Because it’s September and because the Dubs are daring me to conjure something about Rodney Carney, I asked economist/statman/hoophead Dave Berri this old musky question:

“Who would win, five prime Dennis Rodmans vs. five prime Kobe Bryants?”

I assumed he’d choose Rodman, because the Worm bests the Mamba in Berri’s Wins Produced metric. His answer surprised me: Continue Reading…

From IshWarrior in the forum:

David Lee is probably the biggest Warriors’ FA signing…ever, but that’s not the point. Sure it is an improvement right now, we should have more wins than last year and we have a legitimate rebounding body right now, but it isn’t the most logical fix.

It’s my opinion that the Warriors needed to start looking at alternative directions for the team. After last year, the team became less about building around Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins (which many, including myself, argued for a couple years ago) and more about building around Steph Curry and the potential of Anthony Randolph.

The biggest deficiency in Warriors basketball is defense. It’s non-existent. Sure, our offense hits a high gear every once in a while and we have a single, or a string of, good games, but I think we all know very well that it won’t get the team very far (see 2006 playoffs). Signing a guy like David Lee who doesn’t really play a lick of defense is not addressing this very, very large concern. What he does, he does very well. He’ll get you some points, he’ll crash the boards, and he’ll run a pick-and-roll. He has defensive capability, but we don’t see it. Not the right move, Riley.

With the expectation of new ownership coming into town soon, meaning a new front office and new coaching, it is in the best interest of the fans that we give the “new” team as much flexibility as possible. Although Nelson and Riley might as well mail it in, that doesn’t mean go out there and continue the typical Warriors less-than-logical moves.

I know that this is just my opinion and several of you probably disagree, it was my dream scenario that the Warriors would stick with Steph Curry, Anthony Morrow (if we could get him to stick around), Anthony Randolph, Brandan Wright, and Ronny Turiaf. In the mean time, make the best of Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins. If they were a legitimate fit on this vision of the future, then go for it. If not, then send them out for young, cheap talent to go along with short (read: 1-year remaining), large contracts.

A year from now, that possibly meant a new owner: Larry Ellison. A new GM: Jerry West, Kevin Pritchard, or at least someone competent with a halfway decent track record. A new coach. And a roster consisting the aforementioned Stephen Curry, Anthony Randolph, Brandan Wright, Ronny Turiaf, hopefully Anthony Morrow, a flurry of expiring contracts, and maybe some young talent go to along with it. Sure the CBA is being re-written and this year was the year of free-agents, but the point is the Warriors would have a great deal of flexibility under a new ruler.

That’s what I feel should be in the best interest of fans. We need a totally new movement when the new owner comes around, and we’re putting a longer time-table on a redefined team with contracts like these. At best, we’re putting ourselves onto the road to no-man’s land. We could add some more talent and be a .500 team, not making the playoffs, and not getting a great pick. Not the goal of a basketball team. We should take note of the work by Sam Presti and Kevin Pritchard. Making smart moves to go with youth, stack up draft picks, scout well, and build a brighter future. Right now, the only thing keeping me sane is the wallet of the very well connected Larry Ellison, Stephen Curry, and the light, although not very bright, of the not-so-close future.

/Rant.

by Sherwood Strauss

Forgive a slight detour from Warriors draft rants. I was listening to the hilarious Disciples of Clyde Podcast when their discussion of Patrick Ewing’s coaching prospects chafed my chortles. The DoC guys expressed dismay over Ewing’s meager chances and asked whether GMs are reluctant to hire black non-guards. I’d like to parse the data on black guard coaches, but the sample size is ridiculously tiny. Odd.

Below exists an extensive list of the “white” NBA coaches who paced the sidelines last season.  It’s lengthy—there are 23 by my count—and that’s reason to hit the pause button.  Such a disproportionately Caucasian group wouldn’t be incongruous at an Indiana Republican’s mixer, but this is the NBA we’re talking about. In the League, 18 out of little more than 30 coaching slots were taken by white American ex-basketball players—the rarest of dodos. The NBA’s sanctuary for this endangered species seems to be the coach’s chair.

