Delonte West, LeBron’s Mom, Etc.

Two quick follow-up thoughts on LeBron:

1. What if the Delonte West/LeBron’s Mom rumor is true?



So far, this rumor has been implicitly disregarded. Everyone knows about it, but no one is taking it seriously. The mainstream sports media won’t even touch it, which is suspect. For while its details are more than sketchy, I can’t comprehend why a single credible sports journalist hasn’t investigated such a compelling viral story (no pun intended). It certainly doesn’t feel like a fiction that someone would create from nothing. A story that someone might exaggerate, yes; a story that someone might falsely claim a first-person connection to, sure; but not a story that would be made up completely. (And as rumors go, I can’t remember the last time I heard one involving an NBA player that wasn’t trade- or free-agency-related.)

So let’s just consider for a moment that maybe — MAYBE — this Delonte thing really happened. And everyone in the organization knew about it, and no one said a thing. They made LeBron the fool. If this is what went down, it kind of explains everything:

> LeBron’s inexplicably bad Game 5 (3 for 14 shooting, and that’s after unleashing a holy ass whoopin on the Cs four days earlier)
> The half-stunned look on his face during the last three games of that series, followed by the way he ripped off his Cavs jersey before he even got to the locker room after the Cs closed them out
> The way he left — giving ZERO thanks or acknowledgement to his teammates, and only the slightest of nods to the Cavs fans

Feels an awful lot like the behavior of a guy who got burned. Badly.

Consider this: For the past 7+ years, the mental construct we’ve built around the name LeBron James has been wholly positive and straightforward. But since mid-May, we’ve all been scratching our heads trying to figure this guy out. We’ve all sort of silently assumed that LeBron, in reality, is this surprisingly mysterious character whom we’ve misunderstood for years.

But does that make any real sense?

It brings to mind the principle of Ockham’s razor, which states that, in most cases, the most obvious explanation is the correct one. So I ask: Is there any explanation for LeBron’s behavior these past three months that is as obvious, simple and straightforward as the Delonte rumor being true?

Hmm.


2. How long has it been, really?

All right, for a moment, please completely disregard everything I just wrote.

Good. Now...

One huge “Decision” question that’s still hanging out there: Exactly when did the “New Big 3” (or whatever nickname they assume) decide they’d be playing together in Miami?

Back in June, it was learned that the rumored “free-agent summit” did, in fact, take place in South Beach — so it could very well have been decided then. (Strange, because Wade subsequently flew to Chicago to meet with the Bulls organization, and LeBron was about to host pitches from the Heat, Nets, Knicks, Bulls and Cavs. Was this all done just to divert media attention from the “summit”? Nothing would surprise me at this point.)

Now stick with me for a moment:

Back in November 2009, LeBron announced that he would be changing his number from 23 to 6 (his Olympic team number) for the 2010 season. Of course, that struck a lot of us as possible evidence that he was thinking of signing with Chicago; to our logic, this was likely a pre-emptive step taken to avoid the issue of MJ’s retired number there. But here’s an interesting wrinkle:

Only one other NBA team has retired the number 23. Wanna take a guess? Yep, that’s right: the Miami Heat. They, too, inexplicably retired MJ’s number, even though he never played for the team. (The rafters must’ve been looking pretty bare. The Heat have only retired four numbers: Tim Hardaway, Alonzo, MJ, and...Dan Marino (?!?). That’s just goddamn pathetic. But I digress.)

Now LeBron made a big thing at the time about how he wanted to honor MJ by ceasing to wear his number, and how the entire league should consider doing likewise, and blah blah blah. But now, knowing all too well how well LeBron’s camp can manipulate the media, we have to ask: Could LeBron, Wade and Bosh have had this plan in place as early as last summer? Or earlier, even?

G.

David Kahn

We love to bitch about the Erz. And with good reason; the organization has been a near train wreck for years now.

But can you imagine being a T’Wolves fan? From 2007 forward, they’ve endured the NBA fan’s version of Chinese water torture — KG being traded away for spit, missing out on O.J. Mayo, trading Mike Miller for a #5 draft pick that was used on a player they’ll never see in uniform (Rubio), Al Jefferson tearing his ACL, the Wes Johnson pick (a bust waiting to happen), and the Darko signing — and they’re still nowhere near having a team that can compete on any serious level.

