Isiah ‘Strongly Disagrees’ With Jordan, Magic on LeBron Criticism

@The Philosopher-Isiah is only 2 years older than MJ…so he was 29 when the Bulls got past him. Their oldest rotation player at that time was Adrian Dantley, and he was 33. Their ENTIRE TEAM was in it’s prime when MJ, Pippen, and a bunch of nobody’s beat them.
Nobody’s questioning Isiah’s greatness as a player, but to pick him above Magic is RIDICULOUS.

Tavoris
Zeke was a beast, imagine Zeke running the Lakers offense, he would have done the same thing and scored more. Stop acting like Magic played well his whole career, At one point they called him Tragic Johnson for some mistakes he was making. Magic is great, but what sets him apart his his 6 ft 9 height. Besides that he is a good point guard. Not to take anything from Magic, he is and was great, but his height at point guard allowed him to see over mostly smaller point guards and you can almost say he was a point forward, because he brought the ball up, but his role was different as a normal point guard for a team. I would take Zeke over him, this is my opinion, and don’t think of the GM-Thomas, we talking about the player man.

The pistons and rockets dont get enough credit for their titles

Jordan didn’t criticize Lebron. He just admitted that he wasn’t in the position that Lebron was in and never had the same luxury that young players nowadays have.

Well Magic did pick up his HIV virus from a needle – right – it was not all that sex he had with strangers.

I think most top sportsmen are sleazes, so let us get off this.

Isaih’s comment is right forgetting about GM performance and rings. Jordan may have stuck with it, but he and Magic had strong teams.

We need to have this discussion 6 years down the line when King James has 6 rings and Wade 7 and then Wade comes into contention with Mike, Kobe, and Lebron.

Oh okay, thanks tavoris, philo, etc. Didn’t hear about the rest of that story.. Wow…

@Allenp-my only problems with Zeke’s post-playing career have been the CBA, the harassment scandal, and the suicide scandal. Every other GM has made bad picks, horrible trades, and went on ego trips.

@The Seed – As far as a player, I don’t think he would have been as successful as Magic in LA, as he wasn’t a personality that people gravitated to. Most of his teammates clearly didn’t like him. For all of Magic’s mistakes, u have to realize that Zeke averaged a boatload of turnovers too. And 2 b honest-for all of his talent and individual skill-can you say that Zeke made ANY of his Piston’s better?

Cav’s were stacked too. Even the media favoured them to win the finals. They wouldn’t have said so if LeBron had a weak team.

Allenp
Don’t be shocked agreeing with me, I do speak the truth, Magic was Tragic at one time and him being 6 ft 9 point guard was his DEAL. He could see over point guards easy and make passes and post easily and to me was a point forward. You don’t see any players now over 6 ft 4 as point guards. Magic was DIFFERENT, and that was his main draw to, plus he was flashy passing, but if you compare him and Zeke point to point, Zeke would win. Its just people are programed to see Magic as 6 ft 9 unstoppable dribbling machine, if that was the case he WOULD NOT HAVE LOST 3 or 4 NBA FINALS. Jordan being athletic and Zeke being quick is different that being a 6 ft 9 point guard. I am not docking Magic, but that was and is what separate him from other point guards in most people mind. Who shot better, who passed better, who would kill you to win, who was never intimdated. Me and some of my friends would take Larry Bird over Magic, because I truly feel if you would have plugged in another good point guard the Lakers still with 5 rings and lost 4 to me with their stack team. With the Pistons you could not replace Zeke with a good point guard, they would lose bad. Zeke did more with less (THIS WAS HOW NASH GOT BOGUS MVP’s-I DEGRESS) Magic is an all time great, but his height was his thing that separated him. Stockton and Mark Jackson more assists than him, so its not like he was the assists master, he had great players to swing the ball too. Larry did too. I remember doing a breakdown that Larry had at least 3 players on his team averaging 20 points a game, but he got all the love. Dude realize that Zeke was WAY better than what people give him credit for. His best line to me was: IF I WAS 6 ft 6 like MJ, I WOULD BE UNSTOPPABLE, THAT IS CLASSIC ZEKE. BOOK IT!!

Funny how it seems the one thing everyone’s come to agree with is the fact that Larry, Magic, Jordan, and Zeke are all jerks when it came to their personal lives. So maybe (crossing my fingers here) we’ll just evaluate their careers as basketball players.

That was precisely why Pippen’s emergence coincided with the Bulls emergence. Players ran, defended, and finished for Pippen. Hell, Phil Jacksons arrival was a huge part of it too.
Who did Isaiah make better? The Pistons were a supremely coached team with a roster full of players with complementary skills. Daly had them running like a well-oiled machine. Isaiah was the #1, but if you think he woulda got Kareem on his side, then u clearly never watched him other than on YouTube. Of I needed a bucket at the end of the game, i would Prolly give it to him too. But NO WAY is he is gonna b my first choice to lead a team. And don’t buy into that “silent assassin” crap. He was a smile in your face-stab you in the back kinda dude. Dumars was the silent assassin on that team.

Zeke can’t be compared to Magic as a player, but you can’t take away the Fact that he was the leader of one of just 3 teams to defend a title in the modern-era NBA…

But he was in his prime when the Bulls started their first 3 peat.

As GM, he’s one of the worst in history.

