Adrian Woj Article Chronicles Lebron Free Agency

[footey]

Don't know if this article was posted before. It came out a few days ago. It is an excellent, in depth insider's look at the decision making process, and reveals some very interesting information in the process. For example, apparently Lebron and his ego were so out of control during the international games before the Olympics, Coach K wanted to kick him off the US team.  If that had happened, it is much less likely that Lebron would have formed a bond with Wade and Bosh.  Check it out if when you have a couple of minutes.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AmYGYyQPvTMRDlmAlOQLXTo5nYcB?slug=aw-heatfreeagency071610

[nba is the worst]

Thanks for posting the link. I hadn't read it, and there's a lot I didn't know about the ego king in it.

It will be interesting to see that ego in action with the heat...

[hwangjini_1]

Great article. I first read it over on SOSH.  The more I learn about lebron and the sycophants he keeps around the less and less I respect him. Thanks for putting it on cb. Tp.

[celticinorlando]

read it last night. great stuff by one of my favs

[gileyal]

Great find. I can';t believe he was ever one of my favorite non-celtics. He's so far removed from the image I had in my mind. Thank goodness for Durant:)

 

[soap07]

I usually love Woj, and some of his LeBron stuff has been spot on...but this came off as more of a hatchet job than anything. No attribution (or minimal at best)....all anonymous, no quotes....Woj has had an anti-LeBron agenda for awhile and obviously went out of his way to push that, which is fine- but Journalism 101 is avoid anonymous sources...especially when there was some blatant character assassination.

[footey]

I usually love Woj, and some of his LeBron stuff has been spot on...but this came off as more of a hatchet job than anything. No attribution (or minimal at best)....all anonymous, no quotes....Woj has had an anti-LeBron agenda for awhile and obviously went out of his way to push that, which is fine- but Journalism 101 is avoid anonymous sources...especially when there was some blatant character assassination.

I think the anonymity of the sources speaks more to Lebron's great clout in NBA circles and less to journalistic standards. You can still connect alot of the dots; for example, it seems pretty obvious that Coach K was not enamored with him, at least as late as 2007. Remember the identity of Deep Throat was not revealed for over 35 years.

[bobdelt]

You can't always reveal your sources, because if revealed in anonymity, or at least a certain trust, you can't reveal that. If the source is Coach K, well he deserves a certain amount of respect not to be named.

It's not different than the twitter feeds we read all day.... "a source at the league office....", "source say....", "certain GM says...", etc etc etc.

This article, is just a bunch of strung together "sources".

But Woj has proved his worth. I believe him. 

[Mike-Dub]

I was going to post this article, but I didn't have the time because I was going to be late on my way to Inception and wasn't sure if anybody even wanted to see anymore about LeCon. 

I thought the article was excellent and excellently writen.  I really did not know that LeCon's ego was so big that he almost wasn't selected for the US Olympic Team and even that his ego was that bad then period. 

I know everyone hates on Adrian for his extreme dislike towards LeCon, even thought I don't, but I really think he hit the nail on the head and has been hitting the nail on the head with all his LeCon articles.

[Tai]

I usually love Woj, and some of his LeBron stuff has been spot on...but this came off as more of a hatchet job than anything. No attribution (or minimal at best)....all anonymous, no quotes....Woj has had an anti-LeBron agenda for awhile and obviously went out of his way to push that, which is fine- but Journalism 101 is avoid anonymous sources...especially when there was some blatant character assassination.

Whether what you say about Woj is actually true, I'm not sure how you speak of Journalism 101 and then say "avoid anonymous source" in the same sentence. If I earned a dollar for how many allegedly legit article I saw "anonymous sources" I could end this recession single-handedly and still have enough to retire.

The general public has always been 50-50 on who the real Lebron is as it is. Why does this surprise you?

[soap07]

Whether what you say about Woj is actually true, I'm not sure how you speak of Journalism 101 and then say "avoid anonymous source" in the same sentence. If I earned a dollar for how many allegedly legit article I saw "anonymous sources" I could end this recession single-handedly and still have enough to retire.

Avoid them if you can is usually more the mantra. Here was a piece written by a guy who has written numerous articles bashing the guy. He writes another piece assailing his character without any quotes or any attribution to where he got this first hand-info from. The closest he comes, I believe, is when he mentions "those with knowledge of the situation." That could literally be anyone. The source could be someone who just merely fits Woj's agenda looking to pile on LeBron. Or there might not be a source at all.

What's odd is not merely the lack of quotes...but the lack of attribution. Yes, Deep Throat remained anonymous for 35 years. But we can agree that Mark Felt had reason to remain anonymous, no? Does this piece scream a need for anonymity? Secondly, even if Woj has all these anonymous sources, what does it say about the sources that aren't willing to put their name behind these swipes at LeBron? Noone is saying anything needing criminal protection in the story. Woj can't get people on the record to say that Coach K didn't like LeBron? Or that LeBron undermined Mike Brown?