Since discussions of racial fairness come with caveats and qualifiers, let me just say: Yes, I’m a self-hating white guy. No, I’m not screaming “racism!” because I lack full knowledge of the NBA and its inner workings.

But let’s be real: Something fishy is likely influencing hiring decisions. How else could Kurt Rambis—he of the idiotically cataclysmic 2009-2010 “Let’s bench Kevin Love and run the Triangle!” Wolves campaign—keep a job? My assumption: Combine a “gritty” white, American player with dorky glasses and you have a hiring strategy. Ewing has to earn in his way into our conception of what a coach is while Rambis embodies that merely by existing. And don’t get me started on Vinny Del Negro. Oh, and welcome back to the club, Doug Collins.

Kim Hughes

Kiki Vandeweghe

Mike D’Antoni

Don Nelson

Paul Westphal

Vinny Del Negro

John Kuester

Scott Skiles

Larry Brown

Flip Saunders

Mike Dunleavy

Phil Jackson

Rick Carlisle

Rick Adelman

George Karl

Kurt Rambis

Scottie Brooks

Jerry Sloan

Jay Triano DNP

Jeff Bower DNP

Greg Popovich DNP

Stan Van Gundy DNP

Jim O’Brien DNP

I listed the five non-athlete coaches at the end with DNPs.  Now, I don’t believe playing experience matters in coaching. But the player-centric list demonstrates that coaches are largely drawn from the pro ranks, ranks that–to put it bluntly–don’t really have USA white dudes. A dearth of black coaches would be more understandable if these jobs were filled by non players. So let’s just say the unbearable whiteness of coaching isn’t easily explained away.

This sticks in whatever “my craw” is, because the NBA puts a transparent effort into apologizing for its “scary” black elements.  Why do you think there’s an age limit? Baseball doesn’t fret about young guys getting money. Why do you think NBA fighting is handled with the most draconian of prevention methods? In white-friendly hockey, boxing is half the game. What do you think the “NBA Cares” ads are about?  Is it really necessary for the League to desperately brag about charity works?  And does any other sport have a publicized “dress code”?

But I digress with the questions. My craw stickage stems from how the NBA tries to control young black players, only to later ignore them in post-retirement.  When positions of real authority open up, pro basketball is reluctant to trust black guys. Makes sense from the league that tells young African American players what they should wear and when they’re old enough to play pro.

As compiled by the fans…..Name one good thing the warriors are good at

10. Paying coaches who are no longer coaching

9. Letting trade exceptions expire

8. Scouting the D-League

7. Paying bench players as if they were starters

6. Allowing opposing teams bench players to compile career highs

5. Kicking ass in Summer League

4. Playing well in April after they are out of the playoffs

3. Developing All-Stars for other teams

2. Selling season tickets

1. Missing the playoffs

A sampling of fan feedback to the close loss last night to the Rockets. Nellie’s first game back after a 2 week bout with pneumonia.  The Warriors were rolling in the 3rd quarter and early 4th then questionable substitutions and lineups in the 4th took a winnable home game and turned it into a frustrating loss.

Tim Kawakami covers this topic in blog this morning as well. For fans, it’s a head scratcher.

From Deacon Blue:

yeah I am still steamed about that bizarro 4th quarter lineup with Morrow/Maggette as our “front court” while he sat Hunter and Rad????

when you’ve just come back against a tough, smart, defensive team like the Rox using Hunter, Radman, and (unreal) Moore, why try this?

Here’s why: like most successful addicts, Nelly reached for the familiar bottle of small ball. Not normally a bad idea –since hes built a team that is notoriously light on Big Dudes –but it shows two very telling points:

1. Hes forgotten his own success formula–to win with smalls you gotta be playing a team with at least one galumphing big ass dude on the floor (Yao, Oden, Kaman, etc.) so you can out quick/ out flank/out run them.

