The Anti-Lebron Bias Runs Strong.... But Why?

[nickagneta]

If they think its a trash league now, what the heck did they think of it 10-12 years ago? 

The anti-Lebron thing is somewhat easy.  He has been the main guy standing in the way of the Celtics for a decade now.  Their single biggest rival has a been a man, not a team. It's Lebron.  That obviously leads to a ton of hate.  That's sports fandom. 

Bigger picture, there is a significant amount of slightly older sports fans who grew up with Jordan as the greatest player in the world and he has become deified over the years.  Lebron is the one is who often compared again him and the older segment will side with Jordan.   There are also grating elements to Lebron's personality. "The Decision" was a horrible decision on his part and that turned a lot of people off him for good.

The funny part about the Decision is that they raised $6m for the Boys and Girls Club. This is almost never discussed.

They did but the Decision was as much as about brand building for himself as it was for the Boys & Girls Club.

what brand building would come out of the decision?  James was already by far the largest brand in basketball and there really is no good that could have come from the decision from a brand perspective.  James has said multiple times that the only reason he did the decision was to raise money and awareness for the boys and girls club.  He wouldn't have done it without the charity aspect.

His own branding, of course.  You really think professional athletes & their reps stop worrying about personal branding at 25?  Jordan continued to grow his brand throughout his career. 

Plenty of athletes do stuff for charity with little or no fanfare.  Certainly not with a nationally televised television special.

Plenty of athletes have been free agents and signed elsewhere with far, far, far less spectacle than a nationally televised special. 

Sure, he might not have done the special without the charity aspect but let's not kid ourselves into thinking that was the driving force behind it.  Because it almost certainly wasn't.

Sure, but how was the Decision going to grow Lebron's brand?  At that time, he was already the biggest basketball star in the world, with countless national endorsements, etc.  Assuming the best case scenario, what exactly was the Decision going to do for his brand?  i.e. How would the Decision improve his personal brand?

Here is an article published before the Decision actually aired which shows how it came about.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/usually-when-an-agent-scores-a-big-deal-they-like-to-boast-about-itbut-creative-artists-agency-has-been-curiously-mum-about.html

You really believe that Lebron had maximized his branding and share of the shoe, shirt, and peripherals market? You really think that the increased exposure didn't open even more commercial endorsements or possibilities in Hollywood? The same way Lavar Ball gets free advertising from his exposure because of his big mouth, Lebron got free advertising for his brand to expand. And that doesn't even consider the exposure he built amongst the players to promote Rich Paul and help to build and expand his player representation agency.

ah but he did all that with the Decision being a disaster, so the Decision had absolutely nothing to do with it.  That is the point.  The Decision in its absolute best case wouldn't have done much of anything for Lebron James.  A Hollywood producer isn't sitting down with Lebron James because of a one-off television show.  A Hollywood producer is sitting down with Lebron James because he is a champion and best player in the world.  A major company isn't signing the Decision's Lebron James to a massive marketing deal, though they would for Lebron James 4 time MVP. etc.

The Decision had very little upside and a lot of downside for Lebron James.  The only real benefit was the 6 million dollars for charity and the attention he brought to the Boys and Girls Club.  He doesn't do the Decision without the charity because there just wasn't any real benefit outside of the charity.

Fans think the decision was a disaster. That doesn't mean that decision makers in corporational America or Hollywood didn't see it as a success of bringing Lebron's name to the forefront of society and love the exposure he received. Obviously ESPN, TNT, the NBA and the Heat thought it was a success as it got ordinary people talking about Lebron and the NBA. Any exposure is good exposure.

[Celtics4ever]

He doesn't do the Decision without the charity because there just wasn't any real benefit outside of the charity.

I would postulate that he did it more for the chance to win a title but it is nice that he helped out a charity.   I still think the formulation of a super team was foremost in his mind.

[Moranis]

He doesn't do the Decision without the charity because there just wasn't any real benefit outside of the charity.

I would postulate that he did it more for the chance to win a title but it is nice that he helped out a charity.   I still think the formulation of a super team was foremost in his mind.

The Decision is the television show, not the actual decision he made in going to Miami. 

[Moranis]

If they think its a trash league now, what the heck did they think of it 10-12 years ago? 

The anti-Lebron thing is somewhat easy.  He has been the main guy standing in the way of the Celtics for a decade now.  Their single biggest rival has a been a man, not a team. It's Lebron.  That obviously leads to a ton of hate.  That's sports fandom. 

