Tired of the NBA "SuperStar" Mentality

[BIGCatBobcat]

"I'm taking my talents to South Beach."

"I've never said I wanted to be traded. I never once said that."

"He feels like they haven't put the right pieces together,"

"mentally checked out or, you know, just wasn't quite into it down the stretch, he wasn't the same guy. And I think everybody saw that, just no one wanted to acknowledge it."

When you string them together like that, it really sounds horrible. I'm pissed. I really am. It's not being a small-market team's fan, it's not being on the outside looking in on the "Big Boys" of the NBA. It's a general disdain for that attitude. It's the AAU thing or something. These guys come up in a team with a coach who that's his job and you're pandered to. You get invited to Nike, Adidas, camp. You are wooed by every major college coach in the country. Sometimes that AAU coach or your own pops gets a job as an assistant with that team, just for you playing there. You hold the cards.

Where do these 26 year olds get off demanding a trade? Turning their back on a fan-base? Checking out on the team that drafted and paid you?

So what? You don't have Paul Pierce and Ray Allen or Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom beside you? Get serious. You have billboards the size of a city block singing your praises and it's not enough. The front office shuffles guys in and out at your whim and they aren't good enough.

New Jersey and Denver tried to move mountains to get Carmello somewhere he'd "want" to be. Players are moved like pawns, agents called in the middle of the night and weekend. "Let's all group together at one agency and World Wide Wes will take care of it. Just like AAU, we let the grown ups make the decisions and do the hard part while we just play the game." Grow up fellas.

We all wanted to be like Mike growing up. This selected few are blessed with the same athleticism and talent as the owner of this "small-market" team. Why can't they follow his example and make the others around them better? Take over games like he did? Be strong but not demanding, aloof but not unapproachable and classy without being pretentious.

"But I can't live through those guys. I have to make my own destiny. I thought coming here was the best move for me." You don't get the point. MJ, Larry, Magic and Charles weren't getting on you about the move to Miami. They were talking about the way you did it. The complete lack of grace or dare I say intelligence about your "taking your talents" wherever they might land.

Maybe it's the money. People doing documentaries about the kid and his team from high school, while they're still in high school. Someone always trying to make a buck off of them and always in their ear. The fatherly figures that show up at just the right moment to say "The owner is going to treat this like a business, you should too. Only look out for yourself. Do the best thing for you." World-Wide Wes, Leon Rose, even David Stern holding the "star" above the game.

I just don't know. This is longer than it should be for a forum post but I wanted it here rather than on the blog so it'd be more of a discussion. Miami can keep 'em. New Orleans too. New York/New Jersey can do what they think they can to get these guys to the big media market. I wouldn't trade a guy like Gerald Wallace for Carmello Anthony. I would have a damn hard time taking LeBron back for Crash. I guess I just don't want the drama in my life.

PS: Lebron, if you start typing "LeBron James" into Google, the auto complete takes it to "LeBron James Mom Delonte West". Just sayin'

[ziggy]

I feel your pain BigCat. Unfortunately it's a superstar driven league and 9 out of 10 times it's a team with 1 or 2 of those superstars that ends up hoisting the championship trophy. Our best hope ( unless we can draft a superstar... if we ever have a 1st round pick again ) is to mold our team after the Larry Brown era Pistons. Win with superior team basketball and absolutely devastating defense. we saw a tiny glimpse of that back in January of last season for about a 2 or 3 week stretch where the bobcats played some of the best basketball of any team all season. If they could somehow capture that through an entire season then they could easily compete with the superstar driven teams in this league.

They were scary good during that stretch.

[ND22]

Agreed, there are too many prima-donas in this league. My hope is that Kevin Durant doesn't get sucked into that mold. That's a superstar worth rooting for.

[Keetch]

This deal with Miami this summer sort of put me over the top with the have's/have nots in the NBA. For me this next season, there's 2 NBA's. The Heat and Lakers can have their own Globetrotters on tour thing going and that's cool, maybe they can wear clown outfits; but I'd rather watch the rest of the teams play basketball thank you.

As far as I'm concerned those two teams are in another league now and can do whatever they want. I don't have much interest. Maybe when they meet in the Finals I'll watch then; if for no other reason than to see if LeBron gives a shit.

Still, I'd rather watch the two teams they beat play each other instead. Too bad.

I had to laugh when checking the Bobcats 11 game season ticket package; that its mandatory that you choose one of the Miami games. I have no idea why. No thank you.

[SWedd523]

I know exactly what you're saying. I've lost all respect for all of these guys acting like they're bigger than everyone else. If the fans didn't come to the games, they wouldn't get paid. If the coaches lock them out, they won't get paid. They depend on us, not the other way around. If you disrespect your team like that then you deserve to be sat on the bench until you grow the hell up. Guys like LeBron that quit in the playoffs--Done in my book. Guys like Melo and CP3 that demand trades and complain and act like general assholes--Done in my book.

It sucks that ESPN and other major media outlets fawn all over these guys and empower them to act the way they do when guys like Crash, Deron, Bogut, Rose, and Durant are true professionals that carry themselves the way a grown man should and appreciate the fans and teams that give them their salaries.

[teej]

Crash, Deron, Bogut, Rose, and Durant

Even Dwight and D-Wade are. D-Wade's rep will go down because of LeBron and Bosh, but he's a good guy. And of course Nash, though he's on the decline.

[Chef]

i agree with everything on this thread and don't want to repeat stuff. but,

i truly believe that of all the other teams in the east, we (and boston) matchup best against the heat. i could even see us taking the season series (if healthy). crash handles lebron as well as anyone in the league he really gives him trouble. jax can handle wade as well as anyone else's second best defender and TT will do well against bosh (much better than boris). on top of that all three will make the other guy work pretty hard on defense. if there is a team that can be okay in one on one matchups with those three it is us. i hope i am right. worst part is if we had a solid point ie devin harris or ray i think that puts us over the top.

[WarioVsMooChicken]

Like someone else here said, we're the Bobcats, We'll beat the Heat consecutive games and then turn around and lose to the Pacers by 20.

[LiquidWayno]

Really couldn't agree with this thread more. The Miami Heat have only made me a bigger fan of the Bobcats and more thankful to have Gerald Wallace. I wouldn't trade him for any player in this league. I have more appreciation for the true class acts like Crash, Deron Williams, Kevin Durant, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Ray Allen and Derrick Rose than ever before.

http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/201...%80%9D-oct-11/

Most sickening example yet for me.