LeBron James: Why the Fans and the Media Are Being Too Hard on Him!

This article was hard for me to write, as I have not always been the biggest LeBron James fan.  But, I will tell you that LeBron James is one of the most talented players in NBA history and to that there is no doubt.

I would like to also say that I disliked LeBron James's decision to go to the Miami Heat as much as anybody.  I also didn't like the way LeBron handled it either or how he acted throughout the process.

But, I think the fans have overreacted a bit.  

Let me give you an example.  When LeBron went on ESPN and had his little special where he announced his decision to join the Miami Heat, it is fair to say that he broke the hearts of thousands of fans.  I bet they/you felt like they'd/you'd been broken up with.  Like James had told all of the world that you were (hypothetically of course) a terrible girlfriend and he was moving on to Eva Longoria.  In that case, I can understand how that would be extremely maddening.

In this case though, it wasn't anything like that.  Again let me say, I didn't approve of the ESPN special where he announced his decision, but it was his choice.  He was a free agent and there as quite honestly nothing you could do about it.

One might say LeBron left for Miami for some media attention and a lot of money.  This seems incredibly unlikely considering Cleveland has one of the most devoted fanbases in the world and the media is always there.  Also, I think it was made pretty clear that Cleveland was willing to spend on LeBron James.  They were also willing to accommodate him in whatever way.

The one thing Cleveland could not seem to do, was build a championship-caliber team around him.  And I know what you will say, but, I won't listen because the fact is that Anderson Varejao, The Big Z and players like Anthony Parker are not going to cut it.

What the Cavaliers failed to do was provide him with what Kobe got in LA, and that is someone like a Pau Gasol.  Not necessarily Pau Gasol, but someone like him.  Yes, the Cavs tried Antawn Jamison but come on, he still isn't that kind of guy who can play like a Gasol.  Now, I am not saying that Cleveland is a bad franchise by any means, but they made a lot of mistakes.

I also want to mention that LeBron left because he was a free agent and because he COULD leave.  It is not like he forced the team to do anything.  He left because he wanted to win and he felt that his best chance to win would be in Miami (that is karma for you).  

So, tonight's game in Cleveland is probably going to be very chaotic.  I invite fans to be mean to LeBron and boo him to their hearts' content.  But I will say this: Don't do anything stupid.  Because, at the end of the day LeBron didn't kill anybody.  All he did was make a decent decision in the wrong way and the end result was the city feeling shunned.  But, really give LeBron a bit of a break.