I will be honest, I never thought Lebron will go to Miami. I was putting my money on him going to Chicago. I knew he isn’t going to stay in Cleveland. That team had bloated contracts and they weren’t in a position to acquire any other players. Knicks – a long shot to begin with. If he were to go there then one, he would have to believe in Knicks management for getting other good players and second, he would have to wait at least for couple of years before team attains a settled state. And waiting is something LbJ can’t afford.
There is no point in talking about New Jersey or L.A. Clippers. That leaves only Miami and Chicago in contention. Of these two Chicago has more settled look. They have a budding super-star in Derek Rose and possible star in Jokim Noah (I have been following Noah since his Gators days and he has been disappointing in NBA). Plus, Chicago has salary space to offer LbJ maximum contract. His combination with Lou Deng, Derek Rose and Noah would have been formidable. They may not have won any championship next year because Celtics and Lakers are still strong. But given Chicago Bulls average of hovering around 25, the team had very bright future. And the chance to cement legacy in MJ’s backyard – priceless!
Miami on the other had already had a superstar, a superstar who bought championship to Miami few years ago. He is very popular in the city and with given salary space Mimai had chance to get a formidable wingman to Wade. Well, they got two now. And each of two is a superstar to begin with. And championship ring is all but certain.
Or is it?
Most of the superstars, at least according to Basketball lore’s, are arrogant and suffer from “look-at-me-I-am-pretty” syndrome. Michael Jordan was a prime example. His talent and skills are comparable to none and his ego was surpassed by nothing. He was unpleasant to play with and all though, he stressed on team, he was anything but a team man in the locker room. Yes, he was devoted to win and had ability to bring best out of his team mates but he was also devoted to his own image and devoted to make as much money as possible. Again nothing wrong in that. In spite of all these shortcomings he won multiple championships with same set of teammates.
LeBron is a step ahead of MJ. He doesn’t play as good as MJ and probably, won’t ever come close to him either. (I hate to admit but only Kobe has some resemblance to MJ). But he shares MJ’s egotistical nature. He is ready to plaster his face everywhere and ever more ready to make spectacle out of anything. Win an MVP, create a show. Win another MVP, create a grander show. Dude, there’s an MVP every year. Really, every freaking year!
Win a championship, create greatest of show. Oh wait, that hasn’t happened yet!
He shows himself as a family man, a loyal fan of his team and a loyal brother to his teammates. He calls himself King and considers himself chosen one. He created this image of himself where he deserves everything without winning anything. His former team management rallied around him. They rotated players as if it’s a merry-go-round. As I mentioned in my prior blog, they had pretty much every move in every game around him. He is so used to pampering that I wonder how is going to play when he is playing with two other superstars. I mean, all it takes is ten seconds to say where he is going. But no, that would be lame. So he decided to air an hour special on ESPN to announce his decision. The shows’ title was ‘The Decision’. Talk about megalomania!
All this ain’t going to buy him no ring! Basketball is a team game. Ask Kobe! Ask MJ. Ask current Celtics tea. When they realized that team will sustain them if they sustain the team spirit, they came within five minutes of their second championship ring in spite of truck load of injuries.
Just because you are playing along with D-Wade or Chris Bosh doesn’t mean you will win. Team spirit can’t be bought. And friendship is not a team spirit. The expectations are going to be ten fold. And if Heat did not win the championship and I have my own doubts about it, then there won’t be any sympathy this time.
Oh and dude, that one hour “special”, extremely egotistical, crass and totally uncool!