Bigger picture, there is a significant amount of slightly older sports fans who grew up with Jordan as the greatest player in the world and he has become deified over the years.  Lebron is the one is who often compared again him and the older segment will side with Jordan.   There are also grating elements to Lebron's personality. "The Decision" was a horrible decision on his part and that turned a lot of people off him for good.

The funny part about the Decision is that they raised $6m for the Boys and Girls Club. This is almost never discussed.

They did but the Decision was as much as about brand building for himself as it was for the Boys & Girls Club.

what brand building would come out of the decision?  James was already by far the largest brand in basketball and there really is no good that could have come from the decision from a brand perspective.  James has said multiple times that the only reason he did the decision was to raise money and awareness for the boys and girls club.  He wouldn't have done it without the charity aspect.

His own branding, of course.  You really think professional athletes & their reps stop worrying about personal branding at 25?  Jordan continued to grow his brand throughout his career. 

Plenty of athletes do stuff for charity with little or no fanfare.  Certainly not with a nationally televised television special.

Plenty of athletes have been free agents and signed elsewhere with far, far, far less spectacle than a nationally televised special. 

Sure, he might not have done the special without the charity aspect but let's not kid ourselves into thinking that was the driving force behind it.  Because it almost certainly wasn't.

Sure, but how was the Decision going to grow Lebron's brand?  At that time, he was already the biggest basketball star in the world, with countless national endorsements, etc.  Assuming the best case scenario, what exactly was the Decision going to do for his brand?  i.e. How would the Decision improve his personal brand?

Here is an article published before the Decision actually aired which shows how it came about.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/usually-when-an-agent-scores-a-big-deal-they-like-to-boast-about-itbut-creative-artists-agency-has-been-curiously-mum-about.html

You really believe that Lebron had maximized his branding and share of the shoe, shirt, and peripherals market? You really think that the increased exposure didn't open even more commercial endorsements or possibilities in Hollywood? The same way Lavar Ball gets free advertising from his exposure because of his big mouth, Lebron got free advertising for his brand to expand. And that doesn't even consider the exposure he built amongst the players to promote Rich Paul and help to build and expand his player representation agency.

ah but he did all that with the Decision being a disaster, so the Decision had absolutely nothing to do with it.  That is the point.  The Decision in its absolute best case wouldn't have done much of anything for Lebron James.  A Hollywood producer isn't sitting down with Lebron James because of a one-off television show.  A Hollywood producer is sitting down with Lebron James because he is a champion and best player in the world.  A major company isn't signing the Decision's Lebron James to a massive marketing deal, though they would for Lebron James 4 time MVP. etc.

The Decision had very little upside and a lot of downside for Lebron James.  The only real benefit was the 6 million dollars for charity and the attention he brought to the Boys and Girls Club.  He doesn't do the Decision without the charity because there just wasn't any real benefit outside of the charity.

Come on Moranis, this is a bit ridiculous. Very few people in the world do things that only have downside for themselves. This guy isn't exactly known as Ghandi for the suffering he does to better the world. He also regrets the decision himself:

"If I could look back on it I would probably change a lot of it,” he said. “The fact of having a whole TV special, and people getting the opportunity to watch me make a decision on where I wanted to play, I probably would change that. Because I can now look and see if the shoe was on the other foot and I was a fan, and I was very passionate about one player, and he decided to leave, I would be upset too about the way he handled it."

He thought it would bring him positive attention and adoration and ut didn't work out that way.
Nothing to really argue beyond that...

The upside was bringing 6 million dollars to charity.  James doesn't do the Decision without the charitable side of it.  I don't really see why that is a controversial statement. 

James obviously handled the actual spectacle of it poorly (James came off cold and uncaring, and Jim Gray was absolutely horrible dragging it out for so long, etc.) and it probably never would have been well received (though certainly could have been better received), but at the end of the day there was never really much that would have come out of it.  Even had he stayed in Cleveland, he would have been ridiculed for making a television spectacle out of staying home.  The only real upside was the charity and that is overshadowed by the negatives.

[EJPLAYA]

The same reason everyone hated Mutombo. That whiny b#&ch face!

[celticsclay]

If they think its a trash league now, what the heck did they think of it 10-12 years ago? 

