I can't fucking believe he is going to Miami to play second fiddle to Wade. I had this guy all wrong. I was sure all he cared about was making money and inflating his own ego. I always thought he was too cocky to realize he's not a closer, and also too ego-driven to play in a 1/1A situation with another superstar. We watched Kobe chase Shaq out of LA, when they could have easily won 7-10 titles together. Now we see the 25 year old, top player in the league take less money to go play on another guy's team. He's doing it because winning means more to him than anything else, which shocks me. I didn't think he cared at all about winning. I was wrong. I still hate him, but I respect him just a little bit now.
Also I know he was promoting himself but still give him props for giving the proceeds to boys and girls club and also dishing out scholarships.
To me, it seemed like he was forced into doing that shit by his marketing company. He didn't seem comfortable in that setting at all.
His salary number may be lower but because there's no income tax in Florida, the net amount he will be making is much more than getting a max contract elsewhere. It IS about the money too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_income_tax
that's only going to save him roughly 100,000 dollars per year. Cleveland could have offered him 30 million or even more depending on what his contract ends up at.
You're right. I missed a zero. It's roughly 1 million per year. That still doesn't change what I said. 30 million > any of the tax numbers in that article.
Baseball is a totally different thing. You can be the best player in the league and your team can completely suck (See: ARod on Texas) If your team isn't good, you have no shot. Plus, he didn't take less money to go there, and he arrived originally via trade.
His PR is doing great work. They make him look like a savior in front of people, when in fact he's promoting himself further.
He may be out to promote himself, but he's promoting the NBA in the process. To me, the NBA has passed MLB as the number two sport in the US because of him.
I did also gain a little respect for him because he basically admitted he can't win one and needs 2 other All-stars to do it.
Kobe has done the same recently. [video=youtube;RnTgjvrIR5g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnTgjvrIR5g[/video]
turns out they did a sign and trade. why? I don't know. so he didn't take less money. He was willing to, though, so that doesn't change my opinion.
He is taking less money. He'll only get paid 14 million next year, same with Wade and Bosh. All three took a paycut so they could play together to win a championship. I think Lebron is a gigantic douche but I guess you can't fault him for that. I don't think he's dumb, he knows this decision will probably hurt his legacy in the long run, but at this point, maybe winning a ring is more important to him than his legacy. Again, you can't fault him for that. My problem with Lebron is still, and will always be the way he handled the entire situation. He didn't even call the Cavs before he made his decision, and I don't think he's ever thanked Cleveland or the management for their support. That makes him look like an ass.