Adrian Woj Article Chronicles Lebron Free Agency

[guava_wrench]

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?

"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"

That is that bias he is referring to, as if there is something unique in Lebron when courting is common practice. Wouldn't you rather play with people who want to play with you, other things  being equal?

[CoachBo]

Just so we're clear on the proper use of anonymous sources:

As someone with a degree in journalism and who's taught and worked in the business, anonymous sources are VERY difficult to get past an editor of a reputable news outlet, as they should be.

They are used ONLY when two or more exist, in most cases, and they are required to get to essential information that a reporter and editor believe is verified.

Wojo is one of the most reputable sports journalists in the business, so dismissing his reports as bias falls on entirely deaf ears here. I take what Adrian writes as the gospel.

[guava_wrench]

Just so we're clear on the proper use of anonymous sources:

As someone with a degree in journalism and who's taught and worked in the business, anonymous sources are VERY difficult to get past an editor of a reputable news outlet, as they should be.

They are used ONLY when two or more exist, in most cases, and they are required to get to essential information that a reporter and editor believe is verified.

Wojo is one of the most reputable sports journalists in the business, so dismissing his reports as bias falls on entirely deaf ears here. I take what Adrian writes as the gospel.

Data is different from interpretation. It is the interpretation that may show bias. There is also the problem of cherry picking information from sources to try to paint a picture that matches a person's bias. A reporter can also juxtapose incidents out of context to form a preferred narrative.

Regardless of the "wooing" aspect, a player is going to be more excited to play with guys who recruit him than to play with guys who play it cool. Ego doesn't necessarily have to be involved, even if we agree that Lebron has a big ego.

[CoachBo]

Just so we're clear on the proper use of anonymous sources:

As someone with a degree in journalism and who's taught and worked in the business, anonymous sources are VERY difficult to get past an editor of a reputable news outlet, as they should be.

They are used ONLY when two or more exist, in most cases, and they are required to get to essential information that a reporter and editor believe is verified.

Wojo is one of the most reputable sports journalists in the business, so dismissing his reports as bias falls on entirely deaf ears here. I take what Adrian writes as the gospel.

Data is different from interpretation. It is the interpretation that may show bias. There is also the problem of cherry picking information from sources to try to paint a picture that matches a person's bias. A reporter can also juxtapose incidents out of context to form a preferred narrative.

Regardless of the "wooing" aspect, a player is going to be more excited to play with guys who recruit him than to play with guys who play it cool. Ego doesn't necessarily have to be involved, even if we agree that Lebron has a big ego.

And those who believe that interpretation is often used in print journalism to show bias almost always don't want to believe what is being reported. Crying bias is a cheap way out.

I hear that complaint all the time, and I tell the kids in my classes that it is usually the cry of the ideologue who doesn't want to be informed, just affirmed.

It's up to the reader to evaluate the credibility of the source. Readers do it all the time: I don't take a single thing off the pen or out of the mouths of the Rush Limbaughs, Jonah Goldbergs, Keith Olbermanns, et al. seriously.

I take Wojo very seriously. His career and credibility dictate that I do. If others don't want to hear that about James, it's their problem.

[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.

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?

"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"

That is that bias he is referring to, as if there is something unique in Lebron when courting is common practice. Wouldn't you rather play with people who want to play with you, other things  being equal?

Ya, like guava_wrench said, my problem here is, that in my opinion, Wojo is just spinning something that happens all the time, and trying to make LeBron look bad.  Look, there are plenty of things to make LeBron look bad, something that's common practice in the industry (and many other industries for that matter) is not one of those things.

To me, it's like saying Garnett is a jerk because he wanted to be traded out of Minnesota to a contender, when this is something that happens all the time. 


If Pierce, Allen, and Garnett didn't reach out to Sheed or PJ Brown, they probably wouldn't have signed here (you can call that my opinion if you want, that's fine with me).  Does that mean Sheed and PJ Brown needed to have their egos stroked?  Happens all the time.

LeBron (and/or or his people) reached out to Mike Miller, telling him to sign with the Heat.  I guess that means Mike Miller needed to have his ego stroked too.

[CoachBo]

When Coach K rips LeBron, that's enough proof for me right there to believe that he has an out of control ego.

But if others want to believe the ESPN (now, there's a biased news organization for you) on James, and on the Miami situation, more power to you. Just understand that not all of us buy the ESPN take on, well, anything.

[Mizzy21390]

Now that I think of this.. Lebron knew he was going to the heat a while ago. When he changed he said he was going to change his number from 23 to 6, this should have been a clue to what team he was going to. Miami retired number 23, MJ's number... and so Lebron wouldn't have been able to have it. So it makes sense why he announced changing his number a while ago..

[bdm860]

When Coach K rips LeBron, that's enough proof for me right there to believe that he has an out of control ego.

But if others want to believe the ESPN (now, there's a biased news organization for you) on James, and on the Miami situation, more power to you. Just understand that not all of us buy the ESPN take on, well, anything.

When has Coach K ever ripped LeBron?

That's definitely not in the article.  That's where I think part of the debate of no sources/anonymous sources comes from.

[indeedproceed]

Now that I think of this.. Lebron knew he was going to the heat a while ago. When he changed he said he was going to change his number from 23 to 6, this should have been a clue to what team he was going to. Miami retired number 23, MJ's number... and so Lebron wouldn't have been able to have it. So it makes sense why he announced changing his number a while ago..

A lot of people said the same thing at the time. Either Chicago or Miami.