Rumors have emerged that Bron Bron will join D-Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami once the Heat can move Michael Beasley (Author's aside: After a dominant freshman year at Kansas State, we're getting close to be able to say that Beasley didn't live up to the hype. Matter of fact, Beasley didn't live up to James Gist's hype from the 2008 Draft).
If Bron Bron believes he cannot win in Cleveland--and, thus, must play elsewhere--he has only himself to blame (and Cleveland's management and ownership for acquiescing to a 20 year old quasi-GM). Do the names Szerbiak, Marshall, Gooden, or O'Neal (at a cool $25M a year) mean anything to you? Well they did to LeBron to the point that he requested them (among other free agent/ trade duds).
If winning is the top priority and not marketing, name recognition, or the goal of establishing himself as the greatest player of a team/ his generation, then Miami or Chicago are his best bet. (In Chicago, he likely will have the opportunity to win for years with a much younger corps of talented players--Rose, Deng, Noah, Gibson, etc.)
However, Miami is D-Wade's team (he's already won a Championship with out LeBron . . .yes, yes DBSF knows it was with a dominant Shaq), and some guy named Jordan has a statue outside the United Center. If LeBron goes to either city he will always be an ancillary star, albeit perhaps the greatest one.
The Knicks, the Clippers, and the Nets don't have the pieces (yet) to win, so they don't appear to be contenders in the James' sweepstake. In Cleveland not only will re-signing ensure that LeBron becomes forever synonymous with the Cavalier organization, but he will likely forever establish himself (certainly with a championship) as an icon of the entire state of Ohio.
Of course should he escape the decaying rust-belt of Cleveland and surrounding areas for the glamor and cosmopolitanism of Miami, LeBron should expect a return reception in Ohio that would make Robert Irsay's return to Baltimore appear pleasant.
Robert Horry is the real Champion's Champion.
ReplyDeleteRobert Horry came out of the womb with a flat top.
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