** Sorry on that Tim came out of high school inference .. I meant it for KG. Also .. ignore what reads like Lebron won a chip like KG .. you know what I meant.

The comparison of Lebron to Jordan was always stupid. The only similarity they have is that they can both fly through the air and score a lot of points. He crumbles in late game situations and unlike Jordan he doesn't know modesty, hard work and is spoiled.

Stickz24
I agree with Stickz24 300%. I'm a basketball fan of the NBA and NBA 2K. I loved the intensity of Ai in his younger years and the shear will to win of KG. Over time I've grown to like Kobe as a person from the 18 year old (now his 30's) I was looking up to at the age of 12. I'm a year younger than LBJ.

Business
Business is something that has no friends, no nobility, no humility because, business is just business whether good or bad business, business is business.
If the gaming market were under one roof, it would be on par with any fortune 500 business. The gaming industry has too many heads which is why it's hard to invest in this market (too high of a risk).
The same can be said for Cleveland, getting Lebron was just business. If you don't nuture your business it will not grow and your investors will leave creating a high risk investment situation.

Players
Larry Bird
Magic Johnson
Isiha Tompson
Michael Jordan
David Robinson
Shaq
Kobe

These players did not win on mediocre teams. The front office of these champions were able to surround each player with talent close to their own. Jordan stands out among them all as being far beyond his teammates talent level as does Shaq.
I mentioned those players b/c of Miami's current situation. The only difference between Miami's move to acquire Bosh and James from past champions is that it was so bold and sudden. It's a bold time period that we live in today.

TEAM
Kobe, Gasol, Artest, Odom, Bynum, Fisher (Phil Jackson)
Shaq, Kobe, Fisher, Horry* (Phil Jackson)
Bird, Parrish, Mchale, Johnson, Danny Ainge
Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Scott (Pat Riley)
Robinson, Duncan, Parker, Ginoblli, Bowen, Horry*
The Bad Boyz (need I say more)
Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Kerr, Kukoc, Harper, Longley (Phil Jackson)

Lebron James was unfortunate in not having a good coach, and not being part of a winning organization. LBJ put in 6 years and his organization did not put anyone around him aside from Mo Williams that would give him a chance at the title. I could only imagine if Jamison sat down those games last year what could have been (POOR COACHING).

LBJ almost averaged a triple double for the playoffs last year. He was doomed to become like Ai, right or wrong?

Winning
You cannot win by yourself in the NBA. It's been proven many times over that your team must have a minimum of 3 outstanding players, coach and organization must be oustanding.

Coaching
Coaching matters, the Lakers have had 2 coaches since 1982 win championships Pat Riley and Phil Jackson. Chicago has only won with Phil Jackson. For the past 30 years it's been a battle between Pat and Phil and this maybe Pat Riley last chance to go at Phil Jackson. It's a good chance that this is Phil last season. Phil 11 rings vs Pat 5 Rings They have 16 of the last 30 rings. The last time New York won a championship was with Phil Jackson.

Organization (past 10 years)
Currently their are only a few winners out there. Los Angeles, San Antonio, Boston, Miami and Detroit. It now becomes really simple to choose a winner that fits your current situation. Miami. Now the league has 2 great east teams and 2 great west teams.

Closing
Would you wait for a losing organization to get it right or go to a winning organization to win before it's to late and regret not using your own common sense or intellect. Players know more about the business side of the NBA than they used to.

The Problem
People don't realize that the young man is his own author.

Marmalada
How doesn't LeBron know hard work. What 250 pound basketball player do you know on LeBron level as a physical specimen. You gotta work damn hard to stay in his kind of shape. He shot better from 3 point range than Kobe not to mention the man averages 7 ast and 7 trb per game for his career. Seriously, the man don't know hard work LMAO.A man that's been playing 40 min a game for his career so far.A man that didn't grow up even knowing his real father.

The biggest difference between Jordan and Lebron is that Jordan didn't pass the ball as much until he had to because, of the system Phil Jackson brought which encourages ball movement. Guess what, Jordan still didn't pass that much.