The anti-Lebron thing is somewhat easy.  He has been the main guy standing in the way of the Celtics for a decade now.  Their single biggest rival has a been a man, not a team. It's Lebron.  That obviously leads to a ton of hate.  That's sports fandom. 

Bigger picture, there is a significant amount of slightly older sports fans who grew up with Jordan as the greatest player in the world and he has become deified over the years.  Lebron is the one is who often compared again him and the older segment will side with Jordan.   There are also grating elements to Lebron's personality. "The Decision" was a horrible decision on his part and that turned a lot of people off him for good.

The funny part about the Decision is that they raised $6m for the Boys and Girls Club. This is almost never discussed.

They did but the Decision was as much as about brand building for himself as it was for the Boys & Girls Club.

what brand building would come out of the decision?  James was already by far the largest brand in basketball and there really is no good that could have come from the decision from a brand perspective.  James has said multiple times that the only reason he did the decision was to raise money and awareness for the boys and girls club.  He wouldn't have done it without the charity aspect.

His own branding, of course.  You really think professional athletes & their reps stop worrying about personal branding at 25?  Jordan continued to grow his brand throughout his career. 

Plenty of athletes do stuff for charity with little or no fanfare.  Certainly not with a nationally televised television special.

Plenty of athletes have been free agents and signed elsewhere with far, far, far less spectacle than a nationally televised special. 

Sure, he might not have done the special without the charity aspect but let's not kid ourselves into thinking that was the driving force behind it.  Because it almost certainly wasn't.

Sure, but how was the Decision going to grow Lebron's brand?  At that time, he was already the biggest basketball star in the world, with countless national endorsements, etc.  Assuming the best case scenario, what exactly was the Decision going to do for his brand?  i.e. How would the Decision improve his personal brand?

Here is an article published before the Decision actually aired which shows how it came about.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/usually-when-an-agent-scores-a-big-deal-they-like-to-boast-about-itbut-creative-artists-agency-has-been-curiously-mum-about.html

You really believe that Lebron had maximized his branding and share of the shoe, shirt, and peripherals market? You really think that the increased exposure didn't open even more commercial endorsements or possibilities in Hollywood? The same way Lavar Ball gets free advertising from his exposure because of his big mouth, Lebron got free advertising for his brand to expand. And that doesn't even consider the exposure he built amongst the players to promote Rich Paul and help to build and expand his player representation agency.

ah but he did all that with the Decision being a disaster, so the Decision had absolutely nothing to do with it.  That is the point.  The Decision in its absolute best case wouldn't have done much of anything for Lebron James.  A Hollywood producer isn't sitting down with Lebron James because of a one-off television show.  A Hollywood producer is sitting down with Lebron James because he is a champion and best player in the world.  A major company isn't signing the Decision's Lebron James to a massive marketing deal, though they would for Lebron James 4 time MVP. etc.

The Decision had very little upside and a lot of downside for Lebron James.  The only real benefit was the 6 million dollars for charity and the attention he brought to the Boys and Girls Club.  He doesn't do the Decision without the charity because there just wasn't any real benefit outside of the charity.

Come on Moranis, this is a bit ridiculous. Very few people in the world do things that only have downside for themselves. This guy isn't exactly known as Ghandi for the suffering he does to better the world. He also regrets the decision himself:

"If I could look back on it I would probably change a lot of it,” he said. “The fact of having a whole TV special, and people getting the opportunity to watch me make a decision on where I wanted to play, I probably would change that. Because I can now look and see if the shoe was on the other foot and I was a fan, and I was very passionate about one player, and he decided to leave, I would be upset too about the way he handled it."

He thought it would bring him positive attention and adoration and ut didn't work out that way.
Nothing to really argue beyond that...

The upside was bringing 6 million dollars to charity.  James doesn't do the Decision without the charitable side of it.  I don't really see why that is a controversial statement. 

James obviously handled the actual spectacle of it poorly (James came off cold and uncaring, and Jim Gray was absolutely horrible dragging it out for so long, etc.) and it probably never would have been well received (though certainly could have been better received), but at the end of the day there was never really much that would have come out of it.  Even had he stayed in Cleveland, he would have been ridiculed for making a television spectacle out of staying home.  The only real upside was the charity and that is overshadowed by the negatives.

I guess all I can do is laugh at this take at this point.

[dreamgreen]

He doesn't have much charisma and generally IMO isn't very likeable. Some of the comments he's made in the past have been a turn off to people, I recall him saying some stupid things. The decision was one of the biggest blunders in sports history, made him look like a complete ass.

