Scottie Pippen: LeBron could be better than MJ

Maybe if LeBron gave any indication of his future plans to Cavs management, rather than giving the generic "I want to test the market" talk while teasing the fan base with claims that he wanted nothing more than to bring a title to Cleveland, their front office could have built more wisely for the future rather than put together a makeshift 'win-now' team. Every move they made was designed to prove that they would accommodate him in every way, yet he still spurned them. As far as I'm concerned, going to Miami has proved that LeBron's greatest fear became a realization: He couldn't win on his own. This was evident when he told Cavs management after last season that he didn't want to be 30 years old with bad knees and no title. And it's why he'll never be in the same discussion as Jordan or Kobe. Truthfully, I think the same goes for Dwyane Wade at this point as well.

 

I missed when Jordan or Kobe won one on their own. Which season was that?

 

Kevin Garnett didn't (or maybe he did, I just don't recall that) have the stated ambition of building a GOAT legacy.

The guys at the very top don't just play to help their teams win regular-season games or get contracts or whatever. They play to build their legacy. James as a player I would put up against just about anybody. But he's completely botched his legacy.

 

He's botched his legacy with people who want to be bitter and butthurt over the fact that he left cleveland.

The man is 26 and the best player in the game hands down. Barring injury, he'll have a 7-10 year run as the very best player in the league. And if he wins 3-4 titles, I suspect his legacy will be just fine

 

And if he doesn't?

 

Jordan bitched quite loudly about "My supporting cast" until he won a title. Kobe tried his best to get out of Los Angeles, but the best offer had Luol Deng as the centerpiece (thank you, Basketball Gods).

LeBron moved to a place a lot of people would if they were young, (sort of) single, and had money. He realized no one would choose to move to the Rust Belt to play with him.

Every free agent has the opportunity to choose the best situation for them. He took winning over just seeking the money.

The Decision was dumb and cheesy, but Jimmy Claussen's Notre Dame announcement at the college football hall of Fame is still the leader in the clubhouse in that category.

Miami will win the title this year. Referees' decisions home court advantage will tell the tale.

 

If he doesn't win titles, then people have every right to judge him on that. But judging him because he left cleveland is something that really doesn't make sense, especially since Im willing to bet 85 percent of the people in the world would've done the same exact thing if they were in his shoes and they wanted to win championships

 

KG busted his ass for Minnesota and played as hard as he could to try to win a title there. LeBron quit on his team. Let's end the comparisons there.

 

Harold "Baby Jordan" Miner agrees.

 

Also, KG was 31 (and not a young 31) when he made the move. He played 12 seasons in Minnesota, then went to a contender in the back end of his career.

LeBron was scared of being 30 with bad knees and no title. Garnett, to an extent, lived it.

 

It wasn't what he did, it was how he did it.

 

I keep hearing the argument that LeBron would not have fared well in the 80s/90s NBA because of how physical the game was back then. Is that true? I mean, outside of a couple of teams in the East, I don't remember the league as a whole being rough and tumble.