NBA Finals Thread
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I think if Lebron were to stage a "Decision 2" - but make it totally farcical and self-effacing - then he could win back a ton of public approval points. He could make it really funny and be totally humble and I think people would love it. Especially if he were to go back to Cleveland.
The Heat already used the one-time provision on Mike Miller to chop a couple years and a ton of luxury tax money off their books.bosox79 said:
If LBJ were to "stage" anything, most people would understand its just another public self-promotion vehicle. If he becomes a FA, he should just low key it as much as possible, and sign with the team, and skip the BS. I agree if he were to go back to Cleveland that would win some PR points.tims4wins said:
I just heard on WFAN from the Heat beat reporter that LBJ loves Doc, and would like to go to the Clippers and try to steal LA from the Lakers. The reporter said that given the Clippers cap space it seemed a long-shot.
They don't need cap space. All LeBron has to do is tell Riley he's opting out and they will be able to ship him to LA in a sign-n-trade, likely involving Griffin, to begin their re-tool. It's 50 cents on the dollar but that's all the leverage Miami would have.bankshot1 said:
LeBron's destinations are not limited to teams with cap space......it is rare any FA are.
The Spurs were hungry all season and then beat some pretty good teams in the WC playoffs. They were playing peak basketball at the end of the season. The Heat coasted through the regular season and the postseason until they met up with a buzzsaw that was clicking on all cylinders. It kind of reminds me of Seattle winning the Super Bowl. Most people said that game sucked. I thought watching a great team play all three facets of the game to perfection and kick the shit out of the the other conference's representative was a joy. Same here. Watching the Spurs play team basketball at a high level might not be pleasant for ESPN junkies or fellas/gals who don't know what an inside pivot is but for me it was great.
As for James, I disliked "The Decision" and Lebron for a while due to the stupidity of it all. But when I look at him I see two things besides a great basketball player. One, he's always stuck by his childhood friends and they guided him to that debacle. And two, I respect hard work, maybe more than any other characteristic in a person. Lebron James is an extremely hard worker. Contrary to some of the comments in this thread I think Lebron works hard every game but like games 5 & 6 of the 2010 ECF versus our C's, he knew he was outmanned and udergunned. There was nothing he could do about it so he gave up. He tried as hard as he could but once the writing was on the wall, he simply gave up.
Lastly, where the f is Rocco Graziosa? Did David Wells punch him back? I can't recall the last time I saw him post.
As for James, I disliked "The Decision" and Lebron for a while due to the stupidity of it all. But when I look at him I see two things besides a great basketball player. One, he's always stuck by his childhood friends and they guided him to that debacle. And two, I respect hard work, maybe more than any other characteristic in a person. Lebron James is an extremely hard worker. Contrary to some of the comments in this thread I think Lebron works hard every game but like games 5 & 6 of the 2010 ECF versus our C's, he knew he was outmanned and udergunned. There was nothing he could do about it so he gave up. He tried as hard as he could but once the writing was on the wall, he simply gave up.
Lastly, where the f is Rocco Graziosa? Did David Wells punch him back? I can't recall the last time I saw him post.
tims4wins said:
He doesn't need to, he's the most popular player in the league:
http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/9512608/poll-shows-lebron-james-passes-kobe-bryant-nba-most-popular-player
The reporter didn't go into the #s, but said that due to cap reasons, a LBJ move to the Clips would involve the Clips moving Griffin.HomeRunBaker said:
bankshot1 said:
It wouldn't have to, though. He is a totally unrestricted free agent if he opts out, and if he chooses to sign for a few million dollars, he could literally sign anywhere, including the Clippers with Griffin. He certainly doesn't owe Miami anything, and $10M or $15M isn't going to make much of a difference to him (he just made $30M on the Apple acquisition of Beats).
I'm just reporting what the reporter Ira Linderman (SP?) said to Francesa,, and yes I imagine if LBJ wanted to do pro bono work, or work for the NBA minimum, that might stretch the Clip's cap space.
There is a difference between leaving a couple mill on the table that is recouped by there being no state income tax in Florida.......and signing somewhere for the MLE. That simply isn't even an option because well.....it wouldn't have to be.jon abbey said:
If LeBron chooses LA I'm sure Doc will help pack Blake's bags and personally drive him cross country if he had to.
Why would anyone give away $18m per year for anything much less to keep Blake Griffin at the position you could be spending much of your time?jon abbey said:
Don't you think LBJ's lifetime non-salary earnings would be significantly greater if, say, he won seven rings instead of four?HomeRunBaker said:
I'm not sure if leaving Miami would be his best move, financially or otherwise, but it's not a given that signing a one-year deal for the MLE instead of taking the richest multi-year deal on the table would be a bad move, even from a purely financial perspective.
LeBron made $39M in endorsements last year (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/fortunate50-2013/#lebron-james), the difference between a $5M and a $20M salary is just not that big for him in the grand scheme of things, if it puts him into the best situation.
I'm not even saying this is what he'll choose to do, I'm saying that it's within his power to do so, to take the MLE and sign with whatever team he wants, but that possibility rarely seems to be mentioned. So I'm mentioning it.
You have a bit of a point about the position overlap with James and Griffin, but that would presumably allow him to pace himself much better over the course of the season, something he's never had the luxury of being able to do before. Also this is a guy who just spent the Finals guarding PGs, he can certainly spend the bulk of his minutes at SF if necessary.
