Well it finally came, albeit 23 minutes into the show (when we were told it was going to be during the first ten..smh). Now time to soak in what just happend, and reflect on what this means for Lebron.
A super team was just formed right before our eyes. Lebron willingly chose to join two other superstars in hopes of attaining his goal of winning a championship. In choosing the Miami Heat, Lebron gave up a lot of money (he could have made $126 mil with Cleveland, and probably will make around $100 mil with the Heat) and sacrificed his "brand name" just a bit. In terms of basketball legacy, question marks will be forever forged into his name, as well as any championship he may win. When Shaq decided to join the Lakers, the news was huge. The most dominant player in the game was coming to join a young, on the brink star, by the name of Kobe Bryant. This move forever changed the legacy of Kobe in some people's minds. After winning 3 straight rings, the "but's" began to swirl like a tropical storm transforming into a hurricane. "But, Kobe never won without Shaq." "But Kobe had the most dominant player in the game." The same "but's" are now fully applicable to Lebron, if he is able to win a ring, and this is unquestioned. (Much love to two of the best in the game- Wade and Bosh, but they arent on the same level as KB24 and Lebron.)
Speaking in the language of basketball again, I'm not sure this was the BEST move for Lebron. In Chicago, he had an elite PG, a superstar in his own right in Carlos Boozer, plenty of help off the bench, a slaher/finisher in Luol Deng, and a budding young player in Taj Gibson. The perfect compliments for the alpha dog. In Miami he now must sacrifice a little, and play in a sort of "back-seat" role to D-Wade, or, to put it better, share the spotlight (and shots.) As we have seen in years past with teams trying to do much the same, for example,the Lakers, who assembled somewhat of a "super team", with "at-the end of their career" stars such as Karl Malone, and The Glove, it failed miserably. Aging superstars, who were giving the one final push for the one thing that had been out of their reach for their entire careers, could not put their ego's aside, and sacrifice for the betterment of the team, what makes you think 3 players in the primes of their career will be willing to do that? With every scenario, there are exceptions, such as the big 3 in Boston, however, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are completely different personalities than Lebron James and D-Wade. Chris Bosh seems to be the type of player that is capable of doing such a thing, but the other two, I'm not as convinced.
Is Lebron really the type of player that will defer to D-Wade? Is D-wade the type of player who is OK with Lebron James taking all the shots down the stretch? Will their be jealousy between the 3 stars if one is getting more attention and recognition than the others? Whats going to happen when two players who need the ball in their hand the majority of the time to make plays, share the same uniform? These are all legitimate questions in Miami. Not to mention, they only have 4 players on their roster as of today. Who can they get to compliment those 3? There is still major work to be done in Miami. With Chicago, those same questions are not applicable. It would have been Lebrons team, hands down, with the perfect cast of role players, much better than in Cleveland. It will be interesting to see how the Super 3 are able to handle themselves in Miami-WADE county.
Leborn James has now been set in many people's eyes as a "sell out," unable to take on the task of leading a team to the promised land, such as Michael, and Kobe (who also went through major struggles early on in their careers, in terms of team success." As soon as he was drafted by Cleveland, he was viewed as the savior of all saviors, bringing glory back to a city still dwelling on memories of Jim Brown. He was supposed to lead his team, He was supposed to be the 2nd coming of Michael Jordan, if not better. All of those things now are flipped into a negative. Granted, success is measured by championships, and by signing in Miami, Lebron clearly put that beyond trying to become an unprecedented icon, as well as going for the fattest stack on money on the table, however, by waiting till after both of those players had committed to Miami, he sold his soul to the basketball Gods. Kobe was in LA first. The organization brought in Shaq, not the players. Kobe did was he was supposed to do with the gift that had been laid in his lap, (by no doing of his own.) Lebron purposely waited before making his decision, to see which road was the easiest. If it is ok for people to question Kobe's rings with Shaq, it will definitely be more than OK, and almost expected, with Lebron's, IF they are able to mesh, and play together.
