OT: He is coming...

[sousaman2089]

"When we went into battle, I knew I had someone to watch my back," Michael Jordan said. "Scottie Pippen, he's my guy. I love him like a brother. He pushed me to be the best basketball player every day in practice. And I pushed him to be the best Scottie Pippen he could be."

Gee, i think Michael Jordan sounded pretty happy about having Scottie with him.

[amckillip]

Pau Gasol isn't a top 10 player in the NBA.

Without a doubt. Gasol is solid but I'd take... Kobe, Lebron, DWade, Bosh, Amare, Dwight Howard, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Carmelo, Paul Pierce, Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, maybe even Garnett and Duncan plus Durant. And that was off the top of my head...

Say Kobe's a whiner(he was surrounded by no talent for years... I'd do the same), but the guy can ball.

[sousaman2089]

Joe Johnson makes me lolz
17ppg, 5.1 rebounds average for 2010 when he's considered the best player on his team.
While Pau, clearly second best on his team, 19ppg, 11.1 rebounds per game

He's easily the most offensively talented big man in the game, except Yao when he's healthy.

[Dubl R 1]

Gasol doesn't quite crack the top 10 in my book....like he said.....Wade, Bosh, Lebron, Pierce, D Williams, C Paul, Durant, Kobe, Carmelo Anthony, Roy....Id definitely would take any of those before Gasol.

However....after Kobe on the Lakers you have Gasol, Artest, Odom....all 3 of those are better than the 2nd best player on the Cavs last year...regardeless of who you pick as the 2nd best...and thats not even counting Mr Clutch...Derek Fisher.....

Sometimes I think Lebron is being Underestimated if that's possible here...what he did with that supporting caet is remarkable. Guaranteed you could put Lebron in Kobe's spot on the Lakers and he also would have won a title. Kobe on the Cavs though...Im not sure they get as many wins as they did with Lebron.

[BradleyBrave]

Gasol doesn't quite crack the top 10 in my book....like he said.....Wade, Bosh, Lebron, Pierce, D Williams, C Paul, Durant, Kobe, Carmelo Anthony, Roy....Id definitely would take any of those before Gasol.

However....after Kobe on the Lakers you have Gasol, Artest, Odom....all 3 of those are better than the 2nd best player on the Cavs last year...regardeless of who you pick as the 2nd best...and thats not even counting Mr Clutch...Derek Fisher.....

Sometimes I think Lebron is being Underestimated if that's possible here...what he did with that supporting caet is remarkable. Guaranteed you could put Lebron in Kobe's spot on the Lakers and he also would have won a title. Kobe on the Cavs though...Im not sure they get as many wins as they did with Lebron.

I agree that LBJ does get underestimated considering what he did with some weak rosters in Cleveland. Unfortunately, I think LBJ's abilities could go underutilized since he'll have to share the ball in Miami. Until I heard David Stern say otherwise, there is still only one ball.

[NSBF]

A "King" does not relinquish his throne! Jordan allowed the Bulls to build around him with Pippen/Grant and later by adding Rodman/Harper, but by and large it was MJ who was the leader of the Bulls.

Magic was drafted by the Lakers, but left the game as the all time assist leader until Stockton broke that record. But even as a rookie almost had a triple double playing center against the Sixers in the NBA finals, something like 42 pts, 10 reb, 9 asst! Kareem may have been the all-time scoring leader, but Magic quickly established himself as the catalyst that made "Showtime" a feature in LA.

That being said, the Heat is Dwyane Wade's team. No If's, And's, or But's about it! If the clock is winding down and LeBron has the ball in his hands, I'm comfortable he'd pass the ball to another player to take the last shot. He's proven that he can get a triple double and be an all around player. If the clocks winding down and Wade has the ball in his hands.......He's Shootin'! Why? Because it's his team! He's the only guy out of the "little 3" with a ring!

At the end of the day, Lebron doesn't owe Cleveland anything. I can live with his decision of going to Miami because I've never seen him as being the best player in the game. I think he gets by because he's a big guy who can dribble like a PG, can shoot and can absorb contact going to the basket. He's Magic with Dwight Howards body! Talented? Yes! Best player in the game? Suspect! Can't see any evidence of him making anyone on Cleveland better than they were during his seven years there!

[VeveJones007]

There is only one Michael Jordan. No one will have a legacy like MJ. And MJ did have that killer instinct, but he never would have won ANY championships if the Bulls never got Scottie and his legacy would be a lot closer to Jerry West's legacy then the MJ we know if he never got Scottie.

The Cavs were in no way able to get Lebron a great player, so he left.

Kobe pouted and wined like a BABY when he had no great players around him. He demanded a trade so many times. He conceded he couldn't win without another great player. So they got Gasol, who is definitely a top 10 current NBA player.

Lebron's 1 hour special was a stupid mistake, but a stupid mistake most 25 year olds would make if given the chance.