I'm not even saying this is what he'll choose to do, I'm saying that it's within his power to do so, to take the MLE and sign with whatever team he wants, but that possibility rarely seems to be mentioned. So I'm mentioning it.
You have a bit of a point about the position overlap with James and Griffin, but that would presumably allow him to pace himself much better over the course of the season, something he's never had the luxury of being able to do before. Also this is a guy who just spent the Finals guarding PGs, he can certainly spend the bulk of his minutes at SF if necessary.
The union seems pretty powerless at the moment, but would they ever allow such an extreme measure?
The other reason why the MLE idea is silly and unrealistic is that not only would it be a players union issue but LeBron would never do anything that would jeopardize the current structure......for the benefit of losing tens of thousands of dollars.Mugthis said:
The other reason why the MLE idea is silly and unrealistic is that not only would it be a players union issue but LeBron would never do anything that would jeopardize the current structure......for the benefit of losing tens of thousands of dollars.Mugthis said:
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CaptainLaddie said:
I think you know what I meant - in light of Wade's decline and the disappearance of the likes of Chalmers and pretty much all of Ray Allen's talents, it's quite possible that had LeBron picked a different set of teammates, the incredible upgrade that he himself represents might have made his other team a more mentally-tough team with a better diversity of options. Certainly when faced with a team that makes adjustments on both sides of the ball as well as SA does.
LeBron, properly surrounded, could probably deliver on his cheeky line about half a dozen championships. If it were July 2010 again, and he knew what we know now, where does LeBron land? Chicago? Clippers? Portla-- ha-ha, just kidding. But if you forecast into the future, the durability of his teammates and coaches are more questionable in Miami than they would be on many other teams. That it took a legendarily well-coached and well-assembled team to beat him at the height of his powers is more a testament to his own obvious abilities than it is to the fact that he picked his teammates well.
Picked the wrong teammates? LOL.....didn't LeBron just win B2B Championships? What kind of world do people live in where that is considered a failure by some?
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HomeRunBaker said:
Who said anything about failure? By any measure, LeBron James is an incredibly successful NBA player. I'm talking about optimizing the cumulative success of his team(s) over the totality of his career. Short-term, Miami made the most sense. At the time of The Decision, I thought that Chicago made better long-term sense, where his defensive skills would make more of an impact. I'm not as sure about that today, but I think it's an open question as to what team would have made the most sense for him long-term, and if anything, this Finals showing suggests that Miami may not continue to be the answer very much longer. Certainly not the clear answer.
Failure is defined by expectations. Heat's loss versus Dallas was an upset; they literally stole their second championship vs the Spurs. They advanced to the finals over a very weak conference. How many brownie points should they get because of that.
On first thought, it seems that Lebron in Chicago would have made an even more successful run, even if Rose had injured himself. That team remained competitive at 45 wins without Rose. They easily net 60 wins with Lebron. Can you imagine what happens on the seasons Rose is healthy?
On first thought, it seems that Lebron in Chicago would have made an even more successful run, even if Rose had injured himself. That team remained competitive at 45 wins without Rose. They easily net 60 wins with Lebron. Can you imagine what happens on the seasons Rose is healthy?
You don't think that a defensive powerhouse like Noah would be useful to Lebron? I think it's exactly what's been missing from Miami all these years.jon abbey said:
Noah would be great, a better version of when he played with Varejao in Cleveland. But what he needs most is a coach who will help him to pace himself over the long season, and Thibodeau is the worst coach in the league at that.
jon abbey said:
I don't think this is an inherrent Thibodeau trait as much as his response to having an injury depleted team. And Lebron's problem wasn't his lack of rest time, but the fact that Wade got old and injured while interior team defense was lacking.
Another thing about the Heat. Simmons last year mentioned that out of the supposedly great dynasties, the Heat has the highest number of games needed to advance. All those 4-3 series are close run affairs; eventually, luck will not be on your side and you will be on the losing end. It's a sign of weakness for the Heat that they had so much trouble advancing from the weak conference.
I mean 2013 and 2014 Indiana gets what place in the West? 5th? 6th? Where do the Heat finish in the West the past 4 years? Do they finish first on any of those seasons?
Nick Kaufman said:
Thibodeau has done this from day 1 in Chicago, whether his team is healthy or not, whether they are winning big or it is a close game. He is like the Kevin Garnett of coaches, incapable of playing in third gear.
Brian Windhorst is the closest thing LeBron has to a media mouthpiece, some relevant excerpts from his piece on LeBron's future:
"To better prepare for the long grind of the season, James wants to reduce his minute load so he can attempt to save his body for the playoffs and, for the long haul, hopefully extend his personal championship window.
James played 400 minutes more than any teammate this season and about 1,300 more minutes than running mate Wade. This is a trend he's interested in reversing immediately."
http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/11090894/lebron-james-uncertain-road-ahead
Actually maybe a better comparison for Thibodeau is Dusty Baker, check out this Player Abuse Points chart from the season before last (one point for every minute played over 39 in a game):
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1735910-does-tom-thibodeau-lean-on-chicago-bulls-starters-too-heavily
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1735910-does-tom-thibodeau-lean-on-chicago-bulls-starters-too-heavily