Carmelo and Dwight (who single-handidly destroy the very fabric of theyre teams (both of which were highly competitive playoff teams) or Lebron (i cant believe im even saying this) who didnt say a word about what he was doing if anything he mentioned thoughts (perhaps fleeting... but thoughts none-the less) of remaining with his team.
yes i know he gave up on his team in the last game of the playoff run
but look to the contrary
Dwight Howard is going around talking about how he wants to play here, or he wants to play there... all the while throwing his entire team under the bus for not wanting to play with someone who doesnt want to play with them....
i mean seriously dwight is making caremlos obsession with new york seem completly non contraversial
and yet carmelo migh as well of held the Nuggets hostage to trade him before the deadline or else....
i ask the great members of the board
WHY if none of these players are held accountable by either the coaches/owners/agents or the association
do we even bother having owners and team presidents?
the nba is the only league in the entire country in which where players want to play, is almost entirely determined upon which city/state is best to party in.
so if lebron never held the cavs hostage but only held them up with tons of suspense (something cavs managment should have been on top of rather than just wishing and praying that lebron liked them enough (i.e. see losing control of the players)
why isnt dwight getting crucified for coming out every week with a new arena he MIGHT want to play in.... i think he has mentioned like 25% of the leauge in the past month...
They're all just as bad. LeBron just did a better job of not saying anything in the media. You can tell LeBron never considered going back to Cleveland. When asked by Jim Grey on "The Decision" whether he had planned to go to the Heat all along, he danced around the question, making me think he had planned to go to Miami to play with Wade and Bosh since the Olympics.
Then again, I don't really blame any of these players for wanting to leave. If anything it shows that they're really competitive and value winning over everything else. Kobe Bryant, who I regard as the greatest player of the generation, essentially did the same thing by saying, "give me a superstar or I'm gone". Kobe just had the luxury of playing in big market LA who can add a big time free agent. LeBron, Melo, and Dwight don't.
They can all do this because basketball is a sport unlike any other, where it is a "team" sport but ONE player can make a huge difference.Hypothetically, Tom Brady could *itch and moan all he wants for the Patriots to go out and get a superstar...but there are 50 other guys on that team other than himself and said superstar. The Angels went out and got Pujols, but what if the other 9 guys in that lineup don't perform? Oh and forgot to factor in referees, who can affect an NBA game more than any other sport.
The players figured out they can whine and play together in order to try and win championships...Dwight tried doing it with Orlando and failed, and now it's time to quit and go somewhere else with more help. He had Otis Smith bring in Gilbert Arenas and his terrible contract and that failed. He had Otis Smith bring in Big Baby who also looks horrible outside of Boston.
This is going to be an ongoing issue, and rarely will you see a player like Kevin Durant stick around to stay with what the team has built.
Being a Nugget fan I can't believe I am sticking up for Melo, but Kevin Durant has been in the league 4 years going on his 5th and signed his five year extension in 2010. So when his contract runs out he will have been with OKC for 8 years. If he signs another contract with OKC then we can start saying he isn't like Melo and LBJ. But LBJ stayed with Cleveland for 7 years. Melo stayed with the Nuggets for 7 1/2 years. So before we start saying that KD isn't like LBJ and Melo lets remember that both Melo and LBJ finished their rookie contract like KD and then both signed an extension with their respective teams like KD. The difference is LBJ only signed for 4 years while Melo like KD signed for 5 years. So lets see how everything plays out with KD before everyone starts saying he will be different than the other two.
Durant actually has supporting pieces around him. There is a big difference between the situation durant is in and the situation LeBron was in.
Westbrook is better than anyone melo, dwight or lebron ever played with prior to them leaving (or ever for dwight).
Honestly, I have to say lebron. I know LeBron is my favorite player, but I was really upset with the way he handled the decision and ironically i was actually thinking about this the other night.
LeBron may have not handled leaving the right way, but he didnt ruin anyone's season, he wasnt talking openly about his options. The fact that LeBron was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, play out his contract, and almost get his team to the NBA finals is MUCH MUCH better than what melo, and howard are doing/did. Regardless of what happened afterward (which was inexecusable, its fine that he left, but the decision was awful).
Melo on the other hand pretty much ruined 2/3 of the season for the Denver Nuggets. How do you respect a guy who you know has no desire to be playing where he is? It just cant happen.
As for dwight, i never had a problem with him. But to me he has handled this the worst. Everyone knew melo wanted out of Denver, but he didnt sit and talk about it everynight and then call out his team for not playing hard enough. Dwight is being an unrealistically large hypocrite right now..
Here is my thoughts on why D12 isn't and Starmeeelo wasn't really bashed for what each did while LeBron was.
LeBron left his team while turning down both NY and Chicago whose claim to getting LeBron over other cities was that they were superior cities. LeBron choosing Miami over both was a clap in the face to them. So, their media has jumped all over it and have the media size to cry louder than everyone else. Doubt it? Just remember how much love he got for 2 years from both Chicago and NY when they thought that they had a chance to get him. It's basically the guy that tried to get the hot chick, got rejected, then bashed her every chance he got saying that "she isn't anything special". Same thing with LeBron.