2. worst, he wasn’t tuned into the game — the Rox are full of PF/big SG types who play smart defense and can out think the W’s almost every time, so when you stumble on something that’s working, why mess with it?

Oh, i forgot: he’s the Great Coach that Fitzer has googoo eyes for.

Sorry, Nellie’s day has passed. Please book him on the next flight to Maui and lets get back to building a real team.

From Berkeley Scrub:

it is indeed time for the nellie to head back to hawaii. his one trick is always going small and that just isn’t as effective as it used to be. the nba is so much quicker on average than it used to be so the advantage he once gained by going small has been greatly negated. i read somewhere that his fascination with small ball dated back to his celtics days when red used to run bigs vs. smalls scrimmages which the smaller team routinely won. to me that says a lot as there is such a huge difference between game and practice mentality. hell down here in LA there was a times story last week where Phil had the Lakers run bigs vs. smalls in practice and the smalls won by 45 points. needless to say the lakers didn’t all of a sudden start kobe at center.

monta-i have really enjoyed the monta debate on this board as it is one of the few times that both sides are “correct”. monta is an amazing player who is just very difficult to build a team around. his defense has improved so dramatically and he really deserves credit there. he is trying to be a better floor general it’s just not in his nature. he is not now nor will he ever be a true point guard. what he is, however, is BY FAR the best player on this team. ironically what we could use is a JAX type great passing front court player player (Diaw?) who isn’t a chemistry killing poo butt.

rockets- i have posted this before it bears repeating. they are my official “hoop nerd” favorite team. it’s like watching a small college team in the nba. the amount of times multiple players touched the ball during a possession was staggering to me. everyone defends, everyone shares the rock, great team ball. they just simply don’t have the talent to compete with the big boys but what a great “team” in the truest sense. adelamn COY should be a no brainer.

From Steven:

I heard Nellie went small ball in the 4th quarter.

after Vlad and Hunter played well in the 3rd. And that Vlad or/and Hunter didn’t come back til waaaay late in the 4th quarter.

This is what frustrates me about coaches in general, but specifically Nellie. When a player or two is playing well, why yank them out and not put them back in earlier???

There’s something called if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I just don’t get the mentality of sitting out productive players. Reward them. If it’s frustrating for us as fans, imagine how the players feel. That cannot be healthy for the player-coach relationship. And ultimately, it’s not healthy for the organization.

From Fandorin:

So why on earth did Nellie put Hunter and Radman on the bench and gave Houston a free ticket to the rim? Those guys had a good chemistry going, why change to accomodate Maggs of all players?
Smart would easily win this game, hands down.

Frequent contributor FlashFire weighs in on the Jackson mess.

There’s a lot more than just one problem here, and it doesn’t excuse Jackson at all. Cohan and Rowell are the two biggest ones as long as they’re still here. That should be understood as a default by anyone who’s been a Warriors fan even if they jumped on board during the “We Believe” thing.

Jackson’s whole attitude shift is a direct result of the team doing nothing to really improve after “We Believe” when in fact, just about everything they’ve done since then has made the team progressively younger, progressively worse.

Whatever the debate about whether “We Believe” could have been sustained, we never got a chance to find out for sure and the organization misfired on multiple opportunities to do more than just skim off the success of getting the fanbase worked up into enough of a frenzy that they could sell more season tickets, which clearly looks like their first and only goal.

Don Nelson coaches a style of basketball that feeds right into the organization’s “Great Time Out” mantra, which values entertainment over wins. Fans know they’re going to see a game that usually features a lot of fast-paced action, more points than other teams get (along with more points allowed) and idiots running around on the court (these mostly being the ones who hand out free pizzas and t-shirts, to be clear).

Most people also know that is not a style of play that is going to take a team very far in the long run. As much as Nelson claims he values defense, the lineups he plays suggest otherwise. He wants to score more than the other team. Fitz, the mouthpiece, pushes it on his radio show by saying it doesn’t matter how many points you allow as long as you score more. Too bad the team isn’t good enough to stop their opponents when they go into scoring droughts of their own.

