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
Serena's William
July 9th, 2010
12:23 am
How many of YOU would stay on at a crappy job you hated? Let me guess…….probably not one of ya! But you expect LeBron to do it. Most of you are on your 4th and 5th MARRIAGE, yet you’re here dogging LeBron for walking out on Cleveland. CLEVELAND!! Most of you wouldn’t even visit cleveland on a dare!
P Rose
July 9th, 2010
12:23 am
Who cares. It’s baseball season.
ReddJonn68
July 9th, 2010
12:25 am
We waited all day 2 find out nothing, & Lebron will not get a ring. WTF this is tragedy. You have no bench, which is what you went thru in Cleveland, & now you are betting all your chips on Miami. Ask Nique what he would have done in this situation. This is ugly !!!! Lebron welcome too the Joe Johnson show. You have no low post help at all, do you think any NBA palyer is gonna give money up, just to ride your jock ,WTF. You have showed yo @ss !!!!!
Joe Mama
July 9th, 2010
12:29 am
Does anyone really care about the NBA? It’s just on so we can get through the off season and watch FOOTBALL again…
The man can do what he wants – it’ll be fun to play there and Miami has a heck of a lot more scantily clad hot babes than Cleveland
ReddJonn68
July 9th, 2010
12:38 am
And you can’t shoot, Lebron. I guess Dwayne gone take all your clutch shots b-cth @ss. I am & always will be a Hawks fan no matter what people say about me, I’m loyal, Lebron has to be on another planet or retarded. Hello, you have gutted the team with these contracts dumb @ss. Earth to Lebron, come in Lebron ????
ace
July 9th, 2010
12:39 am
Gary G- get off lebron’s male genitals
ReddJonn68
July 9th, 2010
12:41 am
And I thought Sund was the dumbest person in the NBA ????
Moe Williams
July 9th, 2010
12:41 am
Now I can nail his mama’ all da’ time. Maybe I’ll get her to give me a
Hot Carl later.
Moe Williams
July 9th, 2010
12:43 am
The funny thing is I guess you don’t need any role players, right? Horry,Fisher,Paxson, Rambis what did any of these guys ever do?
enz
July 9th, 2010
12:43 am
Lost all respect for LeBron, not because of his decision to leave Cleveland but the narcissistic spectacle he put on tonight…That was the most strung out piece of trash telecast I’ve ever seen on ESPN.
Moe Williams
July 9th, 2010
12:45 am
To hell with him, we can not win a championship with or without him
Kobe Bryant
July 9th, 2010
12:47 am
It’s my world! Lebron’s just a little squirrel tryin’ to get a nut
ReddJonn68
July 9th, 2010
12:50 am
The media always tells us what to think, but the players win the games, they just write about it. This young man has fell into the worst trap ever. Even Larry Bird ( the best pure shooter I ever seen ) had a bench !!!!
Change Turner Field to Aaron Stadium
July 9th, 2010
12:51 am
I think it’s pretty sad that despite the fact that Joe Johnson re-signed in Atlanta today the biggest story in this town still centers around LBJ, the Miami Heat and the Cavs. Feel bad for Cleveland? Hell no, I feel bad for Atlanta being that Joe is the best we can get.
Joe Johnson
July 9th, 2010
12:55 am
I don’t care if you come watch me play or not. I’ll still go home at night and sleep on a big a55 pile of money
Joe Johnson
July 9th, 2010
12:57 am
Don’t start throwing my name around! Are you telling me that if some fool drove a Brinks truck up to your crib you’d say OH no I don’t deserve this much
Shaq
July 9th, 2010
12:59 am
Anybody remember me?
ReddJonn68
July 9th, 2010
1:01 am
Joe robbed us with no mask. Git over it ” Change ” Joe the best we got !!! Now Miami is on fire again, weare in better shape unless we let the media dictate our season. Goodnight !!!
ReddJonn68
July 9th, 2010
1:08 am
” Change ” we got a second rate player at a max price & he wasn’t worried about improving the team around him. Lebron has fell into a worst trap, his bench is worst than the Hawks.
