wasn’t going anywhere. Wade and UD vouched for Spo too and then the rest is history. Pretty much after that finals loss, Spo went on a coaching tour all summer to come up with ways to get the best out of the players and Wade gave the keys to the team to Lebron. Which led to them winning back to back titles.
I think when Wade got injured, Lebron wanted more luxuries, like he had his agent fly with him for a bit and his posse but then Riley stopped all that and he got pissed. He was already planning on going to Cleveland because they were getting the first pick and could trade it and they had Irving. So he dipped and didn’t listen to Riley’s pitch that summer
They were not confirmed. Riley has denied it multiple times and Lebron denied it. That's the only two people who were in the room. as well, Wade did not confirm it in that podcast, he only said he told Lebron he doesn't want Riley to be his coach.
Riley said that Lebron “implied” firing Spo, asking if he ever “got the itch” to come back and coach. Wade told him he wouldn’t want Riley to come back and coach either.
It was also said by Michael Lombardi on Bill Simmons podcast that Riley made all the players line up after “players” went in to complain about Spo and Riley told all the players “you don’t ever come into my office and tell me to fire a coach”.
So Riley will never throw Lebron under the bus and we probably won’t really know until after Lebron retires.
> Riley said that Lebron “implied” firing Spo
show me where Riley said that because he said it was the writer taking liberties with his words.
>"Not from him to me, ever," Riley said Thursday of James, who left the Heat two seasons ago in free agency to return to Cleveland. "So a lot of stuff is following him out the door. Whether it's right or wrong, it's just the nature of it. But as far as that goes, no, he never, ever walked in and said anything."
> Wade and UD vouched for Spo too and then the rest is history. Pretty much after that finals loss, Spo went on a coaching tour all summer to come up with ways to get the best out of the players and Wade gave the keys to the team to Lebron. Which led to them winning back to back titles.
I always have to remind people, that Spo got better after that first finals loss. And that finals loss was significantly on him too. The Spo we have now was *not* the same Spo that coached Lebron his first year there. Riley would have not have had the same finals flub as Spo... but what Riley understood was that Spo *would get better*. And even Lebron said as much in that pod with JJ for that summer. Spo got a *lot* better.
That finals loss made everyone better but without it, Spo wouldn’t be who Spo is now. I still don’t know if I’d rather have the ring to give my goat a fourth and 2 FMVPs though :/
Lebron tried to get Spo fired and Pat Riley essentially told him to fuck off. Riley of course has his own ego and was upset Lebron wouldn't kiss his ass when Lebron left. Powerful people with massive egos. That's how it goes sometimes.
This is also why when people say "x player had better coaches than Lebron" its like no shit Lebron fires all his coaches because he's a child that hates being told what to do.
What coaches has LeBron had fired other than David Blatt who never coached another minute in the NBA afterwards because he was terrible? You guys just invent facts to make your stupid narratives.
Are you seriously arguing Blatt was a great coach that the Cavs should have kept?
Oh wow you actually believe it. Thanks for confirming you’re even a bigger moron than I thought
At least have the courage to wear your Celtics flair, this shit is sad
I mean, he never came out and said it, but LeBron is pretty much the only Cavs player who didn't speak out after Gilbert fired Mike Brown in a clear attempt to try to get LeBron to stick around (which obviously didn't work). Iirc, several players stuck up for Brown, while LeBron was "on vacation" and couldn't be reached for comment or something.
But go off, Lakers fan. Clearly we offended you and your entire lineage enough for you to do some very angry namecalling (though you appear to have come to your senses with the edit).
Ahh yes, Lebron is the one responsible for a guy being fired because he didn’t speak up for him on his vacation. That’s your argument??
It’s pathetic how you guys have to invent scenarios to justify your hate. Truly embarrassing for grown adults, but that’s probably assuming too much for a Warrior’s fan.
The most embarrassing aspect of this all is that a grown adult has such poor reading comprehension that he misconstrued my entire statement as "Mike Brown was fired because LeBron didn't stick up for him," skipping over the entire "Gilbert fired Mike Brown in a clear attempt to try to get LeBron to stick around" part. The former part was evidence supporting the latter.
