"Don't run from the cops. Makin' suckers drop.
And I'm only 18, makin' more than your pop!"--LL Cool J, from The Doo-Wop from Bigger and Deffer, 1986

I'm heading out of town and wish I could go more deeply into this. I think the deep underlying issue here is that something in many of us says that no 18-year-old is worth the money, attention and adulation he has received. It says something is wrong with our society--and therefore something is wrong with us.

My short take on it, and I'll have more to say tomorrow morning or tomorrow night: In America, you're worth and deserve whatever someone is willing to pay you. Therefore:

Lebron James is worth $90 million.

Lebron James deserves $90 million.

I know it hurts to hear that, but that's just the way it is.

Oh I do entirely wish for his failure. I honestly want him to stay healthy and active and be the single most worthless putz on the court. you know why? because THAT will keep this insanity from happening to this degree in the future. Companies will have the "lebron Factor" to think about before throwing millions at some chump kid fresh outta mommies house.

Bah, The game is a joke at the professional level. The players don't give arats ass who wins what as long as their paycheck is on time. I'll watch LACROSS before I'll pay serious attention to basketball. For the simple fact that its the worst of all the major sports in this country by far in attitude and personality of players.


On another note, Money would NOT be a factor if I could drive professionally. You can quote me on this. If a team picked my ass up to drive, I'd work a second job for living expenses. I love the job THAT much.

I would tend to disagree with the deserve part of that statement. Is LeBoy worth $90 mil? Nike obviously thinks so. Does a kid who has only proved he can beat up on H.S. competition and violate eligibility rules DESERVE it? I think not.

No it wouldn't.

Not even Nike would stop doing this if LeBron is a bust.

As long as they sell the number of sneakers they do, they will pay these contracts.

I would be willing to bet they would pay 90 million to 5 flops (unknown at the time, of course) as long as they got the one that turned out to be a mega-super-star.

I think it's debateable wether or not shoe companies will continue this trend if Lebron is a bust, but one things for sure, if he's not this trend will increase ten fold. And I don't think thats going to help the game of basketball, a textbook sample of this are LeBron's own words that started this thread.

As I have said before and I will say again my problem with LeBron isn't the money he is making, yes I think Nike is stupid for giving him that much, but thats not my problem with this. He keeps saying and doing stupid things, that is my problem.

"I want a 100,000 dollar car before I work a day in my life"
"I don't want to play for the Cavs"
"I want retro jerseys knowing full well it will ruin my eligibility"
"I'll only give the team I play for 50% of my loyalty"

When is enough, enough? One time is a mistake, two times is a trend, four times is a character flaw.

Plan and simple you are a hater, we understand. Can we move on. We get your point already.

Funny how you edited that post yet you still spelled plain wrong.

Maybe you should channel this hate you have towards LeBron to an athlete that really deserves it.

Like Roger Clemens.

Not to be nit picky, but you have a major issue here. You say in this post that he's only giving 50% loyalty to the sport. That's factually incorrect. The loyalty he's speaking about is loyalty to an organization, not the game itself.

RenderR,

Oh I do entirely wish for his failure. I honestly want him to stay healthy and active and be the single most worthless putz on the court. you know why? because THAT will keep this insanity from happening to this degree in the future. Companies will have the "lebron Factor" to think about before throwing millions at some chump kid fresh outta mommies house.

No, it wouldn't. I'll say it again, wishing for an 18 year old to fail is pathetic. You have a right to do it, but I don't like it and never will.

On another note, Money would NOT be a factor if I could drive professionally. You can quote me on this. If a team picked my ass up to drive, I'd work a second job for living expenses. I love the job THAT much.

Well, for one, you missed the point of the post entirely. I said if you already had a team and another came in with a better offer, NOT what would happen if you had no offers at all.

You DO NOT know what LeBron would do if he had the same options. Would he play the game for a lot less than he makes now? Who knows. I do know that Lebron could have played overseas this year instead of high school and made millions to do so. He could have had the 90 million dollar contract from Nike a year ago had he decided to do that, so money isn't the ONLY factor he puts into his decisions.

Lastly, you wouldn't be able to work a second job. You may make a little bit on the side in the offseason, but the major race car series are full time jobs for the drivers. Throughout the week, you meet with sponsors, do TV interviews and are in driver's meetings. It's a tough job that all of the racers love, but they get paid for more than just showing up on Sunday afternoons and racing.

