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Yahoo Sports: Lebron was almost thrown off 2008 Olympic team
Posted on 7/16/10 at 5:44 pm
Posted on 7/16/10 at 5:44 pm
quote:
At the Beijing Olympics, surrounded with such talent and possibility, the Cleveland Cavaliers began to lose LeBron James to free agency. The beginning of his departure came in small moments on the daily bus rides through the city’s choking smog and bigger ones on the basketball court. Together, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and James kept talking about the summer of 2010, about the chance of a lifetime to chase championships and roll like a touring rock band.
And yet before Pat Riley’s free-agency vision for the Miami Heat could ever be validated, James had to first become a member of that 2008 Olympic team. The public never knew what those on the inside of American basketball’s elite power structure did: In the years and months before Beijing, that was very much in doubt for James.
Back when the Heat’s three new superstars had signed short contract extensions and started to explore the idea of free agency thrusting them together, a different discussion had played out within the NBA and USA Basketball: What should we do with LeBron?
From Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski to managing director Jerry Colangelo to NBA elders, the issue of James’ immaturity and downright disrespectfulness had become a consuming topic on the march to the Olympics. The course of history could’ve changed dramatically, because there was a real risk that James wouldn’t be brought to Beijing based on fears his monumental talents weren’t worth the daily grind of dealing with him.
When the mandate had been to gather these immense egos and get the NBA’s greatest players to fit into a program, no one had a more difficult time meshing into the framework than James. Other players made it a point to learn the names of staffers and modestly go about their business without barking orders and brash demands.
No one could stand James as a 19-year-old in the 2004 Athens Olympics, nor the 2006 World Championships. Officials feared James could become the instigator of everything they wanted to rid themselves for the ’08 Olympics. For as gifted as James was, Krzyzewski and Colangelo subscribed to a belief that with Kobe Bryant joining the national team in 2007, they could win a gold medal in ’08 with or without LeBron James. Behind the scenes, officials had taken to calling James’ inner circle, “The Enablers.” No one ever told him to grow up. No one ever challenged him. And yet, James was still a powerful pull for his teammates, and everyone had to agree they could no longer let his bossy and belittling act go unchecked. These weren’t the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Team USA wasn’t beholden to him.
After the NBA witnessed the behavior of James and his business manager Maverick Carter during the 2007 All-Star Weekend, the commissioner’s office sent word to USA Basketball the league wouldn’t force James on them for the Olympics. Before Team USA gathered for the 2007 Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas, an unmistakable message had been delivered to James through Nike: Unless you change, we’re serious about leaving you home.
“Legacies were on the line,” one league official said, “and they weren’t going to let LeBron [expletive] it up for everyone in China.”
Through Nike, James ultimately heeded the message and became more tolerable to coaches, teammates and staff. Team USA assigned Jason Kidd to babysit him at the Tournament of the Americas in 2007, to try to teach him something the Cavaliers never had a veteran to do: professionalism.
LINK
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Posted on 7/16/10 at 5:48 pm to Bench McElroy
God, I hope it all blows up in his face down in Miami.
Posted on 7/16/10 at 5:49 pm to Bench McElroy
its funny how things seem to come out AFTER he pisses a lot of people off
Posted on 7/16/10 at 5:51 pm to thewarmth
quote:
God, I hope Big Z blows it all over his mom's face down in Miami.
Posted on 7/16/10 at 5:53 pm to DBG
Obviously Cleveland's people have no incentive to cover for him now.
Posted on 7/16/10 at 5:54 pm to saintsfan22
i know, but whats the point?
just comes off as super sour grapes
just comes off as super sour grapes
Posted on 7/16/10 at 5:58 pm to Bench McElroy
quote:
Team USA assigned Jason Kidd to babysit him at the Tournament of the Americas in 2007, to try to teach him something the Cavaliers never had a veteran to do: professionalism.
Because beating your wife is very mature and professional behavior
Posted on 7/16/10 at 5:59 pm to Bench McElroy
What did they fricking expect? You bring a guy into the league and telling people he is God's gift to basketball. He then gives the performance they all expected.
I knew a guy who was hyped big time at a young age. This is common place. It also doesn't mean they are bad people either.
It appears the right people finally stepped in to help him out and ground him a little.
Moments like these shouldn't be shocking and sort of expected.
It is still hard to fully accept the extent of some of this as he really hasn't shown too much of this in public.
I knew a guy who was hyped big time at a young age. This is common place. It also doesn't mean they are bad people either.
It appears the right people finally stepped in to help him out and ground him a little.
Moments like these shouldn't be shocking and sort of expected.
It is still hard to fully accept the extent of some of this as he really hasn't shown too much of this in public.
This post was edited on 7/16/10 at 6:01 pm
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:01 pm to Colonel Flagg
quote:
It appears the right people finally stepped in to help him out and ground him a little.