Imagine that. Then imagine tuning into the NBA Summer League and hearing your Director of Basketball Operations talking this kinda shit:



C-Webb is priceless here. I especially love the way he signed off with a dismissive, “Good luck.”

My heart goes out to you, Minnesota. Hey, at least you got Al Franken. Oh, and Prince.

-G

Remember "Pro Stars"? No, me either.

Facts about my college era (1989-93):

> Jordan was king
> Bo Jackson was a never-before-seen brand of phenom (especially the Techmo Bowl version)
> Gretzky was Gretzky
> I majored in Weed, which often left me hanging around the apartment watching really bad shows — like “Saved by the Bell” and “Ren and Stimpy”

So…how the hell did I miss this? A circa-1991 cartoon that featured MJ, Bo and Gretzky as superheroes who operated out of a gym?



-G

Why You’re Wrong for Hating LeBron

LeBron James crossed a line last night. He acted selfishly.



Not for leaving the Cavs, no. Most basketball fans and analysts agree that the Cavaliers organization, despite its best efforts over 7 years, simply wasn’t able to put together a winning formula. Presently, they sit pressed hard against the salary cap with bad contracts and a team payroll that gives them very little, if any, ability to improve. (As James Worthy said a few weeks back, in an interview seemingly rife with double-talk where he said that LeBron would be a “quitter” if he left: “Larry Bird had Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish, Dennis Johnson. Magic had Kareem, myself, [Bob] McAdoo. I don’t think LeBron has received what he needs.”) From a pure basketball standpoint, it would’ve made no sense for James to stay in Cleveland.

So for just a moment, let’s stop thinking as fans and put ourselves in the shoes of the man himself. LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players who has ever walked the earth. When all is said and done, he might be considered one of the top-ten, or even top-five, greatest EVER. When you’re that good at something, and you love that thing so purely, you want to explore it without boundaries. You want to push yourself as far as you can go, venture into territories unknown even to yourself. Simply put, you want to achieve your full potential. And just as simply, that couldn’t happen for LeBron in Cleveland.

So we can’t be angry with him for leaving. We just can’t.

His wrongdoing — his selfish act — came in the way he did it. To put yourself in the national spotlight (“The Decision” drew 8.4 million viewers last night) while four organizations in four cities with four breathless fan bases watched and waited* was condescending at best. The suitors that weren’t selected, and the people they represented, were made fools — fools for hoping, fools for daring to think they were good enough for The Chosen One. And on balance, they got off lightly. In the case of his hometown, what James did was downright cruel.

[*I’m excluding the Clips and Nets, both of whom were clearly out of the running by then.]

In the privacy and narrow context of his office at LRMR, “The Decision,” as TV spectacular, probably seemed like a great idea. Let’s remember: the sports media has, quite literally, been contemplating LeBron/Summer 2010 for years. And most recently, even before coverage of the Lakers’ championship had faded out, buzz about where LeBron might land started creeping in. History might not remember it this way, but let’s be clear: LeBron’s “Decision” was THE sports story of Summer 2010 long before any TV deal was made with ESPN. So the idea of leveraging a story with that much juice behind it to promote “the LeBron James brand” and simultaneously raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, again, probably seemed like a great idea when LeBron and his partners were talking it through.

But last night, from the moment the camera opened on LeBron, it was all over his face that he knew he’d made a mistake. By then, of course, it was too late. We more or less watched him bite his inner lip for an hour.

If you hate LeBron for making that mistake, well, you’re entitled. But damn, that seems harsh. If you hate him for any other reason, however, you need to defend that reason. And I’m hearing a lot of haters today.

Let me address some of the things I’m hearing, and why you’re wrong for thinking it:

"LeBron took the easy way out."
You think? Expectations for the Miami Heat couldn’t be higher. This team is going to lead ESPN News any and every night they play. Any loss will be scrutizined. When they have their first losing streak, analysts are going to skewer them, criticize them for not living up to the hype. Basically, anything short of winning the Eastern Conference next season will be considered a disappointment (...and some talking heads — Skip Bayless, anyone? — will be sure to rip these guys for anything short of a Larry O’Brien trophy). So, yeah, the pressure is on.