Jay
July 9th, 2010
1:08 am
Most of you people on here probably have never played basketball. LeBron gave Cleveland 7 good years of trying to win a Title, and this is how you treat him by saying bad things. He don’t owe Cleveland anything. If anything, Cleveland owes him. Basketball is a business like any other sport. Trade are made every year to make their team better. He was a free agent like any free agent, you want to go to the team that can possible win a championship. Every team that wins a championship have great players around them. If he was coming to the hawks you wouldn’t be complaining Get over it.
hawkfan
July 9th, 2010
1:14 am
Lebron’s decision almost seems like him crying like a baby saying “it’s not fair” that he could not win with his previous team the cavs, so he makes it easier for himself, and he is suppose to be a “king” haha, it’s like employees trying to gang up to beat the system, at least joe johnson stayed with his team even if he did go for more money he at least showed that it the willingness and drive to go the extra mile with your team to see the light at the end of tunnel, he might not win a championship but at least he tried with obstacles in the way, too bad we now have another team in our division that is hard to beat, can we ever win our division, now we have dwight, wade, lebron, and bosh in the southeast division, get ready for no one talking about hawks again for awhile but at least we aren’t cavs fans (for every high there is a low)
ReddJonn68
July 9th, 2010
1:14 am
@ Jay Lebron is a grown @ss man. Chicago would have been a better fit for him. You can’t make something out of nothing . Miami has nothing, & after struggling the media is gonna eat them all up !!!!!
Shaq
July 9th, 2010
1:15 am
Jay- you make it seem like Clev. didn’t try. All season long they were the team, he was the “best player in the world”, actually the last 2 years. So I don’t want to hear that tired a55 s%#t.
Shaq
July 9th, 2010
1:17 am
Jay HAS played basketball I guess. Well I tried my hardest, I miss Kobe. Now that kid knows how to close a game out. Memories, like the corners of my mind
Phil4Real
July 9th, 2010
1:17 am
Magic-Jordan-Bird-Duncan-Kobe were not alone. If you were getting your butt kicked year in and out for 7yrs, you’d want your compadres by your side to relieve you. It’s not fair you guys jump on the kids. He didn’t have any help. The before mention had waaaaaay more structure and support than Lebron. I hope they go undefeated and beat the shyyyyt out the HAWKS.
ace
July 9th, 2010
1:18 am
Yeah Jay, damn give Shaq some credit he tried.
ace
July 9th, 2010
1:20 am
I guess the fact that they had the best record the last two years means they suck and are void of talent?
ace
July 9th, 2010
1:22 am
Phil4real-undefeated? really?
hawkfan
July 9th, 2010
1:22 am
maybe lebron saw how artest left the rockets to go to la and win his first championship with them but then again artest didnt start his career in houston and la already had a championship caliber team, why give him the MVP award for him to leave his team the next season, I believe the media hyped this decision up and lebron wanted to spice things up and make this a soap opera by doing an hour long special to him at least kobe never did that since he actually has class and 5 rings, I can’t wait for them to interview Kobe about the super 3 in miami and Kobe says “oooh, I’m so scared now let me just quit now” b/c this is still all paper and talk and no walk
ReddJonn68
July 9th, 2010
1:28 am
This is sad for baskeball. D-Wade lucked up because Dirk is a choker, as well as Avery Johnson being a dumb-ss coach. Lebron is & will be one of the the best talents in the NBA. Would Larry Bird or Magic Johnson have rings if they played for Fratello or Collins ????
rc35
July 9th, 2010
1:28 am
Remember when the baseball owners were accused of collusion and fined millions of dollars? It’s OK as long as players collude, but not owners?
hawkfan
July 9th, 2010
1:29 am
Serena’s William: oh please with that comment about staying with a crappy job not if we got paid millions of dollars we would probably automatically stay especially in this bad economy, do you even know what is going on? this isn’t some other blue collar job, he gets paid not just for playing ball but endorsements, etc. so your crappy job inference is irrevelant here
Gotalotofbooty305
July 9th, 2010
1:29 am
Oh boo hoo you cry babies! So he left. Keep in mind he was in Cleveland for 7 years and made that franchise $250 million. He did what he could. How long did you want him to stay in a losing city without help? I think it’s a great career decision. A decision I’m sure was hard to make. So to all you haters (especially the owner of the Caviliers) get a grip and move on. You would have made the best decision for YOUR CAREER too. Cleveland’s loss is Miami’s gain!!! THE HEAT IS ON!!!!!! GO HEAT!!!!