The point is that LeBron had the chance to create an MJ or Kobe-like legacy by going anywhere but Miami. If going somewhere and winning was all he wanted, then he should have gone to Chicago where he would win and be the top guy on the team. Instead he said that he didn't really want the pressure at the end of the game by going to Wade's team.

I don't understand how people don't see the irony of him calling himself the King all these years only to go play sidekick to Dwayne in "Wade" County. Clearly he doesn't want to be the King.

[VeveJones007]

A "King" does not relinquish his throne! Jordan allowed the Bulls to build around him with Pippen/Grant and later by adding Rodman/Harper, but by and large it was MJ who was the leader of the Bulls.

Magic was drafted by the Lakers, but left the game as the all time assist leader until Stockton broke that record. But even as a rookie almost had a triple double playing center against the Sixers in the NBA finals, something like 42 pts, 10 reb, 9 asst! Kareem may have been the all-time scoring leader, but Magic quickly established himself as the catalyst that made "Showtime" a feature in LA.

That being said, the Heat is Dwyane Wade's team. No If's, And's, or But's about it! If the clock is winding down and LeBron has the ball in his hands, I'm comfortable he'd pass the ball to another player to take the last shot. He's proven that he can get a triple double and be an all around player. If the clocks winding down and Wade has the ball in his hands.......He's Shootin'! Why? Because it's his team! He's the only guy out of the "little 3" with a ring!

At the end of the day, Lebron doesn't owe Cleveland anything. I can live with his decision of going to Miami because I've never seen him as being the best player in the game. I think he gets by because he's a big guy who can dribble like a PG, can shoot and can absorb contact going to the basket. He's Magic with Dwight Howards body! Talented? Yes! Best player in the game? Suspect! Can't see any evidence of him making anyone on Cleveland better than they were during his seven years there!

Agree with everything but the last paragraph. LeBron made bums like Varajao and Daniel Gibson look like decent NBA regulars. LeBron makes the players around him better because he usually defers.

The thing that truly makes this a waste is that LeBron's potential is through the roof. He could be better than anyone who's ever played...but he doesn't want to be. He doesn't want to lead. The reason it's disappointing is because us fans won't get to see him try to reach his true potential.

[BradleyBrave]

I don't understand how people don't see the irony of him calling himself the King all these years only to go play sidekick to Dwayne in "Wade" County. Clearly he doesn't want to be the King.

Nope. He wants to be the 'Deputy' of Wade County.

[Dubl R 1]

Look I don't care either way, but let me ask this.....So, If Lebron goes to Miami..averages more points, rebounds and assists than Wade...is it still Wades team?....or is Wade really gonna be the Pippen to Lebron?......I think Lebron is a better overall player than Wade...and this could be a real possibility.

[BradleyBrave]

Look I don't care either way, but let me ask this.....So, If Lebron goes to Miami..averages more points, rebounds and assists than Wade...is it still Wades team?....or is Wade really gonna be the Pippen to Lebron?......I think Lebron is a better overall player than Wade...and this could be a real possibility.

In this whole charade it's been clear that Wade is the alpha here. He's been the decision maker, he's been the one pulling the strings. He's the one with the ring and 7 years of tenure. Why would anything change? Being the better player doesn't appear to be important to LBJ at this point. Check out this week's SI cover if you need more evidence of that. The deputy barely makes it on the cover...a cover he once owned.

[Dubl R 1]

In this whole charade it's been clear that Wade is the alpha here. He's been the decision maker, he's been the one pulling the strings. He's the one with the ring and 7 years of tenure. Why would anything change? Being the better player doesn't appear to be important to LBJ at this point. Check out this week's SI cover if you need more evidence of that. The deputy barely makes it on the cover...a cover he once owned.

OK...but I ask you...If he goes there and outperforms Wade...then what?

[BradleyBrave]

OK...but I ask you...If he goes there and outperforms Wade...then what?

I don't know. Just because a guy scores more points than Wade doesn't mean it isn't still his team. If the pendulum started to swing that way from a true leadership perspective, there may be tension among the ranks. But LBJ has never shown himself to be the leadership type so I don't think that's going to happen. Being the leader isn't always about scoring the most points.

[Dubl R 1]

I don't know. Just because a guy scores more points than Wade doesn't mean it isn't still his team. If the pendulum started to swing that way from a true leadership perspective, there may be tension among the ranks. But LBJ has never shown himself to be the leadership type so I don't think that's going to happen. Being the leader isn't always about scoring the most points.

I didn't say just points......He was a leader on Cleveland's team..just didn't have enough firepower behind him......It wouldn't surprise me at all if he becomes the best player on that Miami team...and leads them with his play.

[BradleyBrave]

I didn't say just points......He was a leader on Cleveland's team..just didn't have enough firepower behind him......It wouldn't surprise me at all if he becomes the best player on that Miami team...and leads them with his play.

Being the best or most talented player doesn't necessarily make you the leader. Leaders don't quit during the playoffs. And he had enough firepower to win 60+ games 2 years in a row, so I think he had enough to win with.