I'm a Ai and Melo fan forever but as I get older, I just enjoy watching all these guys play.

Comparing anyone aside from Kobe to MJ is just wrong anyway. But to say that man don't know hard work, are you serious. How much hard work does basketball take.

Back in the day dudes rarely worked out or hit weights. Malone was one of the first hitting the weights in the NBA.

I completely agree with IV THA UNITY, Freak 123, and Stickz24. You all covered most of what I was going to say.

I wish people would think about the entire situation instead taking what popular sports commentary says and running with it. Half of today's sports talking heads don't know what they are talking about, such as people like Skip Bayless.

How come nobody chews into Garnett for leaving the Timberwolves? He carried that teams for years and did all he could do for them. He had the emotional interview with John Thompson where he was crying talking about how he was sick of losing, and everybody felt where he was coming from. So he did what was best for his career and went to a franchise with much more potential to win and they did. And everyone was happy for him except for Lakers fans.

Fast Forward, now Lebron is doing the same. How could you possibly have a problem with that? He said it himself, he said "I don't want to be 31 with bad knees and no championships". If you were a great player, would you want to join the Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Reggie Miller, Allen Iverson club?

It wasn't like he requested a trade, he was a FREE agent to sign wherever he wanted to be. The NBA is a business and when you can no longer play, they will not take care of you. I can't fault a man for taking his career into his own hands instead of doing what other people thought would be best for him.

And people say they would've like him to go to New York or Chicago but let's be real, New York sucks and has sucked for a long time and I don't see it getting much better even with Amare. And after Jordan wouldn't give him the nod of approval he was seeking at the game last season when the Cavs played the Heat, Lebron for DAMN sure was not going to go to Chicago to attempt to walk in his footsteps. It was already bad enough he wore #23 up until this point in his career.

Cleveland management had 7 years to get it right and they failed. The same way the Timberwolves management failed.

@ Stickz24, you hit a lot of nails but I gotta get @ pHILKizer real quick: Garnett was traded. Garnett never demanded a trade publicly, always showed his loyalty to that organization for takin a chance on him when they did when at the time he was the first high school kid drafted since Moses Malone. Most people would agree that Minnesota realizing that it's window had closed with KG and the talent they had would not be able to compete with the upper echelon of the league, did Garnett the favor by trading him. Garnett, one of the most passionate, most loyal, and most respected guys in the league, Minnie did him that favor for everything he brought to that organization. If you didn't know that or forgot about that side of the story, don't worry about it but that why I used KG.

Now @ Stickz24, man you say so many poignant things and they make a ton of sense. I don't know if it came out this way but let me make it clear; I do not hate the guy. I'm a huge fan of his talent and what he brings to the game. Trust me, when ever they come MSG here in NYC, I will be in attendance snapping pics of the trio. When the season starts, I'm sure most of us will forget about the whole summer that was 2010 when it relates to LBJ and just focus on the sport we all love.

Again, to all those that maybe thought my position was one of hate towards Lebron individually, I DO NOT HATE THE MAN. I RESPECT AND ADMIRE HIS TALENT TO THE UTMOST. I didn't even bring up the race part of his piece with Soledad O'Brien, because it wasn't relevant to my argument about him. My argument has been that he says one thing, but his actions reflect the exact opposite of his position.

That's why I keep bringing up the dancing and all that. His game is his game and yes he will go down as one of the best players to ever lace em' up. He is awesome to watch, his unselfishness on the court as well as off the court (sharing his MVP celebrations with his teammates, making his childhood friends his business partners) is something we all can respect about this guy. But when you say you respect your opponents and then break out the crip walk on em when your up by 25 in the 3rd quarter.....that to me just doesn't look like. You win and lose with humility. Trash talking is one thing, everyone does that to some extent. But as the face of the league (which he has been for the last 3 or 4 years), I don't think its ok to do those things. I know if I was a pro, I'd really have a problem if LBJ and his teammates did that in my house or did that to my team in his house. When your a kid, coaches teach us not to rub it in, show respect to the game and play the right way.

