[Igottago]

Originally Posted by valo403

The thing is they didn't tkae a paycut, with Florida's lack of taxes Lebron will earn more there than he would have under the max contract Cleveland could have offered.

Lebron exposed himself as the egomaniac he's always been known to be, and Gilbert exposed himself as a petty billionaire. At least Gilbert's rant will score him points with Cleveland fans, Lebron only scored points with people who value self aggrandizing behavior. Sadly, that seems to be a fairly large percentage of NBA fans from what I've experienced. It'll be interesting to see what this does to his 'brand' long term. He's certainly made it clear that he is not capable of being 'the man' on a championship team.

This type of thing is starting to happen in hockey as well. I would argue Ovechkin is just like an NBA superstar playing hockey. There's a bit of arrogance built into his game, persona, and marketing. Compare that to Sydney Crosby, who'se image is more in line with the traditional hockey player (humble, more reserved). I'm not saying one way is correct and the other not, just an observation.

Personally I think all the NBA's stars have massive egos and it does get annoying at times. But its also part of the branding and marketing surrounding the sport.