Phil4Real
July 9th, 2010
1:33 am
OK maybe not undefeated. I’ll tell ya this. I’ll be on Ocean and 15th next Memorial Day watching the playoff games at my favorite outdoor Sports Bar in Miami.
ReddJonn68
July 9th, 2010
1:35 am
Boo Hoo, whatever this about a young man making one of the most dumbest business desicions ever. Heat or Hawks sounds the same to me.
How to become millionaire » LeBron hardly a king for taking the easy way out with star-laden Heat – SI.com
July 9th, 2010
1:36 am
[...] we understand it. …Opinion: LeBron's decision was easy (Breaking News)DigitalJournal.comLeBron goes from Cleveland to Miami, from hero to villainAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)I told you so…ChicagoNow (blog)Los Angeles Times [...]
Gotalotofbooty305
July 9th, 2010
1:37 am
Wow too many haters on this site. Jay said it best: If Lebron would have chosen Atlanta there would be no complaints. Coming thru by way of Miami (Carol City)! Live in Atlanta but will always be a HEAT FAN!!!!
hawkfan
July 9th, 2010
1:42 am
Actually I wouldn’t want Lebron to be on the Hawks because he would ask for too much and want things his way and then our team will be destroyed, no bench, and no playoff threat while being stuck to him since he will bring seats in the building, another move for just money and not winning plus our bandwagon would be full with lebron fans and not hawks fans, please I rather us lose with dignity then win with fraud
Joseph
July 9th, 2010
1:43 am
You really think he would’ve won in any situation? iIf he stayed he would’ve been 31, with bad knees, and no ring. If he left everybody would hate him but he would’ve accomplished his goal, maybe not as sweet. So what if he joined with his best friends? This is so bias to me I want to smack you. Did you not know Jordan had Pippen? did you know that Kobe had Gasol via Shaq. Did you know Bird’s team was basically all HOF. And Magic had Kareem? This 25 year old man is put under so much pressure, and he looked so unhappy and uncomfortable. HE CARES WHAT PEOPLE THINK. he has feelings too. Maybe he doesn’t want to have to get the rebound, AND make the pass, AND make the shot and if he doesn’t check all those boxes they lose. As you saw. jesus christ now you’re really gonna see a big 3 and let it go.
ace
July 9th, 2010
1:44 am
Phil4Real-I’m sure you will, probably right along with Lebron, D.Wade. and Bosh
Gotalotofbooty305
July 9th, 2010
1:44 am
Oh cry me a river!!! Where are the violins??? The NBA is a business. Whoever said his decision will be dumb? All you haters!!!! And who are you a psychic? Please!! Little can you guys remember what Lebron DID for the team but you still insist he stabbed them in the back. Point blank he made a decision HE felt right for HIS CAREER. Sadly you won’t agree with me but YOU would have done the same.
Phil4Real
July 9th, 2010
1:45 am
Hey Holla at me in the MIA @Gotalotofbooty305
ace
July 9th, 2010
1:46 am
Couldn’t he have signed a deal w/Clev. for 3 years and told them to get him a #2? Just wondering
ReddJonn68
July 9th, 2010
1:46 am
( Opa locka & West Hialeah ) if you talking bout that bottom. They still gone lose, no bench ….etc
ace
July 9th, 2010
1:48 am
Who is going to play center on this soon to be 15 time championship team? Wasn’t that what Shaq was supposed to do for Lebron?
ace
July 9th, 2010
1:50 am
I’m not hating on him, just the unwarranted constant coverage of him. and I just don’t see this as being a lock for a championship.
ace
July 9th, 2010
1:54 am
anyone out there?
ReddJonn68
July 9th, 2010
1:55 am
@305 I used to be stationed in Homestead before it got tore up. They still gone lose, no bench….etc
Tweets that mention LeBron goes from Cleveland to Miami, from hero to villain | Mark Bradley -- Topsy.com
July 9th, 2010
2:06 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Barbara Marchand and Stacey A.. Stacey A. said: maybe you shoulda copyrighted it *snickers* http://tinyurl.com/2fgvbmr RT @duepayer: I'm officially dubbing the new Big 3 #MiamiThrice [...]
Gotalotofbooty305
July 9th, 2010
2:06 am
Hey Phil4Real we should make a date. Sipping on a lil sumthin’ sumthin’ on Ocean and 15th sounds great. Making a toast to all these haters will be perfect.