The LeBron James fiasco is finally over. After two years of hype, a week of constantly changing reports and a self-serving hour-long special on ESPN, LeBron James announced he will "take his talents to South Beach."
This thing has been discussed more than Brett Favre's decision to un-retire. It turned into the biggest spectacule in recent history. It's been broken down every way, by everyone. Still, here's my two cents.
Why I Like "The Decision"
1) He needed to leave Cleveland. I know about the tormented Cleveland sports fans. Spare me the tear-fest. LeBron James is bigger than Cleveland. If your goal is to be a global icon, you dream a little bigger than living and working in Cleveland your whole life.
He's from and lives in Akron, not Cleveland. As far as I can tell he loves Akron, not Cleveland. He never even moved to the city. He isn't working, middle-class like Cleveland sports fans. He's a child star who happened to get drafted by the Cavs. If they didn't somehow get the No. 1 pick in 2003 the people of Cleveland would have just watched from afar and this situation would have never presented itself.
He doesn't care about the Browns or Indians. He roots for the Cowboys and Yankees. The big dogs. The front-runners. He wouldn't even like the Cavs if he wasn't playing for them. LeBron goes big, and Cleveland isn't big enough.
I believe LeBron knew he was going to leave after this contract was up because he didn't want to spend his whole life in Cleveland. I like Cleveland, I've cheered for the Browns and Indians in the past, but someone in his position isn't content staying in NE Ohio forever. And who can blame him?
The Cleveland fans who call him coward and traitor are the selfish ones. LeBron doesn't owe them his entire career. That's not the way professional sports works. Sorry, it may not be ideal, but it's the way it is. When your contract is up, you're free to go elsewhere. Just as said team is able to cut you at any point.
The burning jerseys and Dan Gilbert's childish, classless, rudimentary letter to the fans of the Cavs was more disgraceful than LeBron leaving, but probably equal to having a one-hour special to announce the decision. The letter most likely speaks for most Cavs fans, but that just shows how fickle they are.
It reminds me of Cubs fans and why they will never win a World Series. The fans care way more than any player possibly could. They ride the players and manager so hard it almost subconsciously turns the team against winning, just to spite the idiots cheering for them.
I doubt LeBron ever had any fantasies about playing his entire career in Cleveland. Did he want to win a title there? Sure, but it would still have been his first, the city's second. It seems LeBron doesn't care about Cleveland as much as the locals want him to, but that's not his fault.
2) LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. The two most exciting players in the league playing every game together. Whether you like either one, you can't doubt their playmaking abilities. There hasn't been a combo like this since Shaq and Kobe, but even then Shaq was a different kind of spectacular. Shaq couldn't do it off the dribble and in the open court like these two can.
It's great for the league. More people will be interested, which means more eyeballs. The anticipation for next year is already building.
Chris Bosh better be hitting the offensive boards and get comfortable with the idea of averaging 13 points per game. He is the definition of third wheel. Solid player, but I have the feeling he wanted to be, at least, a No. 2 guy, not a No. 3, in-the-shadows guy. He claimed he was "a centerpiece" before free agency. Well, not anymore. He's a candlestick that gets moved out of the way for the centerpiece.
Pat Riley needs to get on the bench from the start if they want to win next year or the following year. Erik Spoelstra seems like a good up-and-coming coach, but this is out of his league right now. Maybe after a year or two he would get it together but there's no time for that. The expectations are very high.
In Closing
I haven't agreed with how LeBron went about handling his business since the end of the season. I didn't really care for the way he handled his business on the court. I certainly didn't like the hour-long decision special. Very self-indulgent, but the demand for it was there. His communication with Cleveland management could and should have been a helluva lot better, but it wouldn't have made things much better. Gilbert probably still sends out the letter.
Most people would have preferred a simple released statement or press conference. It kind of felt like LeBron thought he was doing people a favor by answering questions before and after. I don't think that helped but it got the interrogation part over with the same night.
The way ESPN catered to the show was laughable. It shows just how much power LeBron wields.
I will say this, I haven't been a huge fan of LeBron but this decision moved him up a notch in my book. Once he wins a title, he will go higher. A ring is a ring is a ring. It doesn't matter if he did it "on his own" or he had Dwayne Wade helping. If they win multiple rings, it really won't matter. No one does it on their own.
He said winning is the most important thing and now is getting killed for picking a team with a good shot at winning. Cleveland wasn't doing any better than they have the past three years. Miami and Chicago gave him the best chance to win. And out of those two, Miami had more to offer. Case closed. Get over it. It's his life, not yours.
