LeBron goes from Cleveland to Miami, from hero to villain
In an hour of unbelievably overcooked live TV, LeBron James went from being the nice guy you hoped would someday win a championship to the schemer you hope never does. He went from being John Elway to being A-Rod, from hero to villain.
It must have seemed a good idea at the time: LeBron and his “team” went to ESPN and pitched an one-hour special, and the Worldwide Leader does as the Worldwide Leader invariably does — it turned a news story into a circus. It offered up Stuart Scott, who said “two-time MVP” so often in the space of 10 minutes you wanted to shout: “Bill Russell was a five-time MVP, and he never needed a one-hour special to remind us!”
Bill Russell also won 11 titles, and he never had to cherry-pick his team. Neither did Michael Jordan, who took six, or Magic Johnson, who won five, or Kobe Bryant, who has five, or Tim Duncan, who has four. Even if LeBron does win a championship with the Miami Heat — and there’s no guarantee he will — it won’t be seen as a great player lifting a team; it will be seen as a bunch of glitzy free agents banding together just to burnish their respective images.
The Heat won’t be seen as the Celtics, where three guys who had never won big came together near the end of the careers to enhance one another. They’ll be viewed as the Yankees, where the operative word is always overkill. LeBron James just told us that, for all his exterior bravado, he didn’t trust himself to be the linchpin of a champion. He needs Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Can Carmelo Anthony be far behind?
We the people are funny. We like our stars, but we don’t like sure things. It will be no news when Miami wins, but it will be the lead story whenever it loses. And it won’t just be newsworthy when/if the Heat fails — it will be laugh-out-loud funny.
Had LeBron gone to the Knicks or the Bulls, had he stayed in Cleveland, we’d see him differently today. We’d see him as a superstar looking for a team he could make better, as opposed to one that might well have made do without him. A team needs both LeBron and D-Wade? The two brand names whose games most mirror one another? Why not bring Jordan out of retirement just to complete the set?
The wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, no stranger to hype, offered two sneering Tweets in response to the word circulating early Thursday that LeBron was indeed headed to Miami to ally himself with Wade and Chris Bosh. From C.O.:
“Nickname is KingJames. Kings lead with the help of an army (supporting cast on team) – a lead dog doesn’t join superstars to make it easy.”
Also this:
“Kobe-Magic-Jordan-Bird all created legacies on their own teams. They didn’t join together to make winning a ring easy.”
We can argue that LeBron deserves credit for leaving money on the table. (The Cavs could have paid him more than any other team.) But money at this rarefied level is a given, and what’s a few million here or there? The trouble with being one of three — Miami Thrice! — is that LeBron will never be seen as a transcendent talent on the order of Jordan or Magic or Bird. He couldn’t take the guys around him and make them champs. He had to station himself next to D-Wade, who’s already a champ.
The Summer of LeBron figured to be strange, but it wound up being stranger than anyone could have dreamed. LeBron had the world at his feet, and he managed to alienate a goodly portion thereof. His ballyhooed “Decision” smacks of a calculated plan intent on world domination, and nobody likes a megalomaniac.
LeBron might well have outsmarted himself. A lot of folks who wouldn’t have minded if he won are now hoping he and the Miami Heat will lose. I know. I’m one of them.
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509 comments Add your comment
j
July 8th, 2010
11:38 pm
Delonte West will be alone in cleveland with mama james. OMG. red is a nasty filthy s.o.b.
Labron James
July 8th, 2010
11:39 pm
Now it’s D.Wade’s fault when we lose.
James
July 8th, 2010
11:39 pm
This makes the Joe Johnson contract look even worse. I think this knocks the Hawks out of a top 4 spot in the East – Heat, Magic, Celtics, Bulls. Joe Johnson cared more about money than winning unlike LeBron James, Chris Bosh & D-Wade. If Joe Johnson wanted to win he would have left Atlanta and joined The Chicago Bulls and played with Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer & Joakim Noah but him staying in Atlanta he’s not going to win a championship.
j
July 8th, 2010
11:41 pm
asg should trade joe johnson for anthony morrow.
ace
July 8th, 2010
11:42 pm
If you like or hate Kobe, you have to admit that all his teammates respect him enough to not stick it to his mama
MICHAEL
July 8th, 2010
11:42 pm
why so peeeeddddd offfff? with the olympics what do you expect? this is business and WORLD DOMINATION. the market in miami is ALIVE……………..no more floater’s from cuba. capiltalist….. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ALL AROUND..
