DWade and Team Trinity

[HoopsMalone]

And Chicago and Milwaukee.  And they have to survive at least one regular season trip to Cleveland.

It is going to be tough for the Heat.  You'd have to guess that Orlando and Miami get the top two records.  In the NBA, your division matters so one team will get the one seed and the other will get the 4 seed.  So, Orlando coached by Stan Van Gundy who Riley pushed out and whose best player, Dwight Howard, will expose the Miami frontline, will meet in the second round.  I don't see the Heat getting past the second round.

[MerrittsMustache]

With what money? He made $7 million last year, and there's a lockout coming next summer.

It's a soft cap so I believe he can re-sign even if it puts them over. I've been wrong before though...like with my Steve Kerr comment on this thread 

[MarkCharles]

I agree that a title might not come in year 1, but as somebody else explained in a previous thread, the Miami roster won't look this depleted for very long. Each year they get another mid-level exception and first round draft pick, and you know there will be lots of solid veterans (like Mike Miller--great signing) who have already made a lot of money who will be clamoring to play with these guys, even if it means a slight paycut.

Add in a few solid guys per year and if these guys learn a way to play together, this could be an overwhelmingly dominant team by year 3.

And all this hatred will soon pass. Very few people hated LeBron before last night, and the only ones who will continue to do so will be bitter Cavs fans. DWade was already one of the most well-liked players in the NBA, and this won't change that at all. And not enough people know anything about Chris Bosh to dislike him. IF they find a way to make it work, this team will be too fun to hate. Maybe they will be the team we love to hate, but this isn't an unlikable group of players by any means.

[HoopsMalone]

And all this hatred will soon pass. Very few people hated LeBron before last night, and the only ones who will continue to do so will be bitter Cavs fans. DWade was already one of the most well-liked players in the NBA, and this won't change that at all. And not enough people know anything about Chris Bosh to dislike him. IF they find a way to make it work, this team will be too fun to hate. Maybe they will be the team we love to hate, but this isn't an unlikable group of players by any means.

I watched game 6 of the Bos/Cle series in the middle of Iowa.  I was not expecting it necessarily in Iowa, but people were going crazy roooting against Lebron.  No one cared about the Celtics.  It was really all directed at Lebron losing.  He quit on his team.  When he had a bad game, his elbow was bad.  When he had a good game, no mention of the elbow.  I was shocked at the hate I was hearing for him.

He should have never embraced "the King" nickname.  It was not his falut that people called him that, but he let himself get hyped up before winning. 

The dancing during the regular season thing and then getting destroyed in the playoffs.  Plenty of reasons not to like James.'s

Don't forget how much people hated Pat Riley's teams in the 1990s.  They may reproduce some of that too.

I think the hatred for Lebron was starting to brew in the playoffs, and this tipped the pot.  Lebron is going to be despised this year I think.  People may forget eventually, though, but they won't get the cheers the Bulls got in the 90s in opposing stadiums. 

It is good for MU that "Lebron could never get it done without Wade."   I don't think they will win more than 2 in the next 7 years, but Wade gets into the Kobe, Magic type of conversation if they do win a few.  Not James.

[cheebs09]

A key thing is that no one on the Heat have signed a contract yet also. I'm sure it won't be a huge pay cut, but if they aren't taking max money, then there will be more money to use than people originally thought. Also, I haven't heard, but is there still the possibility of a sign and trade with Bosh? That could free up some more money too I think.

Also, I know plenty of people who have hated LeBron long before this happened. I think a lot of it started around the time when all this speculation started to happen 2 years ago as to where LeBron will go.

[Brewtown Andy]

A key thing is that no one on the Heat have signed a contract yet also. I'm sure it won't be a huge pay cut, but if they aren't taking max money, then there will be more money to use than people originally thought. Also, I haven't heard, but is there still the possibility of a sign and trade with Bosh? That could free up some more money too I think.

How low are they going to go? $12M? The cap's only $58M, Chalmers is getting over a million, Mike Miller's contract is looking at another $6M, the 3 2nd round picks are going to knock out another $1.5M. That's about $45M, and they still need 4 more players.  And with the lockout looming, guys aren't going to want to sign cheap deals.

[HoopsMalone]

How low are they going to go? $12M? The cap's only $58M, Chalmers is getting over a million, Mike Miller's contract is looking at another $6M, the 3 2nd round picks are going to knock out another $1.5M. That's about $45M, and they still need 4 more players.  And with the lockout looming, guys aren't going to want to sign cheap deals.