The way Lebron James has handled this entire free agent situation is regretful and disgraceful, when speaking of a superstar. Not only did he drag this thing out and use it to center the spotlight around himself, he undermined his peers and new teammates. According to Dan Gilbert's letter, he was never in contact with the Cavs, and only let them know his plan 30 minutes before going on the air. He pushed an entire city away when they would be willing to do whatever he wanted. He disgraced the city by showing up to Indians games with Yankee gear on, and yet still, he was given a pass, only to shun the fans, and people of Cleveland by going on national TV and divorcing them. For a second I thought I was watching Tiger's personal life unfold on TV. Lebron alienated himself from the fan base who stuck up for him throughout his miserable playoff failures, including this last one. Now that he has walked away from them, the backlash is only just beginning. As far as the people of Cleveland go, he never existed.
With that being said, remember, this is still a business, and Lebron felt like he didn't have the best chance to win in Cleveland. He was there for 7 years, and only reached the finals once. However, in years past, the blame for such struggles were divided up amongst his "supporting cast" or lack there of in some peoples minds. (Remember, this is a team that won 60 games back to back, and had the best record in the NBA for 2 straight years.) Yes, Lebron needs to be blamed for the struggles just as much as any other player, because he was the leader and superstar of that team. Much similar to a Quaterback in the NFL who gets the praise when the team wins, and the blame when they dont. Only in this case, the blame Lebron never even caught a wiff of it. In professional sports, loyalty is a dying term. We see flickers of it every so often (the latest being Kevin Durant), and we are filled with hope, that maybe, just maybe, its a characteristic back on the rise. The fans arent owed anything special, everyone (front office, coaching staff), including Leron, could have pushed themselves a little bit more to try and make this thing work, but in the end, it didnt. Lebron James left, and he had every right to, but with being the savior of a franchise, and a bonafide MEGA Star, loyalty is very much part of the equation. Remember, he is living up to what Michael and Kobe did before him, and leaving via free agency is definitely not one of them.
As a basketball enthusiast, I am more than excited to see the South Beach Show next year. It will truly be unlike something we have ever seen, and everyone should be as excited as I am (except if you reside in Cleveland, or New York.) Pat Riley did one hell of a job, and I for one am shocked he was able to pull it off, but he is def. someone capable of working miracles like the one we just witnessed tonight. Its a good night for D-Wade, Chris Bosh, Pat Riley, the rest of the Heat organization. The bells of victory are sounding through the nightclubs and lights of downtown Miami. In signing with the Heat, Lebrons legacy may have very well been set ablaze. He better hope, for his sake, that it doesn't completely drown in the waters of South Beach like it did in Cleveland on Thursday night. The whole world now has all eyes on #6, #3, and #4.
Z$
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The Lebron James Plan: The Quest To be Bigger than the Game
By now, not a basketball fan on Earth has been immune to the historic free agent class of 2010, and all the attention that comes with it. Already 3 of the biggest stars on the marker have already made their decisions, while the rest of the world anticipates the announcement of Lebron James, set to come tomorrow during a one hour special on ESPN. As a student and follower of the game for so long, I recognize that the NBA has never seen anything like the free agent class of 2010. With that being said, the absurdity of the Lebron situation is disturbing on many levels, but most importantly, Lebron is trying to put himself above the game.
The warning signs were clear to anyone who cared to pay attention, and was sucked in by the aura that is Lebron. When he failed to be humble and accept defeat against the Orlando Magic, by not shaking their hands after the series, it set off a mini red flag. Now to the average person,this would not be that big of a deal, but it sent shock waves around the league, and even was talked about in the NFL.The fact that one of the games biggest superstars refused to do what EVERY athlete does was a big deal. Mix this with other small flags, such as wearing an "MVP" t-shirt around after he won, to the whole Dunked-on gate set aflame by one Jordan Crawford, Lebron is slowly but surely trying to position himself to be bigger than the NBA. Anyone who follows the situation closely can recall when Lebron so famously stated that his image was just as big of a part as winning. Take a look at stars past and present, Kobe, Michael, Kareem, Magic, Tim Duncan,etc. The list goes on and on, and yet one thing remains constant: each is a great champion, and understands that BASKETBALL greatness is not achieved by your bank account, but rather whats in the safety deposit box: Rings. They didnt try to show up the NBA by focusing on keeping the media spotlight on themselves. What Lebron is doing is not only disgraceful, it is taking away the importance, and significance of the situation from his fellow peers. You wont hear this publically, but there have been rumbles of ill feelings towards James by both Chris Bosh and D-Wade. No other superstar would even dream of doing something like this. Kobe, who may have a bigger ego than Lebron wouldn't even dare dream of pulling a stunt like this, not when he has failed to accomplish anything of significance, sans 2 regular season MVP awards.