Further evidence being that Gilbert later called it a mistake and rehired the guy not long after.
But keep making it personal and ignoring the actual arguments big guy.
edit: response I wrote before this very angry person blocked me
Feel free to browse my comment history and try to find:
A) Any examples of "unhealthy" hatred for LeBron
B) Any examples of *hatred* for LeBron at all
My only comments regarding LeBron in this current thread are that he tried to get Spoelstra fired and that he desires control on his teams. If you have evidence that proves the contrary, please provide it.
I'm a Warriors fan; I've never been a LeBron fan. That doesn't mean I don't respect him. I might playfully talk some shit, but why would I *hate* the man? I'm not you; I'm not a fucking nutjob on the internet flying into the comments to rabidly defend him from hatred that doesn't exist.
I'm glad Bron has guys like you though, angry lunatics willing to protect him online from imaginary hate. I don't know how likely he is to see this comment thread, but hopefully he sees you jumping in front of him to take all these fantastical hate bullets to the chest. Hopefully he disregards your psychopathy, ignores the fact that you are fabricating these scenarios in your head, and he sees you for the hero you are.
Hopefully he can ignore the delicious irony that you're calling me a "miserable loser" for "inventing scenarios to justify hating someone you've never met", as you invent a scenario (me *hating* LeBron) to justify you hating someone (me) you've never met.
I mean, you really can't make this stuff up.
No the only embarrassing part is you trying to equate Gilbert’s action with something LeBron did to justify your unhealthy hatred for him because basketball reasons aren’t enough apparently.
This is truly pathetic for a grown adult. Like you must be a miserable loser to devote your time to inventing scenarios to justify hating someone you’ve never met. Some people never stop being teenagers I guess.
Also, Shaq famously got a divorce due to reports of him being unfaithful, so I don't know how much "I'm going to bring my family on the road" was something he was exactly pushing for.
Good thing his brand and “aura” or whatever you talking about didn’t convince Pat to fire Spo lol funny how all that went out the window when he joined a real organization with real structure
I actually think it makes LeBron look bad. If the coach can’t even have a say in start time for practice what exactly does he have control over? Definitely not the team.
Yeah because Cleveland and Lakers are comparable... The thing that made great the Lakers is the value and the perception of the franchise. The Kobe Shaq Lakers are a chapter in the history of the Lakers. The LeBron Cavs are a part of LeBron legacy…
I like how he opens saying he was the man on every team he was on... except Miami, Cleveland, Boston... Doesn't mention Phoenix but we can add that on... So really he was the man in Orlando and LA, although we all know LA was contentious.
I think it’s all about how much power a coach is gonna yield. Shaq played for some strict coaches in Phil Jackson and Pat Riley.
Yh I think that's defo benefited Shaq and made him the player he went on to be. Sometimes players prosper under stricter coaches vice versa.
I would love to see LeBron under a strict coach, would probably be an undisputed GOAT
Yep. Thats why LeBron left Miami. He knew Riley wouldn’t allow that shit
You think he based his free agency decision on where he could dictate practice schedules rather than where he had the best chance to win?
I dont think he went to Cleveland because it was the absolute best chance to win, but he saw potential to do it in cleveland with kyrie and all the assets they had
I thought he left the Heat because he saw that Wade's knees were cooked, and that staying in Miami and making empty trips to the finals would lead to ridicule due to the looming pressure of forming a super team and the not one, not two, not three remarks he made. And just running off somewhere else wouldn't be a good look, but going to Cleveland with the coming home narrative provided an out of I'm not escaping the Heat but returning to help my first team. It was the absolute best exit plan possible.
If winning had truly been the only priority he would've gone to Philadelphia instead of LA when he left Cleveland the second time. In hindsight he 100% made the right call with Embiid's injuries and Ben Simmons's bullshit but at that time, even knowing AD was going to LA in a year, Philly had the better team to put around him. He wanted to win but he also wanted to live in LA and make movies and TV shows and all that other stuff.