Miller's deal is supposedly $30 million for 5 years.  It won't be $6 million/year.  It will be 8% raises per year so starts off lower.  Beasley was making around $5 million, so the Miller deal may actually save them money. 

Toronto was supposedly still talking about doing that sign and trade for a first roung pick and a trade exception so Bosh can get his guaranteed sixth year at the 10% raise.  Toronto might as well.

These guys can start at $16.6.  Wade will get the 6  years guaranteed and so may Bosh.  James will only get 5 years.  He is leaving the 6th year on the table at Cleveland.  Not much of a sacrifice since he can still sign a new deal later.  He is not giving up $30 million.

If these guys take say, $15 million per year to start, the media better not make them out to be  martyrs.  With Beasley out and Miller in, they may be able to sign max deals actually. 

[jaygall31]

all they need is a few banger centers and a good shooter, and this 'close' east race everyones talking about, won't be close at all.

[damuts222]

 

Dwight Howard, will expose the Miami frontline, will meet in the second round.  I don't see the Heat getting past the second round.

 With the slashing to the basket that Wade and LBJ will do against the Magic I don't see Howard lasting long with all the fouls he picks up. He needs to learn to move his feet. The scary thing is, is that once Howard gets it he will dominate.

[MarkCharles]

HoopsMalone
"When he had a bad game, his elbow was bad.  When he had a good game, no mention of the elbow."
Its not Lebron's fault that he gets more media attention than he deserves. And I'll admit if I am mistaken on this, but I never heard one word about the elbow from LeBron's mouth using it as an excuse. That was all ESPN. Hard to blame him for that. In everything I heard him say directly, he tried to avoid using the elbow as an excuse. I agree that he quit during game 6, and I am mush less of a LeBron fan because of that, but that had nothing to do with the outcome of that game. It was already over. Its crazy how a guy can "quit" in a game and still end up with 38, 19, and 9.

"He should have never embraced "the King" nickname.  It was not his falut that people called him that, but he let himself get hyped up before winning." agreed

"The dancing during the regular season thing and then getting destroyed in the playoffs.  Plenty of reasons not to like James.'s" Is the dancing, and, you know, having fun that LeBron takes part in during the regular season that big of a problem? Hes an entertainer, and I am glad he realizes that. His joking around was not the reason his teams lost. I'll take watching LeBron have fun and still play great over Kobe forcing that fake, manufactured, "look at me I'm like Jordan" chin-out scowl any day.

"People may forget eventually, though, but they won't get the cheers the Bulls got in the 90s in opposing stadiums."  If you want to compare him to MJ, remember that MJ didn't get his first title until he was 28. LeBron is 25. And lway more so than LeBron, Jordan was widely disliked by fans and other players when he came into the league because of his cockyness and entitled attitude.

LeBron will be in any discussion of all time great if he wins 3 titles. Wade will never be considered a top10 all time guy, whereas LeBron could easily. As much as I love DWade, he is simply not as good as LeBron.

[MUSF]

Becoming "hated" might be the best thing that could happen to James.  It could give him the edge / killer instinct he seems to have been missing.

[HoopsMalone]

HoopsMalone
"When he had a bad game, his elbow was bad.  When he had a good game, no mention of the elbow."
Its not Lebron's fault that he gets more media attention than he deserves. And I'll admit if I am mistaken on this, but I never heard one word about the elbow from LeBron's mouth using it as an excuse. That was all ESPN. Hard to blame him for that. In everything I heard him say directly, he tried to avoid using the elbow as an excuse. I agree that he quit during game 6, and I am mush less of a LeBron fan because of that, but that had nothing to do with the outcome of that game. It was already over. Its crazy how a guy can "quit" in a game and still end up with 38, 19, and 9.

"He should have never embraced "the King" nickname.  It was not his falut that people called him that, but he let himself get hyped up before winning." agreed

"The dancing during the regular season thing and then getting destroyed in the playoffs.  Plenty of reasons not to like James.'s" Is the dancing, and, you know, having fun that LeBron takes part in during the regular season that big of a problem? Hes an entertainer, and I am glad he realizes that. His joking around was not the reason his teams lost. I'll take watching LeBron have fun and still play great over Kobe forcing that fake, manufactured, "look at me I'm like Jordan" chin-out scowl any day.

