(Note: none of this has any kind of actual insight. It's just me realizing that I'm going to most likely be cheering against Mr. James now)
For those who aren't following basketball... here's the thing. Lebron James is the best (arguably) player in the NBA. He's been playing for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for his entire professional career. Cleveland loves him and he's pretty much the only thing preventing the town from economic ruination (or so tells me that Cleveland tourism YouTube video). Well... he's been flirting with free agency for a while, and many teams have been saving money in the hopes of signing him once he actually becomes a free agent. Now he's a free agent. And now it's all over the news.
It's actually kind of interesting even though my current interest in the NBA is mainly based on the fact that it pretty much fixes games. Not only could an entire city kill itself, but the possibility of a SUPERDYNASTY emerging after this offseason looms pretty large. Here's the thing, though... I think Lebron is kind of screwing over the Cavaliers. The franchise/city has done pretty much everything to make him happy and make sure he stays, and yet he's still most likely leaving. So in pretty much every scenario, Lebron becomes my least favorite player.
Let's list the scenarios that might occur:
LEBRON JOINS BULLS--WHO SIGNS ANOTHER BIG FREE AGENT TO GO ALONG WITH ROSE--OR LEBRON JOINS HEAT ALONG WITH DWYANE WADE AND ANOTHER BIG FREE AGENT:
This is the most likely situation I would suppose, since I would assume the reason why Lebron would leave is because he wants to win a championship and wants to give himself the easiest time to do so. Which isn't *really* a terrible thing... but since I hate the Yankees for signing every big free agent every year in the hopes of giving themselves the best chance of winning, I can't not hate them. Also, the "leave the only team to join a loaded team in the hopes of winning a championship" move seems only acceptable to me as a last resort, i.e. you are aging and your team isn't going anywhere... or if your team just sucks. Lebron's in the prime of his career and can easily take the Cavs to the finals. So winning a title isn't going to make people think you're on the level of Michael Jordan if you're winning it with Dwyane Wade on your side.
LEBRON SIGNS WITH THE NEW YORK KNICKS:
...which would mean that championships is secondary to money and the spotlight to Lebron. If that's the case, then f*** him. I mean, the Knicks *might* be decent, but I doubt it'll be a marked improvement over his current situation with the Cavaliers.
LEBRON SIGNS WITH THE CAVALIERS... BUT ONLY FOR THREE YEARS, WHICH MEANS WE'D GET TO GO THROUGH THIS ALL OVER AGAIN:
This is the "Lebron is a pussy" route. If he signs for three years, it'll mean he just wants to maintain his savior status in Cleveland without ACTUALLY committing to stay. Which means that the first sign of trouble, he'll be thinking of bailing... which, you know, will most likely give the Cavs that extra boost that'll finally bring them a title.
Basically, if I were Lebron... I'd sign with the Cavs longterm. And if the team completely derails or if it's 6-7 years down the road and there's no sign that the Cavs will be contending for a championship soon, then you can reassess and go to a better team. But commit to the damn team first, you know? Cause it's not going to be a happy marriage if you're keeping your options open making the team scramble to make moves in an attempt to keep you here.
LEBRON SIGNS WITH THE TIMBERWOLVES:
... well, I guess I'd be OK with that.
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