[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by Kensta335

So, do you think he is still staying in Cleveland or bouncing to another team?

I think he's staying.

Originally Posted by Couch

If he stays he will not win a ring. The best thing he can do for himself is leave Cleveland.

I don't think that's necessarily true. They have some decent peices and if they can add CP3 then I think they'll still have a great shot of winning. Bosh is good but not as good as he's made out to be. Varejao has equalized him many times harrasing Bosh defensively. Bosh only plays well in space. With that said I still wouldn't mind him being a Cavalier. Also even though he said he's going to Miami anything can happen till his ink hits the paper, this isn't college football where a verbal commitment is a near lock. That $30mil could come floating back into his head.

Originally Posted by BTM

I hope you're right and he goes to the Bulls. IMO he's kinda just treading water in anything but a major market, given the goals he's set for himself. We'll find out tomorrow

This has been disproven time and time again. The "major market" notion is nothing but bullshit. Yeah, it meant a lot 30 some years ago but now with the internet and modern TV coverage LeBron could play in Fairbank's Alaska and as long as ESPN was willing to travel there and cover him he'd be just as big.

His goals are mainly hinged on his brand in China. China will make him the Billion Dollar man he wants to be, not America. So it doesn't matter where he plays here as long as he wins a championship and keeps raking in money from China. Don't forget that the Cavs have partial owners from China as well.

[NYCGarbagePrince]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

Bosh is good but not as good as he's made out to be. Varejao has equalized him many times harrasing Bosh defensively. Bosh only plays well in space.

Congratulations... you just compared an all star and top 5 productive player in the NBA to a nobody with a bad hair cut. You sir have no idea what you are talking about.

[BTM]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

This has been disproven time and time again. The "major market" notion is nothing but bullshit. Yeah, it meant a lot 30 some years ago but now with the internet and modern TV coverage LeBron could play in Fairbank's Alaska and as long as ESPN was willing to travel there and cover him he'd be just as big.

Where has this been disproven and by whom? I agree that the internet changes things but the fact of the matter is that Cleveland is still Cleveland, not a real activity hub for anything really. Other than Gretsky I can't really think of many sports icons (which is what Lebron wants to be) that were not in a major market.

[choicez]

Lebron is going to the Lakers and Kobe is going to the Knicks.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/4...n-lebron-james

[NYCGarbagePrince]

Originally Posted by BTM

Where has this been disproven and by whom? I agree that the internet changes things but the fact of the matter is that Cleveland is still Cleveland, not a real activity hub for anything really. Other than Gretsky I can't really think of many sports icons (which is what Lebron wants to be) that were not in a major market.

Why do you think Gretzky went to the LA Kings? and finished his career on the NY Rangers...?

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by NYCGarbagePrince

Congratulations... you just compared an all star and top 5 productive player in the NBA to a nobody with a bad hair cut. You sir have no idea what you are talking about.

Bosh never beat up on the Cavs because of Varajao. What I said is true. Just because Bosh is an all-star and Varajao isn't doesn't mean shit. For you to refer to Varajao as a nobody when many teams would love to have him proves you know less about what I'm talking about. Varajao is one of the hardest, scrapiest defenders in the league and breaks players down over 4 quarters with his hard play.

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by NYCGarbagePrince

Why do you think Gretzky went to the LA Kings? and finished his career on the NY Rangers...?

With the kings he was the bomb. With the rangers he was a legend more then a player, why do you think the kings let him walk? Kinda like Lemuiex making his kinda sorta come back to the penguins he was a legend not a difference maker player.

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by BTM

Where has this been disproven and by whom? I agree that the internet changes things but the fact of the matter is that Cleveland is still Cleveland, not a real activity hub for anything really. Other than Gretsky I can't really think of many sports icons (which is what Lebron wants to be) that were not in a major market.

There have been articles about this. Lebron is already big in LA, NY, Chicago and Miami. Playing in those cities won't make him magically a bigger brand. Sure he'll sell more jerseys mainly because people buy the new team one but he won't get any more money from Nike or anyone else for that matter.

Also of the major PR firms none have their main offices in LA or NY, so this won't make a bit of difference. Besides he uses his own people anyways.

Oh and I dunno... but what about Elway(denver), Stockton and Malone(Utah), Barkley(Pheonix). We could go on a long time with icons in non-major markets.

[BTM]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

There have been articles about this. Lebron is already big in LA, NY, Chicago and Miami. Playing in those cities won't make him magically a bigger brand. Sure he'll sell more jerseys mainly because people buy the new team one but he won't get any more money from Nike or anyone else for that matter.

Also of the major PR firms none have their main offices in LA or NY, so this won't make a bit of difference. Besides he uses his own people anyways.

Are these articles anything more than editorial conjecture? I haven't seen one, I'd like to read one. I understand that the world is a lot smaller than it used to be, but you can't honestly say that the same opportunities exist in Cleveland that do in major basketball cities with storied franchises like the Lakers or the Bulls or the Celtics. For him to accomplish any of his icon/business goals, first things first, he needs to win a championship. I don't see that happening in Cleveland.

