The Super Union: The Miami Heat Are About To Make History

JT the Brick coined the phrase 'Super Union' on his interactive radio show on Fox in the past few days. I think he did—he might have heard it somewhere else, but I know that I heard it from JT the Brick.

With that moniker, two simple words, all of the rumors and reports about this epic NBA free agent period crystallized for me. With the name 'Super Union' already formed, if this takes place and LeBron James and Chris Bosh join Dwyane Wade in Miami, the headlines will have a nice ring to them.

To wit...

SUPER UNION FORMS ON SOUTH BEACH

Not exciting enough for you, I can do better...

NBA SUPERSTARS FORM SUPER UNION AND TAKE BALANCE OF POWER

Still not impressed, how about this one...

BRING ON THE LAKERS, SUPER UNION BOASTS, AS NBA REGULAR SEASON CANCELLED

It has been easy to dismiss this development since it has never happened before. The last two alpha dogs to play together and win multiple NBA titles were Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. When that tandem was broken up, it was safe to feel like we had seen the last of the alpha dogs teaming up.

We are all people, you see, so we can all understand what it is like to work with someone who takes credit away from you. The majority of us just deal with it because that is why they call it work and we are not pulling in seven to eight figures annually.

I write novels but did make a few movies. Even on those small budget projects, the egos of the talent were myopically large. Most of us can only imagine what the ego of a multi-millionaire is like. James and Wade say they can co-exist and who are we to say that it has never been done successfully before.

The Miami Heat are about to make history as well as they are primed to sign three max contract players this offseason. There has never been a franchise that has been able to bring in two before, but that was what this summer was all about—landing two max guys.

Well, that was not enough for the Heat, it appears.

LeBron James is all about keeping his options ope, so the thought is that he will sign a three year deal. That will make him an unrestricted free agent at 28 and with a new CBA to be signed by then, the sky might be the limit on the contract he would sign in the future.

The thing about James is that he does have all-world talent. He might win another four or five MVP's before his career is over. He needs rings and he needed one last year. He will have to have some titles to be in the conversation with Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, so a three year run with Wade and Bosh might net him two to three rings.

If the Super Union forms and they only win one ring, there will be a lot of head scratching.  

Is it even responsible to write that this Super Union might not win any rings at all? I can see that happening and here are three reasons why...

1. Injuries

The Big Three are much older then the Super Union, so this is not a fair comparison. The Big Three were derailed by injuries in 2009—that is a fact. Chris Bosh has shown to be somewhat fragile over his career, and Dwyane Wade has missed almost an entire season with knee issues.

2. LeBron James

His first brush with an injury, the supposed elbow issue he had in the 2010 playoffs, did not go so well for him. He is strong in mind and body, but he is entering his eighth NBA season.

Another thing about James that we all might want to consider is that we have all misjudged him. He might work out well in Miami because he is not an alpha dog. I know that might sound nuts, to say but the proof is there if you look at it.

In the Eastern Finals loss to the Orlando Magic, James played out of his mind and we all said that he needed Scottie Pippen to get him over the hump. Now Cleveland did fail to get him that type of payer for the 2010 playoffs, which became apparent as Antawn Jamison struggled, Mo Williams was again a no-show, and Shaq was just a shell of what he once was.

Still, with the way LeBron played against Boston in the 2010 playoffs, it looked as if he had regressed from comparisons of MJ and Magic to playing like Scottie Pippen.

My point is that James needs D-Wade far more than D-Wade needs LeBron. James needs to have a closer in the lineup with him. He needs a guy that will take and make the big shot because after seven years of watching him, it is obvious that James is great in the regular season, but he needs it handed to him in the playoffs.

The Pistons in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals rolled over for James in a way that I could not believe I was seeing. The Spurs made it tough for James and the Cavs were swept.

The Cavs lineup was weak, you say—no problem. Let's see what happened in 2008. Game Seven in Boston, LeBron and Paul Pierce put on a show and again the Cavs were a player or two short (Delonte West could have made one of those jumpers he took) as the Cavs fell.

2009, after going 8-0 in the first two rounds, the Cavs went up against a Magic squad that did not back down and they lost again.

2010, Boston took it right to Cleveland and LeBron James again failed in the playoffs.

You see, Kobe had to earn it as a young player in Los Angeles and grew to become the best. Everyone called LeBron the best as he came into the league and he does fine until adversity strikes then he folds under the pressure.

You can blame Cleveland and that is fine. That is why it is smart for LeBron to leave Cleveland.

Of course, what happens if LeBron has the same problems in Miami and Wade does not bail him out?

3. The Miami Heat

This is not a storied franchise. They do have a championship, but before that they had never been in the NBA Finals and they have not been close since. They had the record for most losses to start a season until the Nets broke it this year.

They are an expansion franchise with no roots. They are going to bring in high-priced talent, possibly buy a title or two, then again, fade away when the Super Union breaks up because there is no way that James, Wade, and Bosh all retire as Miami Heat players.

Miami is such a young franchise with no real history that they have Michael Jordan's number retired. That is just crazy to me—to retire the number of a guy that never played for your team. In fact, some of the better Miami Heat teams were knocked out of the playoffs by MJ's Chicago Bulls in the 1990's.

Life is lived in the moment, though, so Miami's opportunity here should be fully taken advantage of. If they become the Florida Marlins of the NBA their fans can just tell anyone that gets on their nerves one word:

Scoreboard.

This is a fluid development and although the Super Union looks to be a slam dunk, even LeBron James has missed a slam or two in his career.

At the end of the day, James will give up 30 million dollars if he leaves Cleveland. He will go to Miami where it will be Dwyane Wade's team. If James is all right with losing all of that cash and okay with the fact that he needs Wade to get him a ring, this Super Union will storm through the NBA for the next three years like nothing the league has ever seen before.

I think that James will give Cleveland another three years and the Cavs new GM, Chris Grant, should look to package Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams, and J.J. Hickson in a deal for Amare Stoudemire.

The Cavs held onto Hickson at the trade deadline, which was a mistake, so my hope is that the groundwork has been laid for another Phoenix/Cleveland trade this off-season.

Miami Heat fans should be ready to be relevant again and the fans of Cleveland, like me, should get ready to remember the good old days. I was too young for the Miracle at Richfield, but I will always remember when I was a witness.