We get it, LeBron James. Finally, as one of your most ardent of haters, even I get it. The Cavaliers’ humiliating defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night further illustrated even more how valuable you really were to the team you used to call your own. The fact that you led this rag-tag bunch to 61 and 66 wins during the previous two seasons, respectively, demonstrates that you truly may be far superior to any individual playing basketball right now than previously believed.
But the taunting, merciless tweet you sent out the other night while the Cavs were being brutalized 112-57 in Los Angeles?
Totally unnecessary and you know it.
James tweeted the following about the game:
“Crazy. Karma is a b****. Get’s you every time. It’s not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!”
Yeah… good call, LeBron.
He now claims that the tweet wasn’t even from him, claiming that, “It wasn’t even a comment from me, it was someone who sent it to me and I sent it out. It wasn’t toward that team. It definitely wasn’t a good showing by that team last night, I know they wish they would’ve played better.” even though it clearly wasn’t a “retweet” from another source.
First, you’re a complete jerk and knucklehead for sending the tweet in the first place. Now you’re lying about it and refusing to hold yourself accountable? Shocking!
Look, I fully understand his desire to “stick it to the man” after Cavs owner Dan Gilbert let loose in his infamous July 8th tirade over LeBron’s departure via “The Decision”. While James’ television special was tactless on so many levels Gilbert’s shenanigans were utterly graceless and distasteful.
In the letter directed to Cleveland fans he essentially called James a “coward”, “narcissist”, “heartless” and “callous” while guaranteeing that the Cavaliers would win a championship before LeBron ever did.
Sure thing, pal.
Now? Gilbert and his underwhelming team reside in the Eastern Conference’s basement at 8-30, losers in 21 of their last 22 contests and sporting a payroll situation that looks bleak at best.
Seriously, when are these guys going to cut their losses and deal Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams for picks and/or prospects? Jamison is on the books for over $15 million next season and Williams is owed nearly $26 million through 2014. Isn’t it time to start a true rebuilding process at this point, Dan?
For those of us who never believed that James’ supporting cast was below-average we must now stand corrected – Cleveland went from perennial contender to lottery juggernauts in less than twelve months and are set to join their fellow comrades from 2002-03, 1981-82 and 1970-71 in the “Hey look! We won less than 20-games!” club.
While LeBron James may have become the ultimate villain in professional sports Gilbert’s post-decision reaction almost caused a few of us to feel that, while James’ method was ridiculously insensitive, he may indeed have chosen the correct path to respect and future championship hardware.
Now this.
Most folks out there are going to simply dismiss this as LeBron showing his competitive side and will shove his comments to the backburner. I can’t do that, and it’s not just because I consider hating James a part-time job.
It’s because you don’t taunt, ridicule and mock former teammates at their lowest possible moment when they are all probably feeling quite unpleasant given the beating they just absorbed.
I’m not going to say they didn’t deserve the beating. Coach Bryon Scott claimed that the team looked “scared” and “intimidated” by the Lakers but in reality it was a combination of timid play and, well, just awful basketball in general. A reporter claimed that in the locker room after the game that a couple of players were giggling in the background during Antawn Jamison’s interview. If that’s true I hope Bryon Scott has them perform ten “”suicides”" in a row – that’ll teach them!
Despite those two goofballs you can bet that most of the Cavaliers didn’t want to show their face in public that night and James’ tweet was probably the last thing they wanted to hear about. I know they are professionals playing in the most competitive league on the planet but they are human beings, right?
Call out Dan Gilbert, LeBron. We’d all understand that. Rip him to shreds in the media if you like. Heck, even former GM Danny Ferry if you wish. We have no idea what went on behind closed doors in Cleveland during the past few seasons so to determine who was saintly or villainous would be uneducated at best. However, based on Gilbert’s words in his diatribe, LeBron clearly has at least a valid reason to go off himself. I’m not saying that doing so would be 100-percent justified but it sure beats drop-kicking a bunch of already wounded dogs in the teeth; men who you trained, lived and played with during the previous seven years.
I’m talking about your fellow brethren, LeBron. These are teammates who you fought hardwood wars with; guys who joined in with your outrageous pre-mediated sideline dances that were choreographed beyond reason; players who bought into the whole “King James” hype and believed that you were worth playing alongside through thick-and-thin.
Even Mo Williams supposedly contemplated retirement after your free-agent departure, for goodness sake!
At least for about thirty seconds before he remembered the absurd amount of cash in his bank account.
We get it now, LeBron. Your basketball skills are otherworldly and you guided a mediocre bunch to a trip to the Finals in 2007 and the NBA’s best record in 08-09 and 09-10. You were named MVP twice for your efforts and now reside in South Beach with your buddies in an effort to create a dynasty. Despite the fact that I loathe you in most every way not even I can deny your excellence any longer, both for your past accomplishments with the Cavs and current run with the Heat.
Statistics aside, the only thing you have left to prove is championship-mettle.
Now it’s time to stop the taunting tweets, finally act maturely, and leave a battered, beaten, weary group to lick their wounds and rebuild without being reminded of a long-departed ghost from their recent-glorious past.
And if you decide to continue antagonizing and taunting others needlessly?
You may feel karma’s wrath one day too.
It gets you every time, right?
UPDATE: Soon after I wrote this the Heat lost in – you guessed it – Los Angeles to the Clippers behind standout performances from Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon. Karma indeed works in funny ways, LeBron.
Whats Your Verdict?
