Quick Hits on "The Decision"

What does it mean that LeBron signed in Miami?

- Cavs owner Dan Gilbert acted like a spurned teenage girl with an open letter to the Cavs fans that rips LeBron for being cowardly, narcissitic, etc. While it is understandable that he feels that way, it was not the best approach to lure other high profile players to come play for him in Cleveland. It would have been much better for him to simply state that he was disappointed in his decision, and believes it didn’t show loyalty, but that the Cavs are moving forward in trying to win a title. It is another example of a time when you’re wrong, even when you’re right.

- LeBron proved once and for all that he does not have that killer instinct that Jordan, Bird, and Bryant. He wants to be a second fiddle. This is the end of the “King James” nickname. From this point forward, he should be “Prince James” because he doesn’t want the crown. He is a freak of an athlete, but he doesn’t have that extra gear and that ability to completely take over a game. James doesn’t have that. He never did. And he never will. He has decided to be the glorified Scottie Pippen to Wade’s Jordan. Time to trade in that Batman jersey, LeBron and make sure they make a Robin costume in XL.

- The Milwaukee Bucks benefit from the LeBron decision. The Bucks finished second in the Central division last season behind Cleveland. With the additions of Corey Maggette and Drew Gooden to go with resigning John Salmons, the Bucks look to have improved considerably during the off-season. The Bucks look to be in position to battle the improved Bulls (adding Boozer, a defensive coach and maturing Derrick Rose & Joakim Noah) for the Central Division title. The Bucks appear to be as deep as any team in the east, with talent on the bench to compliment the starters. Unfortunately they do not have the superstar to get the calls in crunch time, and that is what it takes to win in the playoffs in the NBA. The Bucks look poised to be a 50 win team that cannot get past the second round of the playoffs. Which is better than they have been in a while.

- Does the ESPN hype-machine have any boundaries? I mean, they were willing to drop any programming they had scheduled to do a 1 hour hype show to allow LeBron to rip out the hearts of the Cavalier fans in an extremely public forum. They then sat there and spent the first 20 minutes of the show bouncing around the same rumors and theories that have been out there for the past 2 months. It was a slurp-fest about how great LeBron is….even though he folded in every big game and never won a title. It was a new low for the World-Wide Leader in Sports.

- Since it is Degenerate Friday, my bet is that Miami will not win the NBA title next year. The Heat have 4 guys under contract currently, with 3 second round picks to add to the mix. They then have to add 5 players at the league minimum just to fill out the roster. They think that guys will be willing to take the league minimum “for a chance to win.” We’ll see how it plays out, but I don’t see crucial role players – guys like a Derek Fisher, Robert Horry or Bruce Bowen taking minimum contracts.

Durant Over LeBron

I am now rooting 100% more for Kevin Durant than I ever will for LeBron James. Just based on the actions of these two superstars in the past few days, Durant has surpassed King James in class, maturity and overall likeability. LeBron James is like Kristin Cavallari – all the physical tools and a tremendous amount of assets, but just doesn’t get it and spends all their time trying to be popular instead of focusing on anything important. Durant, on the other hand, is like Jessica Alba – again blessed with all the physical tools to dominate, but she just goes about her business without drawing too much attention to herself other than for just being insanely hot.

Yesterday LeBron announced that he would reveal his free agency decision on a one hour television special to be aired on ESPN. It is the most ridiculous, immature and attention-seeking thing I’ve ever seen. And on the other end of the spectrum is Kevin Durant, who quietly tweeted that he signed a 5 year contract extension to stay with Oklahoma City. No press conference. No television specials. No dog and pony shows requiring the Russian billionaire owner to come visit him. The one thing that the Durant announcement was dripping with? CLASS. Something LeBron obviously doesn’t understand, which is surprising for a guy with an image as closely manicured as his.

And my opinion is that Chris Bosh’s decision to join Wade in Miami rather than join James in Cleveland speaks volume about what other players throughout the league may think of King James. Even if James decides to join him in Miami, Bosh made the decision to join Wade and not to join James in Cleveland (via sign and trade). If James was as good of a teammate as is portrayed by the media, wouldn’t Bosh want to team up with him, even if it was in Cleveland? And by doing a sign and trade with Cleveland, Bosh would have been able to get an extra year and roughly $27 million more. Yet Bosh gave up that money to sign directly with Miami and play alongside Wade….and no one else. They have 4 guys under contract – including Wade & Bosh! Yet that was more appealing than joining James in Cleveland. Interesting?