Was it worth Lebron further hurting his rep to join Miami?

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I still say this makes everyone better.


http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=6dssynh

Lebron for Deron Williams would have pretty much ended it.  Thank heaven it didn't happen.

[Mike-Dub]

LeBron has been in the NBA Finals in the past and has hasd multiple instances of tremendous success, both from an individual and team perspective, in the playoffs.

To me I think after LeBron made it to the Finals he lost his fire. 

I'm not going to say that he had success to early because to me you can never have success to early and you should always want to win, but I think after that he thought it was going to be easier then it is.

[CoachBo]

As I said last summer, if putting a team together was like collecting basketball cards the Heat would never lose. By now, anyone who follows the Celtics ought to know that it isn't.

The surrounding pieces aren't good in Miami. And Bron-Bron has some holes - physically and psychologically - in his game. You want to look at the reality of his game when you evaluate him - not the ESPN hype.

[droponov]

LeBron has been in the NBA Finals in the past and has hasd multiple instances of tremendous success, both from an individual and team perspective, in the playoffs.

To me I think after LeBron made it to the Finals he lost his fire. 

I'm not going to say that he had success to early because to me you can never have success to early and you should always want to win, but I think after that he thought it was going to be easier then it is.

I disagree.

I think Cleveland just kept downgrading his supporting cast. He was still very close to eliminating the Celtics in the following year though. They were the 2nd best team in those playoffs and the one which actually had a good shot of knocking down the eventual champions.  

[Eddie20]

Lebron is going to win multiple rings in Miami.  I just don't think that there will be a team as good as Boston, LA, or San Antonio to stand in his way in the near future.  The Bulls will be tough competition, who knows about New York, and there are always the team that nobody really predicts, but no team has a better young core than the Heat.

That remains to be seen. The new CBA, and more specifically a rumored hard cap, could put that in serious jeopardy. Teams simply won't be able to keep 3 max contracts on their roster and the Heat would be forced to make a very tough decision. Additionally, Wade is a player that relies heavily on his athleticism. He's the type of player that will probably be impacted heavily as he gets older, as he's never developed PG skills or consistent outside shooting to adapt his game.

[KCattheStripe]

LeBron has been in the NBA Finals in the past and has hasd multiple instances of tremendous success, both from an individual and team perspective, in the playoffs.

To me I think after LeBron made it to the Finals he lost his fire. 

I'm not going to say that he had success to early because to me you can never have success to early and you should always want to win, but I think after that he thought it was going to be easier then it is.

I disagree.

I think Cleveland just kept downgrading his supporting cast. He was still very close to eliminating the Celtics in the following year though. They were the 2nd best team in those playoffs and the one which actually had a good shot of knocking down the eventual champions.  

I don't think you can say that the Cavs kept downgrading their roster when Sasha Pavlovic was starting for that Finals team.

[Mike-Dub]

LeBron has been in the NBA Finals in the past and has hasd multiple instances of tremendous success, both from an individual and team perspective, in the playoffs.

To me I think after LeBron made it to the Finals he lost his fire. 

I'm not going to say that he had success to early because to me you can never have success to early and you should always want to win, but I think after that he thought it was going to be easier then it is.

I disagree.

I think Cleveland just kept downgrading his supporting cast. He was still very close to eliminating the Celtics in the following year though. They were the 2nd best team in those playoffs and the one which actually had a good shot of knocking down the eventual champions.  

That's true I'll say after '08 he lost his edge.  And IMO his supporting cast last year and in '09 was much better than the ones he had in '07 and '08.

[More Banners]

LeBron has been in the NBA Finals in the past and has hasd multiple instances of tremendous success, both from an individual and team perspective, in the playoffs.

To me I think after LeBron made it to the Finals he lost his fire. 

I'm not going to say that he had success to early because to me you can never have success to early and you should always want to win, but I think after that he thought it was going to be easier then it is.

I disagree.

I think Cleveland just kept downgrading his supporting cast. He was still very close to eliminating the Celtics in the following year though. They were the 2nd best team in those playoffs and the one which actually had a good shot of knocking down the eventual champions.  

completely disagree.

They brought in better and better players, and at incredible expense (bad contracts, but still good-but-not-great players).  Unfortunately, Lebron made them all worse by running the no-motion offense.