[Ilikesports17]

The fact that media hype and compare him to Jordan is the root of all hate. He haven't proven he's better than Jordan or Kobe when it comes to taking teams to the promised land.

It doesn't help that he used to be mental midget and bolted out to Miami for help, only to hang the team dry when he realized the team is getting older later on. He's full of excuses everytime he fall short.

He is for sure better than Kobe. Not even close tbh.

In stats and individual accomplishments, sure. But overall championship is the ultimate goal. Kobe and Duncan have won more with less.

And before someone points out Robert Horry, I'm exclusively talking about championship leaders, not role players.

Lol Kobes done more with less?? I guess having multiple first ballot hall of fame big men next you your entire career isn’t enough help. Kobe wasn’t even the best player on his team his first 3 championships.

someone on this blog once argued that Kobe's success was more impressive because he has 1 all star as opposed to James who had 2.

As if Shaq was in the same league as Wade, Bosh, Irving or Love. The dude was the most dominant player in the entire league!

[Ilikesports17]

If they think its a trash league now, what the heck did they think of it 10-12 years ago? 

The anti-Lebron thing is somewhat easy.  He has been the main guy standing in the way of the Celtics for a decade now.  Their single biggest rival has a been a man, not a team. It's Lebron.  That obviously leads to a ton of hate.  That's sports fandom. 

Bigger picture, there is a significant amount of slightly older sports fans who grew up with Jordan as the greatest player in the world and he has become deified over the years.  Lebron is the one is who often compared again him and the older segment will side with Jordan.   There are also grating elements to Lebron's personality. "The Decision" was a horrible decision on his part and that turned a lot of people off him for good.

The funny part about the Decision is that they raised $6m for the Boys and Girls Club. This is almost never discussed.

They did but the Decision was as much as about brand building for himself as it was for the Boys & Girls Club.

what brand building would come out of the decision?  James was already by far the largest brand in basketball and there really is no good that could have come from the decision from a brand perspective.  James has said multiple times that the only reason he did the decision was to raise money and awareness for the boys and girls club.  He wouldn't have done it without the charity aspect.

His own branding, of course.  You really think professional athletes & their reps stop worrying about personal branding at 25?  Jordan continued to grow his brand throughout his career. 

Plenty of athletes do stuff for charity with little or no fanfare.  Certainly not with a nationally televised television special.

Plenty of athletes have been free agents and signed elsewhere with far, far, far less spectacle than a nationally televised special. 

Sure, he might not have done the special without the charity aspect but let's not kid ourselves into thinking that was the driving force behind it.  Because it almost certainly wasn't.

Sure, but how was the Decision going to grow Lebron's brand?  At that time, he was already the biggest basketball star in the world, with countless national endorsements, etc.  Assuming the best case scenario, what exactly was the Decision going to do for his brand?  i.e. How would the Decision improve his personal brand?

Here is an article published before the Decision actually aired which shows how it came about.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/usually-when-an-agent-scores-a-big-deal-they-like-to-boast-about-itbut-creative-artists-agency-has-been-curiously-mum-about.html

You really believe that Lebron had maximized his branding and share of the shoe, shirt, and peripherals market? You really think that the increased exposure didn't open even more commercial endorsements or possibilities in Hollywood? The same way Lavar Ball gets free advertising from his exposure because of his big mouth, Lebron got free advertising for his brand to expand. And that doesn't even consider the exposure he built amongst the players to promote Rich Paul and help to build and expand his player representation agency.

ah but he did all that with the Decision being a disaster, so the Decision had absolutely nothing to do with it.  That is the point.  The Decision in its absolute best case wouldn't have done much of anything for Lebron James.  A Hollywood producer isn't sitting down with Lebron James because of a one-off television show.  A Hollywood producer is sitting down with Lebron James because he is a champion and best player in the world.  A major company isn't signing the Decision's Lebron James to a massive marketing deal, though they would for Lebron James 4 time MVP. etc.

The Decision had very little upside and a lot of downside for Lebron James.  The only real benefit was the 6 million dollars for charity and the attention he brought to the Boys and Girls Club.  He doesn't do the Decision without the charity because there just wasn't any real benefit outside of the charity.

