keep in mind, i don't like lebron already. however these comments make me like him less:
"How can it be bad for basketball when you have guys who want to win playing on the same team? Hopefully, the league can figure out one way where it can go back to the '80s where you had three or four All-Stars, three or four superstars, three or four Hall of Famers on the same team. The league was great. It wasn't as watered down as it is…"
"We had more (star) players on the team, which made almost every game anticipated, not just the Christmas Day game or the Halloween game, things like that. …Imagine if you could take Kevin Love off Minnesota and add him to another team and you shrink the (league). Looking at some of the teams that aren't that great, you take Brook Lopez or you take Devin Harris off these teams that aren't that good right now and you add him to a team that could be really good.
"I'm not saying let's take New Jersey and let's take Minnesota out of the league. But hey, you guys are not stupid, I'm not stupid, it would be great for the league."
so now let me get this straight: lebron can't win the championship in a gawdawful weak eastern conference by himself so he leaves the team that drafted him, which also is a stones throw from the city of his birth, a team that he essentially was the general manager of, a city that LOVED him, for the money in miami (along with another superstar which made 3 on one team) so not only is he whining about needing more superstars/hall of famers to win a championship, he wants the teams reduced to make it easier for him to do so.
knowing how the nba is, i wouldn't be surprised if cleveland is one of those teams the nba contracts. by the way, the team that beat him in the nba finals was the san antonio spurs, a basketball team that actually was a TEAM rather than a collection of highly talented basketball players who happen to wear the same uniform.
implicit in his comments is that he thinks that to win championships, you need to have superstar talent laden teams. the 1999 and 2007 spurs and 2009 and 2010 lakers would like to have a word with mr. james. even though shaquille o'neal was on the heat squad that won the title in 2006, dwayne wade carried that team.
the above is reason one why lebron james is nothing more than espn and nba superhype and why he will never win a championship. and if he does, it would be as james as a role player and not a feature. you would never hear magic, bird, or jordan crying about it being too hard to win a championship. those guys were driven individuals who only cared about WINNING and not endorsement deals. those guys saw extra teams and said lace em up and lets go. lebron sees these teams and is worried that playing a lesser team may cause him to sprain a fingernail. perhaps his highness would prefer to play 14 games, once a week all in miami with a single elimination 2 round playoff.
not only does he not want to play so many teams, he doesn't want to play on christmas either:
"If you ask any player in the league, we'd rather be home with our families. I think the people that even set the games up would rather be home with their family during this day. It's not just a regular holiday. It's definitely one of those days that you wish you could wake up in the morning with the kids and open up presents.
"We always say it's good for the fans. But the fans get an opportunity to see us all year. We've got TV games all year. We've got a TV game on Thursday (in Phoenix). I don't care for it too much."
well isn't that just too bad. a public figure who plays in one of the most media exposed platforms on the planet is upset when he can't stay home and open up the presents with his kids. here's a solution- retire. right now. that way you can always be home with your kids and your wife/girlfriend on christmas and not worry about playing a game for money. seriously lebron? you are worried about playing on christmas? never mind that christmas day games featuring the projected top 4 teams of the year have been a league staple for at least 20 years now. playing basketball on christmas is exactly like football on thanksgiving and baseball on independence day. if you happen to be one of the faces of the entire league, not only should you expect to participate in games like this on that particular day, you shouldn't be whining about the imposition of the league on your time and your personal life.
starring in your own ego masturbatory film exclusively on the entertainment and sports programming network about where you are going to be signing as a free agent and then signing a multi million dollar deal and then having a KISSesque concert, dog and pony show with your new team, all of this voluntary mind you, forfeits your right to having a personal life and personal time during the season. that contract you signed comes with a price. aparantly the dollar signs on the contract mean more to you than the cost of not spending time with your family.
i'd call james a douchebag, but that would be offensive to real douchebags.