This is just an obvious suck-up to LeQUIT – he probably thinks he can call in a favor from the Sidekick one day…

What I don’t understand is how, if Lebron is the MVP of the league for two years running, why wasn’t he doing for the Cavs what Wade did for the Heat? Lebron should have been recruiting players and getting guys to come to Cleveland. Whenever the Celtics have signed a key contributor since 2007-2008, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce have been a part of the recruiting process. Shaq did this a lot, himself, when he was with the Lakers, often playing it up by claiming to be the Lakers’ “Assistant GM.” Franchise players are meant to attract guys to come and play with them.

the difference Jordans situation compared to LeBrons is that the organization built the team around Jordan. Jordan didn’t just dip on the city just because the team was losing. For example, would Jordan leave for a different team after getting defeated by the Pistons and Celtics year by year in the playoffs. No, he stayed and waited for the Bulls to rebuild in the offseason and they finally were able to defeat those teams. BUT in LeBron’s case, instead of being patient, he just joined the Heat and took the easy way. Those Laker and Bulls teams were stacked because the team waited to build around the star player. The Cavs should have fired Ferry a long time ago.

John:

Jordan could afford to be patient becauise he was “already” playing with Scottie Pippen. Who in the hell was LeBron playing with to help him out going into the future? Nobody. Jordan didn’t stay and wait for the Bulls to build a dynasty, he was under contract and could not leave. That’s a big difference. By Jordan’s 7th year in the league, Scottie was developed and ready to contribute at a high level. Again, who the hell on the cavs roster is able to step up and help LBJ at the level? Once again, “Nobody.” Not one player is even close to producing at a Scottie Pippen like level. It’s easy for you guys to count sombeody else’s time in the NBA and say “oh he has time.” Screw that. He’s already seven years deep in the league he’s making dam sure he spends the next six with a team where he has help and doesn’t have to do everything but sell popcorn just for the team to contend. So it’s ok for MJ, Bird, Magic, and Kobe to play with hall of fame type talent and stacked teams, but when it comes to Bron finally getting the help he needs it’s “oh he’s taking the easy route.” GTFOH.

Spaceship Jay:

I’m actually glad u mentioned that. Cause some people/ media act like LBJ just needs Wade and Wade doesn’t need him. They both are getting the help they need. They’re gonna need each other. Yeah, it’s Wade’s team he’s been there for the past seven years and he’s established that. But LeBron is the better player between the two so it goes hand-n-hand.

I think we can all agree on the following: Jordan was a fool for drafting Kwame, but Isiah would have given Kwame a max contract if he’d had the chance. Jordan = bad drafter. Isiah = bad trader. Combine them into one person and you have one mediocre GM.

lol@MikeC

Mo; Very true. However, the superstar WE ALL have uplifted Lebron to be says to go to an equally talented superstar’s team is blasphemous. If Wade/Bosh went to Cleveland I highly doubt there would have been a problem. It’s tough to give Lebron the recognition he had in Cleveland and yet fit him into the piece that he’ll be in Miami. Good argument though.

I think we give players way too much credit for the development of their peers.
Do we really think that Magic “made” Kareem, Worthy, Perkins, Cooper and Scott better? Sure, he helped them come together as a team, but I don’t think he “made” them into the players they became any more than Isiah “made” Dumars into a 24ppg guy, or Rodman into an oustanding defender and rebounder.
But, Isiah was indisputably the leader of those Pistons teams. When it was nut cutting time, they went to Isiah. And, even though they only won two championships, they were serious contenders for about six years, if I remember correctly.
Nobody “makes” other players get better. They can just play their role on a team to the maximum of their ability and I think all of the all-time greats did that.
Now, as for Isiah being better than Magic, I don’t know about that. Because of his height, Magic was better. Just like Kareem was better than other centers because he was taller and more athletic. Just like Wilt, just like Shaq. Physical advantages are part of the game. Stockton fans could say that if Stockton had Isiah’s physical gifts he would have easily won multi-championships in Utah and their would be no question who had the better career given what Stockton accomplished without those gifts.
You can’t just randomly use hypotheticals to make a point. That’s illogical. I mean, how good would Magic have been if he could move and jump like Jordan? Would Isiah have been as good a dribbler and shooter if he didn’t have to compensate for his lack of height? That doesn’t make much sense to me.

@wayno-u FAIL. Ur wit has sharpened a little over the summer break (fat camp?), but u still FAIL.

Zeke is an IDIOT. Yeah that’s why MJ, Magic and the rest of the Dream Team black balled your ass and made sure you werent on the team.

@Purple Reign – From what I’ve read about that team, that’s exactly what happened. Jordan and Pippen pretty much said “If Isiah is on the team, we’re not.” It’s not like he was a glaring omission from that team either. Whose spot was he going to take? Magic’s? Stockton’s? You can make a case that he was a better player than either, but that team didn’t need what Isiah brought to the table. They needed PGs who were true setup men. The only ridiculous player on that team was Laettner. Sure he was a nod to the old days of college players, but they could have taken Zo or Shaq to fulfill that quota. My only other bone to pick is maybe Dominique over Mullin, but Mullin was a much better shooter than Nique, so that kinda settles that in my mind anyway.

So much ignorance has been posted on this very old topic. It was actually Jordan, Bird and Magic who DID NOT want Zeke on the Dream Team. And Zeke isn’t even a top 10 point guard if you want to get crazy when considering guys point guards. Magic, Stockton, Cousy, Kidd, Nash, The Big O(even if he was more of a forward), Jerry West(yes, he was 6’2 and ran point leading the league in assists the year he finally got a ring), Bird was a better passer and team QB, Gary Payton, KJ(just didn’t have a bunch of dirty thugs to surround him), Chris Paul, Lenny Wilkins, etc…

Isiah was a volume scorer(took far more shots than many elite point guards that didn’t put up more insane scoring numbers), couldn’t hit 3′s, struggled from the free throw line, was a turnover machine, was overrated on D and only played dirty(while he had thugs waiting to stab the guy who got by him), and it’s crazy that he was only an All-NBA selection 5 times. Not once was he ever chosen an all-defensive team. How could that be since he was so great at D? Or was it the fact that he had Rodman, Laimbeer, Mahorn, and of course Dumars.