Jordan comments on LeBron

[Kush77]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5391478

"There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team,' " Jordan said after playing in a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada. "But that's ... things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys."

 

[TheStig]

Its amazing, Bron could have gone down as the goat. But now he will never be in that consideration. He really didn't need those two to win multiple rings.

 

[mdot1986]

TheStig wrote:

Its amazing, Bron could have gone down as the goat. But now he will never be in that consideration. He really didn't need those two to win multiple rings.

Maybe he does. Maybe he can't stand up to the pressure of carrying a team nightly. Apparently, he can't inspire players to play at higher levels(see Mo Williams). So it was easier for him to join self-starters/stars(plural) in their own rights. He really punked out and took the easy road...HE'S LESS OF A COMPETITOR AND MORE OF A RING CHASER.

 

[TheStig]

mdot1986 wrote:

TheStig wrote:

Its amazing, Bron could have gone down as the goat. But now he will never be in that consideration. He really didn't need those two to win multiple rings.

Maybe he does. Maybe he can't stand up to the pressure of carrying a team nightly. Apparently, he can't inspire players to play at higher levels(see Mo Williams). So it was easier for him to join self-starters/stars(plural) in their own rights. He really punked out and took the easy road...HE'S LESS OF A COMPETITOR AND MORE OF A RING CHASER.

But he didn't have to carry a team every night. He needed to get on a real team. Are you telling me he would have to carry the load here everynight? I am sure Rose, Boozer and Noah could easily carry the load most nights for him.

 

[mdot1986]

TheStig wrote:

mdot1986 wrote:

TheStig wrote:

Its amazing, Bron could have gone down as the goat. But now he will never be in that consideration. He really didn't need those two to win multiple rings.

Maybe he does. Maybe he can't stand up to the pressure of carrying a team nightly. Apparently, he can't inspire players to play at higher levels(see Mo Williams). So it was easier for him to join self-starters/stars(plural) in their own rights. He really punked out and took the easy road...HE'S LESS OF A COMPETITOR AND MORE OF A RING CHASER.

But he didn't have to carry a team every night. He needed to get on a real team. Are you telling me he would have to carry the load here everynight? I am sure Rose, Boozer and Noah could easily carry the load most nights for him.

Carrying a team goes beyond scoring the most points. It also involves leading your team emotionally, holding everyone accountable, making people play raise their level of play etc. So as far as carrying the scoring load, no Lebron would not have had to do that every night here. He would have still been the Leader...like in Cleveland...or any other team he went to that wasn't D Wade's team.

NEWS FLASH: He's on a real team now that has a legitimate chance to win it all for a while. But the pressure will be less on Lebron. Now he can share that pressure with Wade and Bosh. Also, like I said, he now can't prove that he can make players better b/c he teamed up with the best.

 

[TheStig]

All at the cost of his legacy. He will have rings but they won't get him into goat talks. He also wouldn't have had to do much emotional carrying here, Rose was already a star, same with boozer, he just would have gotten all the credit.

 

[houheffna]

At least on this forum, GOAT talk is absolutely stupid and senseless. Just read the posts comparing Jordan and Kobe...I feel sorry for people who think some of those thoughts, and consider themselves credible in such an argument. I think people who are not objective should remove themselves from that conversation....seriously.

As time passes, I am just ready for the games to be played. I think Lebron has more talent than any player to ever play, how that manifests on the court? We will see...

By the way, Jordan might not have gone to Miami, but...as I sit here thinking...is he a little angry because Charlotte will be a nonfactor for another decade because of a team in the same division?

 

[clonetrooper264]

Maybe when it comes down to it, Lebron doesn't want to be the GOAT...maybe he just wants to have lots of rings. If that's the case, this decision makes perfect sense.

 

[mdot1986]

houheffna wrote:

At least on this forum, GOAT talk is absolutely stupid and senseless. Just read the posts comparing Jordan and Kobe...I feel sorry for people who think some of those thoughts, and consider themselves credible in such an argument. I think people who are not objective should remove themselves from that conversation....seriously.

As time passes, I am just ready for the games to be played. I think Lebron has more talent than any player to ever play, how that manifests on the court? We will see...

By the way, Jordan might not have gone to Miami, but...as I sit here thinking...is he a little angry because Charlotte will be a nonfactor for another decade because of a team in the same division?

Im ready for the games to be played as well. I do believe though that with all of Lebron's skill his decision to "collude" rather than "compete" takes away from his GOAT eligibility. It's not only about winning rings and putting up numbers but how you go about doing it.

By the way, anyone think '98 Jordan could have won a 'ship with '10 Cleveland Cavs(-Lebron of course)???

 

[NealKleren]

If he didnt care about being the GOAT and just wanted to win some rings then he made the right choice. But IMO no you cannot but him up there with the other greats of Magic,Bird,and Jordan and even Kobe now IMO. He should no longer be referred to as King James anymore.

 

[Shakes]

I think it's pretty clear LeBron doesn't give a crap about whether people will consider him the greatest. It looks like LeBron just wants to make himself happy and doesn't feel the need to prove himself to someone else's standards. Yeah he handled the free agency and announcement badly, but as far as the decision he's made, good for him for being his own person and doing it his way.

Obviously nobody knows who the real MJ is other than MJ, but if the hall of fame induction speech is any indication, his ultra-competitiveness and need to prove himself to the world comes at the cost of him burning over every insult, real or perceived, that he's ever received in his life.

 

[TheStig]

Wow someone really carries the torch for Kobe. Just because I don't consider him top 5 all time doesn't invalidate my opinion.