DebbieeDoRight
July 8th, 2010
11:43 pm
Dan Gilbert just put a voodoo curse on LeBron and the Heat. How very adult!! WOW! Cleveland must be one dead beat city…….
ace
July 8th, 2010
11:43 pm
I think Atlanta is still better than Chicago
minookadawg
July 8th, 2010
11:44 pm
j:
I never have and never will be a Cavs fan. But, I feel empathy for them as well. What if Dominique walked away from the Hawks? That would have destroyed my passion for the NBA. (I know, former idget GM Pete Babcock traded him. That ain’t the point).
Free agency is a blessing to players, but a curse upon the game. How would you like to be a Knicks or Nets fan right now? They’ve spent years, purposefully tanking it for this off season. Both missed out on the James sweepstakes. Yes, the Knicks did get Amare’. But, David Lee is unsigned and will likely leave. They gave away Nate Robinson to the C’s last season. And, without some serious upgrades to the roster, Madison Square Garden will continue to watch its team lose… miserably.
PMC
July 8th, 2010
11:44 pm
I wouldn’t say I hope he never wins a title. I still like to watch him play.
As far as cherry picking a championship… good luck with that. He did his time in Cleveland, He gave them 7 years and played hard. No one in America stays in crappy jobs in bad weather if they don’t have to or want to. I find it hard to say that he HAS to play in Cleveland just because they drafted him. It’s FREE agency for a reason. I don’t think he should feel bad for picking Miami as a place to play ball.
DebbieDoRight
July 8th, 2010
11:45 pm
Hmmm I noticed that Bradley the great did not let my “You can be a winner Mark — if you join a Jumping Jacks Team”, comment go through. Don’t like to be criticized Mark but LOVE to criticize other people? How “sporty” of you.
English Speaking White Guy
July 8th, 2010
11:45 pm
At least we have a “max” guy.
AlphaDog
July 8th, 2010
11:49 pm
As LBJ said, he had to do what made him happy. OK, I can deal with that but don’t make a circus out of it and give the home town one more in the gut. Fans, remember this… 3 superstars but still only ONE BALL! We’ll see what they know about teamwork.
Vick Supporter
July 8th, 2010
11:49 pm
Wow…I bet if this were happening to our Hawks no one would be complaining
BenFranklin
July 8th, 2010
11:50 pm
I’m happy the hype is over so I can get back to some sports highlights on ESPN – maybe they’ll show the Braves for more than 30 seconds per hour. Oh and my 2 fave teams are the hawks and whoever is playing against the Heat. Watch one or 2 of those 3 get a season-ending injury….
Now Lamebrain will always have people saying he couldn’t win without DWade and Bosh – Kobe got his without Shaq.
juice sourcer
July 8th, 2010
11:51 pm
A frigging men Mark. This was all about Lebron…what about the millions of people in Ohio that adored and needed him as an inspiration…at the end he only cared about himself…not something bigger than just me.
West Coast Hawks Fan
July 8th, 2010
11:52 pm
Enough with this Lebron talk! Do you think the Hornets will give us Chris Paul if in return we give them Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby, Mo Evans, Za Za Pachulia, the A Town dancers, Ryan Cameron,Harry the Hawk, and a yearly pass to any strip club in Atlanta?
Marie
July 8th, 2010
11:52 pm
Mark you really should be ashamed of yourself. You know, I know and everyone who pays attention to sports knows THAT CLEVELAND IS A CURSED SPORTS CITY. Now why should LeBron James who wants to win a championship continue to cast his lot with a city that might as well have a black cat for it’s city’s logo? Art Modell figured this out and moved his franchise to Baltimore. Lenny Wilkins shook the dust off his feet. And now LeBron who has given them 7 yrs of his professional life has decided enough is enough.
There is only a narrow window of opportunity that any professional athlete has in his life to win a championship. And you have to sit back and honestly assess what you have to work with (Mo Williams, Jermaine Dye, that guy sleeping with his mama, Shaq??, and a new coach) and determine whether you can continue trying to make lemonade when there is no juice in the lemons. Now compare that to having Chris Bosh and D’Wade as teammates and this is a no brainer.
