The Decision – Made!

There has been a lot of ink spilled over “The Decision” Lebron has been so why bother writing a blog about it? What hasn’t been already said? Surprisingly, there are a few things that I want to address that haven’t been already said. Also, I’ve been in deep dialogue with my fellow Laker brethrens as well as friends in the Lebron camp. Let me start with a couple of things that have already been said.

For the record, I don’t blame Lebron for leaving. But Bill Simmons sums it up nicely,

“It's one thing to leave. I get it. You're 25. You don't know any better. You're tired of carrying mediocre teams. You want help. You want the luxury of not having to play a remarkable game every single night for eight straight months. You want to live in South Beach. You want to play with your buddies. I get it. I get it. But turning that decision into a one-hour special, pretending that it hadn't been decided weeks ago, using a charity as your cover-up and ramming a pitchfork in Cleveland's back like you were at the end of a Friday the 13th movie and Cleveland was Jason ... there just had to be a better way.”

I truly feel badly for the city of Cleveland. They really believe that God hates them. I’m starting to wonder myself.

Simmons goes on to say,

“Michael Jordan would have wanted to kick Dwyane Wade's butt every spring, not play with him. This should be mentioned every day for the rest of LeBron's career. It's also the kryptonite for any ‘Some day we'll remember LeBron James as the best basketball player ever’ argument. We will not. Jordan and Russell were the greatest players of all time. Neither of them would have made the choice that LeBron did. That should tell you something.”

What is the most disappointing thing about this for me, speaking strictly about basketball greatness, is that Lebron has set himself up where anything short of a title each year is a complete failure. Furthermore, if/when Miami does win a championship everybody would say, “Of course they’re going to win, look at those guys!” It would be the same pressure that Team USA goes through every Olympics but it would be for every NBA season. How much of that will take their mental and emotional energy? This has to be the first time in NBA history where everyone isn't gunning for the returning champions but for another team that’s being crowned before they play a game. How is this not a slap in the face to the rest of the league? How is every single team NOT going to bring their “Eff you” effort against them every night? EVERYONE outside of Miami will be cheering for them to lose. Lebron has the talent to be "the guy" on a championship team. But he took the easy way out. More on Lebron later.

At Least Two Years

Miami won’t win the title for at least a couple of years. The first year will be a major learning curve for all these guys to adjust to playing with each other. Also, the three have eaten up most of the cap space. Trading away Michael Beasley helps. But the league requirement is that you have 13 guys under contract. If the rumors are true that Mike Miller will take the 5 yr 30 million dollar offer that would be the rest of the salary cap. They already have Mario Chalmers under contract so that leaves 8 spots with only minimum contracts to offer (if they keep their two 2nd round picks that will leave 6 spots).

The media has been saying that there’s going to be plenty of veterans wanting to play with them and that Pat Riley will sell them on “being a part of history.” Now I admit that Riley is a mastermind but who’s really coming? Who’s playing center? Who’s playing back-up center? Who’s going to say, “Sure I'll go play with those dudes never shoot the ball, do all the dirty work, never get credit and do it for pennies. I'll even do it the year before the lockout." Are you really going to find 8 or 9 quality roles players that are going to say that? Not to mention, the market determines the value of players. This summer’s market:

Amare – Knicks 5 years, $99.7M
J. Johnson – Hawks 6 years, $120M
Haywood, Mavs 6 years, $55M
R. Gay – Grizzles 5 years, $80M
R. Allen – C’s 2 years, $20M
D. Wright – Warriors 3 years, $11M
A. Morrow – Nets 3 years, $12M

I could go on about the ridiculous amount of money for guys who don’t deserve it. But that’s how the market is going. Ironically, it’s due in large part to the very three guys in Miami with teams clearly cap space to make their pitch. As a result, there will be hardly any role players going to Miami (at least this year) playing for the minimum when there is a lockout looming. Everyone is getting money now while they can.

Last I checked it was Derek Fisher who won game 3 of the Finals and Ron Artest who won game 7. Also, who’s guarding D. Howard? The Celtics brought everyone back and I think they still have one year left in them to at least reach the Finals. The Bulls are up-and-coming. Do you really trust C. Bosh (who’s never played a big game outside of the Gold Medal game in 2008) to stick Pau Gasol? What would be the over/under for Pau’s PPG average, 40.5? Nothing is a given for Miami (or any other team for that matter).

The “Miami Thrice” in their second year, oh wait . . . are we even having a second year? The current NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement will expire the summer of 2011. We don’t even know if there’s going to be a season yet. But if there is it’s surely going to be shortened due to the lockout. Furthermore, how is Miami going to continue to build their team? One of things the owners are pushing for is getting rid of all the salary cap expectations (e.g., mid-level, bi-annual, etc.). These are ways that a team over the cap could continue to build their team. Miami's three studs will eat almost the entire salary cap for the Heat. It’s just a big unknown right now because there is not a new CBA in place. That’s why I don’t think Miami wins it in 2011 or 2012. I don’t care what Vegas thinks. After that? Look out! Maybe.

Tomorrow – My 2010 Kobe vs. Lebron blog with a new twist.