"LeBron was disloyal to the Cavs organization."
Majority owner Dan Gilbert sure agrees with you. He called LeBron’s decision a “cowardly betrayal.” But if Gilbert himself had the bravery he accused James of lacking, he’d admit that HE ultimately failed as an owner. It’s true that Gilbert and Danny Ferry tried damn hard; you have to take your hat off to them for digging in and doing everything they could to concoct a winning formula. But in the end, they came up short. Put another way: They were good, but not great. And certainly not nearly as good at what they do as James is at what he does. Excellence demands excellence. (Just ask MJ...or any of his former teammates who had him barking in their ears.) LeBron isn’t disloyal. That is an objectively false statement. He’s simply a man of excellence in pursuit of excellence. (Side note here: During James’s tenure as a Cavalier, the organization’s value increased by $100 million. Exactly what does Dan Gilbert believe LeBron owes him? Another $100 million?)

"LeBron made a shameful spectacle of himself."
We all live by certain unwritten rules, cultural mores that silently dictate how things are supposed to go down. In sports, we’ve come to believe that players should be subservient to coaches, GMs and owners. And just about anytime a player defies that expectation — whether it’s someone showboating after a dunk, or demanding a trade, or developing a TV special to announce where he’ll playing next year — our instinct is that some wrong was committed. But if we examine our own instinct, what, exactly, is that wrong? An NBA free agent announced his decision on a show that earned a 7.3 rating. Nothing like that has ever been done before. Maybe that was the problem: we simply tensed up, reflexively, at this New Thing. But if a player of James’s caliber commands that kind of attention, why shouldn’t he own it? After all, we don’t follow the NBA because we’re intrigued by owners or GMs or even coaches. We follow the game because of the players on the floor. The players — especially the stars — are EVERYTHING. We say so every time we watch and with every jersey we buy. In the case of “The Decision,” we said so by tuning in. We sanctioned it, the NBA and ESPN profited from it...but somehow LeBron James committed some kind of moral injustice?

Yes, it backfired. I’ve spent time in Cleveland. It is a one-of-a-kind, diehard sports town. Those fans are devastated right now, and they deserved a hell of a lot better than what they got. If I were James, I would’ve held a press conference at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. I would’ve talked about my love of Akron and, by extension, Cleveland, and about how this place is my lifelong cherished home. I would’ve talked about growing up here and what it’s meant to me, and about how humbled and grateful I am for all that my friends, family and fans have given me all these years. Then I would’ve said, plainly, that it’s time for me to go. And I would’ve explained why in clear and honest terms.

He made a mistake, one mistake: He acted selfishly. This mere human being, only 25 years of age, made a mistake. And he knows it. But if you can forgive this misstep and get past it, here’s what LeBron James has shown us of his character in making this decision:

> He wants to play to his fullest potential and WIN
> He’s putting ego aside to share the spotlight with Wade
> He’s laying the weight of near-impossible expectations on his shoulders
> And he’s leaving $30M on the table do try and do it (the latest rumor is that Mike Miller is coming aboard, which means these guys will all have to take even less to subsidize his contract)

Now I ask every hater out there: Isn’t this everything we want our superstar athletes to be?

Well? Isn’t it?

G.

The Decision

As always in these moments, I have many thoughts. Let's get to it.

1) Who's the best salesman in the NBA?
Answer:


He had a vision, and he sold LeBron on the boldness of it. It's the Big Three but better. If I may..."LeBron, look at what Boston was able to do with KG, Ray and Paul. Once they brought that nucleus together the Celtics were able to build around that core and create a championship team the very same year. Dwayne has made his commitment to us (Dwayne nodding). Chris has made his commitment to us. You've played with both of them. You know what they can do. All three of you are in your prime (pause), at the height of your powers (lascivious laugh). Think of how many championships we could win together over the next decade.

