Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez
I think its naive to believe that other great NBA players would not have jumped ship had they been in the same position as LeBron. What LeBron did was fairly unprecedented in the NBA since he is a great player who left his team via free agency in his prime. The difference between LeBron and other greats of the past is that LeBron had the freedom to move while others like Jordan were tied to long term contracts and were unable to jump ship even if they wanted to. How can anyone state with absolute certainty that a player like Jordan would've stuck around with the Bulls for several more years of agony if he had the opportunity to leave the team? The circumstances surrounding past greats were much different. They either had no choice but to stay (because of long term contracts they signed) or they were already on good teams.
I think the closest example to LeBron's was when Kobe flirted with leaving the Lakers a few years ago. Although it was pretty clear that Kobe would stay, he still openly explored other options. He then signed a long term deal believing that the team would be competitive every single year throughout the contract. Had Kobe known that the Lakers would be a mediocre team for the first 3 years of that deal (3 years of his prime), would he have really stayed in L.A.? I dont think so. In fact, he got fed up after 3 years and asked to be traded however he was tied up due to the contract he signed. Now you look at LeBron, he was with the Cavs for 7 years and he was in his prime for probably 3 of those years. The Cavs became an elite team but they never got close to winning an NBA title. LeBron had the option of sticking around with the Cavs and being surrounded by mediocre players, a team with limited cap flexibility, and the probability they would not compete for a title for another couple of years OR join a team where he can legitimately compete for titles immediately. It was a no brainer and I have a hard time believing that other greats would've passed up on the opportunity to do what LeBron did.
I understand people being upset at LeBron joining another great player in Wade and one of the best big men in the league in Bosh in order to 'take the easy way out', but I think its naive to think that other great players would not have done the same thing if given the chance. Magic and Bird had help. Jordan had help. Kobe had help. Duncan had help. Wade had help. Now compare the supporting casts of those players to the supporting cast that LeBron had with the Cavs. His best teammates in his 7-years with the Cavs were Mo Williams and an aging Antawn Jamison.
It's clear that some people are using convenient arguments to bash LeBron. The main criticism of LeBron is that he does not have any rings. Now that he's joined the Heat he is a ring chaser. Had he gone to NY or Chicago he would've been criticized for chasing money. Had he stayed in Cleveland he would've been criticized even more if the Cavs went another few years without winning a title. He was in a lose - lose - lose situation from a PR standpoint but he made the best on-court decision; a decision other players in the past would've made had they had free agent flexibility like LeBron.