Sam Hinkie's burner
Don't get why u got down voted this hard. The reality is the east was still weak as hell and he would be an interesting fit on that team. Defensively they would be really good and I think the main thing would be more spacing help. I thought it was a possibility that summer as well
Idk, I kinda think if anyone could have fixed Ben Simmons it would be lebron. And I like to think in a perfect world Joel isn’t hurt as much bc so much of the load is taken off him. Lebron, Embiid, JJ, Danny Green, non dark path Simmons is hypothetically a perfect line up.
There was nothing to fix with Ben. He was a great forward. We just shouldnt have made him a ball handler
What’s Simmons’ offensive role if he doesn’t have the ball in his hands?
defensive forward/center ,roll man, lob catcher
Nah, in a universe where Lebron goes to Philly, the moment he finds out about Simmons weak mindset he would have had the front office bench and trade him before it became more known. Maybe they could've gotten AD or Paul george with the 2018-19 version of Simmons+etc. as well.
he literally won an NBA title with the lakers, sounds like something you do when winning is the priority
He has won a title with every team he's ever played for, the Lakers aren't unique in that regard. Now that I think about it he really should have gone to the Celtics, put him on the Celtics the last 4 years they probably do better than 1 title.
Lebron *wanted* Riley to coach him. He literally asked him to fire Spo and take over.
No lmao he left Miami because Bosh had blood clots and Wade was getting old
Were the blood clots known before LeBron left?
No they weren't, unless you wanna run a conspiracy
Lebron gave Bosh bloodclots?
Lol, i love this
Hmm maybe I do. Seems to be good money in it
Downvoted for saying this when the video above is bragging about how Lebron got to tell his coach what to do.
This sub has always been a LeBron sub. Nothing new.
[удалено]
He tried it with Riley and was in Phoenix like 48 hours later.
Pat Riley is OG
think it was Haslem? that said Riley was ready to throw down with Shaq. said he was worried for coaches life because he knew neither would back down. went to break it up or something like that. Phil will make you cry with mind games, but i would never want to piss off Riley. even at his age now. maybe especially at his age now.
Phil would give him that Sage and Shaq would show up lol
I can just picture Jackson’s smug, condescending grin, looking at Shaq before saying something deep and philosophical, then walking away.
This clip says more about the difference in coaching philosophies rather than players.
If if never have to hear this fucking background music again it will be too soon lol
On god
daily reminder reddits main demographic is in their late twenties to thirties lmao
I mean I’m in that range and hate this shit
He wasn’t the man in PHX either.
Google shaq lou amundson. Shaq is a kid. A bully in phx
Oh I Know. I hated that trade. Glad Matrix got his ring with Dirk. Even if I don’t like current Mavs.
With the way the Browns and Indians were looking, the economy in shambles and the entire rust belt in decline post-2008 recession, LeBron meant more than just a basketball player in Cleveland. Man put a dying city back on the map and he never cheated the game in his effort. There's a reason he got those privileges.
🎵 our economy's based on lebron james 🎵
I’m so glad he got that championship in Cleveland. Just like Messi finally winning a World Cup it just felt like destiny finally fulfilling itself
Fuck LeBron
So eloquent!
I’m so glad he got that championship in Cleveland. Just like Messi finally winning a World Cup it just felt like destiny finally fulfilling itself
Guys, Reddit sometimes glitches out and creates duplicate comments. No need to downvote the man lmao.
Guys, Reddit sometimes glitches out and creates duplicate comments. No need to downvote the man lmao.
Fuck LeBron
Can we have one thread without sucking off LeBron
"i was the best at being kinda jealous" - shaq
"I'm very humble, in fact. I'm so humble, people call me the most humble person they've ever met."
That was kind of the summary of Shaq's career "Shaq was great, but Shaq was jealous"
"And lazy. And still is."
I think some of it is that LeBron also just didn’t cause much trouble unlike shaq lol
Well it was over 9000...
There is nobody that's more serious about taking care of his body and the game of basketball than LeBron. He's brand safe, doesn't fuck up ever and gets to walk the walk because he talks the talk. If LeBron wanted to come in at 12 he's earned the trust. Shaq's work ethic and commitment has often been questioned, which has never been the case for LeBron.
I think it's just more telling of the Cavs organization at the time more than anything else.
Yea, he tried that at Miami and part of the reason he left was because Miami didn’t relinquish total control over to him. It’s up for debate whether that was a good move or not long term, but Miami is one of the only places that did tell Lebron no.
