It's nice to be back sleeping in my own bed after 8 days away from home. I believe that the air mattress was created for people who are less than 100 lbs.
I'm glad, now that the whole LeBron debacle has ended, we can put the NBA to rest for the next several months. In the words of the brilliant and funny Jason Washington, when considering the NBA once the football season ends, "Is this what we're reduced to?"
When you take a step back from the LeBron situation, it begins to make a lot more sense, and, when you consider LeBron's career path, his decision is a clear window into who he is as a pro and as a person.
Few people in the history of sports (or any other endeavor, for that matter) have led as charmed an existence as the self-proclaimed "Chosen One". LeBron has been one of the most famous basketball players in the country since he was a junior in high school, when he petitioned the NBA to be draft eligible before he had graduated high school. He has been celebrated as a superior player to all of his peers, and many of the legends of the game, even before he had an opportunity to develop. James was embraced as someone who combined the best parts of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, someone who could create his own shot from anywhere on the floor, but also possessed the court vision to make everyone around him better.
To give LeBron full credit, he is one of the best athletes I've ever seen, and, in my opinion, the best athlete in the history of the NBA. The only combination of size and speed that I would compare to LeBron would be Bo Jackson, who also was in the category of "force of nature". Because LeBron came to the NBA fresh out of high school to a terrible Cleveland team, any hiccup in his development was excusable. The most familiar refrain for LeBron was, "When he develops a mid-range game, look out!" It was almost an after thought that he would care enough about his legacy as a player to become as great as possible. Once Cleveland put the players around him, James would start to win titles, and there would be no stopping him.
A funny thing happened on the way to immortality. LeBron never produced the titles or developed the varied offensive game necessary to win in the postseason. When the chips were down, LeBron had to barrel to the basket hoping to draw fouls, or pass off to less talented teammates and hope they produced. After flaming out in six games to the Celtics in 2010, LeBron James got a taste of something different.
Criticism. Lots of it.
LeBron had spent 7 years as emcee of his own sideshow with the Cavs, immune from the normal pressures of other athletes. He would choreograph elaborate skits for his teammates to perform before the game, always letting the crowd know that it was about fun to him. When he was booed in the second half of his poor performance in Game 5 of the Boston series, for the first time as a pro, he was being held responsible for what he wasn't, which was an outstanding athlete, but far from a complete player.
The Cavs front office went out of their way to make LeBron and his loyal entourage as comfortable as possible. This meant constructing their practice facility as close to James' residence as possible, employing some of his friends within the organization, and acquiescing anytime they had another opportunity to prove to him how important he was. It's been a charmed life in Cleveland for LeBron. Cleveland invested in LeBron, hoping it would pay off with championships. Part of getting the perks of stardom is shouldering the responsibility when it goes bad. If LeBron's choice revealed anything, it was that he really doesn't want any part of that responsibility.
LeBron's a free agent, meaning that he's earned the right to go wherever he pleases. This is part of the collective bargaining agreement that his predecessors earned, and I don't begrudge him his choice. I always felt that Chicago was the best fit for LeBron. The Bulls need someone like LeBron, they have all of the other pieces to win it all. What they need is an alpha male besides their point guard, the outstanding Derrick Rose. But, choosing Chicago (or New York, New Jersey, or anyplace else) would have meant taking responsibility for success or failure. And LeBron wants no part of that responsibility.
Choosing Miami meant that LeBron could play second banana to Miami's BMOC, Dwayne Wade. Wade owns Miami, already a champion from the 2006 Heat. Whatever the new crew in Miami accomplishes, LeBron will have one less than Wade. And he's fine with that. We're used to our NBA greats wanting their own team, so when it gets to be nut-cutting time, there's no doubt as to who's in charge. James' decision is such a departure from that way of thinking. Maybe future players in this position will go the same route. Whatever he achieves in Miami, it will go with the caveat of choosing to be Dwayne Wade's backup dancer, so he will never get to the level of a Jordan, or even a Kobe. And that's OK. Not everyone is meant to be "King".
As to how this relates to Darrelle Revis, Will Leitch had a great article about how the whole ESPN show about LeBron made him feel stupid to be a sports fan, and a lot of what he had to say rings true for me. It was funny to hear Revis' rumored threat to hold-out a few days ago (since denied, by the way), and the reaction of fans to that threat on fan sites like theganggreen.com. Whether the fans knew it or not, the ones that root for both the Jets and the Knicks seemed browbeaten enough that they no longer gave a shit. There were several that said, "Fuck him, we can get 2 first rounders for him." All it takes are a few disappointments and fans begin to wonder why we bother in the first place. The players don't share the feelings we do, as much as we'd like them to.
Anyway, this should be it for the NBA for awhile, thankfully. David Stern got what he deserved when he chose to promote the player and not the game, which is a sport made up almost entirely of divas. With each new autumn comes more of a team game, whether it's football or fútbol. It will be here soon enough.
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