Lebron Opting Out of Contract

DJL said:
He was a good player, but he was a great player when he was standing next to MJ. Wade had a lot more success without Lebron than Pippen had without MJ.
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I disagree with this statement. The one year that Pippen spent without Jordan, Pippen became the first player in NBA history to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals in the same season. He was dominant when MJ wasn't there. He led the Bulls to a 55-win season that year with Horace Grant as the team's second best player. Wade had one season in which he lead the Heat to more than 55 wins without LeBron. It was the '04-'05 season, and he was the second best player on the team as Shaq was a very close second behind Steve Nash in the MVP voting that year. Yes, Wade led the Heat to the title in '06, but Shaq again played a HUGE part in that title, and one could make an argument that Shaq was the best player when he was healthy that year.
 
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thejumper5 said:
I disagree with this statement. The one year that Pippen spent without Jordan, Pippen became the first player in NBA history to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals in the same season. He was dominant when MJ wasn't there. He led the Bulls to a 57-win season that year with Horace Grant as the team's second best player. Wade had one season in which he lead the Heat to more than 57 wins without LeBron. It was the '04-'05 season, and he was the second best player on the team as Shaq was a very close second behind Steve Nash in the NBA voting that year. Yes, Wade led the Heat to the title in '06, but Shaq again played a HUGE part in that title, and one could make an argument that Shaq was the best player when he was healthy that year.
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Leave it to LeBron fans to try to make up facts to support their argument. Pippen NEVER won 57 games without Jordan, that's a made up stat. With Jordan he won 57 or more games six times.
 
HawkeyeMike23 said:
Leave it to LeBron fans to try to make up facts to support their argument. Pippen NEVER won 57 games without Jordan, that's a made up stat. With Jordan he won 57 or more games six times.
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Sorry, it wasn't 57, you're right. It was 55. I mis-remembered. Everything else in my post was fact.
 
GoHawks24 said:
Has anybody else heard the rumor that David Stern basically forced MJ into retirement due to his gambling problem? Essentially Stern told him to get his shiz together first then he could come back into the league. I don't know if there's any truth to that at all, but just curious if anybody else has heard that before.
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That's a pretty poorly kept secret. We know two things: One, Jordan was under investigation for gambling by the NBA when he retired (the investigation was dropped two days later); and two, he testified in court that he paid a drug dealer $57,000 to cover gambling losses.

Now consider that we know Jordan was gambling, and we know he had ties to drug dealers. His father is randomly murdered on the side of a highway, he goes under investigation, and he quits basketball. There are a lot of corollaries here.

If Jordan were banned from basketball, or even punished publicly from basketball, the results would have been catastrophic for the entire league, not just Jordan.
 
Here's a quick list of three teams who likely have the salary space to sign him and I think LeBron should consider:
1. Washington--The fantastic young duo of Wall and Beal and the rebounding of Nene would take a ton of pressure off LeBron. This is a group that has had some playoff success and LeBron could take them to the next level. Wall and LeBron both have strong ties to Worldwide Wes.

2. New Orleans--Anthony Davis' game has grown by leaps and bounds each of the past four years. If Davis continues his development, he and LeBron could be the best duo in the NBA as soon as this upcoming season.

3. Portland--LeBron would have tons of support, both on the court and off. Portland has a duo in Aldridge and Lilliard that was better than Wade and Bosh this past year.

Here's a list of three teams with enough money to sign him that LeBron should NOT consider:
1. Cleveland--LeBron needs to remember Dan Gilbert's words and actions in the wake of The Decision and steer clear of his hometown.

2. LA Lakers--There are way too many question marks about the way this team will be run the next few years for LeBron to dive into that situation.

3. Chicago--With so much money tied up in the contract of Derrick Rose and Rose's injury history, I think there are way too many questions surrounding the Bulls.
 
YWinston said:
That's a pretty poorly kept secret. We know two things: One, Jordan was under investigation for gambling by the NBA when he retired (the investigation was dropped two days later); and two, he testified in court that he paid a drug dealer $57,000 to cover gambling losses.

Now consider that we know Jordan was gambling, and we know he had ties to drug dealers. His father is randomly murdered on the side of a highway, he goes under investigation, and he quits basketball. There are a lot of corollaries here.

If Jordan were banned from basketball, or even punished publicly from basketball, the results would have been catastrophic for the entire league, not just Jordan.
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$57,000 wow big money LOL
 
thejumper5 said:
Here's a quick list of three teams who likely have the salary space to sign him and I think LeBron should consider:
1. Washington--The fantastic young duo of Wall and Beal and the rebounding of Nene would take a ton of pressure off LeBron. This is a group that has had some playoff success and LeBron could take them to the next level. Wall and LeBron both have strong ties to Worldwide Wes.

2. New Orleans--Anthony Davis' game has grown by leaps and bounds each of the past four years. If Davis continues his development, he and LeBron could be the best duo in the NBA as soon as this upcoming season.

