Grown Man Move

With all due respect to Mark Jackson.

It's been several days, but somehow I've been sick of the Lebronocalpyse for several years already. I hate everything about how he handled this situation. I hate how it seems like the trio planned their teaming up years ago yet still led several teams on this off-season even though, realistically, Miami was the only possible location for their union. I hate how after the Cavaliers got booted out of the playoffs by the Celtics, Lebron talked about how he and his team would implement their game plan for free agency (shouldn't you have tried to implement a game plan for, you know, the game?). I hate the one hour television special (and I hate that it took him 30 minutes to get to a decision he promised in 10). I hate how he said that wearing a Heat jersey "feels right." I hate his assertion that the three of them could lead a winning team with Pat Riley as their point guard. I hate that claims that they're looking to win "not one, not two...not six, not seven" championships when Adam Morrison has more rings than the three of them put together. But one thing I do love is the nickname for them that's been floating around: the Three Miami-egos.

But do I hate Lebron? Unless his ego has finally taken over as a sentient entity, a possibility I don't discount, no I don't. Do I even hate that he's teaming up with Wade and Bosh in Miami? No, and in fact it excites me and I'm going to look to buy Suns/Heat tickets when the NBA schedule comes out. Like I said before, while I don't think they should be praised for this move, they shouldn't be vilified either.

The whole situation in general has been covered to death. But Lebron really has taken a beating in the last few days, and I don't think it's right. Let's be real here. He's 25. What 25 year old wouldn't want to play basketball for a hundred million dollars with two of his best friends while living in Miami? Look, I don't want to say he "earned" the right to leave because I think that whole idea is stupid. The whole point of free agency is that a player can go play where he wants to play and where he feels like he's being paid what he's worth. Lebron doesn't "owe" Cleveland any more than Dwyane Wade "owes" his hometown of Chicago. How many times do owners and GM use the defense of "it's a business" to justify when they treat players like crap or send them off in trades or waive them? A player's duty to a city and an organization is done once they've fulfilled their contract. From there, it's up to management to create a situation in which that player wants to come back. Granted, it's a different situation if a player promises to come back and still jump ship. However, this was not the case at all with Lebron. I believe that yes, he would love to stay in his home state and bring Ohio a championship. But he had to consider all the other factors and evidently decided that the grass was greener, the ocean bluer, and the sun brighter in Miami (and he would be right, literally and metaphorically). As much as I don't like Lebron, I can't pile on him for this decision and, to some extent, for how he handled it either. It was completely unnecessary, but it's who he is. No one's ever accused Lebron of being understated in anyway.

The one thing that's been far more disgusting than Lebron's ego has been Dan Gilbert's antics. His now infamous letter ripping Lebron is the ultimate example of sour grapes. It's childish, condescending, and doesn't make a lick of sense. He's not fooling anyone by releasing this letter claiming that Lebron is a farce who quit and can't win a championship the minute he realizes he's not getting him. His use of hyperbole, ALL CAPS, and Comic Sans font makes it so ridiculous that many people thought it was a fake or parody.

Lebron's doing what he thinks is best for him and his family. Critics may disagree on the basketball implications of his decision, but no one can say, "You can't/shouldn't do that" just because it's not what they wanted him to do. You'd expect the owner of the team that Lebron turned from nothing into a contender and brought countless extra revenue to to take the high road, to thank Lebron for what he's done. But no, the person who claims that Lebron is teaching kids the wrong lesson by...well, I was never really clear on that, proved himself to be the biggest kid of all.

Are You LeSerious?

No, two posts a day will not be a regular thing. In fact I was thinking about just using this as tomorrow's but oh well. I'll probably just post another short one tomorrow. By the way, isn't it annoying that Blogger doesn't allow you to truncate posts? It's pretty lame, especially when you're as wordy as I am. WordPress? Anyway.

David Aldridge put up this article last night on NBA.com: http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/david_aldridge/08/06/lebron/index.html

One nice thing about not having any real readership is that I don't have to worry about Cleveland/LeBron fans because, believe me, they are some of the most annoying in sports.

LeBron still not taking ownership and apologizing for not shaking hands with the players of the Orlando Magic (sidenote: Yes, I did rephrase that sentence because I wasn't sure what to do with Orlando Magic. The Magic's players? The Magics' players? Magics's players?) sort of bothers me. I do think that the media pushes athletes too apologize far too often and for far too little, so it is somewhat refreshing to see LeBron not changing his stance. However, he's wrong.

He says, "The shaking hands thing is really not a big thing for me. It's not I'm a sore loser or anything like that. I'm just moving on. You guys beat me ... I think sometimes people want you to accept losing, and I will never accept losing. There's ways to handle it certain times, and shaking hands may be it. But I will never accept losing, at anything that I do."

Let's ignore the fact that he's never missed a handshake any time he's won. That all time greats like Duncan, Kobe, Jordan and really everyone else have shaken hands after losing. Handshakes with the other team isn't a symbol of losing or of weakness. It's just a recognition and show of respect toward the people you've been battling for a series.

And let's be real here. The bottom line is you lost, whether you like it or not, whether you want to accept it or not. Maybe it's because he didn't go to college, but LeBron seems to think that accepting losing means being okay with it. Of course as a top flight professional athlete you should never be okay with losing. You should never settle for it or think that it's acceptable when you are aiming for the championship. But to just not accept it as reality and ignore it and not pay due to the people who beat you, that's plain wrong and childlike. As the cliche goes, actions speak louder than words. LeBron says he's not a sore loser but proves otherwise.

Later in the interview he talks about how he didn't tell Nike to confiscate the tapes of him being dunked on, that they have a no videotaping policy in place. Having read the camp's media policy myself, I find that pretty hard to believe. And also, how does it look finally making a statement 3 weeks after the incident and after multiple tapes have come out? Doesn't exactly have an aura of authenticity or truthfulness.