So we have some must-watch TV tonight at 9pm when LeBron James finally graces the world with his decision which has been in the making for about 2 years.
Regardless of what happens the following is abundantly clear
- The NBA hasn't had this much press since Jordan retired. Every ESPN show leads off with something about LeBron whether it's PTI, SportCenter or Mike and Mike. It's the only thing they talk about. ESPN Radio has a nightly show called the 'LeBron watch', the NY tabloids have had LeBron's face on the back-cover every day for a month.
- This special tonight will certainly get a higher rating that just about any NBA game ever gets, higher than anything the NHL has ever done and probably better than anything the Knicks have ever seen including the runs to the finals
- The Knicks even if they don't' get him have supposedly sold out their season-tickets already. Now this is not confirmed by any stretch but my buddy Norm Zang heard this from a guy who heard it on the radio
- Whichever team LeBron picks we know it will leave 4 other teams i shambles as their entire plan has been foiled (we're not taking the Clippers seriously). The funny thing is that if he stays in Cleveland it'll be the best thing for the NBA as it's free-agency thing is a total sham but will also make everybody look like a bunch of aholes since that just means he's been pulling everybody's chain for the last six weeks.
Anyway, I got this email from a buddy and it puts it better than I could ever. The writer is not a TOR reader (as far as we know)
no matter who he picks, lebron is a classless, gutless, self-centered, egotistical, sickening child who needs to get slapped down. i would like him to be MY gutless classless child, but still. this is all entirely weak. this is not what sports is supposed to be about. this is exactly why i've said that, at times, i want nothing to do with him. basketball blows because it has ceased to be about teams, jerseys. it's about writing checks to collect individuals. baseball and football have systemic free agency problems as well, but not like this. those sports still require teams. even the yankees.
anyway, here's my breakdown: his best talent choice is chicago (young stud PG, great big men), followed by miami (no supporting cast), then NJ (Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, their rookie, and cap space).
if he wants to make the risky choice and chase true greatness...legendary status, he picks NY. not an ideal roster, but not awful, and some space to make another move or two. he'd get to live it up in NYC. if he brought a title, it would probably go down as the most amazing run of all time, in any sport. and if he's truly competitive at all he makes this choice. and if he's truly competitive at all, he sees bosh and wade as a challenge and decides to take amare as his wingman and go to battle and slay all the other dragons.
he's not going to cleveland. there's people speculating that an hour-long special to stab cleveland is inconceivable. and that's somewhat true. but here's why i think he's not going back home. he's spent 2 years at least idly daydreaming here and there about where he could go. he's spent 2 years answering questions about free agency. after all that, nobody goes back. think about your own experiences. once you send some resumes out and think about where you might go, you're done. you've mentally checked out eventually, you're dying to leave your current job. you don't spend time thinking about possibilities to then decide you're going to stick with the status quo. he was psychologically done with cleveland midway through last season and his performance in the playoffs proved it. add in delonte west banging your mom and that's a wrap. and moreover, you don't need an hour-long show to say you love cleveland/akron. held in CT no less. you need an hour-long show to declare where you're going, then explain to your loyal fanbase why you're going and why it was so difficult to choose.
the wildcard: he could sign a short deal in miami -- maybe one, two or three years -- to collect some rings just to do it. just because it would be historic and fun. then he could fly the coop and try to do it himself. i don't see him signing a full deal in miami because that's just a cheap, uncompetitive thing to do. it's not what a "king" would do. i just can't see lebron riding shotgun for any extended amount of time. and if the plan all along was to play with his buddies on a dream team, wouldn't the announcement be a joint three-way announcement, just as it was conceived? but who knows who we're dealing with anymore
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