TroyF

It's a fine line, one that I was not not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on. Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion. That combined with the fact that I'm running out of steam and becoming a "hater" I see the other side of this

Fine, LeBron is a good guy and has never done or said anything that should come into question by anyone. He's the blueprint of a kid who's down to earth with a good head on his shoulders. Good luck with you career LeBron, God knowns your gonna need it. You'll have enough people wishing you will fail, but I won't be one of them.

As the Beattles said "all you need is love"

-Peace

Now come on, lets be fair. The car is only worth 80k

Maybe I didn't edit it for that reason?

I think he just wasn;t thinking when he said that. It's just a stupid phrase as it is. It's not like you only have so much loyalty to go around. It's not like he can't be completely loyal to his team and Nike.

Unless Nike decides to start telling him how he should play the game and he decided to listen to them and not the coach. In that case he's a moron, since his marketing value goes down if he turns out to be the next Shawn Bradley.

At that point it's all priorities. He can be just as loyal to both as long as his priorities are in order. If they're not, he's only hurting himself.

It's amazing how quick people are to sell their soul though. Jumping for more money isn't always the answer, trust me, I'm still trapped in a downward spiral ever since I did that once. It's like I broke my karma at that point.

I'm not trying to be a jerk here. I've said many times you don't have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Yet you can't argue the point that the Cleveland Cavs and the game of basketball are the same thing. Even most "Lebron haters" can seperate the two.

I do think things he says should come into question. I also think that most of us, especially the 30+ crowd here, have enough life experience to know that 18 is a lot different than 30. I think it is important that all of it is put together and factored in as a whole. 18 year olds may be classified as adults by our society, but they say and do stupid things. I know I did when I was 18. I'm guessing most of the 30+ crowd here did as well.

You can put whatever spin on all of this that you want. I'm telling you my spin is that I think it's a cocky (not funny) 18 year old who has a lot to learn about the media and life.

TroyF

Yeah I get that. I misconstrued his words and made it seem that he said he would give basketball (not the Cavs) as much loyalty as Nike. I think EagleFan said it best when he said you needn't put a number on loyalty you can be loyal to both, and perhaps that is what James meant when he said that. Right now he's immature and naive so he doesn't get it right now, but for his sake I hope his learning curve is steep. I've seen the error of my ways and I'm through bad mouthing this guy.

I've also realized that maybe I am a little jealous I 'm only human. A cocky 18 year old has the world at his fingertips and can get whatever his whim desires while I had to slave through college to get a degree and my reward is debt and a struggle to make ends meet. Something seems unfair about that, but thats life.

I can't say for sure cause I'm not in the same situation that he is in, but I can say with some degree of confidence that I wouldn't have gone about things the way he did, even at 18. I would have been more humble and greatful for my opportunities, but then again I don't know him, I only know the way the media portrays him. Still I find some of his actions questionable.

They say the meek shall inherit the earth, and hopefully there's some truth to that.

I can't say for sure cause I'm not in the same situation that he is in, but I can say with some degree of confidence that I wouldn't have gone about things the way he did, even at 18.

I hope and pray that I would have as well. I hope and pray that if a golden goose ever came along NOW that I'd handle myself with class and dignity.

I'm fairly certain I would have on both accounts. Still, I can't be sure. I'm 18, am rich beyond my wildest dreams, get any women I want, have people 30 years my senior fawning over me and calling me the greatest of all time? I don't know for sure how I would have acted.

I know that my persona on the board can appear to be a know it all type jerk sometimes, but IRL I'm a pretty humble guy who gets along with most everyone.

I hope that this kid doesn't turn into the next Randy Moss. He starts making comments about how he doesn't need to play hard every game or play and starts running down cops, my opinion of him will change very quickly.

TroyF

A little context would help here. I took it as him trying to make light of the question. He laughed it off as he answered. Granted, there is an very interesting ethical dilemma worthy of discussion here. However, I don't think it's fair to ride this kid based on a statement taken somewhat out of context in this forum. I have read a great deal on LeBron from some people I know and trust and by and large they say he is surprisingly very well adjusted under the circumstances. I know if I had what he has at the same age I would probably not handled it as well as he does. I was intolerable enough as it was as an 18 year old without having a bunch of hucksters on my heels trying to get me to sign off on a $90M contract. Kobe, KG, and Tracy all did alright under somewhat similar circumstances. I'm willing to give LeBron the benefit of the doubt, for now.

I wonder how it will work out for him? I bet he will be pretty decent.