The hour long show was a bad idea — I mean nobody in the country is supposed to commandeer an hour of broadcast time but Obama (LOL). And to be honest this was as much a financial decision as it was a desire to win a championship. NO player in their right mind is going to chose to go to NY or NJ with their outrageous state income taxes unless there is a realistic chance for a championship (ala A-Rod). And he was not going to Chicago because he was just not going to play in the shadows of MJ. Miami was the right decision — warm sun, no state income taxes, and the chance to hoist that trophy.
Now why you hatin on that MB?
Leon Justice
July 8th, 2010
11:52 pm
Great writing Mr. Bradley. You are right (This is LOL-funny) I They don’t have enough money left to win a title so, they just screwed themselves. I hope the hawks can pull off the unthinkable now. THE EAST IS WIDE OPEN.
DebbieDoRight
July 8th, 2010
11:54 pm
BenF Kobe didn’t get it alone. All those years he was alone…..nada…..got Shaq, got some respect and got a championship. No one man is the Whole Team — LeBron was killing himself night after night in Cleveland while his “team” sat back and let him. Now he can be a part of a real team, one who knows how to win……
ace
July 8th, 2010
11:55 pm
DebbieDoRight-who do you like?
HAWKMAN
July 8th, 2010
11:55 pm
LEBRON JAMES, MIGHT WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP, BUT HE WILL NEVER BE AN KOBE BYANT. KOBE STAYED AFTER SHAQ, AND WHEN OUT AND HAS PLAYED IN THE LAST THREE CHAMPIONSHIP, AND HAS WON THE LAST TWO. JORDAN, MAJIC, BIRD,KOBE. THESE ARE SPECIAL PLAYERS. KG, LIKE AI. SAID NEEDED HELP TO RISE TO THE TOP. SO KING JAMES, U TALK ABOUT TEAM. WELL WECOME TO BEING JUST A K.G. AND NOW K.G. IS A BUM.
Dreman1731
July 8th, 2010
11:56 pm
This is a really great article Mark.
Serena's William
July 8th, 2010
11:57 pm
Mark B — FYI — If you still feel upset about LeBron wanting to win and not be a “What If” stat on some NBA basketball card – maybe, if you still got some game left, you can play on the World Jumping Jack Tour against my little cousin Annie. So at least you can feel good about something tonight!! Good luck to ya!!! Gooooo Miami!!
track dawg
July 8th, 2010
11:57 pm
MARK BRADLEY
YOU AND THE REST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE JUST HATERS. I GUESS IF YOU CAN’T BE APART OF ANYTHING GREAT THE BEST TO DO IS TO DUMP ON THOSE WHO CAN.
Paul in RDU
July 8th, 2010
11:58 pm
If LeBron thinks he has avoided paying taxes in New York, Philly or Chicago by signing for Miami, he is in for a shock. He’s going to be taxed based on the number of games he plays in those cities,
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/taxes-taxes-everywhere/
Serena's William
July 9th, 2010
12:00 am
Here lies Cleveland’s dream…….RIP — maybe you can find another LeBron James who wants to waste 7 years of their professional life trying to make a nag look like a class a racehorse.
JA
July 9th, 2010
12:01 am
We have servicemen and servicewomen getting shot at by the hour and now, for years, half way aound the world. Lebron needs a national TV audience to turn his back on his hometown where he could have demonstrated sportsmanship and loyalty and for what – a better chance at “a ring”! Why do we waste our time watching these multimillionaire ball players, caring about these multimillionaire ball players, when the real heroes wear real uniforms and need us to make sacrifices for them?
Let’s review our priorities, America.
track dawg
July 9th, 2010
12:01 am
VICK SUPPORTER
YOU ARE RIGHT. IF IT WERE THE HAWKS THESE CLOWNS WOULD BE ON HERE THANKING JESUS. THEY ARE A BUNCH OF HYPOCRITES AND HATERS.
track dawg
July 9th, 2010
12:01 am
Enter your comments here
ace
July 9th, 2010
12:03 am
Track dawg- so people should be happy a team in their division just got better?
LeBron James: The Damon Evans of the NBA
July 9th, 2010
12:04 am
Cheer Up, Cleveland.
Maybe LeBron will get busted for DUI with Courtney Fuhrmann’s panties in his lap and her skankiness saddled up next to him.
