Why do people care if top free agents go to teams with other top free agents? Big markets can afford that and it provides an overall better basketball product. So i dont buy that as an excuse to hate Miami or hate LeBron. It was LeBrons right to sign where he wanted as a free agent.

People who want parity in the league communists....**** parity.

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what lebron did to cleveland is way worse

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taking less money from a better franchise to win a ring via FREE AGENCY is worse than leaving a team in the middle of a contract you signed from a team for the exact same reason as Lebron?

Oh, now I see your point

Yeah prepy because at least minnesota and seattle got assets back in the respective allen and KG deals. Cleveland got nothing. They went from having the best player in the league and a top 5 team in the league to the lottery in one season. And it was his HOMETOWN team. Ray wasn't from seattle, KG wasn't from minnesota, and they weren't considered superstars at the times of those trades (ray never has been considered a superstar) the way lebron is.

lebron was wrong, kg and ray weren't, end of story

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Cleveland got nothing. They went from having the best player in the league and a top 5 team in the league to the lottery in one season.

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So should people be more concerned about the success of the company they work for or for their own careers? It's admirable to stick with a franchise through thick and thin, but if I see that I can do better at another company than I do at my current job....

Cleveland had 7 years to put championship-caliber players around Lebron. They managed Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison. They could have traded Lebron, but they chose to stick their heads in the sand and hope he would re-sign against his best interests. Sorry, but that's on Cleveland, not Lebron.


Besides, everything Lebron "took away" from Cleveland, he gave right back to Miami.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 7/12/2012 4:31p).]

apples and oranges

comparing professional athletes job decisions to someone working in a normal office setting is absolutely ridiculous

he took less money to go to miami. how many people working regular jobs would take a pay cut to go somewhere new? few if any.

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how many people working regular jobs would take a pay cut to go somewhere new? few if any.

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people who see they are going nowhere and hate the people they work with, also known as boston and rondo.

stop being a little butthurt *****. ray allen isn't the first person to ever leave boston in free agency.

Someone please tell me how this thread is on page 3??? I'm not about to toil through Ray Allen/Celtics/heat talk.

Yep. I know more than one normal person who has taken a pay cut for a better work environment, more fulfilling job, or a job with the potential to make more down the road.

In any case, Lebron's salary might be lower but I wouldn't be surprised if his endorsements have gone up more than enough to cover the difference.

Ray Allen is also at a point where money is not the most important factor. I can't fault anyone for going to Miami right now. That is the place to go to win rings and have a good time doing it.

Only a Boston fan would be dumb enough to hold onto the "hometown" BS

the thing is, if ray had stayed in boston the celtics would've been in great position to legitimately challenge the heat for the next 2-3 years (hell they woulda won this year's series against them with a healthy bradley and allen).

with him, jet, jeff green, and sullinger off the bench, the heat automatically penciled into the finals every year talk would have gone away quickly.

Even without ray the C's will still be right there with the bulls next year with the ability to knock off the heat in the playoffs

Yeah... Lebron did Cleveland and the Cavs SO wrong by singlehandedly creating the cash flows to make the franchise worth 25% more when he was there.

Meanwhile St. Kevin of Minnesota publicly threw not only management, but teammates under the bus multiple times in 06 before getting his wish.

To me, what Garnett did or what Howard is doing was way more poisonous and divisive to an organization than what Lebron ever did to the Cavs.

And sure, he left and Cleveland wasn't 'directly' compensated by Miami, but they did score a lottery pick indirectly because of it just a year later... so what do they have to whine about really?

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Yeah prepy because at least minnesota and seattle got assets back in the respective allen and KG deals. Cleveland got nothing. They went from having the best player in the league and a top 5 team in the league to the lottery in one season. And it was his HOMETOWN team. Ray wasn't from seattle, KG wasn't from minnesota, and they weren't considered superstars at the times of those trades (ray never has been considered a superstar) the way lebron is.