This was shoddy journalism from an otherwise excellent journalist.

You can't always reveal your sources, because if revealed in anonymity, or at least a certain trust, you can't reveal that. If the source is Coach K, well he deserves a certain amount of respect not to be named.

It's not different than the twitter feeds we read all day.... "a source at the league office....", "source say....", "certain GM says...", etc etc etc.

I'd agree - except there were a ton of claims other than the Coach K stuff that very easily could have been sourced. Additionally, I'd even be more comfortable with the piece if there was an anonymous GM or an anonymous coach...or anything more than "Those with knowledge of the situation" or something like that.

[Tai]

Avoid them if you can is usually more the mantra. Here was a piece written by a guy who has written numerous articles bashing the guy. He writes another piece assailing his character without any quotes or any attribution to where he got this first hand-info from. The closest he comes, I believe, is when he mentions "those with knowledge of the situation." That could literally be anyone. The source could be someone who just merely fits Woj's agenda looking to pile on LeBron. Or there might not be a source at all.

What's odd is not merely the lack of quotes...but the lack of attribution. Yes, Deep Throat remained anonymous for 35 years. But we can agree that Mark Felt had reason to remain anonymous, no? Does this piece scream a need for anonymity? Secondly, even if Woj has all these anonymous sources, what does it say about the sources that aren't willing to put their name behind these swipes at LeBron? Noone is saying anything needing criminal protection in the story. Woj can't get people on the record to say that Coach K didn't like LeBron? Or that LeBron undermined Mike Brown?

This was shoddy journalism from an otherwise excellent journalist.

I feel like you're jumping all over the place. You first say the sources can be anyone, and then basically say they may or may not be cowards. Are you trying to imply maybe you do believe legit sources exist?

And in the end, despite the article, Coangelo did overrule the coaches' votes to have Lebron off the Beijing team. I think the fact the coaches didn't want Lebron was proof enough that Mike K and others were getting tired of Lebron.

[Rondo_is_better]

Lebron is a child.

[bdm860]

The things I find interesting:

After the NBA witnessed the behavior of James and his business manager Maverick Carter during the 2007 All-Star Weekend, the commissioner’s office sent word to USA Basketball the league wouldn’t force James on them for the Olympics. Before Team USA gathered for the 2007 Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas, an unmistakable message had been delivered to James through Nike: Unless you change, we’re serious about leaving you home.

What is this talking about?  Is there a story here that I'm forgetting or never heard about?  Anybody know?

Chicago officials never directly requested Rose to reach out with a call, and the young point guard felt James could’ve always reached out to him had he wanted to discuss the possibility of playing together. James needed to be courted, needed to be wooed and apparently it surprised him there was a star who wasn’t falling over himself to do that

I think this is such crap right here, and shows clear bias against LeBron by Woj (which many of you like to ignore).  If any player signs with any team, don't you think it helps to have the current star players reach out?  It has nothing to do with wanting to be courted.  Didn't Pierce, Garnett, and Allen reach out to Sheed, Marbury, Cassell, PJ Brown?  Did that mean they all wanted to be courted?  This is something that is very common (and for good reason) in the NBA and is a difference maker for many players, and because Derrick Rose dropped the ball here he tries to make LeBron look bad.  Yup clearly no bias here 


And soap07, totally agree with you.

[bobdelt]

The things I find interesting:

After the NBA witnessed the behavior of James and his business manager Maverick Carter during the 2007 All-Star Weekend, the commissioner’s office sent word to USA Basketball the league wouldn’t force James on them for the Olympics. Before Team USA gathered for the 2007 Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas, an unmistakable message had been delivered to James through Nike: Unless you change, we’re serious about leaving you home.

What is this talking about?  Is there a story here that I'm forgetting or never heard about?  Anybody know?

Chicago officials never directly requested Rose to reach out with a call, and the young point guard felt James could’ve always reached out to him had he wanted to discuss the possibility of playing together. James needed to be courted, needed to be wooed and apparently it surprised him there was a star who wasn’t falling over himself to do that

I think this is such crap right here, and shows clear bias against LeBron by Woj (which many of you like to ignore).  If any player signs with any team, don't you think it helps to have the current star players reach out?  It has nothing to do with wanting to be courted.  Didn't Pierce, Garnett, and Allen reach out to Sheed, Marbury, Cassell, PJ Brown?  Did that mean they all wanted to be courted?  This is something that is very common (and for good reason) in the NBA and is a difference maker for many players, and because Derrick Rose dropped the ball here he tries to make LeBron look bad.  Yup clearly no bias here 


And soap07, totally agree with you.

I'm not following you on how that second quote is bias against lebron. I think that's evidence, those are facts, he wanted Rose to reach out and he didnt, so Lebron lost interest in the Bulls. Where is the bias?