Am i the only one who has GAINED respect for LeBron?

[MMKM]

yep, LeBron is no dumbass, unlike some of these NBA fans on this board.

co-signed

[DuMa]

Im still conflicted. Part of me says he made a great decision in sacrificing so many personal accolades, glory and money to put himself in a position to win the ultimate prize in sports. a championship.

but the other part of me questions in the fashion he did it in. alienating cleveland with tons of media coverage only to diss them in the face like that. dan gilbert may be unprofessional and very mad, but cleveland didnt really deserve that kind of heartbreak.

its truly a unique situation since its never happened like this before. but you can probably say lebron brought this upon himself. he didnt really need the hour special on ESPN to make his decision but he did it anyway. i think thats what Cleveland feels worse about. but in time they will heal and they will move on.

[Ken_Masters]

One of the biggest athletes of our generation has just performed one of the most unselfish acts i have ever seen. I have gained a TON of respect for this guy.

[MayCeltics]

They ain't getting past Celtics.

Negatives outweighs the positive. I guess he left a lot money and ego on the table to go to Miami. But what he did to Cleveland was wrong. He put them through hell for 2 years, and then leaves. And to proclaim it on national TV makes it worse.

[jstern]

Maybe his legacy will be tarnished a little bit, but how could you not be impressed with him turning down all that money and the chance to be the King in New York, just for the sake of winning rings? This goes against everything i ever thought about LeBron. I always assumed that he cared more about his "brand" than anything else. He totally proved me wrong, and showed that he cares more about winning. He is willing to be scrutinized instead of loved and adored, just for the sake of winning. An incredible display of courage to step out and do what he believes is right, instead of what everybody else wants for him. I applaud LeBron for this.

He did what was right for him, but there are a lot of people who are going to dislike him no matter what, who are not very objective.

[LA_Showtime]

Im still conflicted. Part of me says he made a great decision in sacrificing so many personal accolades, glory and money to put himself in a position to win the ultimate prize in sports. a championship.

but the other part of me questions in the fashion he did it in. alienating cleveland with tons of media coverage only to diss them in the face like that. dan gilbert may be unprofessional and very mad, but cleveland didnt really deserve that kind of heartbreak.

its truly a unique situation since its never happened like this before. but you can probably say lebron brought this upon himself. he didnt really need the hour special on ESPN to make his decision but he did it anyway. i think thats what Cleveland feels worse about. but in time they will heal and they will move on.

I sort of feel cheated. I don't know how else to word it. I feel like he's cheated everyone out of seeing just how good LeBron James could have been.

[Ken_Masters]

He did what was right for him, but there are a lot of people who are going to dislike him no matter what, who are not very objective.

LeBron sacrificed everything for the chance to go and play with his friends. It's obvious that the guy really is young at heart. All he wants to do is HAVE FUN while doing his job at the same time. I see him in a much different light now.

[DuMa]

I sort of feel cheated. I don't know how else to word it. I feel like he's cheated everyone out of seeing just how good LeBron James could have been.

i think we all have a great idea of how good LBJ can be. so i dont think he's quite peaked yet. statistically yeah, he peaked a while ago but he still has lots of fundamental things to learn in Miami. he just never developed them in Cleveland because he was asked to carry the team night and night out.

[Ken_Masters]

I sort of feel cheated. I don't know how else to word it. I feel like he's cheated everyone out of seeing just how good LeBron James could have been.

It's understandable i guess. We all watched as KG went from a skinny teenager who needed a cheeseburger, to a bonafide superstar/franchise player. We saw KG's full potential. But, what good is all of that if you're not winning? I think there comes a point in time when guys just want to get back to their roots. They want to rediscover why they're playing the game in the first place. LeBron is taking it back to his high school days, when he had fun playing with his friends, and only cared about the game. In the day and age that we live in with selfish athletes who care about the dollar more than the game, this is beyond refreshing to me.

[Go Getter]

People act like Lebron did something that many stars haven't done in the past.

Dirk just took less money also.

Lebron just pulled a ***** move on his hometown/home state.

He could have won a title in Cleveland by taking less money also....or he could have given it his all against the Celts and made it to the finals.

[Showtime]

Who was Lebron's college rival? Oh right, there wasn't one...

Who was Lebron's heated rival in the NBA? Oh right, there wasn't one...

Bird v Magic shouldn't be compared to Lebron's choice to leave.

[Rake2204]

I am a Pistons fan, but I have lost respect for LeBron James after this evening's events.

I struggle to put my thoughts into words, but I feel as though the right move in this unique situation would be to remain with the Cavaliers and continue to try to make it happen for his home state and home city. I understand his Cavs teams (including two 60+ win teams the last two years) have not won a title in his 7 years, but I do not understand why that means it makes sense now to just give up on a home city and look for the surest, most stacked deal out there instead.

Again, I understand there's reasoning for his decision, but sometimes. . .I feel that winning isn't everything.

[kentatm]

You could flip LeBron with Duncan on the Spurs title teams and ISH would proclaim he was playing with trash when they didn't win the title.

[AMISTILLILL]

I definitely respect the guy more than ever before. He would have been mired in mediocrity in Cleveland. He gave them seven years of his life and took them deeper into the playoffs than anybody and had minimal support from the front office the entire time. They had SEVEN YEARS to surround him with talent and they only began making strides towards some semblance of a contending team last season. Now, their majority owner throws a temper tantrum on the internet and through media outlets because he lost a bunch of money?

The guy learned from the mistake guys like Garnett made. You don't want to be past your prime and staring down the barrel of various "what if..." scenarios someday. Take the opportunity now while you still can. The only people who are offended by this are clearly biased due to their affiliation with the Cleveland fanbase or their agenda that supports another team or player.

[kuzdeen]

dude left 30 million on the table and took a pay cut .. tell how many players will do that ??