"People may forget eventually, though, but they won't get the cheers the Bulls got in the 90s in opposing stadiums."  If you want to compare him to MJ, remember that MJ didn't get his first title until he was 28. LeBron is 25. And lway more so than LeBron, Jordan was widely disliked by fans and other players when he came into the league because of his cockyness and entitled attitude.

LeBron will be in any discussion of all time great if he wins 3 titles. Wade will never be considered a top10 all time guy, whereas LeBron could easily. As much as I love DWade, he is simply not as good as LeBron.

I was responding to someone who said that people were not hating on Lebron until now.  I was saying that even people in Iowa (which I consider random, maybe its not) were already hating James before the free agent thing.

I agree that James did not have that bad of games at the end.  I did say part of it is not his fault.  It is the media.  A lot of people resent him because he hasn't done anything and gets annointed while Kobe and Wade are winning rings.

I don't like that James dances during regular season games that don't matter personally.  That is my opinion.  It is disrespectful to other teams and to the game.  You are free to disagree.  Even if he had 10 rings I still would not like it.  Not having any rings exaggerates it.  

I was not comparing him to Jordan.  Kobe is the only one who should be.  I was saying that this Heat team is not going to be the rockstar team like the Bulls were.  They are going to get booed.  I have no idea if Michael got booed as a rookie.  You might be right.  I know he got frozen out (conspiracy theory) in the all-star game and people said a scoring champion guard could not win because he hogs the ball, but I don't know that MJ ever had the level of hatred that James is getting now.  

It is probably not fair to James that it got to this level, but James handled this poorly.  He works hard and doesnt get into trouble so he is not a bad guy in the sense that he isnt a good role model like other players.  

Can you imagine if Jordan signed with LA, Boston, or Detroit in 1990?  It would not have been the same.  It would have admitted that everything people were saying about him is true:  can't get it done, scoring champ can't win it, MJ doesn't make others better.  Free agency was not an option, but MJ proved everyone wrong.  James does not have the opportunity to do that.  

But, Michael is not a good comparison for James anymore.  Joining the Heat basically ruins that.  MJ came up and took a lottery team to 6 rings, and that angle will always be there in any argument.  It is not fair to anyone actually to be compared to Jordan.  He does not need to be better than Jordan or Bird or Kobe to be a great player.  

I don't know if Jordan ever had this type of negative press.  James will never get the adoration MJ had.  That is an impossible standard anyway.

[Aughnanure]

Becoming "hated" might be the best thing that could happen to James.  It could give him the edge / killer instinct he seems to have been missing.

Good point. Agreed. Kinda like how Kobe revels in it now...always uses it as motivation.

[MarkCharles]

hoopsmalone

Ok, I see where you are coming from. I agree that the way MJ elevated a meaningless organization is a bit of a trump card in the all-time greats debate. But I don't think if he winds up with 4-5 rings, he should be downgraded for playing with DWade. MJ had a top50 all-time in Pippen, Kobe got 3 with Shaq, Bird won his on the greatest front line ever, Magic had Kareem, Scott, and Worthy, Russell had Cousy, etc. How LeBron plays on the way to those titles will determine his place among the greats.

I applaud LeBron for making the tough decision, even if it may look like the easy way out on paper. If you watched last night, you could see how difficult this was on him. If you were LeBron, would you have stayed in Cleveland? I don't think any rational man who wants more than anything to win titles would. Their roster was mediocre, old, and difficult to improve any time soon.
" James will never get the adoration MJ had." That is probably true, as there seems to be a huge amount of genuine resentment out there. But what exactly has LeBron ever done wrong? MJ is legitimately a jerk and doesn't seem very well liked (see: HOF induction speech... classless), has tons of vices,comes across as cold, etc. If people dislike the overexposure and brand marketing that LeBron is taking advantage of, they should remember that Jordan created that world.

[Aughnanure]

I was responding to someone who said that people were not hating on Lebron until now.  I was saying that even people in Iowa (which I consider random, maybe its not) were already hating James before the free agent thing.

I agree that James did not have that bad of games at the end.  I did say part of it is not his fault.  It is the media.  A lot of people resent him because he hasn't done anything and gets annointed while Kobe and Wade are winning rings.

