I know this cannot be said for other people or the NBA community, but LBJs legacy is somewhat tarnished for me. On a basic level, I cant fault the guy for trying to win, but at the same time, when it comes to the greatest ever conversations, I mark him off a point or two. Lets take the Decisions off of the table. No points are being taken off for pursuing Free Agency and leaving the Cavs, but marks are taken off for teaming up with Wade and Bosh. This has nothing to do with the philosophy of cheapening the game or whatever like that, but rather, LBJ is teaming up with him competition rather than beating him. When you hear about Barkley and all of those great players who didnt win in the 90s, people often say, You gotta remember, he was going against MJ. Or, MJ denied a lot of great players from getting rings. Im not trying to glorify 90s ball or compare his heart or whatever, but rather, point out how hard it is for me to praise his legacy because of who he plays (played) with. Marks are taken off for this whole LBJ doesnt have enough help commentary, which he believes himself. He has TWO rings and wants to complain about a roster he helped influence. How many quality players did he expect to sign with the Heat when he decided to go there with his friends OR how most non rookie players have to take pay cuts to sign there as well. Considering that he could coast to four straight Finals with Wade and Bosh (and two with Ray Allen), I dont want to hear about his lack of help. That was the bed he made just like back in Cleveland. Whenever he struggles, it always about how he doesnt have enough help. People want to say that he didnt have a Pippen/Rodman type player or a Kobe/Shaq situation, which I say, thats a completely bogus comparison. Pippen was drafted to Seattle and traded on draft night, he had to develop into becoming the player he was; Rodman came during the second three peat. Kobe was drafted to the Hornets, and then traded to the Lakers and Shaq signed a month later. Pippen and Kobe werent in their primes/top 20 players. And didnt Rodman come off a bad season or get cut by the Spurs or something??? LBJ is a great player, but there are a ton of excuses of why he didnt do this or that whether its from himself or others. For me, personally, all of this (and other things) is what slightly tarnishes his legacy. First he didnt have the support with supposed bums who were the best of the FA players at the time and now he doesnt have support with Bosh and Wade (and Ray Allen). How much more support does he need? If he had the best player in every position on his team and the second best player in every position riding the bench and he lost people would still say, He didnt have enough support. (The opposing team is against five dead pigeons with Pop as head coach and Thibs as assistant. lol) El Atkins Joshua Wolf Jason Guild Justin Kilpatrick Juwan Williams Kelly Scaletta
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 22:42:23 +0000