This isn’t going to be one of those rambling “Oh Lebron, where’s your loyalty?” posts. I am going to be up front about being biased as a Bulls fan and wanting him to join my team. Now with that said last night’s announcement by Lebron James that he was going to play for the Miami Heat disappointed me.
It disappointed me first of all because as I said before I am a Bulls fan and look forward to the day we hold the Larry O’Brien trophy once more and he would definitely be a good fit. But I think what disappoints me the most is that this generation of players have no assassins, no cut throat guys willing to win. Everyone now wants to be friends and sing Kumbaya around a campfire. Would Jordan or Bird or Magic tried to set up a super team? No. They took pleasure in beating the best of the best.
“But Brian, didn’t those guys have great players as well?” You bet they did. But they were built through the draft. Magic was brought in to be the 2nd fiddle to Kareem, Bird was the centerpiece and aging former stars who became role players such as Bill Walton, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish became his cast. Jordan did it alone until management drafted Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc, and traded for Bill Cartwright.
I’m not knocking Lebron as cowardly, pathetic, or a quitter ala Dan Gilbert, but a lack of history of the NBA. If he is as concerned with his legacy as he claims he is does he wants to be remembered as an ancillary piece on D-Wade’s team? I get it that a ring is a ring, but for a player who based his entire persona on personally leading a team to a title this appears to be a curious choice.
As a Bulls fan though allow me to say this, I’m not worried. We’re a young team with a core of players all under contract. While the number of players under contract for the Miami Heat return include such all stars as Mario Chalmers, deadeye shooter Mario Chalmers, and fantastic bench player Mario Chalmers.
Did he do it for money? Did he do it because he believes it gives him the best chance to win? I can’t answer that. What I can say is that he’ll never be able to compare himself to Michael Jordan or any of his heroes. They didn’t need help from their boys, they took pride in beating them.
Last year he appeared to regress but that was mainly due to the fact he was injured. Now that he is healthy I expect to see a return to the Wade of '06. The kid who can get to the rim at will and when given a cushion is a very accurate jump shooter. Also Wade is one of the best finishers in the league.
