Perhaps you've heard about this whole Lebron thing that has been in the news recently. Either way, I'm no expert, but I will throw my opinion around like I am one. People are talking about Lebron James going to Miami as if it is a bad thing (except the people in Miami). Are you kidding me? Lebron James leaving Cleveland invigorated the NBA to a classic status we haven’t seen in a long time. We already have a rivalry between Boston and LA to add some flavor the league, but not since the early nineties have the NBA’s lines been so clearly drawn between good and evil. You see, while Magic’s Lakers and Bird’s Celtics were primarily concerned with defeating each other, they also had to ally on occasion against a greater evil, Isaiah’s Pistons. The “Bad Boys” were the evil force in the NBA. They played dirty and to make matters worse, they won sometimes while doing it.
Now I’m not sure how they plan on playing ball on the court, but the Miami Heat have distinguished themselves as the league’s new definitive villains. Once the bright future of the NBA, Lebron failed to win a championship in his hometown of Cleveland. Seven years later, he has shed his hometown boy image for a championship and revealed himself for the villain he truly is. This is not a comment on whether or not he is a good guy. He could be the world’s nicest guy for all I know. But the way the last few months have played out, Lebron has run the lines of the archetypical Master of Darkness. Brought up as the great prodigy that would save the league, Lebron has always felt he was too good for the NBA. He refused to participate in the dunk contest with his peers his first few years in the league. He demanded his teams make stupid trades (Shaq anyone?) just to try to get himself a championship. He didn’t want it for his team. He wanted to win it for his legacy.
All the while, guys like Dwayne Wade were winning championships. And on top of that, Kobe Bryant just wouldn’t die, so Lebron couldn’t even capture the title of “League’s Best Player.” A good guy who was just a bit arrogant, Lebron eventually faced the ultimate temptation. Does he stay in his home and continue to fight the good fight in Cleveland (where they declared a holiday with his name on it and were ready to create a statue in his image), forever preserving his soul and remaining the arrogant good guy, or does he join the allying axis of evil in Miami, forsaking his one team image (that most of the greatest players in NBA history have)? He chose the latter, and now the league is suddenly looking at the evil triumvirate of Lebron, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh (read Germany, Italy, and Japan).
Suddenly the Lakers, going for three straight, aren’t the bad guys anymore. That little deal with the Pau Gasol sham (trade) is long forgotten in comparison to this new devilry. Suddenly the Celtics don’t want to die off so quickly anymore. The signing of Jermaine O’Neal shows that that ship is not ready to sail either. All around the league, teams are bolstering their forces like never before. Sure, part of it might have something to do with one of the largest free agent periods in league history, and I’m sure 90% of these deals were in the works before Lebron even thought about Miami, but you have to admit, there’s just a little added motivation to beat a team with three (yes, three) players receiving maximum contracts. That’s a team entirely comprised of star power.
Now let’s fill in the rest of the roles in this villainous saga. Udonis Haslem, one of the Heat’s best players from last year, is supposedly signing on for a mere 4 million to be a part of a championship team. That’s millions less than he could make elsewhere. That miserable sap who sacrifices everything for belief in the ego-centric villain is a great villain saga staple (remember Robert Duvall’s Tom Hagen from The Godfather?) Players like Zidrunas Illgauskas and others seem poised to sign for millions less than they were worth (most league minimum contracts) to be part of what they consider to be something special. This is a typical league practice (remember the Slowtime Lakers of 2004 who brought on oldtimers Gary Payton and Karl Malone for dirt cheap to try to get each of them one championship as a going to die present?) but here it feels just a bit more sick and twisted. Players are leaving the teams they’ve grown up with (the Heat reportedly asked Derek Fisher to jump ship from the Lakers), all so that they can win a championship. Unable to currently think of a better example, I’ll compare these guys to the trade federation from the Star Wars trilogy (Zydrunas Illgauskas sounds a lot like he would come from the same place as Nute Gunray). “But King James... promised us a championship!”
Pat Riley takes on the role of the mastermind of this whole equation. Once a great leader (he was with Magic and the showtime Lakers) he has used all of his powers to win once again, no matter what the cost (the next step is for him to fire the head coach and take over this superteam himself). And lastly, you have the once loyal trainer of the prodigy that has left. I’m not talking about anyone in Cleveland (where pretty much everybody has said “Good riddance” to the two-timer who drug them along two months of “What if’s” only to dispose of them in a very public, very cold shakeoff). I am talking about David Stern. David Stern has often held that Lebron is the future of the NBA. He sold Lebron as hard as he sold Michael Jordan. Nobody was more disappointed than David Stern when it was Dwayne Wade, not Lebron, who was the first kid from that class to win a championship. Stern has already fined the Cav’s owner $100,000 for calling Lebron a traitor in public. Stern, I am sure, will continue to support Lebron like he always has (even to the foreign markets who won’t bite because they are only interested in players who win championships). But it will prove his demise.
Because you see, nobody can win in this scenario. We have started down a path that will not end well. This is a tragedy. If Lebron wins, then it will never save his legacy because he needed a super team to do it. If he loses, then he couldn’t even win with a super team. Either way, King James has put an even bigger target on his back than he had before. And as much as I understand his decision, it will be really fun to see everyone take aim for that target as the next year progresses. A team with three good players can’t win in the new NBA. The Lakers are too good. The Celtics are too good. Heck, the Magic are too good. All around the league, teams are gearing up. Except now, there’s a new place to focus all of that energy. Without playing a single game, the 2010-2011 Miami Heat have become the team to beat. And everyone will play just a little bit harder to try to make sure that happens.
See. Isn't this more fun already?
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