Meanwhile, Stephen Jackson just wants to win. That’s cool. I want the team to win, too. I want a team that’s good enough to win without playing what’s basically gimmick basketball, but that hasn’t been possible in Oakland since Rick Barry’s days.

So, coming off a bad season the Warriors apparently make overtures that they’re finally going to go out and get someone legit to help out. This, predictably, fails. It probably has to do with Curry falling to them and then Nelson deciding he’d rather have the undersized Curry playing for him instead of, say, Amare.

Then, seeing the writing on the wall that this team won’t be much different than it’s been since Baron Davis was basically shown the door and “We Believe” was systematically dismantled (though that had begun before Davis left), Jackson flips.

Can’t blame him for being upset. Can sure as hell blame him for how he’s handled it in public, basically reversing all opinions he’d worked so hard to cultivate in restoring his image. Poof. All thrown away in the course of a few weeks as he acts like a petulant child throwing an ongoing temper tantrum.

Good teams get better by building a strong core and adding to it with key role players, which are always easier to find. The teams that are always at the top have it easier because people want to play for them. The Warriors do it backwards, finding nice role players without being able to go out and land a true star. People avoid the Warriors and only career losers like Maggette will sign with them because they just want the money and a chance to get their stats.

Jackson sees they might get that star, fail to do it and keep their maybe-he’ll-be-the-new-PG-but-maybe-he-won’t in Curry instead, and Jackson wants out, wants to go to a team that actually has a clue. He wants to win and doesn’t see the Warriors fully committed to that. Neither do I. Two years after being touched at becoming a team captain, Don’t Call Me Captain Jack Any More refuses to sink with the ship.

Still, if it helps hasten the inevitable departure of Cohan and Rowell, who Jackson played for the fools they are (though I think he was sincere at the time), it will be a net win in the long run for the Warriors and the fans. It may cost them in the short term if fans stay away from the arena, possibly losing people with promise like Randolph and Morrow, but you know what they say about broken eggs and omelets.

So to Stephen Jackson I say: thank you and please go away. You’re right and you’re wrong at the same time, for different reasons.

The overall opinion of the Warriors community is that Curry is more of a natural point than Ellis. Ellis is more of a tweener who is a shooting guard in a point guards frame. Curry has better court vision, decision making, and shooting. Ellis is far more athletic and has the ability to get his shot whenever he wants.

It is more likely that Curry’s shooting provides him he space he needs to beat men off the dribble, or make a pass. It is less likely that Ellis starts making better basktball decisions.

(Truth) Curry is a PG; Ellis is not. It is that simple. The contrast in the PHX game was pretty stark. Curry was getting his team mates the “I can’t miss this easy shot” kind of looks off his very clever, very sharp passes. I am surprised he is already playing at NBA game speed. I remember when Marco first came in… how it took him some time to get used to the length of defenders and everything he did was deflected. Curry is looking like an 8+ APG kind of guy as he matures with limited TOs. He definitely is a 1. That is killer news for the long term.

Ellis on the other hand is simply not. He is unwilling to defer to his team mates enough and does not have the court vision to ever been a good PG. There was actually a play saturday where AR had just done a great job stopping Amare on D… then on the other hand, he wavied off Ellis who was dying to get the ball. Ellis was so pissed that he gave up on the play entirely. Not real good team instincts there…

So, bottom line. Curry has a natural NBA position. Ellis is a very good ball player, but remains a tweener. He’d better sack up and starting guarding the 2′s in this league – as there are probably 25 who he can cover night in night out anyway, so get on with playing him at his more natural position.

Challenges Curry needs to overcome to be an effective point guard

(gswinsider) He needs to be able to get in the lane better but I think if he gets his shot down then opposing players will guard him closely. This will make it easier to get by your man if he’s not backing off him. Because that is the ONLY way I see him getting by his man because he’s an average athlete at best.

