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Basketball Fan Franchise Player
Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 24744
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 9:27 am Post subject: LeBron says he may have stayed in Miami had the Heat won a 3rd straight title |
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http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/09/25/lebron-says-he-may-have-stayed-in-miami-had-heat-won-second-straight-nba-title/
Quote: | LeBron says he may have stayed in Miami had Heat won third straight NBA title
LeBron James leaving the Heat to return to the Cavaliers in free agency was certainly a surprise, but it would have been downright shocking had he done so after winning a second straight NBA title.
Miami was crushed by the Spurs in the NBA Finals, however, which likely made LeBron’s decision to leave that much easier.
But make no mistake — the outcome of that championship series had a huge impact on LeBron’s decision. So much so, in fact, that James himself has no trouble admitting that things might have turned out differently had Miami been able to three-peat as champions.
From Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal:
LeBron James concedes it would’ve been much harder for him to return to the Cavaliers had the Miami Heat won a third consecutive championship in June, he told CNN’s Unguarded with Rachel Nichols in an upcoming episode.
“It’s a greater chance, for sure,” James said. “It would be hard to leave back-to-back-to-back championships and try to go for four. But obviously you really can’t live and think of what may have happened. I’ve always been a person kind of live in the moment.”
Honestly, this is nothing more than common sense.
Had the Heat managed to win last season’s championship, there would have been no reason for LeBron to return to Cleveland so soon. He would have rightfully believed that his best chance to win was with Miami, and it would have been extremely difficult to abandon a team that just won three straight titles, when the opportunity to win four in a row would have been too tempting to pass up.
But after seeing his Heat so thoroughly dismantled by the Spurs in the championship round, and with no options for real roster improvement on the horizon, the choice to return home to Cleveland was made that much easier. |
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cathy78 Star Player
Joined: 21 Jan 2013 Posts: 1413
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 9:53 am Post subject: |
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Just. Shut. Up.
Let the talking be done on the basketball court. |
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yinoma2001 Retired Number
Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 119487
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 9:56 am Post subject: |
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Of course he would have. Going for a 4 peat is historical. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals |
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Basketball Fan Franchise Player
Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 24744
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 9:57 am Post subject: |
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I agree but it kind of kills the "touching letter to SI about wanting to come home" now doesn't it? |
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p0se1d0n Rookie
Joined: 15 Sep 2014 Posts: 21
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 11:36 am Post subject: |
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This guy is such a fraud - and the idiots in the media (and some fans here on LG) keep taking the bait.
Aging Wade + inconsistent Bosh + Kyrie Irving + handshake deal w/ Love = LeBron is "coming home" BS.
Has a so-called superstar player in NBA history ever needed the kind of help that LeBron seems to chase year in and year out and with multiple franchises?
Can't wait for Kyrie and Kevin Love to miss their annual 20-25 games this upcoming season due to injuries.
BLEEP the Cavs, BLEEP LeBron and most of all BLEEP Dan Gilbert. |
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defense Retired Number
Joined: 12 Jan 2010 Posts: 39324
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 2:39 pm Post subject: |
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I really, really hate Lefraud |
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vanexelent Retired Number
Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 30081
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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yinoma2001 wrote: | Of course he would have. Going for a 4 peat is historical. |
Instead he lost in historical fashion. |
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Dreamshake Franchise Player
Joined: 05 May 2006 Posts: 13709
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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yinoma2001 wrote: | Of course he would have. Going for a 4 peat is historical. |
This. I could see him signing the same deal with a 1 yr out. |
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Dreamshake Franchise Player
Joined: 05 May 2006 Posts: 13709
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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Basketball Fan wrote: | I agree but it kind of kills the "touching letter to SI about wanting to come home" now doesn't it? |
How so? They lost and weren't chasing something historical. He decided to go home. If they won he could still chase history and go home later, possibly as soon as the following season. |