[Mike-Dub]

LeBron has been in the NBA Finals in the past and has hasd multiple instances of tremendous success, both from an individual and team perspective, in the playoffs.

To me I think after LeBron made it to the Finals he lost his fire. 

I'm not going to say that he had success to early because to me you can never have success to early and you should always want to win, but I think after that he thought it was going to be easier then it is.

I disagree.

I think Cleveland just kept downgrading his supporting cast. He was still very close to eliminating the Celtics in the following year though. They were the 2nd best team in those playoffs and the one which actually had a good shot of knocking down the eventual champions.  

completely disagree.

They brought in better and better players, and at incredible expense (bad contracts, but still good-but-not-great players).  Unfortunately, Lebron made them all worse by running the no-motion offense.

Exactly how I feel.

[SamuelAdams]

  Regardless, though, the calling out of posters who disagree with you is against our rules, so it's probably best for you to move on rather than continuing to take passive aggressive shots at other members.

Thank you.

[nba is the worst]

Lebron is going to win multiple rings in Miami.  I just don't think that there will be a team as good as Boston, LA, or San Antonio to stand in his way in the near future.  The Bulls will be tough competition, who knows about New York, and there are always the team that nobody really predicts, but no team has a better young core than the Heat.

Time will tell - I think they will win zero - or one if the refs cooperate fully.

[BballTim]

Lebron is going to win multiple rings in Miami.  I just don't think that there will be a team as good as Boston, LA, or San Antonio to stand in his way in the near future.  The Bulls will be tough competition, who knows about New York, and there are always the team that nobody really predicts, but no team has a better young core than the Heat.

Individually, yes.  Collectively, no.

Collectively, who do you like better?

Also, do you expect that the Heat will fail to improve either their roster or their cohesion over time?

  I'm not sure better complementary players is as important as solving the Wade/LeBron dynamic. LeBron might win multiple rings but I'm not sure it will be with this cast. I'm also not convinced that they'll stick around together for more than a couple of years if they don't win any titles.

[More Banners]

Lebron is going to win multiple rings in Miami.  I just don't think that there will be a team as good as Boston, LA, or San Antonio to stand in his way in the near future.  The Bulls will be tough competition, who knows about New York, and there are always the team that nobody really predicts, but no team has a better young core than the Heat.

Individually, yes.  Collectively, no.

Collectively, who do you like better?

Also, do you expect that the Heat will fail to improve either their roster or their cohesion over time?

  I'm not sure better complementary players is as important as solving the Wade/LeBron dynamic. LeBron might win multiple rings but I'm not sure it will be with this cast. I'm also not convinced that they'll stick around together for more than a couple of years if they don't win any titles.

I think you're right.  These guys don't appreciate the pressure that is on them.  I'd say they make an acquisition this summer via FA/MLE, go at it again next year, but if it doesn't look really good by then, someone is on the outs.

Wade/Miller/Haslem/Bosh might work pretty well together.  My money is on a Lebron-for-PG swap in 2012.

[tenn_smoothie]

maybe it's time to admit that Lebron James is a very talented player who simply doesn't have that special ability that champions like Russell, Bird, Cowens, Magic, Jordan and even Garnett have.

James is more interested in being an amazing athlete than winning titles - not to say he wouldn't like to win a championship - but it is not what, deep down, drives him. he falls more in the category of Chamberlain, Erving, David Thompson and Malone.

[Roy H.]

maybe it's time to admit that Lebron James is a very talented player who simply doesn't have that special ability that champions like Russell, Bird, Cowens, Magic, Jordan and even Garnett have.

James is more interested in being an amazing athlete than winning titles - not to say he wouldn't like to win a championship - but it is not what, deep down, drives him. he falls more in the category of Chamberlain, Erving, David Thompson and Malone.

It could be, but Lebron has carried his team a lot farther than KG ever did at the same age.  I think it's tough to slap one guy with a winner label, and call the other a loser, when the "winner" didn't win until he was 32 years old.  Lebron is 26.

I loathe Lebron's self-promotion, and I hate the may the media anointed the Heat this year.  However, I do think that the guy is almost too good to not win.  As the league loses some of its powerhouse teams, I think the Heat are going to step into that vacuum.