LeBron James – From King to Jester?
LeBron James did what was expected by many in deciding to join the Miami Heat last night. But just as much as there is a possibility to win Championships in Miami, there lies a potential path to create a legacy far less respectable than King James hopes for.
Was the Miami Heat the right choice for James? Not in this writer’s opinion. Lets take a look at this as well as his other options as determined by his visits.
1 – LA Clippers – This was never really taken seriously, and who could see LeBron playing in Kobe’s city, playing for the little brother of the Lakers for the rest of his career.
2 – Chicago Bulls – Michael Jordan’s franchise, period. He would have had to win more championships than Jordan to even be considered on his level – way too much pressure to put on himself.
3 – New Jersey Nets – Exciting new owner, and a great friend in Jay-z, but who wants to play in New Jersey. Perhaps they would have had a better chance if they already were in Brooklyn, but Newark holds as much chance of signing a superstar as the next choice….
4 – Cleveland Cavaliers – While he would have certainly created a Jordan-esque legacy by building a championship in his hometown, it seems from the previous Bosh reports that it would have been virtually impossible to entice quality talent to join him in Cleveland. No offense to those living in Cleveland, but let’s be honest – if you were a twenty something superstar with money to burn, would Cleveland be one of the top 20 cities you’d move to? Probably not.
5 – Miami Heat – The Lebron James sweepstakes winner poses a major problem – this is clearly Dwayne Wade’s team. LeBron will always be the number two guy here. Wade has already won championships, so there’s really no pressure on him to win another. Chris Bosh is a great player, but nobody thinks of him in terms of being the key to winning a championship. The pressure here lies solely on LeBron. James is between a rock and a hard place here. It will mean disappointment of Biblical proportions if they don’t win multiple championships. But even if they do win, LeBron never gets the credit of a Jordan, Magic or Bird because he joined someone else’s team to accomplish his goal.
That leaves only one destination that would have worked…
6 – New York Knicks – Here’s a historic franchise who hasn’t won a championship in decades. Sure they aren’t built to win this year, but with the Amare Stoudemire signing, and the potential to add Carmelo Anthony in 2011, this could have been a Big Three in the biggest city of them all. Winning championships here was really the optimum place for building a legacy as THE man in a dynasty, the only place to have a real opportunity to rival Michael Jordan.
But LeBron’s choice, actions, and possible outcome can lead him to tarnish a legacy that had so much potential. Choosing to join another superstar’s team who already has a ring knocked him down a notch already. Then, there’s the perhaps sour grapes attack that was laid upon him by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, accusing him of quitting during the 2010 playoff run. A comment that may be emotionally charged by the decision, but one that was echoed by many.
If that wasn’t enough, what about the potential disaster if this trio somehow manages to not win multiple championships. One is not enough. Like mentioned earlier, the bulk of the pressure and expectation lies with LeBron James. His choice makes him a hated man in multiple cities like Cleveland and New York, which he flirted with so much over the past year, even hosting his announcement in our backyard. Add to that a dose of disappointing losses in the NBA Championships, or worse yet before that? We may then be calling King James Jester James after all.
