So Bosh decided on Miami, and Wade decided to stick around because of it. Not a bad choice for Bosh at all. He gets the money he wanted, he gets to live in Miami, and he gets to play with Wade. Not the most loyal move he could have made, and not the best basketball choice for him. (I think Cleveland, Chicago, or even Houston have better all-around rosters.)
The Heat have one great player, one very, very, very good player, a great city to play in, and some cap room. The motivations for Bosh’s decision would be essentially the same reasons LeBron would decide to sign in New York, with the caveat being that Miami actually has draft picks.
Judging by the timing of these signings and LeBron’s ESPN announcement, it looks like LeBron made his decision based on what Wade and Bosh did. As of right now, LeBron’s options are:
-Suck it up, take the extra cash, and try to make it work without another superstar in Cleveland.
-Go to Chicago and be part of a Rose/?/LBJ/Boozer/Noah team. Not a super-team, but a darn good one.
-Go to Miami, possibly taking a pay cut, and do the trio of doom thing. Might take a year or two for the team’s roster to fill out, though.
-Say “screw it,” join Amar’e on the Knicks, run some great pick-and-rolls, make a lot of money, possibly become the A-Rod of basketball, win relatively few playoff games.
-Go to the Nets, for some reason.
-Pretend the Clippers’ front office doesn’t exist, join their team.
Right now, I think it’ll be Miami or Cleveland, and neither one is really an ideal option for LeBron. Sigh. I guess we’ll all have to wait and see what happens.
Also I keep hearing Eyenga is running with Lebron at his camp any word on how he looks or if we will see him in uniform this season? Maybe he could be the #2 we need?
anyway, going to miami is too risky for james in a lot of ways. can they actually win against boston and orlando during the 2010-2011 season? can they win against lakers in the next three years? will they be better than oklahoma led by an emerging superstar kevin durant in the next few years? what if other young superstars/stars decide to follow their lead and create their own super-teams (paul, melo, dwight, durant, etc)? will other superstars want to join lbj-bosh-wade in miami, or would they join dwight in orlando, or the lakers with it being the lakers, or chicago, or even new york? if he can’t win more than three trophies in miami, how will that tarnish his reputation historically? can he even win another mvp in miami? not winning in the next three years, how will it affect his “Lebron” brand considering he ditched his hometown team. is all the money he sacrificedworth it?
and then the most obvious question only a few is asking: will he still be the “King” in Miami?
if you think about it, cavs offer the best “low risk, high reward” opportunity among all the suitors. he only needs to win one trophy in cleveland and his legacy is set (i can imagine the movie now..)! :)
apparently jared dudley and jay williams both said on twitter that their sources say lebron to new york.
Not sure if the national media would run with it, but I do think there is no greater accomplishment in US sports right now than to win a championship for Cleveland. And basketball is the one sport (maybe football if a quarterback) when one player can take so much of the credit for that accomplishment.
However, I am kind of annoyed by the focus on championships, this idea that LeBron’s career is worthless unless he wins multiple titles. There are many many incredible players who never win a championship because they weren’t in the right place at the right time. And many many mediocre players who have multiple championships because they were. Do people really think more of Kevin Garnett because he won a championship after teaming up with Pierce and Allen? Does anyone think Nowitzki, Nash, Barkley, Stockton are not all-time greats because they don’t have titles? The Cavs have a solid team that will be competitive for a title with Lebron, and more importantly, an organization that will do everything it can to get that title. You can’t ask for more than that.
One last hopeful thought. IF he announces he is staying, it will be the closest thing to a championship celebration that Cleveland has had in a while. If that is his intention, then all the buildup and secrecy will be worth it, in my opinion. it wouldn’t be at all the same if he re-signed quietly.
The comment monster knows I am stupid and refuses to let the idiot speak.
But allows me to insult myself. Evil genius.
LeBron is clearly egomaniacal, but is he evil? Would he do us like that on national tv?
How about this theory…
Alright, you know how Melo is probably going to take his extension because the different CBA next summer and much lower cap? Let’s say we are able to swing for the fences and actually pry Paul from NOLA (I know, super slim chance, but 0.5% is still more than 0%)… I’m willing to bet he’d immediately sign an extension for us considering his manlove with Scott and the extra money over the long term of the deal (again, since max contracts will probably be quite lower next season).
I don’t like the Cavs and I despise Lebron but I am pulling for you Cleveland & fans. Nobody deserves to be put through this amount of turmoil over what basically comes down to a job search. I truly hope you get your happy ending (but then lose to the Lakers in the finals :) )
Interesting recent blog entries. Call me when you plan to admit your regrets naming this blog “Cavs: The Blog” instead of “LeBron: The Blog.”
Or simply “The LeBlog.” Not too late to change to it.
John Krolik,
Consider reading this post (http://robbieomalley.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/lebrons-lechoices)
Here is what the author states,
“If I were LeBron (and all I considered was the roster of the team) my list would go in this order – Chicago, New Jersey, Miami, Cleveland, and then New York. With Chicago signing Boozer and Miami building the team they can, I don’t think LeBron can afford to choose New York. He just won’t be able to compete for a championship. Cleveland is okay but they need to make changes.”
Hey Daniel – let me know know when ESPN changes its name from ESPN to LEBRONSPN. Same principle jackass.