Chances are you got sucked into watching "The Decision" on ESPN on Thursday night. The 1-hour special pulled in a 7.3 rating, the third highest of any cable television show this year and the highest rating for an ESPN "news" show ever. ESPN certainly bowed down to King James. The NBA league MVP picked the primetime advertisers and even worse, he picked and paid the interviewer. The King sat in his throne as Jim Gray threw one softball after another. James, however, did not hit any home runs. He rarely smiled, he struggled to show emotion, his answers seemed rehearsed and perhaps worst of all, he failed to show real sympathy for the town he dumped on national television. Think about it -- the man never thanked the fans of Cleveland. The announcement should have taken 10 seconds, instead it took 60 minutes. It wasn't an announcement as much as it was shameless self promotion. You can plug the BP Oil spill with that ego.
I hate the way he made the decision, but I can't argue with the decision itself.
He put the city of Cleveland and the Cavs on the map for 7 years. The Cavs were relevant for 7 years. Think about that -- and then think about the other 33 years of the Cavs existence. Before Lebron there was...Mark Price? The guy who was about as rehearsed and boring as his pre-foul shot routine. Before the 2006-2007 NBA Finals, there was "the shot"? It's never good when a franchise's most recognizable moment is a moment of failure.
People tend to forget that Lebron re-signed with Cleveland in 2006. He wanted to win there. He just needed some help. Management failed. An old Shaq, an overrated Mo Williams and an overpaid Antawn Jamison didn't cut it. Lebron couldn't count on the Cavs getting much better in the coming years. The franchise strapped itself by bringing Jamison and his 2 yr., $28 million dollar deal on board. If James signed a max deal in Cleveland, the Cavs would have to wait until at least 2012 to bring another star in.
The notion that Lebron can't win a title on his own is...correct. Then again, nobdoy can. Think about it. Bird had McHale, Parrish, DJ. Dr. J had Moses. Magic had Kareem and Worthy. Jordan had Pippen. Olajuwon had Clyde. Duncan had Robinson. To win an NBA title you need at least two, and often times, three stars. I challenge you to come up with an NBA player who won a title on his own.
The statement that MJ would never have left Chicago is also ludicrous. First of all, he did. Secondly, we'll never know how Jordan would have dealt with free agency in his prime. He never had to. Before his 3-year rookie contract expired, he signed an 8 yr. $25 million dollar extension. The man never had the chance to leave.
Finally, lets give LBJ some credit for leaving money on the table. $30 million to be exact. This isn't monopoly folks. There aren't many of us that can say, with a straight face, they would be willing to throw away that kind of green.
Hate on Lebron for being an ego-maniac, for caring more about his brand than the people of Cleveland, but don't hate on his decision. The man wants to win and playing with DWade and Chris Bosh certainly beats Anthony Parker and Anderson Varejao. Haven't you ever heard? Nice guys finish last. Lebron is taking a chance, trading in his image for a shot at a title.
About Me
- mfink
- An attempt to inform the masses by spewing noise about sports and society. Ingest and enjoy!
I disagree Fink my boy, respectfully of course. Those other teams you mentioned as far as my knowledge on the subject serves me were grown together via draft and team building. (except Olajawan and Clyde, but Clyde wasn't there for the first one with a rookie Cassel, 2nd yr man Horry and a career sub star but unreal color man Kenny the "jet"). I think "The Decision" was the antithesis of competitive nature. I agree that Cleveland would have continued to do him wrong. It would have been nice however to see him team up with Amare (even if it was in Cleveland and not with the Knicks) and battle against Wade and Bosh for the next five years. I personally hope the salary cap and maybe the injury bug bites them in the ass real soon............But I will hate on his ego too.........Good call.
ReplyDeleteFink what’s up kid its Morris...been awhile glad to see our running this blog because it finally gives regular guys like us a platform to discuss the relevant sports stories of the day. I actually agree with most of your post although I think the masses are missing the big picture. As good as this trade was for miami and I think Amare to the knicks is a good first step to making them relevant again the real winner in all these trades are the lakers. Let’s face it two dominant western conference all stars just went east. Utah will not be the same without Boozer and Phoenix won't either without Amare. Not to mention while everyone is talking about miami, chicago and new york...LA just stole portlands point gaurd an underrated Steve Blake and Kobe is having dinner with Raja Bell last I heard on espn, apparently they have 1.8 million to sign him. If this goes down and the lakers remain healthy I see them in the finals the next 3 years. It would take alot for Kevin Durant and the thunder to dethrone Kobe and the mavs are perennially a horrible playoff team. Which begs the question does Miami match up with lakers? As far as I see it Gasol and Bosh are a wash, Kobe advantage over Dwade, Lebron advantage over a defensive Artest? Supporting cast big advantage lakers...I'll let you digest this let me know what you think. Thats if miami can get out of the east with the celtics and orlando. Hope your well bro.
ReplyDeleteDon,
ReplyDeleteGreat point. Most of the teams were indeed built from within. Then again, free agency is a much different animal this day in age. I think my C's have enough to take them down.
Mo,
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you buddy. Feel free to log on and comment or post on the blog whenever you get the itch.
Things have certainly changed since your post. I agree Phoenix takes a step back without Amare. They'll still be a playoff team. Nash is just that good. He makes everybody else around him look better than they are (Richardson, Diaw, Bell, Marion, etc). With that said, they aren't a threat to the Lakers.
I actually think Utah is better though. Boozer is a dominant offensive force, but not a dominant rebounder and a below average defender. Gasol ate him up. They replaced Boozer with a similar player, Al Jefferson. Jefferson doesn't shoot the 15-footer as well as Boozer, but he is a more dominant low-post scorer. He will force Gasol or Bynum to play D and pick up fouls. The issue with Jefferson is he can't guard Donaugh. That's OK though. They have Paul Millsap, one of the most underrated players in the league. The guy averaged 12 pts, 7 rebs in just 28 minutes. He's a perfect fit next to Jefferson. He doesn't need the ball, doesn't need shots. He gets his points off loose balls and offensive rebounds. He's physical and an outstanding defender. He's bigger than Boozer and can do a better job of defending Gasol. They can bring Okur off the bench to stetch the defense. Either Gasol or Bynum is going to have to go out and get hime because he can shoot the 3. That will leave the paint open. The Jazz also signed Raja Bell. He'll try to slow down Kobe. Utah's biggest problem is they lack shooting. They didn't shoot it great from deep last year and they let Kyle Korver go.
Can Denver bounce back? Who knows. They have talent, but lack discipline. You hit it on the head with Dallas. They choke every year in the post-season. Portland has talent, but they're young. I think you're right. The West is the Lakers to lose. I still think they're beatable. Blake and Dfish lack the quickness to stay in front of elite point guards. Artest is not the same player he was a few years back. They let Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar go. Who is going to back-up Kobe and the big guys?
Lets not forget that Boston could have very easily won that series. Officiating was a joke (guess that's why home-court is important) and Ron Artest had to bury some ridiculous 3's to bury the C's.
Now that Lebron is in Miami, I will enjoy watching Boston kick the crap out of the rest of the East even more.