3. Portland--LeBron would have tons of support, both on the court and off. Portland has a duo in Aldridge and Lilliard that was better than Wade and Bosh this past year.

Here's a list of three teams with enough money to sign him that LeBron should NOT consider:
1. Cleveland--LeBron needs to remember Dan Gilbert's words and actions in the wake of The Decision and steer clear of his hometown.

2. LA Lakers--There are way too many question marks about the way this team will be run the next few years for LeBron to dive into that situation.

3. Chicago--With so much money tied up in the contract of Derrick Rose and Rose's injury history, I think there are way too many questions surrounding the Bulls.
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But does he want to stay in the east where it is less of a grind?
 
YWinston said:
Again, in court and under oath, Jordan testified he blew that much on gambling, in one weekend. With a drug dealer.

WITH A FREAKING DRUG DEALER!
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Jordan made just under $50,000 a game that year, and made more than double his salary in endorsements. $57,000 is a lot for a prole like you, not someone who was making what Jordan was making.
 
GoHawks24 said:
My gawd. This is such a stupid argument. How many titles did MJ win without Scottie Pippen?

Scottie Pippin > DWade or Bosh all day.

LeBron had absolutely NO help whatsoever in Cleveland. He got tired of his back hurting so much from carrying that team. I don't care what anybody says, MJ couldn't have even won a title with that pathetic supporting cast. Go ahead and start listing of the best players he had helping him in Cleveland and try not to laugh.
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Ricky Davis.... Yea I couldn't not laugh... I don't see him leaving Miami. And I see Chicago and Houston arm wrestling for Melo. That said if he and Melo really wanted to stir the pot and go to LA for less money then they could get elsewhere that'd be nuts. Not sure how that'd work exactly but if they got the stars aligned and got that done good lord Twitter would explode and LA would be tinsel town once again.
 
DJL said:
There will always be MJ haters. Those who didn't watch him on all of the time growing up will never understand the drive he had that separated him from any basketball player I have ever seen. Does Lebron have more talent? Yes, but he is no where near as great as Jordan was, and I don't think he ever will be.
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I don't think there's anybody disputing that. MJ had that killer instinct unlike most others. What people are disputing is that even MJ needed some backup in order to win those titles. He didn't do it alone like some people expect LeBron to do for some reason.

Is there some quit in LeBron? It appears so after that dismal finals performance from his team, but he wasn't receiving any support whatsoever. Just look at the box scores.
 
PCHawk said:
The only reason someone would get killed for gambling would be to not pay their debts. I doubt MJ's dad would have that problem.
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why do you think that? very easily they could have blackmailed jordan into paying dad's debts, and jordan possibly called their bluff and lost. easy to imagine.
 
HawkeyeMike23 said:
Jordan made just under $50,000 a game that year, and made more than double his salary in endorsements. $57,000 is a lot for a prole like you, not someone who was making what Jordan was making.
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I wasn't insinuating that Jordan couldn't pay his gambling debts (the DA had a signed check from MJ for $57,000, which is why he was in court to begin with). The point was that MJ was dealing in big money with shady people. For a guy with a squeaky clean image and an gambling addiction, it would be really easy for criminals to take advantage of him.
 
YWinston said:
I wasn't insinuating that Jordan couldn't pay his gambling debts (the DA had a signed check from MJ for $57,000, which is why he was in court to begin with). The point was that MJ was dealing in big money with shady people. For a guy with a squeaky clean image and an gambling addiction, it would be really easy for criminals to take advantage of him.
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$57,000 isn't big money for Jordan, and insinuating all drug dealers are shady people is a pretty reckless statement. Some of the nicest people I know are drug dealers. Jordan obviously was just looking for people who had a little cash flow so he could get a little betting rush in while he golfed. Playing with a prole like yourself who's making $30k a year and trying to go $50 a hole, isn't doing much for MJ.
 
Lebron will never win when being compared to Jordan and rightfully so. As far as putting a team on his back. I still remember when he took the "Cavaliers!" to the Finals and single handedly beat a great Piston team in 6 games. I believe he scored 25 straight points in game 5 in Detroit in double overtime. I remember watching that game and saying to myself "I'm watching greatness" and "I can't believe someone got the Cavaliers to the Finals".

This is why I would love for him to go back to Cleveland. It was such a good story when he was there. Once he went to Miami to guarantee himself some rings, his whole story felt hollow to me.
 
HawkeyeMike23 said:
$57,000 isn't big money for Jordan, and insinuating all drug dealers are shady people is a pretty reckless statement. Some of the nicest people I know are drug dealers. Jordan obviously was just looking for people who had a little cash flow so he could get a little betting rush in while he golfed. Playing with a prole like yourself who's making $30k a year and trying to go $50 a hole, isn't doing much for MJ.
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I wish I made $30k a year.
 
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