Thursday, July 8, 2010

Are You Sick of Lebron Yet?


Well thank god that's over.  As even your shut-in aunt who orders groceries through the internet because she's afraid to leave the house and her six cats, three birds, and 80 china dolls and who hasn't seen a live tree in years but is a level 80 paladin has probably heard by now, Lebron James is going to sign with the Heat and create SuperTeam, ending literally years of speculation - years that have felt like eons, at this point. 

I really don't know what was more annoying:  Lebron's arrogance or people complaining about Lebron's arrogance.  Not counting angry old white people, I think most sports fans were willing to give Lebron and company some leeway, seeing as how these are guys in their mid-to-late twenties who have made millions and are about to make some pretty big decisions, not to mention that this was the best free agent class in the history of the NBA and it wasn't even close - of course they were going to dominate headlines. (now that my friends, is a run-on sentence) 

The tipping point, however, seemed to be this one-hour special on ESPN to announce James' decision.  This took a lot of people from patient, indulgent, and "kids being kids" to irritated, disgusted, and "disgrace to the game."  It's hard not to be one of these people.  I don't want to rehash the same things that have already been rehashed by everybody within a six-foot radius of a keyboard or a pencil, but, like many, I like Kevin Durant just a little bit more now, Lebron a little bit less (although not nearly as much as most others), and Scott Baker a whole lot less.

I do feel a little bit of sympathy for him, to be honest, or at least as much as one can feel for someone who may end up earning a billion dollars in his career - a career which will likely end before he turns 40.  He was really in a no-win situation, and was going to get ripped no matter what he did.  Of course, he did handle this with all the finesse of Grawp, so it's tough to have more than the tiniest smidgeon of sympathy.  Worse than anything LeBron did, outside of referring to himself in the third person as "the King", were some of the arguments and teeth-nashing from others who somehow felt that they were entitled to an opinion in this whole garbage dump.

My personal favorite was from some clown on KFAN (nobody I have ever heard on there before) who was ranting and raving about how if Lebron chose Miami it was a travesty of justice and made the NBA a joke because:

1.  They are buying a championship
2.  They are guaranteed to become a dynasty
3.  It's unfair to everyone because they are getting these three players without having to give anything up.

First off, point #2 is stupid, because they may have three super stars, but anyone who knows anything about sports knows what injuries can do.  Further than that, they are going to have so much money tied up in those three guys that who knows what else they are going to end up filling the roster with.  It will probably be mostly crap, and those three guys are going to be playing 40+ minutes every single night, which leads to both injuries and tired legs.  They are probably not even the #1 favorite to win next year.  Ok, actually they are, but it's not that clear cut. 

As for the rest, it's ludicrous.  This isn't the Yankees outspending everybody else.  There is a salary cap, and everyone has to abide by it.  There were several teams that have been planning for this for two years or more, and they very much have had to make sacrifices and give things up.  The Bulls just gave away Kirk Hinrich for nothing.  The Heat traded a nice young player in Daequan Cook away for nothing, and had to give up a first round pick in order to do it.  The Knicks have been planning for this for years.  If the Heat hadn't gotten these there, their entire roster would have been Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers.  That was there entire list of players under contract.  As it stands now, they have to fill in the rest of the team with minimum or near-minimum guys.

The Lakers still have the same team, but with a better point guard.  The Celtics are older, but they're still intact and added Jermaine O'Neal.  The Bulls got better.  The Magic are just as good.  Dallas got better.  And the Thunder are absolutely on their way.  This isn't going to be a slam dunk.

Imagine this.  Heat vs. Lakers in the finals.  With all the freaking out people are doing, with all the hate pouring in about Lebron (seriously, check Twitter - or anywhere on the internet, people are losing their shit), with all the built in anti-favorite bias everyone seems to have.....would the world root for Kobe?

Last thought. 

Lebron, Bosh, and Wade are all taking less than max contracts, less than they could get elsewhere, in order to go after a title (or more) and play together because they are good friends. 

Can you really begrudge them that?

25 comments:

snacks said...

I just don't see how LeBron and Wade can play together successfully. Both need the ball in their hands to create to be successful, and both are below average outside shooters. So basically, each possession one of them gets to create and the other is Al Nolen. They also don't have the money to get the outside shooting and interior defense they need. You heard it here first - these guys win 0 titles together.

WWWWWW said...