"The Decision" says otherwise.
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:01 pm to DBG
It shouldn't come to a surprise to anybody that a kid who's been glorified as the second coming since he was a sophomore in high school has an ego or maturity problem. Unlike MJ or Kobe he didn't have a strong father figure in his live, I mean for god sakes he was raised by a women that would frick Delonte West. Add in his group of boys who are never going to say no to the King and of course you're going to have a guy who's immature and has a massive ego.
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:05 pm to Bench McElroy
Here are some of the best tidbits from the article:
quote:
James had wanted Brown gone a year earlier after the Cavs lost in the Eastern Conference finals to the Orlando Magic – despite Brown guiding Cleveland to 66 victories while winning the league’s Coach of the Year award. Ferry debated Gilbert to keep Brown. He won out, but Ferry knew it would be tough to make that case again in 2010. Every decision the Cavaliers made had to be run past James. He didn’t always get to decide, but he had to be consulted.
quote:
Within days of the season’s end, James and Carter traveled to Winston-Salem, N.C., for the birthday party of New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul’s(notes) young son. With James on the premises, rules for the toddler’s birthday party included no photos, no video.
James was close with Paul, and free agency and the possible connecting of the players’ futures did come up in conversation. Paul was unhappy with the Hornets, and frustrated to see so many of his Team USA teammates on championship contenders and playoff teams. James and Carter long had been trying to recruit Paul to their LRMR marketing company and the Rose/Wesley/CAA cluster for his contract representation.
As a prelude to Paul eventually going into business with James, Wesley began working the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets to get them to try and trade for Paul with the strong suggestion that it could deliver James in free agency. Both tried, both failed.
quote:
For James, the problem with back-to-back presentations was his short attention span. Cavaliers coaches had always tried to keep film sessions short because James would drift away and lose interest. As the New York Knicks followed the Nets by repeating those themes with an array of power points and charts about accumulating wealth, James drifted in and out of focus. Later, James would tell Jay-Z that parts of New York’s presentation felt too redundant to New Jersey’s.
quote:
For everything the Bulls tried to sell – from owner Jerry Reinsdorf to GM Gar Forman to coach Tom Thibodeau – there had been one thing that troubled James’ about the Bulls pitch: Derrick Rose(notes) never called and tried to recruit him.
Chicago officials never directly requested Rose to reach out with a call, and the young point guard felt James could’ve always reached out to him had he wanted to discuss the possibility of playing together. James needed to be courted, needed to be wooed and apparently it surprised him there was a star who wasn’t falling over himself to do that.
quote:
Back in Akron, James still wanted to go through his live hourlong television show on July 8 to announce his decision. This had been Maverick Carter’s big idea, his production, and still people around him worried about the fallout in Cleveland. Several friends told James this was a bad idea to do to his hometown, that leaving the Cavaliers live on national television would make this a public-relations disaster for him.
James didn’t seem to agree, didn’t think it made a difference. Mad was mad, he thought. He would take a beating, but it would subside and people would love him again in Cleveland. The TV event had delivered hope to the Cavaliers that they would keep James because they never believed he would go on air and open himself to such a visceral reaction.
This post was edited on 7/16/10 at 6:08 pm
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:05 pm to Robot Santa
quote:
"The Decision" says otherwise.
I didn't really view the interview as that big of a thing. Everyone would have wanted a interview to explain his decision and he did that immediately for the fans.
The part of the special that was over the top was everything else by ESPN. We all know that shite would have happened anyways.
I just don't get the hate for Lebron over it as he gave the interview/press conference everyone would have wanted anyways.
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:09 pm to mattz1122
quote:
James had wanted Brown gone a year earlier after the Cavs lost in the Eastern Conference finals to the Orlando Magic
It was obvious this needed to happen after that series. Brown was holding them back.
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:09 pm to usc6158
quote:
Because beating your wife is very mature and professional behavior
lolz
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:11 pm to Colonel Flagg
Man this sucks for him, more fuel to the fire
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:12 pm to tduecen
article feels like reading a recruiting article after the big name instate kid picked someone else.
"we didnt want him anyway!"
"we didnt want him anyway!"
This post was edited on 7/16/10 at 6:13 pm
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:39 pm to Bench McElroy
So he wasn't the Leader of the USA team like he said? 
LINK
LINK
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:42 pm to D011ahbi11
quote:
So he wasn't the Leader of the USA team like he said?
o mann shel swore to me he was
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:45 pm to StraightCashHomey21
quote:
o mann shel swore to me he was
Yeah, I remember that. Somehow once of his articles of evidence was just Lebron saying he was the leader.
Posted on 7/16/10 at 6:50 pm to Grabo
quote:
Unlike MJ or Kobe
they didn't come in with the super hype but worked their arse off to get to were they are
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