LeBron James: Why King James Should Demand Trade If Heat Don't Win 2012 Title

You've undoubtedly heard about this season being "championship or bust" for LeBron James and company.

There's no doubting the validity of that statement, but if the Miami Heat fail to win the 2012 NBA title, this season might be a much bigger bust than you might think. 

If LeBron somehow fails to win his first NBA title this season he needs to demand a trade from the Heat, because it will be time to move on, and here is the first reason why.

LeBron's legacy, win or lose, begins at the end of this season

Whether or not LeBron hoists his first Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy at the end of this season, the way he will be remembered will start to take form.

If he wins his first title with the Heat, he must stay in Miami and create his defining legacy as the leader of the Heatles.  If he fails to win a title this year, he must move on from Miami, and try to become the sole leader of an NBA franchise elsewhere.

If the Heat don't win the NBA title this season, with a more complete roster than last season, there's no reason to think that the trio of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James will ever be able to get it done.

LeBron's legacy hinges on how many NBA titles he can win, and if 2012 isn't the first of many rings for the self-proclaimed "King", then he will once again need to take his talents somewhere else, where he can single-handedly help a franchise win championships.

If the Heat win the 2012 title, then his legacy will begin as a now three-time MVP who needed help to get championships, and if the Heat don't win in 2012, he must demand a trade so that his legacy can be rebuilt around him being the lone franchise player elsewhere.

To be the greatest of all-time, LeBron needs to be a one-man show

As we've seen this year, LeBron plays his best basketball when he's truly a one-man show.

Without Wade in the lineup, LeBron led the Heat to a 13-1 record, which goes to show just how dominant of a player he can be when the pressure is on him to carry a team.

When LeBron is forced to be the foundation of a franchise, he is certainly capable of that, as long as he has enough complementary talent around him. If LeBron can't win an NBA title with superstar talent around him, he needs to go back to what he does best, which is leading an NBA franchise by himself.

This season, more than any other, LeBron has matured to the point where he's once again playing the game for all the right reasons, rather than trying to prove people wrong.  With that change, it would be interesting to see how LeBron does as the foundation of a franchise, and if he fails in 2012 to win an NBA title, he should do just that.

Demanding a trade in light of failing to win an NBA title might seem like a detrimental move to make for his legacy, but in all reality, it would be helping LeBron get back to what he does best, which is being the one-man show for an NBA franchise.

A return to the city of Cleveland would be LeBron's legacy-defining move

I know this is completely unfounded and highly unlikely, but if LeBron were somehow able to return to the city of Cleveland and help it win some championships, his legacy of being the greatest of all-time could certainly be saved.

While it would be the most difficult PR campaign in the history of professional sports, a LeBron return to Cleveland would be one of the most compelling storylines of all time, and it would also be the right move for him to make.

Demanding a trade to a team like Cleveland would show that LeBron is ready to accept responsibility for the mistake that he made when he decided to go to South Beach, which would be a massive step in the right direction for him to make.

Many thought a trip to South Beach would be a career-defining move, but in all reality, if LeBron doesn't win a title this year, his career-defining move needs to be demanding a trade back to a team that desperately needs him.

A 2012 NBA title for LeBron means that his legacy will begin in South Beach.

If he fails to win that elusive title this year though, his legacy will need to take a detour, and that begins by demanding a trade from a Miami team that isn't utilizing his talents in the best way possible.