I don't like that James dances during regular season games that don't matter personally.  That is my opinion.  It is disrespectful to other teams and to the game.  You are free to disagree.  Even if he had 10 rings I still would not like it.  Not having any rings exaggerates it.  

I was not comparing him to Jordan.  Kobe is the only one who should be.  I was saying that this Heat team is not going to be the rockstar team like the Bulls were.  They are going to get booed.  I have no idea if Michael got booed as a rookie.  You might be right.  I know he got frozen out (conspiracy theory) in the all-star game and people said a scoring champion guard could not win because he hogs the ball, but I don't know that MJ ever had the level of hatred that James is getting now.  

It is probably not fair to James that it got to this level, but James handled this poorly.  He works hard and doesnt get into trouble so he is not a bad guy in the sense that he isnt a good role model like other players.  

Can you imagine if Jordan signed with LA, Boston, or Detroit in 1990?  It would not have been the same.  It would have admitted that everything people were saying about him is true:  can't get it done, scoring champ can't win it, MJ doesn't make others better.  Free agency was not an option, but MJ proved everyone wrong.  James does not have the opportunity to do that.  

But, Michael is not a good comparison for James anymore.  Joining the Heat basically ruins that.  MJ came up and took a lottery team to 6 rings, and that angle will always be there in any argument.  It is not fair to anyone actually to be compared to Jordan.  He does not need to be better than Jordan or Bird or Kobe to be a great player.  

I don't know if Jordan ever had this type of negative press.  James will never get the adoration MJ had.  That is an impossible standard anyway.

I remember a while back there was some ESPN article/analysis/report on the question of who is closest to Jordan, in terms of player style. I remember they came  with some mathematical formula, and Wade was the closest. By a significant amount I believe.

Jordan wasnt the physical dominant force Lebron is, Ive never bought the idea that they're similar players. Kobe I get, Wade makes sense... Lebron is closer to Magic in terms of skills and ability. Ideally LeBron probably should have aimed to become the next Magic, not Jordan.

He will probably play Point Forward for the Heat, think he can average a triple double for a year?  Hasn't been done in while.

[martyconlonontherun]

There are a TON of players in the NBA who'd see their FG% increase dramatically if they were taking primarily wide-open shots. Just ask Steve Kerr.

So why wouldn't they just take one with an already good shooting percentage and hop it goes higher?

[HoopsMalone]

hoopsmalone

Ok, I see where you are coming from. I agree that the way MJ elevated a meaningless organization is a bit of a trump card in the all-time greats debate. But I don't think if he winds up with 4-5 rings, he should be downgraded for playing with DWade. MJ had a top50 all-time in Pippen, Kobe got 3 with Shaq, Bird won his on the greatest front line ever, Magic had Kareem, Scott, and Worthy, Russell had Cousy, etc. How LeBron plays on the way to those titles will determine his place among the greats.

I applaud LeBron for making the tough decision, even if it may look like the easy way out on paper. If you watched last night, you could see how difficult this was on him. If you were LeBron, would you have stayed in Cleveland? I don't think any rational man who wants more than anything to win titles would. Their roster was mediocre, old, and difficult to improve any time soon.
" James will never get the adoration MJ had." That is probably true, as there seems to be a huge amount of genuine resentment out there. But what exactly has LeBron ever done wrong? MJ is legitimately a jerk and doesn't seem very well liked (see: HOF induction speech... classless), has tons of vices,comes across as cold, etc. If people dislike the overexposure and brand marketing that LeBron is taking advantage of, they should remember that Jordan created that world.

Lebron could still be a great player for sure.  He doesn't need to surpass MJ, Magic, Larry, or Kobe to be considered great.  If he is Dr. J when it is all said and done, then fine.  

I think James' biggest error in Cleveland was the free agency looming.  That had to bring in old guys who cannot play anymore rather than building up a team with James like those other guys had.  If he had committed longer term and let a younger play come up with him, they would have been better off.  The biggest thing was out of his control:  losing Boozer.  All the other guys lifted up a franchise.  James is joining a guy who already did.  It is different I think.  It will take him out of the Kobe, MJ, Bill Russell convo, but there is nothing wrong with that.

I don't know if I would have left Cleveland considering that is where I was from.  He probably made a good choice.  I definitely think they will win at least one, maybe two titles.  I just think next year is unlikely and this is not a 5 ring thing there with 70 wins/season.  It was a fine choice, and proves he wants to win.  There is no argument there.  He chose help.  People will get over it.  Wade is the alpha dog, and James has to know that.  If he tries to be and they lose, then that will really, really hurt James' image.  