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#1) Cleveland knew that Lebron was exploring Free Agency and could've pulled the trigger on a deal if they choose to. He never told them he was staying in Cleveland so they rolled the dice and gambled that he would sign with them on their own accord, not by anything he did. Do you really think that at the end of their contracts that KG and Allen would've resigned with the Wolves and Sonics?

#2) LEBRON wasn't born in Cleveland, didn't cheer for Cleveland growing up, and has never lived in Cleveland. His HOMETOWN is Akron. End of story.

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lebron was wrong, kg and ray weren't, end of story

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Oh good, thanks for clearing that up with your extension, indisputable post...I guess that ends the story

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Even without ray the C's will still be right there with the bulls next year with the ability to knock off the heat in the playoffs

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Then why are you crying about him leaving? Or any free agent for that matter. So you're ok with the C's being able to toy with Allen, demoting him to a bench player, throwing him around in trade talks, but you're not ok with him leaving AFTER he fulfilled the contract that he signed with them, not complaining once or demanding a trade and playing hard?

You make no sense.

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(hell they woulda won this year's series against them with a healthy bradley and allen).

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Ifs, ands, and buts in this argument even go against you since the Celtics were 0-2 at pretty convincing margins when Bosh played a normal amount of minutes in it (not counting game 5 since he barely played in that game).

they moved him to a bench role because that's where he was needed after coming back from his ankle injury, to provide much needed scoring to the 2nd unit. Whereas bradley was needed to start to help the first team from being torched in the early going on the defensive side a and to provide energy. Ray still played in crunch time.

And they did that this past year because he had a bad ankle even after he came back and they knew they needed him available for the playoffs. Who's to say they wouldn't have put him back in the starting lineup next year assuming he came back healthy (actually no he definitely would've been the starter because bradley will be out recovering from shoulder surgery till mid december).

At this point in his career a smart guy like ray should know his role going forward that puts not only the team but himself in the best position is to come off the bench and take a bunch of shots with the 2nd team in short bursts then come play the 4th with plenty left in the tank. That's how Doc would've used him and they would've been able to close out games much easier than in the past few years where they looked gassed at times.

And they offered him more money and a no trade clause (only two other players in the league have no-trade clauses) so that dispels that crap about him being unhapppy about being shopped. Paul was shopped too, he never said a word about being upset and he's been with the C's his whole career. Everybody gets shopped, maybe just not so publicly. And it didn't come out that Ray was being aggressively shopped until much after the trade deadline, it wasn't talked about much at all around the time it could've actually happened.

Cleveland and miami aren't rivals either. they didnt play each other 3 years in a row before lebron left like ray did. You just don't do that if you know what's good for you. He still lives in new england in the offseason

1. Stay in the place you've won a title and have a great shot to win another with a great coach, rabid fan base, excellent teammates, make more money, and be revered around the region you call home long after you do retire

2. go to the team's 2nd biggest rival to not start, make significantly less money, play in front of crowds that show up in the 2nd quarter and are never loud.

1 is the right choice. What ray did was just ****ing dumb, there's no way around it.

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1. Stay in the place you've won a title and have a great shot to win another with a great coach, rabid fan base, excellent teammates, make more money, and be revered around the region you call home long after you do retire

2. go to the team's 2nd biggest rival to not start, make significantly less money, play in front of crowds that show up in the 2nd quarter and are never loud.

1 is the right choice. What ray did was just ****ing dumb, there's no way around it.

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100% your opinion. quit crying.

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100% your opinion. quit crying.

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Exaclty...that's all your opinion. if he wins another ring or 2 would it still be the wrong decision for him to leave?

So players aren't allowed to go to teams that are, excuse me, were their rivals? So you wouldn't go to a competing company if they offered you a better career move? No, you would do what's best for you, and to say otherwise makes you a bold face liar.

Ray Allen did what was best for him and his career. If they wanted him back to bad, than why did the C's sign Terry so quick? A players that plays Allen's position, and basically is a poor man's Ray Allen?

I'm starting to think that C's fans are worse than mavs fans...