Come on Moranis, this is a bit ridiculous. Very few people in the world do things that only have downside for themselves. This guy isn't exactly known as Ghandi for the suffering he does to better the world. He also regrets the decision himself:

"If I could look back on it I would probably change a lot of it,” he said. “The fact of having a whole TV special, and people getting the opportunity to watch me make a decision on where I wanted to play, I probably would change that. Because I can now look and see if the shoe was on the other foot and I was a fan, and I was very passionate about one player, and he decided to leave, I would be upset too about the way he handled it."

He thought it would bring him positive attention and adoration and ut didn't work out that way.
Nothing to really argue beyond that...

The upside was bringing 6 million dollars to charity.  James doesn't do the Decision without the charitable side of it.  I don't really see why that is a controversial statement. 

James obviously handled the actual spectacle of it poorly (James came off cold and uncaring, and Jim Gray was absolutely horrible dragging it out for so long, etc.) and it probably never would have been well received (though certainly could have been better received), but at the end of the day there was never really much that would have come out of it.  Even had he stayed in Cleveland, he would have been ridiculed for making a television spectacle out of staying home.  The only real upside was the charity and that is overshadowed by the negatives.

I guess all I can do is laugh at this take at this point.

Its one of those that you read thinking its a satire, but then you realize its not and its even better because of it.

[celticsclay]

If they think its a trash league now, what the heck did they think of it 10-12 years ago? 

The anti-Lebron thing is somewhat easy.  He has been the main guy standing in the way of the Celtics for a decade now.  Their single biggest rival has a been a man, not a team. It's Lebron.  That obviously leads to a ton of hate.  That's sports fandom. 

Bigger picture, there is a significant amount of slightly older sports fans who grew up with Jordan as the greatest player in the world and he has become deified over the years.  Lebron is the one is who often compared again him and the older segment will side with Jordan.   There are also grating elements to Lebron's personality. "The Decision" was a horrible decision on his part and that turned a lot of people off him for good.

The funny part about the Decision is that they raised $6m for the Boys and Girls Club. This is almost never discussed.

They did but the Decision was as much as about brand building for himself as it was for the Boys & Girls Club.

what brand building would come out of the decision?  James was already by far the largest brand in basketball and there really is no good that could have come from the decision from a brand perspective.  James has said multiple times that the only reason he did the decision was to raise money and awareness for the boys and girls club.  He wouldn't have done it without the charity aspect.

His own branding, of course.  You really think professional athletes & their reps stop worrying about personal branding at 25?  Jordan continued to grow his brand throughout his career. 

Plenty of athletes do stuff for charity with little or no fanfare.  Certainly not with a nationally televised television special.

Plenty of athletes have been free agents and signed elsewhere with far, far, far less spectacle than a nationally televised special. 

Sure, he might not have done the special without the charity aspect but let's not kid ourselves into thinking that was the driving force behind it.  Because it almost certainly wasn't.

Sure, but how was the Decision going to grow Lebron's brand?  At that time, he was already the biggest basketball star in the world, with countless national endorsements, etc.  Assuming the best case scenario, what exactly was the Decision going to do for his brand?  i.e. How would the Decision improve his personal brand?

Here is an article published before the Decision actually aired which shows how it came about.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/usually-when-an-agent-scores-a-big-deal-they-like-to-boast-about-itbut-creative-artists-agency-has-been-curiously-mum-about.html

You really believe that Lebron had maximized his branding and share of the shoe, shirt, and peripherals market? You really think that the increased exposure didn't open even more commercial endorsements or possibilities in Hollywood? The same way Lavar Ball gets free advertising from his exposure because of his big mouth, Lebron got free advertising for his brand to expand. And that doesn't even consider the exposure he built amongst the players to promote Rich Paul and help to build and expand his player representation agency.

ah but he did all that with the Decision being a disaster, so the Decision had absolutely nothing to do with it.  That is the point.  The Decision in its absolute best case wouldn't have done much of anything for Lebron James.  A Hollywood producer isn't sitting down with Lebron James because of a one-off television show.  A Hollywood producer is sitting down with Lebron James because he is a champion and best player in the world.  A major company isn't signing the Decision's Lebron James to a massive marketing deal, though they would for Lebron James 4 time MVP. etc.

The Decision had very little upside and a lot of downside for Lebron James.  The only real benefit was the 6 million dollars for charity and the attention he brought to the Boys and Girls Club.  He doesn't do the Decision without the charity because there just wasn't any real benefit outside of the charity.

