That's, like, your opinion man

A friend sent me this message the other day:

As I noted earlier Bill Simmons of ESPN.com is big on bashing LeBron...here's his latest:

[Thumb's Down] To LeBron James, who coasted through the Skills Challenge on All-Star Saturday and played the All-Star Game with the uplifting,charismatic intensity of a female porn star trying to break one of those"most male partners in one afternoon" records. Could we end up putting him in the "Too Much, Too Soon" Pantheon some day? Will he become the basketball version of Eddie Murphy, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson and every otherceleb who became famous too quickly and eventually burned out?

Here's what I know. I had four conversations with connected NBA people over the weekend that centered around the same themes: LeBron isn't playing nearly as hard as he did last season; it looks like his only goal right now is to get his coach fired; he's regressing as a basketball player (especially his passing skills and his shot selection); he made a huge mistake firing his agent and turning his career over to his buddies back home (all of whom are in over their heads); he was a much bigger problem during the Olympics than anyone realized; he doesn't seem to be enjoying himself anymore; he has an overrated sense of his own worth and his ownimpact in the sports world (as witnessed by the ESPN interview last week when he answered the "What are your goals?" question with two words: "Global icon"); he's been protected by magazine fluff pieces and buddy-buddy TV interviews for far too long; he doesn't have the same relentless drive to keep dominating everyone like Wade and Kobe have; and basically, we're much closer to LeBron re-enacting the career arc of Martina Hingis, Eric Lindros
and Junior Griffey than anyone realizes. This will evolve into THE dominant NBA story of the next two months. You watch.

To this I responded:

I have no doubt that there are many Lebron-haters out there, ESPECIALLY amongst NBA "insiders." I suspect its actually trendy in NBA circles to trash "King" James. Well, I think it's mostly, but not entirely, bullshit, but for what it's worth I'll address each point:

1) First, I've always loved Bill Simmons, but his bit is actually starting to get old. His social commentary is funny, but I would hardly call him an expert -- hence the Page 2 billing. Secondly, it's the f***ing All Star game, in Vegas, and everyone but Dwight Howard was clearly hung-over. Even so, Lebron's stat line led the Eastern Conference. So I don't begrudge any lack of enthusiasm (he tried that alley-oop to himself, didn't he?). Back to our pornstar analogy: I don't think it matters if the chick coasts on a few studs, so long as she has a nice body and attempts a few nice moves in the process. It's the All Star Game. Records Room. B-1.

2) I agree Lebron is not playing as hard as he did last season. I think he looks tired. I also think that the Cavs brass and Lebron learned last year that the regular season is a marathon, not a race. Remember that it was Detroit that was far and away the best team in the league last year during the regular season. Miami proved that the important thing is to peak at the
right time and have all your players healthy for the stretch run into the playoffs. Lebron looked exhausted by the end of the Washington series, and was pretty much out of gas versus Detroit. One of the few things Mike Brown has done well this year is utilize the bench and rest his starters. Lebron's minutes are down to just over 40 per game -- still one of the highest in the league, by the way. Let's also not forget, that unlike nearly every other premier player in the league, Lebron has not been injured in his first 3+ years, so he didn't benefit from that extra down time. Nor has he been benched as the result of nagging injuries.

3) I think that there was considerable dissention within the ranks toward Mike Brown, and rightly so. Brown was too obsessed with defense, and he failed to consider that the Cavs were underachieving so much on offense that playing good defense was often futile and even self-defeating. Thankfully, Brown seems to have gotten the message, and the Cavs have made some rotation changes and are trying to push the tempo more. In Brown's defense, though, this is the first year installing the new offensive system, while the defense is on year two. This is reflected in the team's statistics. Also, pretty much all the teams with the best defense are near the top of the standings, while the best offensive teams have widely disparate records.

4) I hate to say it, but, at least in the short term, I agree that at times it looks like Lebron has regressed just a bit this year. Again, though, I blame this mostly on fatigue and frustration with the offense and surrounding cast. I think he and Coach Brown have finally come to an understanding. My biggest fear is that they will try to force feed Ilgauskas like they did last year. That really is what brought the offense to a grinding halt.

5) James fired his agent, Aaron Goodwin, almost two years ago, man. Since then things have continued to go quite swimmingly for Lebron. He has continued to grow his endorsement portfolio with only top brands and he successfully negotiated a contract extension with the Cavaliers that set the standard for several of his NBA peers (I thought that was a pretty shrewd move). I am sure that NBA "insiders" would like to think that only the good ol' boy network can get things done though. Also, he didn't "turn his career over to his buddies" -- from everything I've read, there is no mistaking who the CEO of that company is. Perhaps peple have been reading articles like this:

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/02-07/02-11-07/20sports.htm

Seems almost identicle to the list you gave. The author fails to note that a) Lebron already has the best deals out there (Nike, Coke), b) the big fish only take the best endorsements (let scuba man down there hump T-mobile), and must be wary of saturation.

http://benjamincox.blogspot.com/2007/01/its-too-bad-lebron-signed-that-contract.html

6) I don't know about the "problem during the Olympics." Can you elaborate?

7) He seems like he's still having fun, but he's not 19 anymore. Maybe he's just growing up? Didn't you change a bit from 19-22? Overall though, he seems like basically the same guy to me, except he expects a few more foul calls. Again, normal for a four year veteran of his stature.

8) Lebron has said from almost day one that he wants to transcend the sport/be an icon. This is a) not news and b) something originally perceived in a positive way.

9) "He's been protected by magazine fluff pieces and buddy-buddy TV interviews for far too long." Pure Lebron hate speech. Yes, like Michael Jordan before him, Lebron and his handlers have been very careful about how they've portrayed him, keeping him as bland as possible for Wal-Mart America. I wouldn't say he's been "protected" by fluff pieces, though. I'm
calling bullshit here for sure. He's protecting his "brand" by not making political statements and the like. So what? He has his whole life after making his millions to make statements. He still gives a tremendous amount to charity and has been amazingly giving in his home town of Akron. Plenty of guys would have big-timed the hometown by now. Do you even know where Dwayne Wade is from?

10) First off, I don't put Wade in the same category as Kobe when it coms to "relentless drive." Wade has yet to prove that to me. Also, Wade has missed a bunch of games with injuries and generally had a lot more time to rest and recover than Lebron.

11) "basically, we're much closer to LeBron re-enacting the career arc of Martina Hingis, Eric Lindros and Junior Griffey." Well, again this just shows the credibility of your sources. I'd take Griffey's career any day.

12) "This will evolve into THE dominant NBA story of the next two months. You watch."

Are these your words, or your "insider"s words? Either way, I highly doubt it will be more than a footnote. Lebron is still in the top 7 or 8 in efficiency rating, and there's not that much season left. I expect the Cavs to continue to improve and finish strong. I also expect that Lebron's FG% and assist rate will improve between now and the end of the season. Want to wager?