Starmeeelo went to NY. No reason to cry. Chicago couldn't care less.
D12 hasn't gone anywhere yet. Watch what happens if he turns away Chicago, NY, and Los Angeles. The crying and hatred will be heard. Nobody is calling him out yet until they know where he goes. If he ends up in Chicago, NY, or L.A., there won't be much crying.
What Howard has done is better to me than Melo or Dwight.
Dwight and Melo have similar situations, but Melo seemed to already have his head out of Denver. He wanted to be traded and didn't really try his hardest all of them. His overall stats weren't much off from his other years, but he had games where he seemed to sort of check out.
Dwight has seemed to put just as much effort as he has in previous years in the few games from what I have seen, and from some different writers. So although he has asked for a trade, it isn't as if he is he lacking effort on the court. He wants to be somewhere else, but is going to do his best to win wherever he is at. He expects his teammates to put forth the same effort. It may not be the best thing to call your teammates out in this situation, but he did so because he wants to win. I don't have a huge problem with that.
I really don't want to go to in depth about the LeBron scenario because it has been replayed over and over. I do like that it during his last season with the Cavs he put forth the effort similarly to Howard. I think that is important. He may not have been where he wanted to be, but he did his best while he was there. I don't like that he went on TV and made his decision. I don't like that he didn't let the Cavs know before hand.
The Nuggets were given a chance to at least get something for Melo. The same is happening with Howard right now. LeBron didn't really give the Cavs the warning to do so. Melo had a terrible attitude and Howard's attitude is to win and is at least trying to do the right now.
Howard hasn't handled it in the best way possible, but better so than the other 2.
1) The reason Melo is the worse IMO is because not only did he demand a trade but he forced the Nuggets hand by pretty much saying the only team he would sign an extension with is the Knicks so by doing this he scared away other teams who were considering trading for him such as the Nets and Sixers. It's bad enough to demand a trade but to demand a trade to one team is crazy.
2) Dwight is #2 on my list and not #1 because unlike Melo who demanded a trade basically to just the Knicks, at least Dwight is giving the Magic plenty of options. He is not forcing their hand and making them try and work out a trade with one particuliar team which is what Melo did last season. Orland has about 4 or 5 teams can Dwight would like to play for so now it is up to them to pick the best trade. However where Dwight went wrong big time is by making this public to the media. The only person who should know his list is Otis Smith, not the entire basketball world and due to Dwight making his list so public, the wheels have finally fallen off the Orlando Magic and things will go downhill from this point on thanks to Dwight being a clown.
3) Lebron is #3 on my list is because he handled it the way I would. You're on a title contender so why not try to play out the season and get a ring with those guys. I am pretty sure LBJ never told Gilbert I am 100% sure I will be back in Cleveland. I think honestly he was undecided, it was not like Dwight and Melo where those guys were 100% sure that they will not play for their previous teams no longer. If the Cavs were able to pull that trigger on the JJ Hickson for Amare trade, LBJ is still in a Cavs uniform today. LBJ went wrong obviously with the 1 hour special on ESPN but other than that I agree with what he did. The Cavs front office failed Lebron by not being able to get him a legit #2 in his 7 years there.
The best way to handle this situation that all these 3 went through is to keep your mouth shut to the media and play out the season if you think there is a chance you may re-sign with the team if they make a few changes to the roster. If you know you will not re-sign with the team, go to the GM let him know about your intentions and give him a handful of teams you would like to play for.....Keep this between YOU and the GM/OWNER.
Yeah, it really says something when another player can almost make Lebron look like he handled it right. When ranking them, I kind of put them all at the same level because they are all pretty distasteful, but in slightly different ways.
No need to completely re-hash Lebron. But he basically played a season long game of; "will he or won't he?" and then concluded it with "The Decision" which made it appear that he thought that he was bigger than the game. The "not 1, not 2, not 3...." didn't help either, especially when they didn't get the championship.
'Melo, basically handcuffed the Nuggets by (as bksballer correctly pointed out) making clear that he wanted the Knicks and the Knicks only. It was/is hysterical that the Nuggets actually got better after he left and the Knicks look terrible with him.
For me, Dwight Howard WAS just fine in how he was handling things. He had a list of 4 teams that he would consider, still had the Magic as a team he would re-sign with if they would bring in some help and was leaving it to the team. Now, however, it seems he keeps adding to the teams he will consider and has been calling out teammates. There is nothing wrong with calling out your teammates if it is clear that you are staying (or strongly leaning that way). However, to call out teammates while constantly talking about who you will or won't play for (and adding to the list) comes off as "See, this is why I'm leaving".
In the end, I don't think that any of the 3 should be particularly proud of how they have handled things.
The best way to handle this situation that all these 3 went through is to keep your mouth shut to the media and play out the season if you think there is a chance you may re-sign with the team if they make a few changes to the roster.
If you keep your mouth shut because you think that is very probable that you will stay, I agree with that. If you think that you will most likely decide to leave, then the right thing to do is inform the team so that they can get something in return and leave them with nothing. I do not know what LeBron was thinking during the season. If he thought that he would probably stay, then I agree with what he did, aside from the way he made his decision. If it was the latter of the two, then he did the wrong thing.
