10 thoughts on “The Decision”
Last night LeBron James, the self-proclaimed “King”, made a decision about his future. A decision that has been hyped by ESPN for the last two years, in expectation of “The Summer of LeBron.” A decision culminating in a one hour special on ESPN dubbed “The Decision.” LeBron James was a Free Agent. For non-sports fans, this is like The Bachelor. They sign on for “marriage” and are engaged for approximately 8 months. Once that time is up, they break-up, have a TV special about it, and are free to be with other people. Get it? LeBron could’ve have met with teams in their cities. In their offices. Instead, he made them come to his downtown Cleveland offices (yes, he has offices for his “company”) and present to him why he should come to their respective teams. This video was part of the Cavs presentation. Disgusting. I’ve been a basketball fan my entire life. I grew up watching Michael Jordan dominate the NBA. I’m not sure I’ve ever been more disappointed in a player or a league as I was last night. So, as a fan, here are 10 thoughts regarding “The Decision”:
1. It isn’t about why LeBron left Cleveland, it’s about how he left Cleveland. It was his home. Every hope for a professional championship for the city of Cleveland rested on his shoulders. They adore(d) him. Worshipped him. He held a one hour special to rip their hearts out? And from all reports, the organization didn’t know his decision until it came out of his mouth on ESPN? He didn’t have to re-sign with them. He doesn’t owe them that. But he does owe them respect.
2. LeBron will never be MJ. Or Kobe. Or even DWade. Heck, right now DWade is more MJ than LeBron is. LeBron is now Scottie Pippen 2.0. He couldn’t win championships with the role players he had in Cleveland. I mean, he couldn’t get good enough players to come to Cleveland with him. Yeah, that’s what I meant. He has to settle for being second fiddle in Miami. DWade’s town. His team. LeBron is now the sidekick. I don’t think he will handle that well. At all.
3. LeBron isn’t the only athlete with an ego. Let’s face it, the greatest athletes in the world, Kevin Durant aside, are selfish. Michael Jordan may have the biggest ego on the planet. That is, until last night. Jordan screamed at his teammates, degraded his teammates, fought his teammates. But Jordan won. A lot. He demanded greatness from his teammates and they gave him greatness. If the media existed in Jordan’s era like it did today, most of us wouldn’t be Jordan fans. (not to mention the fact that he cheated on his wife numerous times, resulting in their divorce)
4. I love Kevin Durant.
5. The Miami Heat will not win a championship with DWade, LeBron and Bosh. Wade and LeBron are the same player. They won’t be able to share. This isn’t the Olympics. If he wanted to win, he would’ve gone to the Bulls, in my opinion. I don’t think the Heat can beat the Lakers. DWade and Bosh, before adding LeBron, had a better chance to win.
6. Never, ever is it ok to refer to yourself in the third person. LeBron did this several times last night. “LeBron James had to do what was best for LeBron James. It came down to what was best for LeBron James and his family.” Stop it.
7. All this hype for a quitter? LeBron has quit on his team in the last to NBA Playoffs. Then whined, refused to shake hands and give press conferences. And he has zero rings. So why were teams catering to him? Anybody? Anybody?
8. Kobe Bryant is on a mission. You know he is praying that the Lakers make to the Finals and get to play the Heat.
9. To LeBron’s credit, he is taking less money to go with Miami. As much as it is about Brand LeBron, he legitimately thinks he has the best chance to win in Miami. I disagree, but he took less money to go there. Though given Florida’s tax laws, that’s debatable. One pseudo-admirable move.
10. I love Kevin Durant.
11. We are all witnesses. To something. I just don’t know what to yet. But it isn’t good. (I know, it’s 11. But I really like Kevin Durant)
What did you think about The Decision?
LeBron's 'special' last night was pretty much this… http://bit.ly/8Z0FBg
incredible
I really really like KD too
3 more things:
1. The Bulls and the Heat are going to have some WARS for the East over the next 5 years. Noah is going to try and assault Bron every chance he gets
2. Kobe's sitting on his yacht in the Pacific somewhere giggling to himself, trying to figure out which of his rings goes best with Sperrys and a linen shirt…
3. I wish he would have gone to Chicago so we could have had a 10-part Bulls/Thunder Finals. Like every year for the next 10. Durant v. LeBron, Westbrook v. Rose, Deng v. Green, Serge v. Noah, and Aldrich (?!?!?) v. Boozer
148% agree. Though I’m playing the waiting game with Aldrich. Giving Presti the benefit of the doubt, for now.
you must be retarded . You obviously don’t know jack about basketball. Lebron is the most talented player to emerge since MJ -period. That’s why you and the rest of the world are “hating” on him , and he is on your mind so heavily. If the you, the Cavs fans, and the Cavs organiztion believe he quit on them, than why would they want him back. LBJ single handedly brought that franchise from garbage to prominence, and they OWE HIM a resounding thank you.
Thanks for the compliment. I do, actually, know quite a bit about basketball. LeBron is, arguably, the most talented player since MJ. Kobe can and should be in that argument as well. Nobody is arguing about LeBron's talent. That would be a ridiculous argument. People are "hating" on him because of his actions. He has no rings, yet decided it was wise to hold a one hour tv special to annnounce his decision. And his decision was his right. He had the option to go anywhere he so desired. He did, however, owe Cleveland the courtesy of a phone call before the show. He did owe them the courtesy of not humiliating his hometown on national television. Again, his decision was fine, his method of announcing it was ridiculous. He is on people's minds because he was the biggest free agent in the off-season and, as stated before, probably the most talented player in the game. You know, normal reasons to pay attention to somebody. It's obvious he quit in the playoffs. Watch the game. He did it in 2009 as well. That's not a knock on his talent, it's a knock on his leadership. They do owe him a "thank you" for making them relevant (the Cavs, that is). But they also deserve respect from him. They wanted him back because they believed that they could win with the team they built around him. Clearly, he disagreed. He knew he couldn't be the man. So he had to go be DWade's man. Which is why, other than talent, we can never compare LeBron to MJ. MJ would have wanted to dominate Miami, not join them. Better luck next time.
The only good thing that came out of "The Decision" was that The Boys & Girls Club of America benefited from the hour's worth of advertising $$.
However, LeBron's EGO also benefited ..