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Dreamshake Franchise Player
Joined: 05 May 2006 Posts: 13709
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:08 pm Post subject: |
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p0se1d0n wrote: | Has a so-called superstar player in NBA history ever needed the kind of help that LeBron seems to chase year in and year out and with multiple franchises? |
Considering that most of the guys with multiple titles won the majority of them with more talent than the Heat had or that the Cavs currently have....yeah. |
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Steve007 Franchise Player
Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 13165
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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Duh. If the Heat won again and had a 3-peat, they would be overwhelming favorites to win again. People wouldn't say they only beat the Spurs because Ray Allen bailed them out (if they beat the Spurs two years in a row). |
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Steve007 Franchise Player
Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 13165
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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Basketball Fan wrote: | I agree but it kind of kills the "touching letter to SI about wanting to come home" now doesn't it? |
I'm sure that going home made it more tempting to come to Cleveland. IMO people are looking at this the wrong way. He could have more than one reason to pick Cleveland. However, I agree that the roster in Cleveland was his biggest temptation, not any love he possibly had for the city. I'll never forget him showing up to a Cleveland Indians playoff game while wearing a Yankee cap when the Indians were playing the Yankees. That does make me question how much he likes Cleveland. |
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p0se1d0n Rookie
Joined: 15 Sep 2014 Posts: 21
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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Dreamshake wrote: | Basketball Fan wrote: | I agree but it kind of kills the "touching letter to SI about wanting to come home" now doesn't it? |
How so? They lost and weren't chasing something historical. He decided to go home. If they won he could still chase history and go home later, possibly as soon as the following season. |
Would he still have come "home" IF Kyrie and Love weren't on the team?
Also anyone find it off that in the 4 years LeBron was in Miami - the Cavs got the #1 overall pick in the draft 3 out of those 4 years....enabling them to get Irving and trade for Love.
Q: Did the NBA know something we didn't?
A: Of course. |
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p0se1d0n Rookie
Joined: 15 Sep 2014 Posts: 21
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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Dreamshake wrote: | p0se1d0n wrote: | Has a so-called superstar player in NBA history ever needed the kind of help that LeBron seems to chase year in and year out and with multiple franchises? |
Considering that most of the guys with multiple titles won the majority of them with more talent than the Heat had or that the Cavs currently have....yeah. |
I don't recall Jordan, Magic, Bird or Kobe collude with other top-tier players in the league and form "Super Teams."
How pathetic does one (LeBron) look from jumping ship, not once, but TWICE to go to a stacked team once his current team is no longer elite.
Dude is the biggest FRONT-RUNNER in NBA history and yet he still has people defending his actions. Amazing. |
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KobeBryantCliffordBrown Star Player
Joined: 28 Apr 2008 Posts: 6429
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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p0se1d0n wrote: | Dreamshake wrote: | p0se1d0n wrote: | Has a so-called superstar player in NBA history ever needed the kind of help that LeBron seems to chase year in and year out and with multiple franchises? |
Considering that most of the guys with multiple titles won the majority of them with more talent than the Heat had or that the Cavs currently have....yeah. |
I don't recall Jordan, Magic, Bird or Kobe collude with other top-tier players in the league and form "Super Teams."
How pathetic does one (LeBron) look from jumping ship, not once, but TWICE to go to a stacked team once his current team is no longer elite.
Dude is the biggest FRONT-RUNNER in NBA history and yet he still has people defending his actions. Amazing. |
This _________________ “It took many years of vomiting up all the filth I’d been taught about myself, and half-believed, before I was able to walk on the earth as though I had a right to be here.”
― James Baldwin, Collected Essays |
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Dreamshake Franchise Player
Joined: 05 May 2006 Posts: 13709
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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p0se1d0n wrote: | Would he still have come "home" IF Kyrie and Love weren't on the team? |
Love wasn't on the team. As far as Kyrie, probably. Who knows. It's not as if Kyrie has ever won anything or sniffed the playoffs. |
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Dreamshake Franchise Player
Joined: 05 May 2006 Posts: 13709
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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p0se1d0n wrote: | I don't recall Jordan, Magic, Bird or Kobe collude with other top-tier players in the league and form "Super Teams." |
I also don't recall those players winning the majority of their titles without being on a "super team".
