I think it's a cop-out. Any super-competitive person would rather beat Dwyane Wade than play with him. Don't you want to find the Ali to your Frazier and have that rival pull the greatness out of you? That's why I'm holding out hope that LeBron signs with New York or Chicago (or stays in Cleveland), because he'd be saying, "Fine. Kobe, Dwight and Melo all have their teams. Wade and Bosh have their team. The Celtics are still there. Durant's team is coming. I'm gonna go out and build MY team, and I'm kicking all their asses." That's what Jordan would have done. Hell, that's what Kobe would have done.
In May, after the Cavs were ousted in the conference semifinals, I wrote that LeBron was facing one of the greatest sports decisions ever: "winning (Chicago), loyalty (Cleveland) or a chance at immortality (New York)."
I never thought he would pick "HELP!"
There's also this observation on Cleveland fans and Bill's feelings towards LeBron:
This stomach-punch moment? Calculated. By a local kid they loved, defended and revered.
It would be unforgivable. Repeat: unforgivable. I don't have a dog in this race -- as a Celtics fan, I wanted to see him go anywhere but Chicago -- but LeBron doing this show after what happened in the 2010 playoffs actually turned me against him. No small feat. I was one of his biggest defenders. Not anymore.
1 comment:
I picked Chicago. He had Rose and Boozer to win a 'ship with...and he'd still be "The King." No one would accuse him of "stacking the deck" in Chicago. Rose and Boozer are good, but not a guarantee to help win a championship.
I understand what the Celtics did. They were old and put egos aside to accomplish their dream. They were past their prime and never good enough to win on their own anyway, let alone in their 30's. So they came together and it worked pretty dang well.
This is different.
He's right, Jordan would never have done this. The 1980's Lakers is also different. They already had Kareem when Magic was drafted. Oh, and James Worthy wasn't all that bad either. So, I wouldn't accuse Magic of "Coping Out." Larry Bird won all his legit as well. He didn't "buy" any rings.
LeBron is taking the easy way out.
I didn't think he'd go to the Heat because I still thought there was too much ego involved. This isn't Team USA. It's team LeBron, or so I thought.
But, and this is my own idea, what if Pat Riley is a little jealous of Phil Jackson. Think about it. Riley won 5 times as Head Coach in Tinsle Town. Jackson has now won 5. Jackson has 11 rings. Riley has 5. I wonder if Riley wants back into the action as a coach to get his shot at running off multiple championships and knock off Phil Jackson.
He'd have to hire himself as coach first, though.
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