MJ was definitely choreographed as a great family guy.  It is disappointed that it was not true about him.  I think people in general are a little more suspicious of athletes after the steroids in baseball thing.  Remember, MJ was followed by Sosa and McGwire.  Now Tiger too.   Now all three of those guys were not who we thought they were.  And the "hate the game, not the player" thing regarding James and all of his ads is a fair point.  I would take those paydays in a heartbeat.  He should stop dancing and acknowledge that he hasn't won anything yet and he would end a lot of this resentment I think.  Lebron is a good role model though.  He might be like MJ or Tiger Woods for all we know.

[HoopsMalone]

I think these threads highlight why some people are put off by Lebron.

I feel like people are putting the burden on me and others to prove that James cannot win.  Whereas the people who are suspicious of James see him having the team with the best record for two years and being shown the door in the playoffs early both years.  He is so hyped. 

Great player, but we are really putting him with Jordan?   Should we really not question people putting him up with MJ while Duncan, Kobe, and Wade are winning titles?

I am just making an observation.  I enjoy discussing stuff with you all.

[MUSF]

I think these threads highlight why some people are put off by Lebron.

I feel like people are putting the burden on me and others to prove that James cannot win.  Whereas the people who are suspicious of James see him having the team with the best record for two years and being shown the door in the playoffs early both years.  He is so hyped. 

Great player, but we are really putting him with Jordan?   Should we really not question people putting him up with MJ while Duncan, Kobe, and Wade are winning titles?

I am just making an observation.  I enjoy discussing stuff with you all.

I think it is fair to say that he shouldn't be compared to some of the greats yet, but it is unfair to put Cleveland's losses in the playoffs on Lebron.

All of those Cavs teams had some significant flaws that didn't have anything to do with number 23.  The best record in the regular season isn't always the best indicator of post season success.  Especially when that record comes from the Eastern Conference.  How many of those Cavs teams did you really think would win the title?

[HoopsMalone]

I think it is fair to say that he shouldn't be compared to some of the greats yet, but it is unfair to put Cleveland's losses in the playoffs on Lebron.

All of those Cavs teams had some significant flaws that didn't have anything to do with number 23.  The best record in the regular season isn't always the best indicator of post season success.  Especially when that record comes from the Eastern Conference.  How many of those Cavs teams did you really think would win the title?

A lot of people were picking the Cavs at the start of these playoffs after landing Jamison.  People were celebrating them and now all of a sudden his teammates are not any good.  They were not a great team, but they could have won it this year.  Since they did not though, Shaq and Jamison may have been too old to roll the rice the dice on again.

[MUSF]

A lot of people were picking the Cavs at the start of these playoffs after landing Jamison.  People were celebrating them and now all of a sudden his teammates are not any good.  They were not a great team, but they could have won it this year.  Since they did not though, Shaq and Jamison may have been too old to roll the rice the dice on again.

Hindsight's 20/20 but I don't think there is any way that the Cavs could have beat the Lakers.  I don't think the Cavs could beat the Celtics in 7 games if the Celtics played to their ability.

That doesn't excuse Lebron and Cleveland's poor performance, but I don't think this years Cavs were ever a title team.

That said, I don't think Lebron will ever match MJ or Kobe in the killer instinct / competitor department.  That's not a knock on his ability but an observation of his personality.  He just doesn't have it in him.  I actually think he will take a somewhat secondary role to Wade on the Heat and that will ultimately prevent him from entering the Kobe / MJ discussion.

[HoopsMalone]

That said, I don't think Lebron will ever match MJ or Kobe in the killer instinct / competitor department.  That's not a knock on his ability but an observation of his personality.  He just doesn't have it in him.  I actually think he will take a somewhat secondary role to Wade on the Heat and that will ultimately prevent him from entering the Kobe / MJ discussion.

I think people kind of resent that.  People anointed him as the next coming and his personality does not live up to it.  That box with MJ's shoes with the note saying "Do you dare fill these shoes" or whatever does not fit him.  He is Dr. J.  A great talent, but not an assassin like these other guys. 

I think people were mad that they thought he was the next thing and he is not.  Cleveland thought that this was the guy who was finally going to do it, and he is not.  The media needs to let it go.  People were wrong about him.  O well.

