LeBron James’ Miami home still on market, price dropping
March 18, 2015Cavs’ Moondog trolls Robin Lopez with gift to his brother
March 18, 2015Last Thursday, WFNY’s Craig Lyndall covered Pat Riley’s shock regarding LeBron leaving the Miami Heat, as Riley somehow thought it prudent to compare it to if Magic Johnson would have left the Los Angeles Lakers.
This week, former Miami Heat great Alonzo Mourning decided to take time out of his busy schedule in Austin, Texas for South by Southwest festival to give an interview with Slam Online, which also covered LeBron James leaving the Heat.
Back when LeBron played in Miami, Alonzo told Slam Online that both he and Scottie Pippen believed that LeBron was a better basketball player than Michael Jordan.
Now that LeBron has left the Heat, Alonzo believes that the reason for the Heat’s recent success was more about the culture that Pat Riley built for the team than the players themselves.
We had a great team for four years straight, and the reason why we had a great team was not just because we had the best player on the planet, it’s because we had the best team that bought into a culture. Everybody bought into this culture.
When prompted to what he would ask LeBron, Mourning responded thusly:
Why walk away from a dynasty when you have to go somewhere and rebuild, basically?
Of course, any national discourse on the Cleveland Cavaliers would feel empty without some discussion of Kevin Love’s happiness.
Then you’ve got Kevin Love, who’s not happy at all. He’s outta there.
Finally, Alonzo Mourning even allows himself to be led into saying that he does not believe LeBron James is focused on championships.
SLAM: It’s just different priorities, right? It’s the mindset that the NBA Championship isn’t everything, that there’s more to it than that.
Alonzo Mourning: Evidently. It had to be. It’s very difficult to even think about walking away from something like that. How do you walk away?
In the end, what Alonzo Mourning and Pat Riley say should not affect much of what happens on the court. However, it could make for some interesting off the court storylines if the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat match up in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs1.
- Currently, the Cavaliers are seeded second and the Miami Heat are tied with the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics for the seventh seed [↩]
28 Comments
Wait… he didn’t mention the “Blatt wants the 2 seed and LeBron doesn’t really care where they land so they must not be on the same page” narrative?
AH HA! NATIONAL PROGRESS PEOPLE!!!!
Or LeBron’s house is still on the market because he priced it so high, so it’ll still be there when he goes back to Miami.
…
Then Riley put away his pocket watch, snapped his fingers in Alonzo’s face and barked “You may wake up now!”
Seriously just look at their record since LeBron left.
“I wonder what Alonzo Mourning thinks.” -Nobody
Bill Cowher has already been sighted touring the property
For reasons unbeknownst to me, I really liked the Charlotte Hornets growing up – Larry Johnson was my favorite, but I really liked Zo as well (they were MY TEAM in NBA Jam). I might have been too young and stupid to know better, but I have it in my head that Zo was nothing more than a ring chaser at the end of his career, which is how he ended up in Miami. I know I shouldn’t talk bad about him because he battled his health issues and all that, but I remember losing respect for him for how he forced his way out of New Jersey and then Toronto. And for someone who truly battled to stay on the court, he seemed and still seems ok with taking the easy path to get that ring.
didn’t everyone love the early 90s Hornets? Grandmama, Muggsy, Zo, Stephen Curry’s dad (love that is how Dell is now known). loved that team and the teal&purple was so early 90s Will Smith rap.
http://www.nba.com/media/hoop/StephenCurry20110205b.jpg
he was just doing the tour because he heard the agent put out good sandwiches though.
Drazen on the right. Nobody talks about him anymore, rest in peace. Believe he would have been in the Hall.
I always liked him, and the 30 for 30 about him and Vlade is the only one I’ve ever seen, and loved it.
Thought I was the only one, nice to know there were others.
I fell in love with his ballsy offensive game and competitiveness when he kept the Nets in the ’93 playoff series with the Cavs, almost single-handedly. Talented and just fearless.
you can bang on Zo all you want. The illness stuff is a different compartment. I feel for the guy in that regard and have much respect for him as a man, but i agree with the fact that he seem hypocritical here.
funny you should say that. In my fantasy baseball league there is a team named ‘Drazen Petrovic” this season.
Yes, i said fantasy baseball.
dude – some of those 30for30’s are amazing. I loved the one called “Escobar and Escobar,” and i think the “Hillsborough” episode was the best work they’ve done. Of course, those are both soccer-based eps, so your opinion may vary. But those are pretty good usually.
Can’t really explain why I never watched more of those, especially after how much I loved the only one I saw. Probably just too much other crap on my DVR.
they are a bit hit or miss. some are great (Bo Jackson, E & E, Iverson), but then with some the entire focus is on a pointless rant from the director instead of telling the story (USFL spends the entire time just saying that they hate Donald Trump).
Appropriately, that same description can be used for Simmons’ articles.
Did they airlift LeBron’s house to Strongsville?
*double take*
You picked a good one to make the only 30 for 30 you’ve seen. That one is my favorite… pretty sure I had something in my eye for a large portion of the show.
You must have watched from the same dusty room that I did.
Let me tell u something give Zo his respects he was a great center in his old dayz ..hes just stating his opinion on labron …and no Zo didn’t take no easy way out he was getting old and knew his body was breaking down
Who cares about a record our heat will b fine …and since that 2 seat
Jneids if u was a NBA player and was reaching 40 fast and had kidney problems your lying self would go to team that had a great organization a young Dwade who was a star at that time a coach who has 9 totall rings 2 as a G.m and and Jordan isent around to shadder dreams of a title man u would do the same ..Zo in his young days wad beast best shot blocker and rebounder and now he is a hall of fame made it tho yr dummie get off my heat before I go all in on your team and fav player …heat FA here dont matter to us what seat we in 7th 8 th wade didn’t leave Miami to chase titles he had one before your boy labron came along even Zo had a title before labron or that Cleveland team hey no titles in Cleveland just eastern titles so funny
Good grief what a run on sentence that was. Get back to me when Miami loses in 5 if they even make it period.