Saying that doesn't mean I don't like his game. Again, I love his game and you cannot have a better ambassoder for the game of basketball. It's a long ways away from the me first kind of talent we had in the 90's (think Sprewell, Marbury, Iverson). Guys Like LBJ, like Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade and CP3, don't play for stats, just play to there abilities and really preach teamwork and it's genuine. These are the kind of guys we need leading the league going forward as the late 90's crop starts to fade out.

P.S.
@ Stickz24, that was a dope reference to Jay. About LBJ exceeding the expectations, it's amazing that he has as very very few guys in any sport do it the way he has. Again I'm 26, LBJ is 25 (born in the same year but I'm born in January as he is December) and I can't imagine dealing with what he has to deal with at this age. That, I want someone who is the face of a league to show a bit more professionalism and tact.

1980: Magic Johnson - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1982: Magic Johnson - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Bob McAdoo
1984: Larry Bird - Kevin McHale - Robert Parish - Dennis Johnson
1985: Magic Johnson - Kareem Adbul-Jabbar - James Worthy - Bob McAdoo
1986: Larry Bird - Kevin McHale - Robert Parish - Dennis Johnson - Bill Walton
1987: Magic Johnson - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - James Worthy
1988: Magic Johnson - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - James Worthy
1989: Joe Dumars - Dennis Rodman - Isiah Thomas - Bill Laimbeer - Vinnie Johnson
1990: Joe Dumars - Dennis Rodman - Isiah Thomas - Bill Laimbeer - Vinnie Johnson
1991: Michael Jordan - Scottie Pippen - Horace Grant
1992: Michael Jordan - Scottie Pippen - Horace Grant
1993: Michael Jordan - Scottie Pippen - Horace Grant
1994: Sam Cassell - Hakeem Olajuwon - Robert Horry
1995: Sam Cassell - Hakeem Olajuwon - Robert Horry - Clyde Drexler
1996: Michael Jordan - Scottie Pippen - Dennis Rodman - Toni Kukoc
1997: Michael Jordan - Scottie Pippen - Dennis Rodman - Toni Kukoc
1998: Michael Jordan - Scottie Pippen - Dennis Rodman - Toni Kukoc
1999: Tim Duncan - David Robinson
2000: Kobe Bryant - Shaquille O'neal - Robert Horry - Glen Rice
2001: Kobe Bryant - Shaquille O'neal - Robert Horry
2002: Kobe Bryant - Shaquille O'neal - Robert Horry
2003: Tim Duncan - David Robinson - Tony Parker - Manu Ginobli
2004: Chauncey Billups - Richard Hamilton - Tayshaun Prince - Rasheed Wallace - Ben Wallace
2005: Tim Duncan - Tony Parker - Manu Ginobli
2006: Dwyane Wade - Shaquille O'neal
2007: Tim Duncan - Tony Parker - Manu Ginobli
2008: Paul Pierce - Ray Allen - Kevin Garnett - Rajon Rondo
2009: Kobe Bryant - Pau Gasol - Andrew Bynum - Lamar Odom - Trevor Ariza
2010: Kobe Bryant - Pau Gasol - Andrew Bynum - Lamar Odom - Ron Artest

Not all key players are listed, but you get the point. I don't blame LeBron at all, because once the league has used you up, they're gonna ship you out like everybody else that can no longer entertain.
The dude is 26yrs old, and he's taking more shots to the face than a porn star, give the kid a break, he's already dealing with the pressure of entertaining you unappreciative hounds.