There was much more after that, but you get the point. When you think about it, Miami was a long shot. Never before has the "best player in the league" decided to go join the second maybe third best player in the league, and have a top 25 player join him just for good measure. Moses coming to the Sixers may have been the closest, most recent, similar example. This wasn't a trade or two a la Danny Ainge. Pat Riley got all three guys to sign with him through free agency at the same time. And again, two of those three guys are the best players in the entire free world!! That means he's got 5 solid years to establish his proof of concept. That's an absolute eternity in the NBA. Stability is the hallmark of the best franchises in the NBA. Lakers, Spurs, Phoenix (til a few days ago), Thunder (establishing it). They find their guys, they stick with them, build around them, develop a coaching philosophy and always demonstrate a commitment to winning. Sidenote: Erik Spolestra's gonna get a chance, but he's outta there if this team's not on 60-win pace at the All Star break. I just don't think Pat's gonna take it over again. I think he's gonna get the best coach available this time. Could even be JVG.

2) Overall, I'm struck by my strong feeling of compassion for LeBron. This guy was being asked to carry a franchise, city, an entire region with his mere presence. Just stick around. Don't leave us. You're our only hope. It's too much to ask of anyone to make a decision about their career, their future and their legacy based on the hopes and expectations of others. People do it all the time, but we should never expect people to do it. You should never expect people to sacrifice their own well being or happiness for you whether 'you' is just you or 'you' is millions of people. It's unfair, and usually unrealistic. This isn't LeBron choosing to sacrifice his own life to save the world from obliteration or jumping in front of a car to protect his true love. It's a business decision.

3) 25, is the number that jumped out at me. Everything I just said about carrying a region and the hopes and dreams of millions, and you're 25. And you play basketball. You're not running for president, or owner of a big job-creating company moving into town. You're a symbol, an icon, a brand. You're affect is psychic, not material. You simply being who you are, doing what you do, here is what's most important. It's really amazing to consider that kind of pressure and how odd a dilemna it presents.

4) Good "handlers": LeBron carried himself well. He didn't badmouth the Cavs organization. Clearly, he got some media training in preparation for this event, and learned about how to re-direct questions back to the answer that you want to give. His message was forward-looking, personal and overwhelmingly positive.

5) "He has gotten a free pass." "He quit...not just in Game 5, but in Games 2, 4 and 6. Watch the tape. The Boston series was unlike anything in the history of sports for a superstar." "LeBron James needs to go to another team with two superstars already so he can win a championship," "You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal. "The self-declared former 'King' will be taking the 'curse' with him down south," "And until he does 'right' by Cleveland and Ohio, James [and the town where he plays] will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma."

6) "It's the disrespect. It's time for people to hold these athletes accountable for their actions. Is this the way you raise your children? I've been holding this all in for a long time." This one I had to separate. He did everything but call him an ungrateful nigger. He is openly comparing him to a child. You know, LeBron made Dan Gilbert a lot of money. He made Dan's franchise relevant. Dan Gilbert's gotten a lot more from his relationship with LeBron James than vice versa. Yet, when LeBron becomes a Free Agent and decides to leave the farm, Owner Dan thinks LeBron deserves to be hobbled. LeBron is a disloyal, disrespectful Bad nigger. LeBron owes him his whole productive life, and not a second more. All the other quotes above lay out the cover story. How could you do this to us? But this quote gets to the heart of the matter. This is a personal betrayal of the worst kind: the kind that cost the betrayed money.



I could write a book on this quote. I want Maya Angelou to write an open letter to Dan Gilbert asking him about his attitudes toward the athletes who work for him. I want something that the Washington Post will quote. Sports is one public space where we [citizens] let it all hang out, but then we don't have discourse about the things that are said. We just brush shit off or sweep it under the rug. With millions of people all around the world taking their cues about how to live life from the NBA, doesn't this kind of delusional 1864 thinking deserve some discussion?

Why not Chicago?

In a way, it seems like Chicago is the only place LeBron could go.*



For one thing, it’s a team that, with Rose and Noah and a host of well-fitting role players, is already a playoff contender. Add LeBron to that mix — especially if he brings Bosh with him, which would seem likely — and you’re talking about a team that, on paper, should be able to beat anybody. LeBron’s Bulls (again, on paper) look like a juggernaut that would surpass even the 2001 Lakers.