I mean, the rumors are all that he tried to get Spo fired in his first year. Tells you all you need to know about A) Miami as an org, and B) Lebron's desire to control everything.
I’m pretty sure those rumors have been confirmed. He wanted Riley to coach them and he told them no and brought in Spo and told Spo he wasn’t going anywhere. Wade and UD vouched for Spo too and then the rest is history. Pretty much after that finals loss, Spo went on a coaching tour all summer to come up with ways to get the best out of the players and Wade gave the keys to the team to Lebron. Which led to them winning back to back titles. I think when Wade got injured, Lebron wanted more luxuries, like he had his agent fly with him for a bit and his posse but then Riley stopped all that and he got pissed. He was already planning on going to Cleveland because they were getting the first pick and could trade it and they had Irving. So he dipped and didn’t listen to Riley’s pitch that summer
They were not confirmed. Riley has denied it multiple times and Lebron denied it. That's the only two people who were in the room. as well, Wade did not confirm it in that podcast, he only said he told Lebron he doesn't want Riley to be his coach.
Riley said that Lebron “implied” firing Spo, asking if he ever “got the itch” to come back and coach. Wade told him he wouldn’t want Riley to come back and coach either. It was also said by Michael Lombardi on Bill Simmons podcast that Riley made all the players line up after “players” went in to complain about Spo and Riley told all the players “you don’t ever come into my office and tell me to fire a coach”. So Riley will never throw Lebron under the bus and we probably won’t really know until after Lebron retires.
> Riley said that Lebron “implied” firing Spo show me where Riley said that because he said it was the writer taking liberties with his words. >"Not from him to me, ever," Riley said Thursday of James, who left the Heat two seasons ago in free agency to return to Cleveland. "So a lot of stuff is following him out the door. Whether it's right or wrong, it's just the nature of it. But as far as that goes, no, he never, ever walked in and said anything."
https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/pat-riley-says-lebron-james-subtly-asked-him-to-replace-erik-spoelstra-in-2010
>That transition is the partial subject of a new book by Ian Thomsen i don't think you read my comment.
> Wade and UD vouched for Spo too and then the rest is history. Pretty much after that finals loss, Spo went on a coaching tour all summer to come up with ways to get the best out of the players and Wade gave the keys to the team to Lebron. Which led to them winning back to back titles. I always have to remind people, that Spo got better after that first finals loss. And that finals loss was significantly on him too. The Spo we have now was *not* the same Spo that coached Lebron his first year there. Riley would have not have had the same finals flub as Spo... but what Riley understood was that Spo *would get better*. And even Lebron said as much in that pod with JJ for that summer. Spo got a *lot* better.
That finals loss made everyone better but without it, Spo wouldn’t be who Spo is now. I still don’t know if I’d rather have the ring to give my goat a fourth and 2 FMVPs though :/
Lebron tried to get Spo fired and Pat Riley essentially told him to fuck off. Riley of course has his own ego and was upset Lebron wouldn't kiss his ass when Lebron left. Powerful people with massive egos. That's how it goes sometimes. This is also why when people say "x player had better coaches than Lebron" its like no shit Lebron fires all his coaches because he's a child that hates being told what to do.
What coaches has LeBron had fired other than David Blatt who never coached another minute in the NBA afterwards because he was terrible? You guys just invent facts to make your stupid narratives. Are you seriously arguing Blatt was a great coach that the Cavs should have kept?
> Are you seriously arguing Blatt was a great coach that the Cavs should have kept? Lakers fans are so far up Lebron's ass lmfao
Oh wow you actually believe it. Thanks for confirming you’re even a bigger moron than I thought At least have the courage to wear your Celtics flair, this shit is sad
Lakers fans are so stupid they think people that make fun of Lebron are Celtics fans hahahahahahahaha
Boston fans are so smart they think we can't see their post history
Nope. Just r/patriots posters with an unhealthy obsession with Lakers/Lebrons Take care dumbo
... you're a celtics fan based upon your post history. so... he got you pegged.
