Jordan shares his disappointment of Heat Big Three

[Miami Flash15]

Michael Jordan talked about the decision made by LeBron James to sign with the Heat, joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

"There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry (Bird), called up Magic (Johnson) and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team,'" Jordan said on Sunday. "But that's ... things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys."

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/13651163/jordan-shares-his-disappointment-of-heat-big-3

That's easy to say when you were surrounded by Pippen and Rodman.

LOL

[MvP]

Oh yeah, Mike is HEATED about this.

[G-men]

yeah, the Bulls developed the team around Jordan to win a championship, unlike what the Cavs did with LeBron. Jordan didnt win six championships on his own, but people make it out like he did.

[Kuzzy Powers]

Mike just said what everyone else been saying. You trying to beat the best, not join em. All 3 guys took the easy road.

[FirstTimer]

yeah, the Bulls developed the team around Jordan to win a championship, unlike what the Cavs did with LeBron. Jordan didnt win six championships on his own, but people make it out like he did.

Like who?

Mike just said what everyone else been saying. You trying to beat the best, not join em. All 3 guys took the easy road.

Exactly. Mike didn't have to call Scottie Pippen to come along with him. The Bulls drafted Pippen. Same with Kukoc. Rodman was really the only big name guy those teams brought in from the outside.....and that was a massive risk at the time.

The Bulls did an awesome job of having two great guys(who they drafted) and filling in role players around that. Wade, Bosh, and James basically called eachother and set this thing up. WAY different than the way those Bulls teams were built.

[Senators26]

Mike just said what everyone else been saying. You trying to beat the best, not join em. All 3 guys took the easy road.

I think you could leave Bosh out of that group. I don't think any team with Bosh as it's best player would go far in the playoffs. Wade and Lebron, on the other hand, is a different story.

[red33]

yeah, the Bulls developed the team around Jordan to win a championship, unlike what the Cavs did with LeBron. Jordan didnt win six championships on his own, but people make it out like he did.

damn ur a frontrunner of all frontrunners. Did you use to go by the name airmcnabb on MM?

What happened, Pats were fav team until Gmen beat them?

Also like others have said, getting a team built around is different then basically making a whole new team from scratch with the bst players you could get.

[Miami Flash15]

Mike just said what everyone else been saying. You trying to beat the best, not join em. All 3 guys took the easy road.

You can't really say all 3.

Miami was Wade's team. And Bosh isn't an elite player. Yes, he's an All-Star but he's not the caliber of Kobe, LeBron, etc. If it was just Bosh and Wade, no one would've complained on Bosh(because he doesn't have a legacy or anything).

What would've been worse:

LeBron NOT winning a ring in Cleveland during his entire NBA career
OR
LeBron winning multiple in Miami?

All this 'ruined legacy' talks about him coming to Miami is non-sense, a championship is a championship.

[RainboUnicorn]

You can't really say all 3.

Miami was Wade's team. And Bosh isn't an elite player. Yes, he's an All-Star but he's not the caliber of Kobe, LeBron, etc. If it was just Bosh and Wade, no one would've complained on Bosh(because he doesn't have a legacy or anything).

What would've been worse:

LeBron NOT winning a ring in Cleveland during his entire NBA career
OR
LeBron winning multiple in Miami?

All this 'ruined legacy' talks about him coming to Miami is non-sense, a championship is a championship.

It's not nonsense. LeBron isn't the centerpiece on the Heat. His 'legacy' is over. Like Barkley said "LeBron, if he would've [won a championship] in Cleveland, and if he could've got a championship there, it would have been over the top for his legacy, just one in Cleveland. No matter how many he wins in Miami, it clearly is Dwyane Wade's team."

IMO he copped out and went to Miami because he couldn't handle having to be the centerpiece on his own team and deal with all the pressure. It's too bad because I think it would have been better for the NBA to see Wade and James star on their own separate teams.

I just saw the cover of SI and it was very weird seeing LeBron standing behind Wade instead of being in the center. It's Wade's team and no matter how many championships LeBron wins there is no 'legacy'. And there is certainly no way he will be in the conversation for best ever anymore.

[Miami Flash15]

Of course, Miami is Wade's team and it will always(and should be) Wade's team. Wade's legacy is only going to be greater from now on out if they win titles, since he already won one on his own in 2006. This is Wade's team, no doubt about it!

But, as far as LeBron in Cleveland, he could never win.

Sure, they won 66 and then 60 games, but the regular season doesn't matter. They surrounded him with left-overs. Jamison was complete crap and he isn't an actual PF. He can't matchup against Gasol, Bosh, Garnett, etc. He'll get ran over by them. And maybe if they made more moves, he would've stayed. You knew it from the getco that he wasn't returning to Cleveland, whether he was signing with Miami or another team.

Personally, as a Heat fan, I don't see anything wrong with his legacy. Yes, it would've been something for him to win a championship in his hometown of Cleveland after all they've been through as far as sports go. I may be a little bias since he is on my team now, but hey.

But yeah, he might not be considered amongst the NBA Elite's anymore, especially with the fact that 3 stars in Miami will mean less stats for him as he'll be sharing the ball with two other dominant scores.

I think LeBron can average 15-20ppg/6-8 apg/6-8 rpg.

And, that'll be evenly distributed amongst the three. I think Wade will lead the team in scoring with just a tad bit over LeBron.

[Juggernaut]

LeBron'c Legacy

1 Championship in Cleveland >>> 4 Championships in Miami

[Miami Flash15]

In my book, a championship is a championship!

Wade, LeBron, Bosh <3

[BrntO4Life]

In my book, a championship is a championship!

Wade, LeBron, Bosh <3

Unfortunately for LeBron, "your book" isn't the one everyone outside of South Beach is looking at on the shelf.

LeBron is second fiddle now, something Michael and Kobe never did.

[ralaw]

LeBron is second fiddle now, something Michael and Kobe never did.

That's funny, because I remember people killing Kobe when people found out he didn't want to play with Shaq and wanted to be "the guy" so that he could cement his own legacy. People said, "Kobe put his ego before the team and tore down a dynasty......he what is wrong with sports today!!!" Yet, they also said, "Kobe is nothing until he wins while being the guy!!"

As Jordan said, this is a different time.....guys are like best friends and don't carry with them that desire to step on each other's head like they use to and due to the brilliance of MJ, Magic and Bird, etc the great players feel the pressure of having to win championships (multiple). A guy like Kobe is old school, because he wants to rip your heart out.....friend or not, but guys like LBJ, Wade, etc like the idea of winning multiple championships even if its in a cheap way.

At the end of the day a championship is a championship and if LBJ finishes with multiple he'll still have a pretty substantial legacy, because its not as if he'll be Adam Morrison riding Wade's coattail. However, depending on how teams build championship teams from here on out (LBJ, Wade and Bosh's decision could change how teams think), it could hinder his legacy, but it may not, because if teams are built like this (ie Paul, Melo, Stoudemire) teaming up it may just become the standard. Obviously, thought that would be bad for the game and fans alike.

[bucky]

IMO he copped out and went to Miami because he couldn't handle having to be the centerpiece on his own team and deal with all the pressure.

Same as you think, after what happened in the Boston series, I think he felt the pressure and couldn't handle it.

He seemed to take the more comfortable road.