At the end of the day, though, I don't think that the burden to prove whether or not Lebron can get it done should be on the people who are suspicious.  He was annointed and there arose an assumption that he was the man.  He never proved it.  The burden should be on the people who think that he is the next big thing to prove that.  People suspicious of him have a history of not getting it done in the playoffs to point to.  Not the other way around.  People should be suspicious of the guy who could not get it done.  We should not be anointing Miami or James.  Right now, he seems like more of a young Wilt or a young Dr. J.  Not a young MJ or Bill Russell. 

I actually would love to see him win 2 rings in Miami and then go back home and make amends.  Then he could really prove something.

[MUSF]

I think people kind of resent that.  People anointed him as the next coming and his personality does not live up to it.  That box with MJ's shoes with the note saying "Do you dare fill these shoes" or whatever does not fit him.  He is Dr. J.  A great talent, but not an assassin like these other guys. 

I think people were mad that they thought he was the next thing and he is not.  Cleveland thought that this was the guy who was finally going to do it, and he is not.  The media needs to let it go.  People were wrong about him.  O well.

At the end of the day, though, I don't think that the burden to prove whether or not Lebron can get it done should be on the people who are suspicious.  He was annointed and there arose an assumption that he was the man.  He never proved it.  The burden should be on the people who think that he is the next big thing to prove that.  People suspicious of him have a history of not getting it done in the playoffs to point to.  Not the other way around.  People should be suspicious of the guy who could not get it done.  We should not be anointing Miami or James.  Right now, he seems like more of a young Wilt or a young Dr. J.  Not a young MJ or Bill Russell. 

I actually would love to see him win 2 rings in Miami and then go back home and make amends.  Then he could really prove something.

I agree, for the most part.

I think we both have the same view of who Lebron is as a player.  I just don't think it is necessarily fair to evaluate him on the same criteria as MJ and Kobe.  Those guys were/are ruthless finishers that will always go for the kill, win or lose.  That isn't LBJ, yet many seem to view him as a failure or a disappointment because he isn't that guy. 

You say people should be suspicious of a guy who could not get it done.  There are 5 guys on the court at one time and 8 - 10 guys that play regularly.  Why is it about 1 guy not getting it done?  You, and others, seem to expect him to be MJ or Kobe and single handidly beat teams on the biggest stage.  Your disappointment is more a commentary on your expectations than Lebron's value or ability as a player.

Lebron will continue to be very successful and will go down as one of the greats.  One of the greats who needed his teammates to set him up for success.  He will join a list of Duncan, Malone, Erving, Garnett, etc.  That's still a pretty good list.

[GGGG]

I agree, for the most part.

I think we both have the same view of who Lebron is as a player.  I just don't think it is necessarily fair to evaluate him on the same criteria as MJ and Kobe.  Those guys were/are ruthless finishers that will always go for the kill, win or lose.  That isn't LBJ,

That isn't LBJ *yet.*  When Michael was his age people were saying the same thing about him.  When Kobe was that age, he was considered petulant and spoiled, riding on Shaq's coattails.

LBJ still has a long history to be written.

[Pakuni]

I think we both have the same view of who Lebron is as a player.  I just don't think it is necessarily fair to evaluate him on the same criteria as MJ and Kobe.  Those guys were/are ruthless finishers that will always go for the kill, win or lose.  That isn't LBJ, yet many seem to view him as a failure or a disappointment because he isn't that guy.   

Well, he is a failure and disappointment, at least judging by the image and standards he worked very hard to create for himself.
Nobody made him revel in, and encourage, the MJ comaprisons.
Nobody made him get a tattoo proclaiming himself as "The Chosen 1".
Nobody made him star in a marketing campaign proclaiming "We are all witnesses" portraying him as some kind deity-like figure with whom  we are privileged to share the earth.

It seems the guy and his marketing team worked very hard to build this MJ-like aura around him, but now they don't want to live up to the expectations that come with it. To the contrary, he's fleeing those expectations. He's made a very public admission that he can't be the guy he marketed himself as. Maybe that doesn't make him a failure, but it does make him a disappointment.

Perhaps I'm being overly harsh on the guy, but it seems to me he took the coward's way out. He ran away from being "The Man" in favor of being "One of the guys."
In and of itself, that's not a bad thing. Unless you proclaim yourself "Chosen 1" and ask people to "Witness."