Come on Moranis, this is a bit ridiculous. Very few people in the world do things that only have downside for themselves. This guy isn't exactly known as Ghandi for the suffering he does to better the world. He also regrets the decision himself:

"If I could look back on it I would probably change a lot of it,” he said. “The fact of having a whole TV special, and people getting the opportunity to watch me make a decision on where I wanted to play, I probably would change that. Because I can now look and see if the shoe was on the other foot and I was a fan, and I was very passionate about one player, and he decided to leave, I would be upset too about the way he handled it."

He thought it would bring him positive attention and adoration and ut didn't work out that way.
Nothing to really argue beyond that...

The upside was bringing 6 million dollars to charity.  James doesn't do the Decision without the charitable side of it.  I don't really see why that is a controversial statement. 

James obviously handled the actual spectacle of it poorly (James came off cold and uncaring, and Jim Gray was absolutely horrible dragging it out for so long, etc.) and it probably never would have been well received (though certainly could have been better received), but at the end of the day there was never really much that would have come out of it.  Even had he stayed in Cleveland, he would have been ridiculed for making a television spectacle out of staying home.  The only real upside was the charity and that is overshadowed by the negatives.

I guess all I can do is laugh at this take at this point.

Its one of those that you read thinking its a satire, but then you realize its not and its even better because of it.

Lol yea... hard to wrap your head around it.

[mr. dee]

The fact that media hype and compare him to Jordan is the root of all hate. He haven't proven he's better than Jordan or Kobe when it comes to taking teams to the promised land.

It doesn't help that he used to be mental midget and bolted out to Miami for help, only to hang the team dry when he realized the team is getting older later on. He's full of excuses everytime he fall short.

He is for sure better than Kobe. Not even close tbh.

In stats and individual accomplishments, sure. But overall championship is the ultimate goal. Kobe and Duncan have won more with less.

And before someone points out Robert Horry, I'm exclusively talking about championship leaders, not role players.

Lol Kobes done more with less?? I guess having multiple first ballot hall of fame big men next you your entire career isn’t enough help. Kobe wasn’t even the best player on his team his first 3 championships.

someone on this blog once argued that Kobe's success was more impressive because he has 1 all star as opposed to James who had 2.

As if Shaq was in the same league as Wade, Bosh, Irving or Love. The dude was the most dominant player in the entire league!

Maybe. But Kobe have also won 2 ships without him. Paul Gasol and Glass Bynum was his best help. Kyrie could also end up top 20 all time player down the line.

[nickagneta]

The fact that media hype and compare him to Jordan is the root of all hate. He haven't proven he's better than Jordan or Kobe when it comes to taking teams to the promised land.

It doesn't help that he used to be mental midget and bolted out to Miami for help, only to hang the team dry when he realized the team is getting older later on. He's full of excuses everytime he fall short.

He is for sure better than Kobe. Not even close tbh.

In stats and individual accomplishments, sure. But overall championship is the ultimate goal. Kobe and Duncan have won more with less.

And before someone points out Robert Horry, I'm exclusively talking about championship leaders, not role players.

Lol Kobes done more with less?? I guess having multiple first ballot hall of fame big men next you your entire career isn’t enough help. Kobe wasn’t even the best player on his team his first 3 championships.

someone on this blog once argued that Kobe's success was more impressive because he has 1 all star as opposed to James who had 2.

As if Shaq was in the same league as Wade, Bosh, Irving or Love. The dude was the most dominant player in the entire league!

Maybe. But Kobe have also won 2 ships without him. Paul Gasol and Glass Bynum was his best help. Kyrie could also end up top 20 all time player down the line.

Gasol will be a Hall of Famer. I wouldn't downplay his importance to that team

[Eja117]

For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. One action towards Bron is to overhype him and declare him a king and a possible best player ever.

That's absurd. So there has to be an equal and opposite reaction to that.

[Moranis]

If they think its a trash league now, what the heck did they think of it 10-12 years ago? 

The anti-Lebron thing is somewhat easy.  He has been the main guy standing in the way of the Celtics for a decade now.  Their single biggest rival has a been a man, not a team. It's Lebron.  That obviously leads to a ton of hate.  That's sports fandom. 

Bigger picture, there is a significant amount of slightly older sports fans who grew up with Jordan as the greatest player in the world and he has become deified over the years.  Lebron is the one is who often compared again him and the older segment will side with Jordan.   There are also grating elements to Lebron's personality. "The Decision" was a horrible decision on his part and that turned a lot of people off him for good.

