The Decision - Ugh!

Over the past month or so, you were bound to have heard about the free agency of Lebron "King" James. He was been anointed the "Next Michael Jordan" back when he was playing ball back in high school. He was selected by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2003, has been completely surrounded by hype since his high school days in Akron, and this summer has been no different. Last Thursday night at 9:00 PM EST, on ESPN, he made "The Decision" of where he would be playing next year.

I'm going to be honest with you, I don't like this guy. I will admit that he is a great basketball talent. He has skills that most people can only dream of. He is tall, jacked, can jump out of the gym, has unlimited shooting range and is fast as a cheetah. What I don't like is his complete disregard for everyone around him and his high level of doucheyness. He is one of those guys who feels as though the world revolves around him because he can shoot a basketball.

Lebron spent the past month or so meeting with teams, listening to their pitch to get him to come play for their team. Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Cleveland, Miami and the L.A. Clippers all did what they could to try to woo him to come play for them. So many options, what is a guy to do. Do you go to the media capital of the world in NYC to play for a team that has spent the better part of the last three years clearing space to get him and other big name free agents? What about New Jersey, playing for the new billionaire owner from Russia and Jay-Z, knowing they are moving to Brooklyn in the next few years? How about Chicago, no better way of becoming the next Jordan than taking his team to some championships, right? Then there is playing in L.A., no, just kidding, nobody wants to do that. He could go to Miami in hopes that Dwyane Wade sticks around, making a dynamic duo, or better, considering how much money Miami has. Or, there is the option to stay home, play for the only team he has known, the team and fans that have loved and adored him for so many years. What would you do?

Well, Lebron opted to go play in South Beach, cough, I mean, Miami, with Wade and All Star big man Chris Bosh, forming what has been dubbed "Miami Thrice" after the old 80's television series Miami Vice. I have no problem with him going to Miami, that isn't my problem with all this crap. My problem is this. He's a phony. A fraud. He has every right to leave town, and good for him. My problem is all the hoopla surrounding it. Maybe I should be more angry with ESPN and their glorifying all this bullshit. But still, I feel that Lebron went about the entire thing the wrong way. He grew up in Akron, has played for Cleveland for seven years, and totally turned his back on them. He didn't even give Cleveland management a phone call to let them know what he was going to do. To me, that would just be common courtesy. Cleveland has been the armpit of the sporting community for a LONG time, and this only makes it worse.

Here is my prediction. Miami will be a great regular season team. Their three all stars alone can carry them during the regular season. When it comes to the playoffs, I don't see this working out too well. They are going to have a very limited bench due to financial contraints. As of right now, they only have 4 guys under contract, and little to no money to spend. I'm expecting a phone call very soon to come down to South Beach, at the NBA minimum salary, to come off the bench. I think Lebron's best option was to go to Chicago and play with Rose, Boozer, Noah and the rest of the Bulls. They would be a dominant team for years to come. Oh well, GO CELTICS! I'm just saying...