(Earl J Slick) Guys like Nash aren’t as athletic as a lot of guys, but the stop, start, hesitate, and the ball just goes with them like it’s a part of their body. Chris Mullin used to be good at that stuff, and he was slow. But you have to have the handle to make it happen in any direction.

(Warriors in 2010) Yes and No. Monta can get into the lane and is a major threat so that gets teammates open.

Curry is much more willing to share and understands the pg position better but in today’s nba the ability to get in the lane is just as important so we’ll see about who is better.

Not an easy thing to improve for Curry by the way as Curry is just NOT beating his man off the dribble. he’s better at everything else than all of us thought he would be except he is NOT shooting that well NOR is he beating his man off the dribble. Those are 2 biggies.

(Truth) Counterpoint to Warriors in 2010

If you think Iverson and Marbury are point guards, then I can see how you’d see Ellis as one. I simply don’t see any PG instincts in Ellis as all. His assists come off of being forced to pass when he cannot score – which he is in a shoot first mentality at all times. These guys are all under-sized 2 guards.

I am really surprised at how far along Curry is already at this early stage, particularly with his small frame. He has gotten to the basket for many clever finishes so far and had a pretty tight handle – so I have no worries about him being able to break guys down and work around screens. And obviously, the shooting will come. He’ll have more range than Ellis as he settles in.

Very good news all in on Curry. I am glad we don’t have two tweeners.

Read the entire thread and participate in the discussion here

From Stick Doggy Dog in the forum, with all of the Amare hype, should the Warriors be giving up on a talented big man so early when he shows some promise? The Warriors have been notoriously bad at developing big men, especially with Don Nelson at the helm. Traditional low post big men without a consistent outside shot aren’t the norm for the Warriors. Wright has potential to be a good up and down PF for the Warriors, but will he get the chance? A front line of AR/BW/Beans could be an athletic, active, shot blocking team, but will we ever see it?

-Del

Brandan Wright is still a kid. He will not turn 22 until October. His body type is 100% ectomorph and relatively immature even for a 21-year-old so he while he can get stronger now, he will not be able to gain much weight for a few years. By the time he turns 24, though, he should finally be able to break 225.

Over the last two NBA seasons, Brandan Wright proved that he is already an efficient NBA player over his 1064 career minutes at age 20 and 21.

Here are his per 40 minute career NBA stats:

17.8 pts, 9.6 rebs, 2.2 blks, 1.1 assists, 1.1 stls, 1.4 TOs, 4.1 fouls

His career field goal percentage is 54% and his career free throw percertage is 72%.

Last season, Wright’s free throw percentage climbed from 68% his rookie season to 74%.

Last season, Wright was among the top 30 NBA players with more than 30 blocks in both blocks per minute and blocks per foul. He was also in the top 40 in the NBA in fewest turnovers per minute among all players who played more than 500 minutes.

Wright holds onto the ball. He is a superior NBA finisher from 12 feet in and especially at the rim. He doesn’t complain. He doesn’t need plays run for him. Best of all, he won’t reach his full potential until he has already been locked into a relatively cheap second contract.

When you add Wright’s pre-draft reach together with pre-draft vertical, he’s one of just 25 players currently in the NBA (along with Randolph and Stoudemire) who can get his finger tips a full 2 feet above the rim. Not one player from this year’s draft can say that.

Wright’s big weakness is literally his weakness. He also gives sporadic effort on defense and the boards compared to what he could give if he had, say, Randolph’s motor and tenacity. But Wright is just 21. He should get stronger every year. He should gain a few pounds every year. He should extend his jump shooting and jump hook range a bit every year. He should learn to hold his own on defense a little more every year. What makes anyone think he will not?

Who should the Warriors draft and why?