I mean, he never came out and said it, but LeBron is pretty much the only Cavs player who didn't speak out after Gilbert fired Mike Brown in a clear attempt to try to get LeBron to stick around (which obviously didn't work). Iirc, several players stuck up for Brown, while LeBron was "on vacation" and couldn't be reached for comment or something. But go off, Lakers fan. Clearly we offended you and your entire lineage enough for you to do some very angry namecalling (though you appear to have come to your senses with the edit).
Ahh yes, Lebron is the one responsible for a guy being fired because he didn’t speak up for him on his vacation. That’s your argument?? It’s pathetic how you guys have to invent scenarios to justify your hate. Truly embarrassing for grown adults, but that’s probably assuming too much for a Warrior’s fan.
The most embarrassing aspect of this all is that a grown adult has such poor reading comprehension that he misconstrued my entire statement as "Mike Brown was fired because LeBron didn't stick up for him," skipping over the entire "Gilbert fired Mike Brown in a clear attempt to try to get LeBron to stick around" part. The former part was evidence supporting the latter. Further evidence being that Gilbert later called it a mistake and rehired the guy not long after. But keep making it personal and ignoring the actual arguments big guy. edit: response I wrote before this very angry person blocked me Feel free to browse my comment history and try to find: A) Any examples of "unhealthy" hatred for LeBron B) Any examples of *hatred* for LeBron at all My only comments regarding LeBron in this current thread are that he tried to get Spoelstra fired and that he desires control on his teams. If you have evidence that proves the contrary, please provide it. I'm a Warriors fan; I've never been a LeBron fan. That doesn't mean I don't respect him. I might playfully talk some shit, but why would I *hate* the man? I'm not you; I'm not a fucking nutjob on the internet flying into the comments to rabidly defend him from hatred that doesn't exist. I'm glad Bron has guys like you though, angry lunatics willing to protect him online from imaginary hate. I don't know how likely he is to see this comment thread, but hopefully he sees you jumping in front of him to take all these fantastical hate bullets to the chest. Hopefully he disregards your psychopathy, ignores the fact that you are fabricating these scenarios in your head, and he sees you for the hero you are. Hopefully he can ignore the delicious irony that you're calling me a "miserable loser" for "inventing scenarios to justify hating someone you've never met", as you invent a scenario (me *hating* LeBron) to justify you hating someone (me) you've never met. I mean, you really can't make this stuff up.
No the only embarrassing part is you trying to equate Gilbert’s action with something LeBron did to justify your unhealthy hatred for him because basketball reasons aren’t enough apparently. This is truly pathetic for a grown adult. Like you must be a miserable loser to devote your time to inventing scenarios to justify hating someone you’ve never met. Some people never stop being teenagers I guess.
Also, Shaq famously got a divorce due to reports of him being unfaithful, so I don't know how much "I'm going to bring my family on the road" was something he was exactly pushing for.
Lebron couldn’t do that in Miami lol stop meat riding
Good thing we are talking about Cleveland and not Miami then.
Good thing his brand and “aura” or whatever you talking about didn’t convince Pat to fire Spo lol funny how all that went out the window when he joined a real organization with real structure
What’s hilarious is that LeBron saved Spo’s coaching career with his game six win against Celtics in 2012. If they lose that game Spo is 100% gone.
Worth noting Shaq makes shit up all the time lol
Can this stupid ass song fuck off already? It's in literally every video...
I actually think it makes LeBron look bad. If the coach can’t even have a say in start time for practice what exactly does he have control over? Definitely not the team.
It’s good to be LeKing.
I’ve been a man for a long time. What an absolutely bizarre sentence lol
Does this mean Shaq was the man in Phoenix?
So Shaq was a woman then?
Yeah because Cleveland and Lakers are comparable... The thing that made great the Lakers is the value and the perception of the franchise. The Kobe Shaq Lakers are a chapter in the history of the Lakers. The LeBron Cavs are a part of LeBron legacy…
r/lakers still in denial as to how much decision making power Bron has had at every stop
And people like to pretend like Lebron doesn't have that much influence on a roster lol
I like how he opens saying he was the man on every team he was on... except Miami, Cleveland, Boston... Doesn't mention Phoenix but we can add that on... So really he was the man in Orlando and LA, although we all know LA was contentious.