How can anyone put up with today's NBA culture of prima donna star athletes? Do you really enjoy having one of these types of stories where LeBron is opting out of his contract early, "The Decision", etc.?

And why does the media continue to feed these attention whores? Fox 32 news leads in with, "could LeBron be coming to Chicago?!??!?" NO, HE'S NOT. For Christ's sake, we lived through this same crap a few years back. Now I have to hear this again on sport's radio for an entire off-season?

The NBA allows this culture and seems to thrive on it. I guess you can't blame them. This is great attention for them. Free marketing. Why? Because you eat this dumb crap up.

I really want to like the NBA the same way I like hockey. I want to appreciate skilled players for who they are, not for the drama they create on a day to day basis. That is what a sport is supposed to be. Unfortunately, more fans see it as entertainment and not sport.

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Cheer for the good guys. This year was a great example of sweet, sweet justice.

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My answer to all of this is no.

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Elections have consequences.

It was and it wasn't. Honestly, I love watching LeBron and Wade when they are really on their game. I don't actively root against them. If you love the sport, you have to respect how great they are (or were in Wade's case).

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Why shouldn't LeBron be able to opt out of his contract if he has language in his contract that allows him to opt out after a period of time? Do you also have issues with owners that exercise their rights?

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Amen.


I don't have a problem with players taking more control of their careers. I do understand being put off by the ESPN hype machine surrounding the NBA offseason, but I think that's more of an espn issue than NBA.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I thought of ESPN when I read this post. On the one hand you've got them covering NBA games and story lines (NBA on ESPN for short), and on the other you've got its journalistic/sports news branch (ESPN News, etc.) that needs to hype up stories to drive ratings and interest in both business entities: ESPN News and NBA on ESPN. If I've got that somewhat right, it's a sort of institutionalized conflict of interest that in part amplifies headlines that are thought to fuel as much interest as possible. It's like CNN milking the plane story for as long as it could, but ESPN not only covers "plane" stories in the NBA world, it also creates the plane.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

I like the NBA and wish the Heat had more competition. Maybe I am just an old goof that remembers incorrectly but when I started watching NBA the Lakers, Celtics, Sixers, Sonics, Blazers and a few more had a real chance to win a championship any given year. Now there are more players from all over the world and we are marketed that only one, two and maybe three teams can win it? Keep it.

I would love the unpredictability of the NHL in the NBA playoffs.

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Elections have consequences.

If he opted out for a good reason, like the Heat decided to dump salary and traded away their best players, I could see arguing that it was his right. The team was in the NBA finals last year. Between this and his history with the decision, it paints a negative picture.

I just want the guy to be considered with the likes of Jordan and Magic.

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Its bigger than ESPN. Its on every news station. Hell, I saw them talking about it on the view when I was in a waiting room today.

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The NBA is very popular. It's a great league featuring the finest sport ever invented. It makes sense when you look at it from that perspective.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

If it's in his contract then it is his right, regardless of reasoning.

He's never going to be Jordan. That comparison is dead.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

A lot of it is ESPN, though. They do it with all sports, and unfortunately people consume it. PTI, Around the Horn, First Take... it's all garbage that makes headlines out of nothing. And in principle, it is very similar to Cable News.

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This.

This is fantastic for the league as a whole. For now at least.

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Whatever reason he opted out for is good. He could be opting out to give the Heat more flexibility. He could be opting out to sign a longer contract or he could be opting out to go play for a team that has a better chance to win long term.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Then why didn't he announce what he was doing was opting out to give more flexibility? Everything screams he wants to attention whore again this summer.

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Because he doesn't have to. He has the leverage. I believe that you liked the days when players were powerless.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Maybe. If he had the power, but didn't have his wife instagramming a picture of Akron and didn't do "The Decision", I maybe wouldn't feel so negative about what he is doing.

And I don't totally blame him for doing it. If the NBA allows owners to have opt-out contracts for their players, than they need to deal with the consequences, which right now doesn't seem to be impactful.

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Wait a minute......do you have control over your wife's social media activity?

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Lebron opting out is not in any way a story because he opted out.

It's a story because people want to manufacture a story where there isn't one.

That's not his problem, fault, or concern in any way.

IF he clarifies his position, he likely loses money and definitely loses negotiating leverage. Anyone who doesn't understand that is a certified dope. Still probably a nice person, but a shit-fire flaming dope all the same.

Also, it's long since past time for everyone everywhere to shut the hell up about "The Decision".

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

No, but I'm not a potential billionaire who is looking to cement his legacy for decades to come. If I was, I'm sure I would control my brand and message, even if its my wife.

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boy, this is a real original nomination....because no other sport has a "hot stove", or round the clock draft /combine coverage....

it's the offseason, people talk about personnel moves and free agents. and when the best player in the league is a free agent it's going to generate discussion . shocking.

No.

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I think that's espn's influence. They've doubtlessly directed every subsidiary and relevant blogger to lead with the story. Deadspin I think revealed ESPN memos back when Tebow was all over the news directing talking heads to go with more Tebow. It's the same approach here. You milk it for as long as you can, except in this case one branch of ESPN is manufacturing story lines (e.g where will LeBron go?), while its news branch then amplifies that story through round the clock "coverage.".

By the way The View is owned by Disney, like ESPN.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

The NBA is the one creating this. ESPN is just an outlet they use.

Everything the NBA does is attempting to create one or two superstars in major cities. The salary structure is built that way. The revenue sharing is built that way. The decisions made by the league office are done with that specific purpose. The way games are called are done to give superstars added power and build them up.

It seems to be working for them as they all seem to be making a lot of money though.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

The Jackhammer has a waiting room?

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Whatever. The NBA has ten times the drama in the offseason over the other sports. If you don't see that, you need to pay more attention.

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I'll back off some of the direct at LeBron comments, I'm probably wrong with them.

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Not true. The NFL draft generates more press and buzz than normal for the off season. The past three off seasons in the NBA have been snoozefests. That's the norm.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

I was actually in the NutBush thank you very much.

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