Shamrock, BBallkrazy: Trade the pick

Lebowski: Harden or Curry

Most NBA and more importantly Don Nelson ready

Sheed, Jumbo Liar, Willy D, Storkshots, **030**, 2112, NorthBaySufferer, Delsol650, Years and Counting!!!, Lonestar, Tim:  Brandon Jennings 

Fits the system, pass first point guard, quick, fast, excellent finisher, most upside of any pg in the draft, biggest upside and potential star.

Or other high reward guy that may fall. We are not one "nice" or complimentary player away. Go for broke. Look for a possible all star.

This team isnt going to the playoffs next season, and wont be a contender for a title as currently constituted. So what they should be doing is trying to get a superstar to build around. The only guy in the draft that has that potential that may be around at # 7 is Brandon Jennings. He has attitude issues, sure. But if he didnt, he wouldnt be available at #7.

Seems to have the best vision, quickness creativity and desire to make the game easy for others (enjoys making a great pass as much as a basket himself).

His shooting is a red flag because guys sagging on D is going to make it harder for him to use his strengths, but I think he'll improve enough there to keep the defense honest, or at least honest enough.

Bottom line is that we need a real PG. I like Curry and think he'll probably be a good player, but I'm not convinced he's got the vision to make the game easier like Kidd or Nash.

Teams without a top 5 player need to play outstanding team basketball. I look at the Denver Nuggets as an example. They have three excellent big men in Martin, Nene, Andersen. Then they have a savvy, calm leader in Billups. (of course they have 'Melo, but Billups and the bigs playing well really helped them get over that hump)

I think the Warriors have a solid big man rotation in Randolph, Biedrins, Turiaf. They just need to add that floor general to their squad, who'll play defense, control the tempo, and distribute the ball.

I think Jennings could be that guy. I also hope the year overseas really helped him mature as a person.

I'm of the mindset that you keep on swinging for the fences on a big man or a PG. Swingmen, unless they are Kobe or Lebron, don't impact the game as much as a PG or a big.

Gsfanatic1, Futureisnow09: Flynn

Because he's a leader. He's passionate about being the best he can be. He cares more about the team than himself.

He can get into the lane better than any other candidate.

He can find open men once there.

He has the quickness and athleticism to create a good shot opportunity for himself or others at any time.

He has a tenaciousness and desire to be a good defender.

He'll get this team in transition at all times.

He'll be a great teammate and guys will want to follow him.

He'll remind the Bay Area of Timmy Hardaway.

He's got the kind of swagger you want from your point guard.

He's got great form on his jumper and his midrange is underrated.

He knows what he needs to work on and is doing so.

He's not fragile. He's built like a tank.

The list can go on and on.

Stimpson: Best PG available

Monta is not a pg, I don't care what Nellie said. This draft if full of point guards and I think we are weakest at that position. I think we have Biedrens and Turiaff to cover the 5, AR and BW to cover the 4, Jax,Bukke,maggs,etc… for the 3, Monta,AM,Belli for the 2 what we don't have is a decent 1 and it just so happens that this draft is heavy in point guards.

ShotsofJacktotheBeli: Derozan, Clark, or Holiday

All guys with size at their positions and who play D. And all have pretty good upside.

If not 1 of them, I'd take a chance on Jennings and his playmaking ability, even though he's a little small and has questionable D.

This is assuming Rubio, Harden, or Thabeet doesn't fall. I'd take those 3, in that order, over any of the guys above. Not a big Hill fan at all.

Al Be Damned!: Harden, Flynn, Evans, Hill

Harden most ready to contribute to this team. He has great vision, can initiate the offense and defend. Truly helps take the pressure of Monta at point.

Flynn- It means more Nellie small ball, but he is the penetration and ball handling guy the team lacks. Monta will need to add some muscle and get ready to defend twos. He will come off the bench at first and Jax/Mags slide to three. These two guys are the only ones in the draft that could really help the team as a rook IMO

Evans- He can be what Harden is to Monta, but he is too young and turnover prone at this point and the team wants to win now.

Hill- He's a year away, but if Wright doesn't pan out, you're suddenly looking a a big hole ahead as Turiaf's deal will soon be at an end, and there's no guarantee that AR will ever be a true inside 4.

