The LeBron James Decision Fiasco

I am one of the millions of people who think this whole over-exposed free agent summer has gotten out of control. The mere fact that a free agent with zero rings could demand an hour long special on ESPN is absolutely absurd. I guess it doesn’t help that I have never been a LeBron fan of any sort…I actually kind of root for him to fail. Sorry.

I have some different perspectives regarding his decision to ultimately leave Cleveland and join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. Even though I dislike LeBron, I am not necessarily disagreeing with his move from Cleveland to another town.

If I were Lebron and decided to leave my hometown of Cleveland, I would simply state that…well…Cleveland sucks. If someone were to ask LeBron why he left he should ask them if they have ever been to Cleveland and if they say yes…then he should say, “That’s why.”

I was a big fan of the “Drew Carrey Show” back in the day and the opening sequence where Drew and his friends are running through the streets of Cleveland screaming “Cleveland Rocks,” had me thinking the town was fun and exciting. I was so convinced this was a fun and happening town, I planned a weekend trip with my wife. A mere few hours after arriving in Cleveland…I had come to the realization that Cleveland is a dump.

Who says you have to be loyal to your hometown? I am from Chicago and I can’t wait to get out. I desperately want to live in a warm climate to get away from the horrible weather in Chicago. The winters are brutally cold, we get a ton of snow, shoveling my driveway and temperatures below freezing is a regular occurrence and traffic in snowy weather is terrible. The summers are humid, full of rain and mostly overcast. Chicago may have all the things a large city needs such as a happening nightlife, a good music scene, job opportunities and a lake…but you can only really enjoy them about three months out of the year and most of those three months are filled with thunderstorms, overcast clouds, traffic jams and humid weather.

Back to LeBron, he didn’t have to stay in Cleveland and I don’t hold it against him that he left. I realize the fans of the Cavs are distraught because he made them a legitimate title contender, but was he really worth it anyway? In my opinion, he is overrated. I know I will get comments up the you know what about me being an idiot and not knowing what I am talking about, but it’s not like he went out with a bang in Cleveland. I wasn’t the only one who saw him quit on his team in the playoffs.

I remember seeing an interview with Charles Barkley after the game in which LeBron stunk up the joint and Barley said when he was playing the greats in his time such as Jordan, he knew that win or lose, Jordan was not going to have any bullets left in his gun. Jordan would do everything to win and give it everything he had during that game. LeBron is not from that mold of player…he is a quitter.

Lebron had ownership and management in Cleveland doing whatever he wanted by signing players, making trade and coaching decisions based on his whims and demands. They traded for Jamison and Shaq, tried to bring in numerous free agents and handicapped their team in order to please LeBron; it is not their fault they couldn’t win a title. I think that fault rests on the shoulders of “The Chosen One,” or “The King.”

With all that being said, I believe he does owe Cleveland at least the respect of informing them ahead of time. Why couldn’t LeBron hold a press conference last month informing the Cavs and the public he is going to leave? He didn’t have to make a spectacle out of the process and drag the suspense out for so long. He pretty much gave the finger to the Cavs and his fans by proceeding in the circus as he did.

On the other hand, I find Dan Gilbert’s letter to the Cavs fans pretty childish. You can be upset and angry about his decision but making false promises and trashing LeBron whom you yourself called a “Hero” a mere month ago is uncalled for. The letter to the fans from Gilbert should have just stated disappointment and a promise to the fans to do the best you can to assemble a championship team. If LeBron wins a title before Cleveland, Dan Gilbert will just look silly.

As I had mentioned earlier that I am from Chicago, I had the privilege of watching the greatest player of all time in Michael Jordan. Michael could not do it alone and he had help from Scotty Pippen. The Bulls had some great teams in the nineties and they certainly had some star power with the biggest names being Jordan, Pippen and Rodman.

With LeBron deciding to join Wade and Bosh in Miami, he is trying to secure the opportunity to get multiple championships to join the ranks of his idol in Michael Jordan. The problem is Jordan didn’t demand nor choose to be teamed with these players…he played with what he was given. I cannot believe Jordan would have made such a spectacle about being a free agent. Yes, Jordan was on the news and had press conferences in the past, he retired a few times, played some baseball, but even all of that couldn’t surpass the joke that was last night’s “The Decision” ESPN show.

I don’t believe this team of LeBron, Wade, Bosh and seven other minimal salary players will work. I believe the first year they will work well with each other and ultimately lose in the playoffs. Year two will be trouble because the novelty of playing with two other stars will get to both LeBron and Wade.

LeBron will start to worry that he will be found out to be a fraud since he will be playing with someone (Wade) who is a better player. Yes I said it, Wade is better. Wade is a better defender; scorer and most importantly…clutch finisher. When it comes down to the final ten seconds of a game I would rather have Wade take the shot, I believe most people believe that as well. If LeBron quits in a game or series as he did this past year, I do not think Wade is going to be accepting of that behavior. Also now that LeBron has become the Villain in most cities, how is he going to handle the pressure? How is he going to handle the hate he is going to receive the rest of his career? I cannot wait for the first game he plays in Cleveland! LeBron has grown up in an environment where everyone has always loved and admired him…I don’t think he will be able to handle this overnight change in opinion.

Lastly, what happened to being competitive? Can you imagine if back in the eighties Bird and Magic decided to team up? Both Magic and Bird wanted to be the best. They wanted to beat each other and win the championship with THEIR team. Jordan wanted to beat Isiah and Ewing, he didn’t want to join them. Why doesn’t LeBron or Wade want to win a championship against each other? I have never been a Kobe Bryant fan but at least he wanted to win on his own. LeBron is using the deplorable “If I can’t beat em join em” mentality and I think it is repulsive. I have been a Wade fan since he came into the league and now, sadly, I have to root against him.

Hopefully now we can stop hearing the comparisons of LeBron to Jordan; it ain’t even close…Jordan was ten times the player LeBron will ever be. LeBron may indeed win a title or two but how will we tell his story in the end knowing he couldn’t do on his own?