Lebron James made an unprecedented move on Thursday night. The King decided to go to Miami and play with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in the biggest free agent coup in the history of professional sports. Because of that decision Jazz fans everywhere are dismayed by the fact that the King didn't choose to take a giant pay cut and play in SLC... okay I can't pull that one off. But seriously a lot of changed Thursday night. Lets talk about some of those things.
The first big change comes on the landscape of the NBA. The West is no longer the best of the conferences. This doesn't only have to do with Lebron, but rather with the fact that every free agent worth anything is signing in the East, unless you count David Lee as an elite free agent... yeah I don't think so either. Now the next thing to look at is the Heat. For the first time in history we have 3 players who are at least All-Stars on the same team... while in their prime. This isn't the Boston Celtics and their 3 over the hill stars, this is three guys 7 years into their careers and at the top of their game. Will this set a precedent for future years? Will teams start unloading every player that demands a paycheck so that they can create their own super team of All-Stars? Even if they do will it work? Take New York for example, they have be selling their fans on Lebron in New York for 3 or 4 years now and used it as an excuse to be awful during that time. And if New York can't even get these type of guys, who can? Don't be surprised if before long all you see is a few great teams and a bunch of awful teams in the NBA. In a NBA like this the small market teams don't stand a chance.
That brings me to my next point, the small market teams are screwed. This hits home for all of us in Utah. The Jazz are most definitely not a big market team. They have been successful through sound business practices and great team management. Their are a few teams like the Jazz out there, the Spurs, OKC and Phoenix can be included in that list. But if this summer has the effect that I feel it might, then soon enough great team management wont be enough to produce a good product. The owners who are responsible, and not willing to just throw away millions upon millions of dollars at players who don't deserve it, will be priced out of the talent market sooner rather than later. So if you are a fan of a small market team get used to mediocrity, unless you can somehow draft really well and manage to get a loyal guy.
Which brings me to my next point, what ever happened to loyalty? Now understand that I am not a proponent of remaining loyal to a business simply because they gave you a shot. No that shouldn't be required of your every day business person or of elite athletes. However, why do we Jazz fans love John Stockton? Because he worked hard, never complained and never left Utah. But today's athletes are not like John Stockton. How out of touch can these athletes be? Take Lebron as our example. He is from Akron, Ohio born and raised. When he was 16 he was on the cover of every sports magazine (as the Savior of Basketball, we will get to that). His hometown Cavs tanked it in an epic fashion just to have the best chance to win the Draft Lottery and select Lebron. Upon being selected James gave Cavs fans hope. Now just because they chose him does that require him to stay their forever? No. However, Lebron should realize that by leaving you are crushing a fan base, not to mention how you are letting down every NBA fan who defended you over Kobe and cited your overwhelming character as a deciding factor. Worst of all Lebron showed everyone that not even the lure of playing hometown hero, being immortalized in Ohio, and the possibility of accomplishing the impossible and bringing a championship to Cleveland is enough for one mega star to remain loyal to a small market team.
The last point I wanted to cover is that of Lebron's legacy. Lebron James was once dubbed the Savior of Basketball... when he was 16 years old (as I have explained countless times to people when describing the greatness that is (was) Lebron). The day Lebron graduated from high school he signed a 100 million dollar contract with Nike, and shortly thereafter was given his own brand, like Jordan. During his first 7 years in the league fans everywhere have lauded his class and professionalism. Most people would tell you that Lebron is as good as Kobe if not better, on his way to becoming one of the greatest ever. Last night (and over the past 8 days) all of that changed. Is he still supremely talented? Absolutely. But what about the rest? Unless you are a Heat fan, you can not possibly think he is a man with class now. What type of man with class sets up a 1 hour ESPN Special to rub his decision in America's face (most notable Cleveland's Face)? What professional strings out 6 NBA teams for 8 days when it was apparently decided on July 1 where he was going (as reported by Stephen A Smith)? A man with class is not so out of touch with his fan that he thinks the spectacle put on last night is a good idea. Forget the class for now, can Lebron ever be considered the best player in the world now? No. He might be the best, but no one will ever see it that way. No. Lebron has now become Robin to Dwayne Wade's Batman. Perhaps Lebron has too much Dr. J in him and is not interested in being "the man." Lebron will forever be thought of as the guy that didn't want to have the burden of being the best. You can no longer consider Lebron the King, when he needed to GO to Miami to play WITH Dwayne Wade in order to win. No matter how this plays out Lebron will never have more rings than Dwayne Wade now, let along Kobe Bryant. He can not be considered the best. He will be viewed as the guy who didn't want to do it on his own, didn't want to take that last shot, didn't want to be the Savior of Basketball anymore. Now can you or I blame him? No. Not everyone is wired like Mike or Kobe and every team needs the guy who cares more about passing for the winning shot than hitting the winning shot. However, for all the fans that wanted him to be that Savior of Basketball we are now left with Kobe (I think I just threw up in mouth a little) or no one. In my estimation the NBA may be doomed to a popularity similar to that of MLB, bereft of likable heroes and driven by deep pocketed owners in big cities. (Should we expect a steroids scandal soon?).
There is a lot more that I could say on this, but let me know how you feel. Agree or Disagree? I didn't even get into whether or not the Heat will be any good with their Trio of Stars, what do you think?