The rest of the PGs:
I don't see Curry, Rubio or Jennings working alongside Monta defensively. So if these guys are the pick one of them is moving. Don't see Jrue having the shot. Flynn is at least pushing 200 and quick.

Spade: Stephen Curry

He will average 20ppg in the NBA within 2-3 years very easily if not right off the bat.. nobody else at #7 is as guaranteed.

Warriorsplant: Trade Down

It is possible to build a good team around Monta. Finding a PG that would be able to contribute immediately and mesh with Monta at SG is too difficult. If there is a demand for a PG at the Warriors position, they should be prepared to trade down, if there is an attractive offer. The team does need beef.

Blowing up the team and trading Monta will set the team back. I still think Monta is a special player and how many of those have the Warriors been able to keep.

DC Warrior: Does it matter?

The team is lost. Nellie and Rowell won't sign another free agent without overpaying and will likely lose any Ws who open up in free agency. And you know how Nellie is on rookies. And veterans too, I suppose.

gswfan4ever: Ty Lawson

He "dropped" because his biggest asset, running a 5 player team, isn't utilized in workouts.

Proven winner from a very reputable school
True PG, something Ws need
Good defender, something we need
Doesn't chuck, tries to make teammates better, something we need
Very fast, suits this team
Mature and NBA-ready, something Nellie loves
He basically would do anything Nellie would like him to do and would have the ability to pull it off. Baron has ability but not always willing, CJ Watson is willing but often doesn't have ability. Lawson has both IMO. We'd just need his teammates to cooperate, which might be the most challenging part.

Thoughts on LeBron James walking off the court without shaking hands with the Orlando Magic? 

Buzz

I like the passion but that's just bad form.  Maybe I am old school, but he was absolutely obligated to go over and shake Howard's hand, if nothing else.  Forget that he is so young sometimes.

DaCandyman

It's really bad, may reveal a huge character flaw.  He thought his own teamates let him down, he did not respect his opponent. He needs to read some Sun Tzu. When a player did this back in the day he was called a punk.

É¥sɐpǝpɐɟ 

I think what's worse is that he left the locker room without talking to anyone.  If he wants to be a leader, he better realize that people will be expecting to ask him questions after things didnt go the way as planned.
Dont run away and hide out from that 

Carla Beefcurtain (Warriors Superfan since 1984)

Its sort of his first strike.  If it continues, then he'll start developing a rep.  Had it been KG or Kobe people would be all on their back, as it goes right in line with numerous incidents of stupidness in the past.
This seemed sort of extreme and out of character for LeBron, so I think people are giving the benefit of the doubt, for now. 

Thelonious Dunk

A gracious acceptance of defeat was probably not on his mind. Sure, it wasn't very LeBron like, and definitely a bit disappointing considering how high of regards everyone holds for him, but it's totally understandable.
And yeah, his team sucks, Jesus, they looked like the warriors out there for 3/4 of the final game.

DK510

It sucks because he always seems to handle himself well and now that the going gets tough he pouts.  Who knows, maybe he was ready to cry at any moment and didnt want that on national television but either way it was in poor taste to completely avoid everyone.

Tanner

No big deal.  This to me is the kind of b.s. that gets talked about today b/c coverage of sports is 24/7 and 90% is not about the actual games.

Earl J. Slick

Immature and classless.  Sometimes you just have to suck it up and admit you got your ass beat and congratulate the guys who did it.

 bballkrazy

Bad judgment.  He was in tears, heartbroken but he should have manned up and shown some respect. Hope he understands that he was wrong. I can see this affecting some MVP votes next season. Not only did he not show sportsmanship, he skipped the media interviews afterward. LeBron wants a ring. He doesn't really care about the rest. But he was wrong and it showed a total lack of maturity.

The Earth Ghost

It's nothing.

Dick Nixon

 He had to hurry up and go put on his Yankees hat.