LeBron Makes Sound Decision, Burns Cleveland In The Process
One game into the 2009-10 season, I wrote on this very site that LeBron James would bolt Cleveland after another early playoff exit, and all I needed to see to believe that was the Boston Celtics' 95-89 win in Cleveland on opening night.
Actually, if you click that link and read the article you will notice that everything played out almost exactly as I guessed.
Shaq trade will flop. Check.
Won't reach the NBA Finals due to lack of talent around LeBron. Check.
James will leave Cleveland. Check.
His decision will deliver a knockout blow to the city of Cleveland, trumping all of its countless gut-wrenching sports moments. Check.
The Washington Wizards will expose the Cavs' lack of depth in the postseason . Yea, I have no explanation for that. So, I'm not perfect and neither are you.
Through the television set, it looked like the apocalypse began in Cleveland last night shortly after James announced on ESPN that he was bolting for South Beach. Cameras on the downtown streets showed everything from fans crying, to burning jerseys and cardboard cutouts of LeBron, to the inevitable arrests. While I understand the fans' reactions, I don't sympathize for the organization.
The Cavaliers had seven seasons to give James a reason to stay. Instead they continually gave him washed up veterans (Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Shaq) and young, athletic nobodies (Jamario Moon, Terrance Kinsey, Leon Powe), and thought, "Hey we have the best player in the world, this will work!"
Seriously, how in the world didn't everybody within the organization see this coming?
To ex-general manager Danny Ferry's credit, he did try one last time to make a big splash this past February before the trade deadline. Ferry went after Amar'e Stoudemire, but ended up with Antawn Jamison.
The problem there was the Cavs had nothing on their roster that intrigued Phoenix enough to give away arguably its best player. That highlighted the lack of talent on the roster.
The bigger problem came early this week when ESPN reported that Toronto would do a sign-and-trade with Cleveland if Chris Bosh would agree to it. Except that Bosh wouldn't agree to the trade, saying he'd love to play with LeBron, but never in Cleveland.
In my ever-so-humble opinion, that sealed James' decision to leave. It showed him that convincing an elite free agent to come to Ohio would be next to impossible even with the best player on the planet lobbying for it to happen.
Sources yesterday reported that James began to worry that if he stayed in Cleveland he would "wake up at 31 with bad knees and no titles." I concur, and that's why I'm on board with his decision to take his act elsewhere.
What I don't agree with is his choice to play in Miami.
We knew all along that the Nets, Clippers and, ultimately, the Knicks had no shot at James. It was always going to come down to Chicago, Cleveland and Miami.
As great as the James-Dwayne Wade-Bosh trio looks on paper, think of James-Rose-Noah. I can hear you laughing, but think about it. Premier point guard in Rose. NBA's elite rebounder-shot blocker and emotional fire cracker in Noah. And the King.
In Chicago, those three would've known their roles on a nightly basis and, as you will see next season when Miami has multiple identity crises and the egos that they all swore would never be an issue come out, you'll remember when I told you that role playing counts for something. Notice I left Carlos Boozer out of that threesome.
We'll never know for sure, but my guess is Boozer's attempt to recruit James to Chicago after announcing he was signing with the Bulls actually ruined any chance they had of getting him.
The conversation probably went something like this:
Boozer: Hey LeBron, it's Booz. Come to Chicago and we'll start a dynasty of our own!
LeBron: Hey Carlos. We could've done that in Cleveland, but remember in 2004 when you promised you would sign the $40 million offer from the Cavs and then ditched me to play in Utah of all places? I seriously considered going to Chicago until you signed there and now I'm going to sign elsewhere just to spite you.
Boozer: I just couldn't play another year in Cleveland. You understand don't you? LeBron, you there?
But I digress. The point is Chicago would've been a better fit because of the presence of an elite point guard and one heck of a supporting cast, something the Miami Thrice might not have.
The actual figures of Wade's, James', and Bosh's contract have yet to be reported, but figure they each make somewhere around $16 million a season. That's a total of $48 million being spent on three players, leaving the Heat just $10.2 million to dish out to 11 other players.
With the threat of a lockout in July 2011, I can't see too many quality role players lining up to play for the league minimum when not getting paid next year is conceivable. Pat Riley will probably get one or two name players to buy into that idea, but that only fills out the Heat's starting five.
If you don't think benches matter much in the NBA, just ask LeBron. And let's not even get into the fact that Bosh and Wade are both good for missing between 10-15 games per season. When one of the threesome is out, Miami isn't so fearsome anymore.
That's why teams need quality depth. Quality depth is abundant in Chicago right now. Again, better fit.
As for James' legacy, it's completely in tact for right now. Sadly, players' legacies are judged by the fans, media, and Hall of Fame voters based on how many championships they win. So let me lay out two different scenarios.
Scenario One: James plays nine or 10 more years in Cleveland, but lost the ability to carry a franchise to a title after year seven. He tears up the league with his typical averages of 28-8-7 and never wins a title.
In this scenario, James is revered by fans and media in his home state despite never winning a title. Everyone outside the state of Ohio gives his resume the dreaded black mark of never winning a title and five years after he retires, James is no longer in the conversation as one of the greatest basketball players to ever live.
That's some legacy.
Scenario Two: James plays nine or 10 more years with Miami and maybe one more team along the way. He wins four titles, likely all with the Heat. He wins three more MVP's and two Finals MVP's and his seasonal averages are around 25-10-8.
In this scenario, James is hated by every living thing in and around the state of Ohio, but he won four titles and two Finals MVP's while maintaining his dominance in the regular season and is always viewed as the dominant force of the Miami threesome.
Five years after he retires, LeBron is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and widely considered the most versatile player in NBA history, and is viewed as no lower than the third greatest perimeter player of all time behind Magic and Jordan.
Loyalist loser or heralded champion. Which would you choose? Give those scenarios to up-and-comers like Kevin Durant and has-beens like Tracy McGrady and ask which they would choose.
Yes, James made the right choice last night. If he and his running mates don't deliver any Larry O'Brien trophies, then his legacy is completely and utterly destroyed.
According to James' Twitter account, "The Road To History starts now!"
Wake me up when it really begins.