“I Luh You Coatney !!”
extremus
July 9th, 2010
12:04 am
I hope this alliance of mercenary free agents isn’t a sign of things to come in pro sports. Things are already unbalanced enough everywhere as it is. My fear is that a few years down the road, Atlanta may see Jason Heyward or some other young superstar bolt town for more money/prestige that comes these days mostly from bigger markets. I really believe such events will eventually bring about the demise of entire franchises or even leagues in the not-too-distant future; no ability to compete means you’re losing money hand over fist in sports. Sports, as we’re so eloquently reminded on days like this, is a business. So businesses that lose money go under or disband; it’s the way of things. And if it happens to professional sports, we can all thank free agency for being the catalyst that ruined what was once a great thing in America.
Hillbilly Deluxe
July 9th, 2010
12:04 am
I don’t follow basketball closely but it looks like 2 things can happen. He wins the title and everybody says he wasn’t good enough to do it without other top notch players to lift him up or he doesn’t win the title and everybody says he wasn’t that good because he didn’t win a title. Looks like he’s got the worst of both worlds.
Darrin "The Vent King"
July 9th, 2010
12:04 am
Strange as this may sound, this move by LBJ actually makes sense to me. People keep saying he was the next Mike when he is closer to be the next Magic and to me that’s a BIG difference so hear me out. Mike was the type that didn’t make his teammates better, he threatened them into to it with his fierce will and killer instinct. LeBron is NOT that type of guy, never has been, and never will be. Mike could take scrubs to the mountaintop, Magic NEVER had to do that. Magic was a nice guy that would throw himself in front of a bus to give his teammate a free lane to the basket after he no-look passed the ball to them. This is what LeBron is and without above-average teammateSSS to do that with he can not and will not get to the mountaintop. Let me put it this way- you take Magic and put him with Jordan’s Bulls and they MIGHT win one title. You put Jordan with Magic’s Lakers and they still win five, maybe more. Magic was always credited with making his teammates better (a phrase you constantly hear LeBron using), but look at who he so called MADE better- James Worthy (superstar champ in college), Kareem (Hall of Famer before he got to L.A.), Michael Cooper (best defender in the NBA at that time, Magic didn’t teach Coop that), Byron Scott, and so on and so on, hardly anywhere near being the stiffs that Bill Cartwright, Craig Hodges, Cliff Levingston and the likes Jordan had to play with. That’s what LBJ had going on in Cleveland. Now he is trading those teammates in for some more high quality guys to play with like Magic played with. Face it, he didn’t have the fire to make those Cavs any better than he did and he knew it and knows everyone else WOULD know it if not for ESPN and every other media outlet donning him the next MJ or “King”. Now he won’t have to worry about that anymore, he has Wade to take that last shot and he can stick to doing what he does better and that facilitate and make teammates like Bosh better. As sweet as LeBron’s game is, just cause you pour syrup on ish, it won’t make em pancakes. Now in Miami he has a few better ingredients to work with and best of all none of them will be found in his mom’s cookie jar.
Duck Dong
July 9th, 2010
12:05 am
Cherry-picking a championship isn’t even the right image………..it’s more like when the Mafia takes control of an operation.
another ptc dawg
July 9th, 2010
12:05 am
Donald Stern, oh I mean David Stern, is a marketing genius. When was the last time there was this much talk about the NBA in July? This is the biggest bunch of baloney since the PET ROCK. Congratulations NBA fans. You have just finished first in the P. T. Barnum “There is a sucker born every minute contest.”
James
July 9th, 2010
12:06 am
I don’t see the hawks beating the heat anytime soon now.
Keith
July 9th, 2010
12:06 am
Now Miami has a stacked team of 3! Maybe LB is not the KING if he needs to surround himself with champs to win. But I will give him credit, he took a pay cut to try and win a ring. There is no loyalty in business, it’s just business. (We can all say the same about our jobs, unless we work for ourselves). With all the new time in Miami, maybe LB will get a jump shot trainer. Maybe Kobe and lend him half a jumper.
Here is a note to all that play LB:
When he has the ball play off of him about 3 feet. Make him beat you from the outside. Most likely he will still try and drive to the goal, that’s when someone should move over and take the charge.
This is what Mickael Pietrus of Orlando does when he sticks LB after realizing LB has little to no perimeter game. One dimensional player that can’t transform his game.
I say Lakers 3-peat again and Miami will not be in the East finals. (Celtics or Magic).
Who crowned this clown the KING anyway?
ace
July 9th, 2010
12:08 am
he crowned himself
LeBron James: The Mike Vick of the NBA ?