The reason I am disappointed other than the obvious reason of wanting Bron here was because he is clearly the best player of his generation and it sucks to see him tarnish a reputation that could have rivaled MJ's. It also destroys parity in the league. The dynasty bulls never had such a disproportionate level of talent to other top teams. I think this move is going to hurt the nba a lot.

 

[houheffna]

Wow someone really carries the torch for Kobe. Just because I don't consider him top 5 all time doesn't invalidate my opinion.

The reason I am disappointed other than the obvious reason of wanting Bron here was because he is clearly the best player of his generation and it sucks to see him tarnish a reputation that could have rivaled MJ's. It also destroys parity in the league. The dynasty bulls never had such a disproportionate level of talent to other top teams. I think this move is going to hurt the nba a lot.

Your opinion is not invalid just because its your opinion, its invalid because its stupid.

All I am saying is if you cannot look at the subject objectively, I think it would be mature to recuse yourself.

I disliked Isiah, hell, I disliked Kobe! But I know greatness when I see it and I don't talk stupid to sully the legacy of a player because I don't like him.

I dislike Lebron's antics, yet I have no problem giving an honest assessment of his talents.

And spare me the "clearly the best player of his generation" stuff...another veiled shot at Bryant, who has 5 rings to none for Lebron...give me a break...

 

[TheStig]

houheffna wrote:

Wow someone really carries the torch for Kobe. Just because I don't consider him top 5 all time doesn't invalidate my opinion.

The reason I am disappointed other than the obvious reason of wanting Bron here was because he is clearly the best player of his generation and it sucks to see him tarnish a reputation that could have rivaled MJ's. It also destroys parity in the league. The dynasty bulls never had such a disproportionate level of talent to other top teams. I think this move is going to hurt the nba a lot.

Your opinion is not invalid just because its your opinion, its invalid because its stupid.

All I am saying is if you cannot look at the subject objectively, I think it would be mature to recuse yourself.

I disliked Isiah, hell, I disliked Kobe! But I know greatness when I see it and I don't talk stupid to sully the legacy of a player because I don't like him.

I dislike Lebron's antics, yet I have no problem giving an honest assessment of his talents.

And spare me the "clearly the best player of his generation" stuff...another veiled shot at Bryant, who has 5 rings to none for Lebron...give me a break...

I don't see how I am not objective about it. I didn't say Kobe isn't a hof player or a all time great, I just think he falls in the 10-20 range and not the #2 spot. His off the court issues have something to do with it too but on the court, he still isn't #2 to me.

I really dislike Bron now but objectively, he is better than Kobe was at 25. Its a shame he killed his legacy and really could have gone down as #1 or #2 all time. He had all the tools to be up there. Clearly you can't compare the two of their full careers but Bron was trending higher imo.

 

[houheffna]

I don't see how I am not objective about it. I didn't say Kobe isn't a hof player or a all time great, I just think he falls in the 10-20 range and not the #2 spot. His off the court issues have something to do with it too but on the court, he still isn't #2 to me.

I really dislike Bron now but objectively, he is better than Kobe was at 25. Its a shame he killed his legacy and really could have gone down as #1 or #2 all time. He had all the tools to be up there. Clearly you can't compare the two of their full careers but Bron was trending higher imo.

Lebron is better than Kobe and Jordan at 25. I saw Jordan at that time and he was absolutely dominant. However he was 200 pounds. Lebron is freakishly on another level from those guys....

 

[TheStig]

houheffna wrote:

I don't see how I am not objective about it. I didn't say Kobe isn't a hof player or a all time great, I just think he falls in the 10-20 range and not the #2 spot. His off the court issues have something to do with it too but on the court, he still isn't #2 to me.

I really dislike Bron now but objectively, he is better than Kobe was at 25. Its a shame he killed his legacy and really could have gone down as #1 or #2 all time. He had all the tools to be up there. Clearly you can't compare the two of their full careers but Bron was trending higher imo.

Lebron is better than Kobe and Jordan at 25. I saw Jordan at that time and he was absolutely dominant. However he was 200 pounds. Lebron is freakishly on another level from those guys....

I disagree, I think MJ was better at 25. He was a better scorer and defender. Bron has the advantage physically but Jordan was better. He also played in a league with hand check rules versus anything is a foul today.

 

[Shakes]

TheStig wrote:

I disagree, I think MJ was better at 25. He was a better scorer and defender. Bron has the advantage physically but Jordan was better. He also played in a league with hand check rules versus anything is a foul today.

And LeBron is a better passer and rebounder. Also the thing about fouls is simply not true, when Jordan was 25 there were around 10% more fouls called than today.

 

[TheStig]

Shakes wrote:

TheStig wrote:

I disagree, I think MJ was better at 25. He was a better scorer and defender. Bron has the advantage physically but Jordan was better. He also played in a league with hand check rules versus anything is a foul today.

And LeBron is a better passer and rebounder. Also the thing about fouls is simply not true, when Jordan was 25 there were around 10% more fouls called than today.

I still take MJ. He had a killer instinct and never backed down. Bron is the better passer and rebounder but I take the better score and defender. And are you doubting that the game was more physical back then despite the number of fouls.

 

[Shakes]

Sure it was more physical, but if anything a more physical game would help LeBron, he's built like a tank.

 

[houheffna]

The game was more physical then...but what does that have to do with skill level? Lebron has accomplished more if you want to go there. Trip to the finals, 2 mvps, etc.

Plus, Lebron, at his size, would have terrorized those guys back then. You do realize he is bigger than Laimbeer and Mahorn were back then right? However rough the league was, those guys couldn't get physical like that with Lebron, that would lose limbs...