The LeBron James Fiasco is exactly why Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo did the right thing and stayed out of the NBA fray and stayed put in East Lansing. Year after year Tom MOLDS A TEAM out of very good basketball players, not super stars, just very good basketball players, and teaches them to over achieve. And in doing so the Spartans have been to the Final Four 6 times in the last 12 years.
LeBron James on the other hand will never have the satisfaction of saying he stayed in Cleveland and won a championship with a team HE led and molded into a champion. He’s taking the high road and going where supposedly better talent will take him to the Promised Land. It can’t be more satisfying can it? Wasn’t it gratifying to watch the Pistons win their titles over the years knowing that they were a blue collar team that stayed together and scratched and clawed their way to the top?
Yes, LeBron did give Cleveland seven outstanding years, and yes he is entitled to better himself. That’s free enterprise and if you’re an American, you can’t argue against LeBron’s right to take that journey in the “pursuit of happiness”. So many athletes have done it before him, just not with as much fanfare. Had LeBron simply announced his decision at a standard press conference, he probably could have saved himself some bad press. BUT A ONE-HOUR PRIME TIME SPECIAL?! That’s rubbing it in the faces of Cleveland fans and sports fans in general. You could say it was just a bit “CAVALIER” of LeBron, don’t ya think?
I can’t help but recall what Al Kaline did when the Tigers offered him $100,000 in 1971. He was so embarrassed that he turned it down and would only take 90 grand! I found this quote on the Internet that was attributed to Kaline… “I don’t deserve such a salary. I didn’t have a good season last year. This ball club has been so fair and decent to me that I’d prefer to have you give it to me when I rate it.” That’s the storybook type of tale that used to make sports so captivating.
So now LeBron James is off to a team with a few more All-Stars and a better chance, but not a guarantee, to win a title. In a way he did pick the right team – the Miami Heat, because LeBron, after your free agency circus…THE “HEAT” WILL DEFINITELY BE ON YOU!
Have a safe and fun weekend! (Ahhhh, enjoy that cooler weather, too!)
Big Al