@ Best_Gamer_Alive....true...but then I guess your forget about Michael Jordan publicly bashing his teammates also demanding better talent. I didn't knock him for his decision as I've said over and over in my rebuttal's. Do me a favor and re-read my posts to guys like Stickz24....he gets it, in addition to the guys you named. Mostly everyone that has posted responses gets it, however maybe I didn't convey my point as clear as I thought as I did (like Stickz24 said, this was more of an emotional response to something than a technically sound response) but I've rephrased it, restated it and made it nice and clear: I DON'T HATE THE MAN, I RESPECT HIS GAME, I LOVE HIS GAME, I JUST HATE THAT SOMETIMES HIS ACTIONS ON THE COURT ARE A MICROCOSM OF HIS WORDS HE SPEAKS. He says one thing, but he does another, I would just prefer him to be what his actions portray or be what he says he is. Thats all.

Aight Scat .. glad to see you landed the right way man. I definitely don't condone the immaturity. Jordan, Miller, even your Kobe .. but those guys were from a different cloth. How do I say this properly .. you'll get it. But I'm doing it for my own communications skills. Mike, Kobe, Miller, etc. - came from a more cultured background .. and esp Mike .. where he was lacking .. the times and his college experiences helped mold him. He was still a bit of an outlaw ..sneakers, shorts, chains .. but never that radical. One of Mike's biggest criticisms was that he was never an activist .. he knew his role and contributed to the "cause" within the scope of his own talents. Lebron comes from that single parent upbringing .. that most of us have seen at one point. He's learning FAST .. but he's obviously not as "cultured" as those guys. Other examples .. Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony .. you know why these guys aren't gettign the types of endorsements Mike got .. there's just that little bit extra in their inunciations .. their mannerisms .. that no amount of media training etc can fix. It's just who they are .. For some of them .. our language that is hip hop is indelibly imprinted in their mental blueprints (Carmelo). Dwight, Lebron, and Wade are just good ole urban kids whose tongues flow in the colloqiual we speak. When they have to speak "properly" .. just can sense that lil bit of discomfort - albeit vaguely recognizable these days.
Long story short .. I def feel you on his mannerisms - but again, 25 yr old kid with not too much of the kind of acculturation you need to kill em at that level ..(Mike had the perfect mix .. It's crazy - lil country, lil urban --definitely black .. but clearly very articulate in his own self ) - even Tiger doesn't have it like Mike did .. Ali tops Mike .. but he was a bit too real for them. Mike was more tailored for the masses . But you get it tho.
What you are watching though .. Scat is his learning process. Politicians do this for a living .. and **** up constantly. That media scrutiny is rediculous - And so every time he tests the limits .. Ima just do me - **** it. Ok I'ma be a little more PC this time? Was that not enough - More? Man, **** these people I'm tired of this .. I'll do me .. go sue. Ok I can't be buggin like that .. I'll tighten up. All of that becomes the picture of his inconsistency. Too many psycho, social and environmental issues to hit in one sit .. but you get my drift. He's just going thru the same motions you would have probably gone thru.

End of the day tho - enjoy your fandom (and "hate" .. (I know, I know) .. a little. ****ing spoiled bratty *** kid sleeping on a golden bed .. **** that ***** >> Scat -- I'm hoping you're on the 360 man. Show you how we get deep on and off the court (no fish-sticks .. lol) - forgive the misspells and connect the dots cause I'm damn sure not editing this.

Ayo Scat .. If I took credit for flipping the tone of this thread .. would I be feeling myself? Just scan it over .. scream at me brah.

Also .. scan your initial post again. I like that it's tightened up now. You think it would read the same way if you had to write it over? Just curious.

Read it again .. I was feeling myself a little .. some other cats touched on it a bit. I kinda went the psycho analytic route .. but its all poop at the end of the day. Flush em kid.

Last one .. my bad. I'm from BK fam - grew up in Coney Island .. Marlboro Projects - went to Lafayette HS. Tryna do some big things w myself these days .. but that's where the seed was planted.

I honestly believe that this whole thing is much simplier then anyone wants to admit.

Lebron James, mentally, is much closer to Scottie Pippen, then he is Michael Jordan, then any of use realized.

I agree with the write up, for the most part. Lebron certainly doesn't win many fans over with his actions, only with his basketball skills.