Lebron James' Future Will Be More Difficult Than It Appears

              It has been a few weeks since Lebron James decided to “take his talents to South Beach” and play for the Miami Heat.  The classless way he decided to announce “the decision” has NBA fans across the country disgusted, other than the people of Miami who now claim to care about the Heat.  The following night the city of Miami threw a big party to commemorate the signing of Lebron James and two of his new teammates.  During the celebration Lebron stated that this is what is best for him, but it seems to be they easy way out.  By the end of his career his legacy could be a fraction of what it could have been because of the things he did and did not do.

               With the talent and hype the Heat have they must win several NBA Championships which the players plan to do. Even though most people and Vegas have them winning next year the Los Angeles Lakers are still the reigning champs and the team to beat. They have the experience, talent, and motivation to keep the Heat from bringing a parade to South Beach next summer.  The Lakers have its core members returning from back to back championship seasons: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom.  Legendary coach Phil Jackson announced that he will be retiring after next season which will give the team the extra motivation it might need to “three-peat.”  The Heat have two major weaknesses; post size and depth.  The Lakers should be able to take advantage of both these weaknesses by starting two seven footers down low and having a strong bench consisting of Lamar Odom, Matt Barnes, and Steve Blake.  However, the Lakers are getting old and star player Kobe Bryant only has a few good years left so the Lakers cannot hold the Heat off for too long.

               The Heat starting their “super team” of Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, and Lebron James opens the door for other “super teams” to be created to challenge the Miami Heat.  At Carmelo Anthony’s wedding a week after Lebron’s “decision” Chris Paul talked about a potential “super team” forming by he and Carmelo joining Amare Stodamrie to play for the New York Knicks next season.  If the Knicks can keep from gutting its entire roster as the Heat just did and keep a few of it role players like Galanari and Wilson Chandler then they would be a stronger overall team than the Heat.  Also the Oklahoma City Thunder have the youngest scoring champ in NBA history in Kevin Durant who is extremely humble and committed to his team unlike Lebron is and they have a rising star in Russell Westbrook.  Durant has the attitude and skills to be the best player in the league for years to come, even after Lebron as retired to… well probably to Miami.  If the Thunder can add one young all-star caliber player then they could form their own “super team” and be a championship contender for years.  Unlike the humble attitude of Kevin Durant, Lebron projects nothing but arrogance.

               Lebron James’ narcissistic attitude is an often overlooked issue that could cause chemistry problems for the Heat.  Lebron has been the best player on his basketball teams all his life, even as a rookie.  It is one thing to be a star when no one around is on your level but it is another thing to play with two other larger than life teammates.  Now that the spotlight is no longer always going to be on him his larger than life ego may have problems adjusting,  especially if they win because Dwayne Wade performs well in the 4th quarter of playoff games which Lebron has a history of struggling in.  All the credit will go to Wade.  And what it the Heat do not win right away?  As hated as Lebron is now it is fair to say he will be blamed for it as much as Yoko Ono was for breaking up The Beatles.  Miami is a completely different situation than the one he was in while in Cleveland.  There if they lost his teammates were blamed; if they won people said it was because of him.  No longer will he be impervious to mistakes and after a life of being seen as perfect he may show his immaturity by starting to demand the ball, making uncharacteristic mistakes, and becoming an even worse shooter than he already is because of the confidence he loses from life outside the “Akron Bubble.”

               Something athletes do that often hurts the way fans view them is changing teams, especially if it is more than once.  Look at Shaq’s career; he is about to sign with the Celtics, his sixth NBA team and third in the past three seasons.  It has become a fad for teams close to winning a title to add him to their roster and do worse than the previous season even though on paper he should have made them better. It is as if he is the shot and a tired and already pretty buzzed Lindsey Lohan is a team close to winning, her friends (the players on the team) pressure her into having on more shot to make her night a little more fun.  But all it ends up doing is making things crazier and it never end well.  People will still remember his glory days with the Lakers and Magic, but the last impression fans get from him is as a washed up player teams have to talk themselves into.  If Lebron continues his recent habit of switching to teams with a good chance to win he could end his career like Shaq, kind of pathetic and not really wanted. And no one wants to end his career that way.

               If an athlete states a goal, even if that goal it is assumed, it is much worse if he does not achieve it.  An example of this is Matt Hasselbeck’s overtime interception in the playoffs a few years ago that was returned for a touch down my Al Harris, losing his team the game.  This is bad no matter what way you look at it, but it is much worse considering when Hasselbeck won the coin toss deciding who got the ball to start overtime he announced “we want the ball and we’re gonna score.”  This took that pick from being something people talked about for a week and turned into a joke that people still make fun of him for today and probably for years to come.  At the Heat’s celebration in Miami Lebron said they would win not one, not two, but over seven NBA championships.  After saying this how will it make Lebron look if they only win a few?  It has potential to be something Lebron is laughed at for.  Also proclaiming that the Heat will win over seven NBA championships adds unwanted pressure to a team that already has too much.  It is kind of ironic that Lebron saying they are going to win makes it harder to win.

               The Heat have many obstacles that will make them becoming a dynasty more difficult than Ozzy Osbourne saying something people actually understand.  The Lakers can prevent them from winning in the near future and there are potential teams that could stop them after that.  Then there is Lebron’s giant ego possibly getting in the way.  He is also headed down a career path where players play for too many teams, a path that was able to but a blemish on the great Wilt Chamberlain’s career.  Lebron moved to Miami to keep his legacy safe but what he does not realize is legacies are never achieved by playing it safe.