The funny part about the Decision is that they raised $6m for the Boys and Girls Club. This is almost never discussed.

They did but the Decision was as much as about brand building for himself as it was for the Boys & Girls Club.

what brand building would come out of the decision?  James was already by far the largest brand in basketball and there really is no good that could have come from the decision from a brand perspective.  James has said multiple times that the only reason he did the decision was to raise money and awareness for the boys and girls club.  He wouldn't have done it without the charity aspect.

His own branding, of course.  You really think professional athletes & their reps stop worrying about personal branding at 25?  Jordan continued to grow his brand throughout his career. 

Plenty of athletes do stuff for charity with little or no fanfare.  Certainly not with a nationally televised television special.

Plenty of athletes have been free agents and signed elsewhere with far, far, far less spectacle than a nationally televised special. 

Sure, he might not have done the special without the charity aspect but let's not kid ourselves into thinking that was the driving force behind it.  Because it almost certainly wasn't.

Sure, but how was the Decision going to grow Lebron's brand?  At that time, he was already the biggest basketball star in the world, with countless national endorsements, etc.  Assuming the best case scenario, what exactly was the Decision going to do for his brand?  i.e. How would the Decision improve his personal brand?

Here is an article published before the Decision actually aired which shows how it came about.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/usually-when-an-agent-scores-a-big-deal-they-like-to-boast-about-itbut-creative-artists-agency-has-been-curiously-mum-about.html

You really believe that Lebron had maximized his branding and share of the shoe, shirt, and peripherals market? You really think that the increased exposure didn't open even more commercial endorsements or possibilities in Hollywood? The same way Lavar Ball gets free advertising from his exposure because of his big mouth, Lebron got free advertising for his brand to expand. And that doesn't even consider the exposure he built amongst the players to promote Rich Paul and help to build and expand his player representation agency.

ah but he did all that with the Decision being a disaster, so the Decision had absolutely nothing to do with it.  That is the point.  The Decision in its absolute best case wouldn't have done much of anything for Lebron James.  A Hollywood producer isn't sitting down with Lebron James because of a one-off television show.  A Hollywood producer is sitting down with Lebron James because he is a champion and best player in the world.  A major company isn't signing the Decision's Lebron James to a massive marketing deal, though they would for Lebron James 4 time MVP. etc.

The Decision had very little upside and a lot of downside for Lebron James.  The only real benefit was the 6 million dollars for charity and the attention he brought to the Boys and Girls Club.  He doesn't do the Decision without the charity because there just wasn't any real benefit outside of the charity.

Come on Moranis, this is a bit ridiculous. Very few people in the world do things that only have downside for themselves. This guy isn't exactly known as Ghandi for the suffering he does to better the world. He also regrets the decision himself:

"If I could look back on it I would probably change a lot of it,” he said. “The fact of having a whole TV special, and people getting the opportunity to watch me make a decision on where I wanted to play, I probably would change that. Because I can now look and see if the shoe was on the other foot and I was a fan, and I was very passionate about one player, and he decided to leave, I would be upset too about the way he handled it."

He thought it would bring him positive attention and adoration and ut didn't work out that way.
Nothing to really argue beyond that...

The upside was bringing 6 million dollars to charity.  James doesn't do the Decision without the charitable side of it.  I don't really see why that is a controversial statement. 

James obviously handled the actual spectacle of it poorly (James came off cold and uncaring, and Jim Gray was absolutely horrible dragging it out for so long, etc.) and it probably never would have been well received (though certainly could have been better received), but at the end of the day there was never really much that would have come out of it.  Even had he stayed in Cleveland, he would have been ridiculed for making a television spectacle out of staying home.  The only real upside was the charity and that is overshadowed by the negatives.

I guess all I can do is laugh at this take at this point.

so what do you think of the countless articles like this one http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/usually-when-an-agent-scores-a-big-deal-they-like-to-boast-about-itbut-creative-artists-agency-has-been-curiously-mum-about.html

[celticsclay]

If they think its a trash league now, what the heck did they think of it 10-12 years ago? 

The anti-Lebron thing is somewhat easy.  He has been the main guy standing in the way of the Celtics for a decade now.  Their single biggest rival has a been a man, not a team. It's Lebron.  That obviously leads to a ton of hate.  That's sports fandom. 

