LeBron Leaves for Miami

I had my mid-season Pirate review that I have been working on and condensing for about a week now all ready to be posted today (look for it on Monday now). I was sure LeBron James was heading back to Cleveland, last night’s show would be much ado about nothing, and we could be back to talking a little baseball. I mean, there is no way that James would go on national TV, on his own one hour program, and tell his fans and his hometown that he was leaving right? Wow, was I wrong!

LeBron used to be my favorite player. “Used to be” is the absolute key phrase in that sentence. We will get to that in a second. First, let’s discuss the actual show itself. I had no problem with it initially. Many of the local and national reporters, “the old guard”, thought it was a selfish and narcissistic act. Of course it was, but that’s the world we live in today. LeBron is the biggest sports star in the world right now; at least he has a reason to have his own hour-long program to announce his team for the next five or more years. I will take that over some 18-year-old high school athlete who has yet to accomplish anything announcing his college decision at a press conference any day of the week. This mattered, and it mattered big time, to the entire landscape of professional sports. Not to mention that it was entertaining and captivating at the same time.

The show itself, however, was a dud. The “King” montage at the beginning was a bit much, the speculating by the ESPN guys kind of ruined the actual moment, and the actual announcement itself was kind of boring. I will give LeBron some credit, at least, in that he stuck around and answered all of Mike Wilbon and Stuart Scott’s questions after his decision was announced to Jim Gray. That was the only meaningful part of the hour long special.

Now, the decision itself, I really just do not get it. As I said, LeBron used to be my favorite player. I actually attended the same 5-star camp going into my senior year as LeBron was entering his sophomore year of high school. I remember coming home from that camp and telling my Dad about this kid “LeBron James”, that people are talking about him as the next big thing. LeBron and Melvin Scott, who played at North Carolina, are the only players I remember from that camp even though there were probably loads of division one players there. (My team won the championship at the camp by the way, and I have no idea how. We didn’t have a single big-time recruit on our squad but somehow we played well enough to beat all of these top players.) It was not long after that James’ reputation spread nationally and he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and ESPN as the chosen one. Telling my Dad that early about “this kid” always gave me a special attachment and rooting interest in LeBron. I was sure that he was going to become the greatest player who ever lived. He still might, but last night’s decision has given me serious doubts and definitely changed my overall view of “The King”.

First and foremost, this has nothing to do with LeBron leaving Cleveland. He should do whatever and play wherever that makes him happy. If that wasn’t in Cleveland, so be it. He owes nothing to the people of Cleveland other than a thank you for rooting for him the last seven years, something he did last night in his post-decision interviews. This has everything to do with LeBron’s competitive make-up.

LeBron did not leave Cleveland for money, for the bright lights of New York, to further his global icon ambition, LeBron left purely for basketball reasons. Basketball reasons that simply go against every trait that a player who aspires to be the greatest of all time must have. LeBron is going where it will be easy to win, to join a cast of superstars, to build a team and franchise that already had its cornerstone and icon. They say to be the best, you must beat the best. LeBron is joining the best. If LeBron truly wanted and desired to go down as one of, if not THE best, to ever play the game, he should have stayed in Cleveland or went to New York where everything would have been built around him. Even Chicago would have been acceptable. Miami, however, was a cop out.

Listening to Jon Barry and Michael Wilbon, among others, say that Miami is not the favorite next year made me turn the TV off. How do they put guys who know nothing about basketball on TV and then call them experts? They are, at worst, the co-favorites with the Lakers, and at best, the overwhelming favorites to win the title next year and for the next five years. The Cavs were the favorites last year when they surrounded James with guys like Moe Williams, Antawn Jamison and Delonte West in the starting line-up. Put any marginal guys at point guard and center and this Miami team is going to win 60+ games and be the favorites in the East. You’re telling me a starting line-up of Mario Chalmers, Wade, James, Bosh and say Jermaine O’Neal is not overwhelmingly superior to Williams, West, James, Jamison and Shaq? Come on now…

That is why I absolutely hate this move by LeBron. My wife couldn’t figure out why I was so mad last night. She said, “wait, he’s going to play in South Beach with other great players, what’s so bad about that?” I couldn’t explain it to her, and I am not sure I am explaining it here, but don’t we want our best athletes to be so competitive, so driven, that they want the team to be built around them and win championships their way. The same way that Michael, Magic and Larry did. The same way young Shaq and old Kobe have. I know that is what I wanted from LeBron. Maybe LBJ just wasn’t wired that way from the beginning. Maybe South Beach is the best place for him, maybe he will go on to win multiple titles and go down as a top ten or top five player of all-time. I just wanted so much more for him, and I wish he wanted the same.