[NYCGarbagePrince]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

With the kings he was the bomb. With the rangers he was a legend more then a player. Kinda like Lemuiex making his kinda sorta come back to the penguins.

You do know Gretzky played for one of the best teams in NHL history right? The Oilers team that finally took down the three time champion NY Islanders. He made himself known on the Oilers, and then they built a team and the entire sport around Gretzky.

If it isn't obvious to you yet, the NBA isn't doing so hot right now. Its image is still tarnished and has a long way to go before it can compete with baseball or football. Lebron James is the last great hope for the NBA and David Stern knows this. Major markets matter. Kobe plays in LA... for a reason. Alex Rodriguez went to the Yankees for a reason. There are 10 million people alone in NYC. Now add in all the suburbs that spend money on these teams and you have yourself a MAJOR market. Cleveland (no offense) is far from a major market.

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by NYCGarbagePrince

You do know Gretzky played for one of the best teams in NHL history right? The Oilers team that finally took down the three time champion NY Islanders. He made himself known on the Oilers, and then they built a team and the entire sport around Gretzky.

If it isn't obvious to you yet, the NBA isn't doing so hot right now. Its image is still tarnished and has a long way to go before it can compete with baseball or football. Lebron James is the last great hope for the NBA and David Stern knows this. Major markets matter. Kobe plays in LA... for a reason. Alex Rodriguez went to the Yankees for a reason. There are 10 million people alone in NYC. Now add in all the suburbs that spend money on these teams and you have yourself a MAJOR market. Cleveland (no offense) is far from a major market.

Yay, you told me stuff about gretzky I already knew. Yes he became the shit with the oilers. Became a bigger legend with the kings and bowed out as a ranger. whooptie do. Oh and like Baseball has this great image with its players sitting in front of the senate every other month. footballs looking real good too with it's rapists, drug addicts, club fights, running people over and not to forget major brain injuries.

Anyways... Lebron could be considered a savior for the NBA but there are other guys. Just because Kobe plays in LA means nothing about his brand. Not only LA people buy Kobe stuff, not only NYC area people buy Arod stuff aaaaannnnd not only cleveland people buy Lebron stuff. It's called a world market, I'm sure you've heard of it. LBJ makes more of his money off of everywhere else then he would regardless of the city he plays in. I said it above, for LBJ to make his billion America (including the major markets) will only provide a portion of that money, he has to have the chinese market behind him. Which last time I checked they could care less where anyone of these guys play as long as their great and winning.

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by BTM

Are these articles anything more than editorial conjecture? I haven't seen one, I'd like to read one. I understand that the world is a lot smaller than it used to be, but you can't honestly say that the same opportunities exist in Cleveland that do in major basketball cities with storied franchises like the Lakers or the Bulls or the Celtics. For him to accomplish any of his icon/business goals, first things first, he needs to win a championship. I don't see that happening in Cleveland.

And you're quote, from the NY Times of all places....

"Many argue that James needs to be in a major market (namely New York or Los Angeles) from an endorsement standpoint. They often argue that a sponsor like Nike may be pulling strings to land James in a market where they can make more money. But does a superstar really need to be in a major market? James, Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade seem to be doing just fine in Cleveland, Orlando and Miami, respectively.

Can you imagine James getting more media attention if he’s in New York or Los Angeles? Me neither. If you’re a star you need to be in a big market. If you’re a superstar, they come to you."

http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.c...amess-suitors/

Many others have said the same. I can google more for you if you'd like.

Oh and if you honestly think Miami is a major market from a basketball stand point then you're sorely wrong. Go to a game there, even with Dwayne Wade they only get about 10k fans a game in the arena. The fews times they sell out are for games against Cleveland and LAL. My best friend lives 5 blocks from AA Arena, the place is more suited to hang out and have drinks while watching the sunset over south beach then to watch a basketball game.

[BTM]

Well for one the consensus on the times is that it's shit - and this isn't necessarily bias, this is coming from more than a couple professors in positions to assess a paper's credibility. Two, that link you posted is, as I suspected, just random conjecture. If you think that's proof of anything then your sorely mistaken. Third, it isn't necessarily the amount of media attention, he'll probably get less in a major market (percentage wise) than he does in Cleveland where he's the only thing they have going as far as sports go. But the attention he does get will be received by a much larger audience, locally and nationally (as ESPN is renowned for favoring major markets - which in their defense is just smart business)

Miami is not a major market but is a much larger one than Cleveland. If Wade played in Cleveland, and hadn't won anything, I doubt people in Europe and China would be buying his jerseys. Lebron is the market maker, and Cleveland is maxed out - he has spent all this time there and has nothing to show for it, other than he's the best basketball player playing right now, which is no surprise to anyone - we knew this. Now, if I were Lebron, it's time to move to a location who's won a championship. A franchise who's done it before, it's time to play with the big boys. I really thought Lebron would win it this year and stay in Cleveland, and he didn't even make the finals with that sorry excuse for a team the surrounded him with. As good as he is, he can't do it alone. If anything, the Cavs are holding Lebron back.