p0se1d0n wrote: | How pathetic does one (LeBron) look from jumping ship, not once, but TWICE to go to a stacked team once his current team is no longer elite. |
The Heat were no longer elite? Did they not get to the Finals? Would they not have been favored to return? |
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TDRock Retired Number
Joined: 27 May 2010 Posts: 48600 Location: LA to the Bay
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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Of course he would have stayed if they'd won. Who didn't know that? @ LeBron |
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-Showtime- Starting Rotation
Joined: 12 Jul 2014 Posts: 324
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 3:53 am Post subject: |
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It seems like Lebron's trying to run around to find Superfriends to help him win Championships. This last 2 Superfriends were arguably getting 'old' and 'injured' so Lebron got brand new spanking ones. Wade is 32, Bosh is 30, while Irving is 22 and Love is 25. I guess it's Championship Bling before Bros. Adios Miami. I doubt he would be 'coming home' if there weren't enough pieces on the Cavs. I see a lot of players following this new strategy to collude to form new Superteams in the future.
I don't think any of the other greats who won multiple championships ever vacillated this much between stacked teams. Lebron has done it twice now. They had solid teams, but they didn't go around in their prime and actively change teams like that. That's what I admired about Magic and Bird, they stuck it out.
So now so far for the Cav it's Love, Irving and Lebron. Wonder if they will manage to stack the roster with anymore All Star caliber players before the playoffs.
Last edited by -Showtime- on Sun Sep 28, 2014 4:11 am; edited 1 time in total |
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gumby Star Player
Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 2500 Location: Inland Empire
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 4:10 am Post subject: |
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He's his own bandwagon. LOL
Bye. _________________ "This trophy removes the most odious sentence in the English Language. It can never be said again that 'the Lakers have never beaten the Celtics.'" -Dr. Jerry Buss (1985) R.I.P., 33 x M.V.O. |
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Basketball Fan Franchise Player
Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 24744
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 7:07 am Post subject: |
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Dreamshake wrote: | Basketball Fan wrote: | I agree but it kind of kills the "touching letter to SI about wanting to come home" now doesn't it? |
How so? They lost and weren't chasing something historical. He decided to go home. If they won he could still chase history and go home later, possibly as soon as the following season. |
You answered your own question more or less. Why would he return to Cleveland if he was chasing a 4 peat?
He wants to win championships and when faced with carrying an aging Wade or a team with 3 # 1 picks the past 4 years he chose the team with the young talent and Kevin Love. The fact that it was the Cavs was a bonus for him.
He made the same decision he made a few years ago just with better packaging. |
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lakersken80 Retired Number
Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Posts: 38751
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 8:29 am Post subject: |
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Translation: LBJ would've stayed with whatever team that gave him the best chance to win rings. |
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Jeggs Star Player
Joined: 14 Oct 2013 Posts: 1659
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 10:38 am Post subject: |
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vanexelent wrote: | yinoma2001 wrote: | Of course he would have. Going for a 4 peat is historical. |
Instead he lost in historical fashion. |
Kawhi! Kawhi! Kawhi! Love that guy. I'm actually rooting for the Heat this season which is funny to the East. Would be a nice slap in Lebron's face. |
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Treble Clef Franchise Player
Joined: 20 Nov 2012 Posts: 23745
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 10:40 am Post subject: |
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Another politically correct answer with no substance. Thats all LeBron does in these interviews. |
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venturalakersfan Retired Number
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 144432 Location: The Gold Coast
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 10:51 am Post subject: |
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p0se1d0n wrote: | Dreamshake wrote: | Basketball Fan wrote: | I agree but it kind of kills the "touching letter to SI about wanting to come home" now doesn't it? |
How so? They lost and weren't chasing something historical. He decided to go home. If they won he could still chase history and go home later, possibly as soon as the following season. |
Would he still have come "home" IF Kyrie and Love weren't on the team?
Also anyone find it off that in the 4 years LeBron was in Miami - the Cavs got the #1 overall pick in the draft 3 out of those 4 years....enabling them to get Irving and trade for Love.
Q: Did the NBA know something we didn't?
A: Of course. |
That's some heavy duty make believing going on. _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023. |
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