It will be interesting to watch, that's for sure. I can't wait to see who they get to fill out the roster. At least this means super stud Jarvis Varnado will probably end up on the team.

Also, for all the ripping of Kahn, I am absolutely thrilled with the pick up of Beasley.

WWWWWW said...

And Damian Johnson just went from no shot, to a decent shot. If he can show he can play defense, rebound, and occasionally hit the open jumper he might be able to stick. They certainly don't need more offense, and would probably be better to actively avoid it.

WWWWWW said...

One last thing. That letter the Cavs owner wrote to Cavs' fans? If I'm Lebron, that makes me feel a whole lot better about leaving Cleveland. What an asshat.

SSF said...

Oh...oh...oh...I have an opinion.

The NBA is fucking retarded.

Diary of a Sioux Fan said...

oh..oh..oh..I have an opinion on this.

The NBA is fucking retarded.

SSF said...

Good enough to post twice....

WWWWWW said...

I am SHOCKED that you wouldn't like a sport dominated by people that aren't white.

Todd, The said...

Holy fucking shit do I hate the NBA. I hope they all die.

Dawg said...

Westbrook as the 3 pt specialist? Or maybe they could see what my guys Hollis Price and Dedriq Willoughby are up to...

WWWWWW said...

I hear Jake Sullivan and Chris Kingsbury are also available.

DiaryofaSiouxFan said...

That's right WWWW I prefer watching whites and canadians play sports. I am also okay with hot European guys..white ones(of course).

Todd-I can't believe we agree on something. This makes me feel like sort of a douche. But the NBA and basketball in general but ESPECIALLY the NBA is the most fucking retarded shit I have ever had to endure. Almost as bad as Dawg singing along to the hills theme song.

Bear said...

Lay off Dawg, that's a great song, brah.

Black Snake said...

You know what would make the Hills song even better? If Beiber sang it!

Diaryofasiouxfan said...

HA! Speaking of Bieber...we decided to ditch our cable for the summer to get us doing more "activities". So our LAST NIGHT of cable Dawg wanted to spend it watching some Bieber Documentary called Justin Bieber-My World.

Fuck both of you queers for giving him the "bieber fever". It is both of your faults that is what I got to watch on my last night of precious cable.

PS. Bear..the hills is gay and they is an awful song. The only thing good about the hills is J. Bob's hair and Spencers "dawg like" fits of rage.

WWWWWW said...

So you guys gave up cable, and I'm 99% sure neither fo you read. Good thing you're already pregnant.

Black Snake said...

I have never respected dawger more. Bieber brings the heat girl. He is the beatles of this generation.....only better, more talented and no Jap holding him back.

Would you like him if he broke out into screams in the middle of his sexy love making vocals?

WWWWWW said...

Bieber = the future

Bear said...

Black Snake - Truer words have never been written, Biebs makes everthing better. Think how much more traffic this blog would get if it simply changed it's name to Down with Bieber.

I need a quick 101 on "The Hills." Just picked it up this season, but catching up on some old episodes during the intense marathon on MTV.

Why does Spencer hate LC so much?

W, I know you loves you some Audrina, but doesn't that permanent spaced out look take away from her hotness?

WWWWWW said...

I actually haven't been watching the Hills this year. Mrs. W has apparently moved on from the show, and without her I couldn't even tell you when it's on. I didn't even know they started a new season.

And no, nothing takes away from Audrina's hotness. Everything about her is 100% perfect. When women go into the plastic surgeon, instead of using words to say what they want done they should just bring in a picture of Audrina and point.

Dawg said...

Bear - Spencer hates LC because he doesn't want Heidi to have any friends. Once he rids her of all friends and family then he can talk her into getting plastic surgery to look like Eric Stoltz from the Mask except with "H" cups.

Bear said...

Dawger - Thanks brah. There was about a 4 month break in my People subsricption at the time, so I found myself a little out of the loop.

SSF said...

Blake Snake you have hit the nail on the head. I would LOVE if he busted into some screamo hardcore shit during sex. YES!!!

WWWW...believe it or not our intent was to sit and read in bed..you know like couples do on tv. We of course have yet to do this. And believe it or not we do both read. Alot actually....I am currently reading The Face on Your Plate. It is a fantastic little book meant to scare you into Veganism...I LOVE IT!!!

Fucking retards...

WWWWWW said...

Sounds like a book with a lot of pictures.

Makes sense.

How many do you get to color in yourself?

Loretta8 said...

quadruple check-plus for Grawp reference