He left the Cavs and I do believe that he was pretty positive that he would leave after the season. As a result of this, he was pretty cruel to the Cavs. He left them with essentially nothing in return and if he had informed them sooner they would have at least had a chance in getting something in return.
Maybe the Cavs wouldn't have traded him and would have prayed he stayed, but at least Howard is giving them the option. I can see how Melo's could be viewed as the worst because he attitude was awful, but Nuggets were able to get good pieces in return for him at least while the Cavs were left empty handed.
Howard is just being truthful. He wants to be traded. If not, he will put forth a full effort. He wants his teammates to put forth the full effort. He gets criticized for bashing his teammates because he wants to go to a winning team. His teammates shouldn't get offended because they are getting paid to try. To put out a full effort, whether or not they will be there the next year with or without Howard. Howard has really done nothing wrong.
Howard is being 100% truthful. Sometimes the truth hurts, but in the long run the Magic are better knowing the truth. The same with his teammates.
LeBron was not being 100% truthful and it helped in the short term, but in the long run it hurt the Cavs that they didn't know the truth.
What Lebron did was better for the short term, but worse for the long term. What Howard did was better for the long term, not the short term. Personally, I think the long term is more important than the short term.
You could go straight out of HS and get some crappy job, maybe at McDonalds, but it would be a job. Or, you could go to college and get a degree and be broke and if feels overwhelming, but more often than not, it pays off in the long term. Certainly not my best comparison, but it does hold similar weight to the two situations.
I think LeBron was legitimately stuck between cleveland and miami. Had cleveland been able to work out a sign and trade with bosh i think he would have stayed, and that team would have won A LOT. That cleveland team wasnt talented, but they had great chemistry, they just were missing a second big time guy (Bosh) and look how bosh has played this year when its just him and lebron.
i also think if they had pulled off the trade for amare he would have stayed.
also, people cant criticize lebron for thinking he is bigger than the team/bigger than the game (because of the decision) and then not admit that what melo and howard are doing is way worse. At least lebron waited til after the season to make an ass of himself.
And I think if he had known he wanted to leave cleveland he wouldve said something. You cant blame a guy who is going to be a free agent for not knowing where he wants to play and going through the free agent process. You can blame a guy for being under contract and spending half his time talking about places he'd like to play.
I don't really get all the criticism that Lebron received. He signed a contract then he left as a free agent upon completion of that contract. He wasn't under any other obligations to the Cavs. He met with several teams to hear their pitches and ultimately went with Miami's. As with most, I thought announcing that decision on TV was ludicrous. Lebron has since admitted the same. Didn't they end up doing a sign and trade where Cleveland got a couple first round picks and a couple of second round picks from Miami?
So, regarding who is worse...I agree with Malibu. It's clearly the Celtics!
I think LeBron was legitimately stuck between cleveland and miami.
This could be the case, nobody really knows. I do think he intended to leave because he did leave, but that certianly doesn't make it true. It is certainly possible that he thought there was a good possibility to stay. If that is the case, he did the right thing. He shouldn't have had a show about the decision and should have told the Cavs before the shows, but the media does blow things out of proportions.
If he legitamately was stuck between staying in Cleveland or not, I do not have a huge problem with what he did.
Howard on the other hand has done nothing wrong. He admitted he wants to leave, and it would be wrong not to. He has always been a guy to truly try every game, which is sort of rare these days, and he has continued to do so. He called out his teammates because he believes that they should put there full effort out on the floor. He should not have been as vocal about it however.
So even if your conclusion about LeBron (which is just as valid as my conclusion, in which I think he was pretty certain that he would leave), Howard has still done it in a better way. Howard's only flaw has been criticizing his team publicly and considering that reasoning behind it, it isn't so bad. LeBron didn't tell the Cavs before his decision and he made a huge decision show out of it. Neither are the worst things in the world, and LeBron's got blown way out of proportion, but Howard has done nothing but admit the truth and been too harsh on his teammates.
The press is asking Dwight these types of questions to perpetuate the story. He is not the most mature individual, true. He is funloving and is still growing up. I don't begrudge him the luxury. If he ignores the questions, the press will villify him. If he answers the questions, the fans villify him. He is in a tough spot. Fact of business, Dwight Howard wants to win a title and the Orlando Magic, as constituted, will not be winning a title in the near future. Organizations are not loyal or faithful to players. Why do players have to be faithful or loyal to organizations? Think about it. Word.
If I had to choose, I would want my superstar player to do what Carmelo did and what Howard is doing. They gave their teams a chance to get some players in return. Lebron on the other hand, left his team on stuck because they had to gamble and had no idea if Lebron was staying or going. Props to Melo and Howard for having their minds made up and being real to their organizations.
the problem with dwight is not that he wants to leave, its that he keeps telling the media different things. i wanna stay. i wanna go. these are the teams i want to be traded too. also this team. or this team.
keep it between you and the GM if you want to leave. inevitably there will be leaks, but just dont comment on the rumors. thats one thing lebron did a great job of that dwight is terrible at. he keeps feeding the fire.