Im going to quote my man Adrian Wojnarowski over at Yahoo on a few things, which I think mirrors my sentiments. "Team LeBron had discussed a documentary on the free-agent process, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, but the narrative changed after James’ Game 5 meltdown in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Carter says there was never a plan for a free-agent tour, but this is what he means: There was never a plan for James to get held accountable, to have his motivations and priorities called into doubt. There was never a plan for the blame to shift from Danny Ferry, Mike Brown and his Cavaliers teammates. There was never a plan that real-world rules applied to the self-proclaimed King."
Again, this whole ordeal is set to do only one thing, boost James' image, in order to mask the disappointment of years past, where he failed to deliver on high expectations, and territory that comes with being one of the best players in the league. Lebron is taking the NBA hostage, and the sad thing is, no one is doing anything to stop it. When we tune in tomorrow night, think to yourself, what other player, even greater than Lebron, can you remember doing anything like this?
Again to quote Adrian "He won’t look so much like Kobe Bryant(notes) and David Beckham, but rather a three-star linebacker from Shaker Heights picking Bowling Green over Kent and Ohio U. on local access television."
The entire sports world awaits tomorrows decision, and even more await the moment it is all over. Will tomorrow be the day that one man becomes bigger than the league? Who knows, but it is clear: it is one man's ego, one man's brand, who will certainly try everything they can to make it happen.
Z$
The warning signs were clear to anyone who cared to pay attention, and was sucked in by the aura that is Lebron. When he failed to be humble and accept defeat against the Orlando Magic, by not shaking their hands after the series, it set off a mini red flag. Now to the average person,this would not be that big of a deal, but it sent shock waves around the league, and even was talked about in the NFL.The fact that one of the games biggest superstars refused to do what EVERY athlete does was a big deal. Mix this with other small flags, such as wearing an "MVP" t-shirt around after he won, to the whole Dunked-on gate set aflame by one Jordan Crawford, Lebron is slowly but surely trying to position himself to be bigger than the NBA. Anyone who follows the situation closely can recall when Lebron so famously stated that his image was just as big of a part as winning. Take a look at stars past and present, Kobe, Michael, Kareem, Magic, Tim Duncan,etc. The list goes on and on, and yet one thing remains constant: each is a great champion, and understands that BASKETBALL greatness is not achieved by your bank account, but rather whats in the safety deposit box: Rings. They didnt try to show up the NBA by focusing on keeping the media spotlight on themselves. What Lebron is doing is not only disgraceful, it is taking away the importance, and significance of the situation from his fellow peers. You wont hear this publically, but there have been rumbles of ill feelings towards James by both Chris Bosh and D-Wade. No other superstar would even dream of doing something like this. Kobe, who may have a bigger ego than Lebron wouldn't even dare dream of pulling a stunt like this, not when he has failed to accomplish anything of significance, sans 2 regular season MVP awards.
Im going to quote my man Adrian Wojnarowski over at Yahoo on a few things, which I think mirrors my sentiments. "Team LeBron had discussed a documentary on the free-agent process, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, but the narrative changed after James’ Game 5 meltdown in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Carter says there was never a plan for a free-agent tour, but this is what he means: There was never a plan for James to get held accountable, to have his motivations and priorities called into doubt. There was never a plan for the blame to shift from Danny Ferry, Mike Brown and his Cavaliers teammates. There was never a plan that real-world rules applied to the self-proclaimed King."
Again, this whole ordeal is set to do only one thing, boost James' image, in order to mask the disappointment of years past, where he failed to deliver on high expectations, and territory that comes with being one of the best players in the league. Lebron is taking the NBA hostage, and the sad thing is, no one is doing anything to stop it. When we tune in tomorrow night, think to yourself, what other player, even greater than Lebron, can you remember doing anything like this?
Again to quote Adrian "He won’t look so much like Kobe Bryant(notes) and David Beckham, but rather a three-star linebacker from Shaker Heights picking Bowling Green over Kent and Ohio U. on local access television."
The entire sports world awaits tomorrows decision, and even more await the moment it is all over. Will tomorrow be the day that one man becomes bigger than the league? Who knows, but it is clear: it is one man's ego, one man's brand, who will certainly try everything they can to make it happen.
Z$
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