Bigger picture, there is a significant amount of slightly older sports fans who grew up with Jordan as the greatest player in the world and he has become deified over the years.  Lebron is the one is who often compared again him and the older segment will side with Jordan.   There are also grating elements to Lebron's personality. "The Decision" was a horrible decision on his part and that turned a lot of people off him for good.

The funny part about the Decision is that they raised $6m for the Boys and Girls Club. This is almost never discussed.

They did but the Decision was as much as about brand building for himself as it was for the Boys & Girls Club.

what brand building would come out of the decision?  James was already by far the largest brand in basketball and there really is no good that could have come from the decision from a brand perspective.  James has said multiple times that the only reason he did the decision was to raise money and awareness for the boys and girls club.  He wouldn't have done it without the charity aspect.

His own branding, of course.  You really think professional athletes & their reps stop worrying about personal branding at 25?  Jordan continued to grow his brand throughout his career. 

Plenty of athletes do stuff for charity with little or no fanfare.  Certainly not with a nationally televised television special.

Plenty of athletes have been free agents and signed elsewhere with far, far, far less spectacle than a nationally televised special. 

Sure, he might not have done the special without the charity aspect but let's not kid ourselves into thinking that was the driving force behind it.  Because it almost certainly wasn't.

Sure, but how was the Decision going to grow Lebron's brand?  At that time, he was already the biggest basketball star in the world, with countless national endorsements, etc.  Assuming the best case scenario, what exactly was the Decision going to do for his brand?  i.e. How would the Decision improve his personal brand?

Here is an article published before the Decision actually aired which shows how it came about.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/usually-when-an-agent-scores-a-big-deal-they-like-to-boast-about-itbut-creative-artists-agency-has-been-curiously-mum-about.html

You really believe that Lebron had maximized his branding and share of the shoe, shirt, and peripherals market? You really think that the increased exposure didn't open even more commercial endorsements or possibilities in Hollywood? The same way Lavar Ball gets free advertising from his exposure because of his big mouth, Lebron got free advertising for his brand to expand. And that doesn't even consider the exposure he built amongst the players to promote Rich Paul and help to build and expand his player representation agency.

ah but he did all that with the Decision being a disaster, so the Decision had absolutely nothing to do with it.  That is the point.  The Decision in its absolute best case wouldn't have done much of anything for Lebron James.  A Hollywood producer isn't sitting down with Lebron James because of a one-off television show.  A Hollywood producer is sitting down with Lebron James because he is a champion and best player in the world.  A major company isn't signing the Decision's Lebron James to a massive marketing deal, though they would for Lebron James 4 time MVP. etc.

The Decision had very little upside and a lot of downside for Lebron James.  The only real benefit was the 6 million dollars for charity and the attention he brought to the Boys and Girls Club.  He doesn't do the Decision without the charity because there just wasn't any real benefit outside of the charity.

Come on Moranis, this is a bit ridiculous. Very few people in the world do things that only have downside for themselves. This guy isn't exactly known as Ghandi for the suffering he does to better the world. He also regrets the decision himself:

"If I could look back on it I would probably change a lot of it,” he said. “The fact of having a whole TV special, and people getting the opportunity to watch me make a decision on where I wanted to play, I probably would change that. Because I can now look and see if the shoe was on the other foot and I was a fan, and I was very passionate about one player, and he decided to leave, I would be upset too about the way he handled it."

He thought it would bring him positive attention and adoration and ut didn't work out that way.
Nothing to really argue beyond that...

The upside was bringing 6 million dollars to charity.  James doesn't do the Decision without the charitable side of it.  I don't really see why that is a controversial statement. 

James obviously handled the actual spectacle of it poorly (James came off cold and uncaring, and Jim Gray was absolutely horrible dragging it out for so long, etc.) and it probably never would have been well received (though certainly could have been better received), but at the end of the day there was never really much that would have come out of it.  Even had he stayed in Cleveland, he would have been ridiculed for making a television spectacle out of staying home.  The only real upside was the charity and that is overshadowed by the negatives.

I guess all I can do is laugh at this take at this point.

so what do you think of the countless articles like this one http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/usually-when-an-agent-scores-a-big-deal-they-like-to-boast-about-itbut-creative-artists-agency-has-been-curiously-mum-about.html

I honestly have no idea what point you are even trying to make with this