No I would stay in the company in the area where i want to retire that's offering me significantly more money and has just as much of a chance (with me as part of the company) to compete with and outproduce the rival up and coming company that has no long term history of success

I would look at my company bringing in someone that does my job (jet) not at all as a threat but as a good thig to help me and make my job easier so I don't have to shoulder as much of the load, but I still get the credit at the end of the day because I have the tenure and resume of longterm success at the company

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has just as much of a chance (with me as part of the company) to compete with and outproduce the rival up and coming company that has no long term history of success

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No I would stay in the company in the area where i want to retire that's offering me significantly more money and has just as much of a chance (with me as part of the company) to compete with and outproduce the rival up and coming company that has no long term history of success

I would look at my company bringing in someone that does my job (jet) not at all as a threat but as a good thig to help me and make my job easier so I don't have to shoulder as much of the load, but I still get the credit at the end of the day because I have the tenure and resume of longterm success at the company

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You sir are to be commended then...Ray Allen doesn't agree with you and, surprise surprise, he's entitled to that opinion since it's his life. You can be as pissed as you want to, but Allen will win another ring before the C's even smell one, and that's what's important to him.

No he won't.

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No he won't.

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Care to place a wager on that?

i'll take you even money on that, dropkick.

sure i'll happily make a bet on that

what is your definition of "smelling a ring" prep?

finals appearance? conference finals? outright winning the title?

IMO, people placed too much value on an aging DW when Lebron went to Miami. He is about as good now as when Pippen was with Jordan. Wade is still a great player, but not the same as he was earlier in his career.

that sounds pretty spot on to me chemical

I can't believe anyone really believes that Jason Fing Terry was going to be the key ingredient that put the Celtics over the top.

Ray Allen to the Heat makes perfect sense. He'll be deadly there. How will he be guardable? Are you going to not double Lebron? Not get help when Wade penetrates? Ray can stand out at the three point line and just wait for the outlet when one of those guys draws doubles. Lebron grew up in game 6 of the ECF. He's always been a beast, now he's the man. With Allen joining forces that team is so far ahead of anyone in the east and that would even include Brooklyn had they signed Howard. The Celtics window has closed.

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IMO, people placed too much value on an aging DW when Lebron went to Miami. He is about as good now as when Pippen was with Jordan. Wade is still a great player, but not the same as he was earlier in his career.

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Ok...Lebron is now the undisputed best basketball player on the planet (ala Jordan in his day) and Wade is now as good as Scottie Pippen in his day...and those 2 won 6 rings together. I'm not sure how you can place too much value on that...but to each his own I guess. I'll take the 6 rings, but that's me...

maybe ray allen wanted to live on south beach for a year? maybe he didnt want to freeze his tail off in april and may?

miami south beach > > > > > boston waterfront

What is the point of watching the regular season when you know what the end results are going to be?

Like 2 years ago when the mavericks won or in 2004 when the Lakers after adding Karl Malone and Gary Payton lost to Detroit?

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Like 2 years ago when the mavericks won or in 2004 when the Lakers after adding Karl Malone and Gary Payton lost to Detroit?

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The big difference is that there's cohesion on the Heat, where the Lakers had none (Shaq and Kobe b*tching, malone having to defer, and Payton not being Payton)

I am no longer upset that Ray won't be back in boston next year. I think it sucks that he chose to go to their main EC rival, and he will make the heat that much tougher. But after Danny was able to fleece the rockets for courtney lee, the C's are now set at the guard spot and may be even deeper now than they were with ray

Lee can start until Bradley comes back in december or early january, then switch to a bench role alongside jet, sullinger, green, and wilcox to create a very formidable 2nd unit.

This is easily the deepest and most athletic team the C's have fielded in the KG era. They are gonna be tough and should be right there next year back in the ECF against the heat (the bulls seeming to be the only real threat of this not happening).

So thanks to ray for the contributions he made, still shouldn't have gone to miami but **** happens. Hopefully his bad ankles keep him out for long periods of time again like they did last year.

Ya bro, you're so un-butthurt that you just wished injury on someone. You've convinced us. Sure did.