July 9th, 2010
12:09 am
How about being busted for an interstate gambling ring based on dogfighting and failing drug tests while being sued for intentional STD infection and delinquent child support?
“I Luh You Puppiez !”
You’ll be better in the long run, Cleveland.
Kobe Bryant
July 9th, 2010
12:09 am
I’m the KING, kiss my rings, my whole handful of rings
David Granger
July 9th, 2010
12:12 am
I’m sorry for Cleveland…there’s nothing worse for sports fans than seeing a young player develop (especially a local boy) and then leave. I’ve never liked LeBron ever since that little high school shenanigan where a car dealer…prevented from selling LeBron a car based on his future earnings…sold his MAMA a Hummer for LeBron…based on his future earnings. But I don’t blame LeBron for leaving Cleveland, if he thinks that’s best for his career. (Rest assured that…if Cleveland thought it were best for THEM to get rid of a player…he’d damn sure be gone.) I do blame him for being such an obnoxious jerk about the way he’s done it.
I may be kidding myself, but I swear I don’t see Miami having a lot of team chemistry. They’ll win a lot of games, and draw crowds, of course. Not sure how they’ll do in the playoffs, though you can bet the NBA would LOVE to see LeBron winning a few titles, and that can sometimes affect officiating.
Bosh is an inside player, but both Dwayne Wade and LeBron need the ball a lot to be effective. Looks to me like Wade is the odd man out, and won’t be getting enough “touches” to keep him happy…bet he’s grumbling by midseason.
Gary G
July 9th, 2010
12:13 am
All of you guys should just stfu like dead ass…..people talking about how magic johnson and micheal jordan didn’t need to leave to get a championship because retards….they had one of the best teams to win a championship…..magic johnson had kareem,and james worthy and they won together not like johnson did it by himself….micheal jordan had scottie pippen and dennis rodman…so if I were you guys I would just shut up because lebron is one of the best to play the game at the moment so f*** off kobe’s d***
The Black Mamba (The Real King)
July 9th, 2010
12:16 am
Maybe Lebron can attend my jump shooting camp for kids I’m having in Orlando this summer. I Still don’t think it will help out any.
Jorge Cuartas
July 9th, 2010
12:20 am
Why hate on a guy for wanting to win. It’s part of the game, I want the East to Win, and if it takes a “Super Team”, so be it.
Tweets that mention LeBron goes from Cleveland to Miami, from hero to villain | Mark Bradley -- Topsy.com
July 9th, 2010
12:20 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mark Bradley. Mark Bradley said: #LeBron goes from Cleveland to Miami, from hero to villain. http://bit.ly/cydHn6 [...]
David Granger
July 9th, 2010
12:21 am
I’m sorry for Cleveland…there’s nothing worse for sports fans than seeing a young player develop (especially a local boy) and then leave. I haven’t liked LeBron ever since that little high school shenanigan where a car dealer…prevented from selling LeBron a car based on his future earnings…sold his MOMMA a Hummer for LeBron…based on his future earnings. But I don’t blame LeBron for leaving Cleveland, if he thinks that’s best for his career. (Rest assured that…if Cleveland thought it were best for THEM to get rid of a player…he’d damn sure be gone.) Sports is a business with little loyalty, and it goes both ways no matter how much a team might wring its hands and complain. I do blame LeBroyn for being such an obnoxious jerk about the way he’s done it.
I may be kidding myself, but I swear I don’t see Miami having a lot of team chemistry. They’ll win a lot of games, and draw crowds, of course. Not sure how they’ll do in the playoffs, though you can bet the NBA would LOVE to see LeBron winning a few titles, and that can sometimes affect officiating.
Bosh is an inside player, but both Dwayne Wade and LeBron need the ball a lot to be effective. Looks to me like Wade is the odd man out, and won’t be getting enough “touches” to keep him happy…bet he’ll be unhappy by midseason.
Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary
July 9th, 2010
12:21 am
HATER = Broad, sweeping and generic label used by uneducated people to place on all others who disagree with their ill-conceived, inarticulate and uninformed opinions
Street Lingo Example:
“All you people that don’t day Mike Vick the greatest and best QB that ever lived are all just a bunch of ignorant HATERS!”
Wreckmaniac
July 9th, 2010
12:23 am
So what is the next meaningless piece of trivia for the media to overhype ?