I just read that LeBron "Hummer" James is supposedly pissed off at the Cleveland Cavs for firing John Lucas and will probably us that as a reason for not playing for Cleveland (if he gets drafted by them)...

http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0123/1497545.html

Give me a break! So, the Cavs suck and they fire their coach. BUT, no...they should keep the lousy coach who hasn't produced squat simply because a High School player says so. Wonderful, why don't they just turn control of the franchise over to "The Hummer." That way they can guarantee his happiness.

Yes...LeBron is probably going to be a grea/brilliant basketball player in the NBA. However, he is also quickly becoming a major pain in the butt.

Do us a favor, Hummer...get drafted, produce for a couple of seasons, then we might tolerate hearing your demands.

Full disclosure: I refuse to watch The Hummer's--I like that nickname though of course a "hummer" is another way of saying "blow job"--games on TV but I just keep getting a "he's JaRon Rush Part 2" vibe. JaRon, for those that don't know/remember, was the KC high schooler who was slated to go to Kansas. That ended when he was quoted as saying "I don't like Roy's substitution patterns". The fact that he called one of the best coaches in the country, Roy Williams, by his first name didn't go over well. JaRon didn't care, he already a $17,000 SUV. Which he then drove out to Westwood to start playing for UCLA. He continued to be an ass with the media, saying things like "Well, in the two years I'll be here I'll....". Boom! Turns out the SUV was financed by a shady character, JaRon got suspended by the NCAA, declared for the NBA draft instead of going back to college and getting the experience he needed (he couldn't shoot for beans, not a great thing in a 6'7" forward), didn't even get invited to a camp, couldn't even cut it in the CBA and is now a recovering alcoholic. He allegedly had more talent that his brother Kareem, but Kareem is on the Lakers roster. JaRon isn't.

[ January 23, 2003, 06:55 PM: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]

i've been denying it, hoping things would work out well, whatever that is, but i, too get the same jaron rush vibe. hummer has been given too much, too soon and has been put on too high a pedestal. the fall, if there is one, could be devastating.

i know sports illustrated did a piece a couple years ago about the success rate of high schoolers going straight to the nba. it wasn't good. there have been some recent success stories who have worked through the difficult adjustment period of the first couple seasons in the nba, i hope that: hummer is able to make the adjustment and that if he does he doesn't become so obnoxious that i regret wishing him the best. from what i've read, his support structure isn't necessarily the best or most altruistic. i hope that doesn't cloud the decision making process. but given what he's likely to be making in the very near future, i wouldn't be surprised to see an all-out money grab by people who should be putting hummer's interests first. we'll see.

[ January 24, 2003, 04:26 PM: Message edited by: Tarkus ]

Great comparison Jim Allen w/ JaRon. I still wonder "what could've been" when I remember that awesome NCAA tourney game JaRon had for UCLA years back. Call me old school, but perhaps the old freshman year ineligible rule should be brought back. Make marginal prospects enroll in school and get a life outside of basketball for a while before letting them on the court. Of course, in Hummer's case the point is moot. But there are so many wasted talents in college basketball.

Old school. I agree completely. It would never fly today though--it would drive even more players to the NBA draft.

It's just sad to see so many players get seduced in to thinking that they're going to be the exception, that they'll be instant impact players out of HS like Kobe and Garnett. Uh no, not really. People like Jonathan Bender would have really been helped by at least 2 years of college ball; they arrived unformed and still growing and in his case, he's mostly been a bench player.

just read on espn.com that lebron banged up his hummer, or more likely banged up another car with his hummer. apparently, he rolled back into an 80-something woman who was stopped behind him at a red light. he was probably distracted by an upcoming algebra test!

if his mother could get a loan for the hummer and use lebron's future earnings as collatoral, perhaps this woman could sue and be awarded damages from those same future earnings....