For another, LeBron could take the torch from his boyhood idol and become the one who delivers Chicago back to its rightful glorious place in Basketball History. (And let’s just say he could match MJ’s six rings there — in the very same city, in the very same uni. In terms of history and perception, if you’re LeBron, could you not imagine people someday discussing you as MJ’s only equal?)

Now follow me blindly for a minute here...

Next to MJ, Kobe represents the closest concept of how LeBron wants to evolve as a basketball superstar. We saw how profoundly LeBron seemed to respond after they played together during the 2008 Olympic games. We’ve seen how competitive he gets when he faces Kobe head-to-head. And we know he just watched, with chewed fingernails, as Kobe grab that fifth ring (which makes him now only one shy of you-know-who).

And while Bron was watching Kobe and his peeps standing around waiting to be handed the Larry O’Brien trophy, he saw Stu Scott take the mic. He watched as Scott brought Magic Johnson to the stage by introducing him as “the greatest Laker of all time.” Ouch. Kobe had just clinched his fifth ring not five minutes before, and Scott was sure to remind him that, not only is he no MJ, he’s not even the greatest Laker.

I have no doubt in my mind that LeBron noticed. Big time. And he made instant work of this simple arithmetic: If he ever goes to Chicago, he will have to win ten rings and build a skyscraper higher than the Sears Tower to ever be thought of as better than MJ.

My best guess? He stays in Cleveland...and starts really calling the shots there.

(My second-best guess? Prokorov leverages Bron’s relationship with Jay-Z and shocks us all by signing him to the Newark/Brooklyn Nyets. A long shot, yes; but I would put a C-note down on 50-1 odds if it were offered.)

G.

*Regarding the meeting between Wade, LeBron and Bosh, where they supposedly discussed joining forces in Miami, ESPN’s Ric Bucher made a great point: that in choosing to go there, LeBron would be implicitly saying that he needs Wade to win a title, which is something that, and I quote, “wouldn’t really fit with the LeBron James brand.” Sadly, that is precisely the reason Miami ain’t gonna happen.

Prediction: Finals

The Lakers have to win this thing, right? That’s what my gut is telling me.

But my gut has been wrong before. (Not where it applies to the Orlando Magic, mind you, but in other contexts.)

For no real good reason, allow me to break it down like Tevye from “Fiddler on the Roof”...



> The two teams met just a couple of years ago, and we saw what happened then. As the good book says, “There is faith and there is reality. Always believe reality.” I may not have that right exactly.

> On the other hand, it’s been two years that Pau has gotten to gel with his teammates. The Lakers are a better TEAM than they were...as evidenced, in part, by the ring they grabbed last year. This is a team with a history (!) and a tradition (!) of winning.

> The Lakers also have Bynum back (though he’ll play limited minutes), and Ron-Ron (who replaced Ariza, who was hurt during the ’08 Finals). So the Lakers have a slightly better interior presence than before, plus a defender who can get in the tuches of whichever C is giving them the most trouble. Oy vey.

> But on the other hand, Rondo is playing on an entirely different level. If he can keep from getting the shpilkes, he’s going to be the answer for this C’s team. The goy can get to the rack at will, and/or facilitate by finding the open shooter anywhere on the floor. Gevalt geshreeyeh!

> The C’s are a flat-out better defensive team. And like the good book says, “Defense wins in the Finals.” Or something.

> The C’s have more weapons and a deeper bench.

> The C’s don’t have that shmedrik Ron-Ron doing dumb shit.

> The Lakers have Kobe...who has been a miracle of miracles! I hesitate to use this strong a word, but in his case it applies: Kobe has been makkif. (Transcendent.)

> On the other hand, Kobe has been transcendent for a month. He’s been a self-destructive meshugeneh his entire career. If the Lakers struggle early, which version of Kobe will emerge?

> Kobe is a warrior, and this is a vengeance series for him. He got his shmeckle knocked around in 2008. If that happens again, his legacy will be written as such. Is he gonna let that happen? What about history?! What about TRADITION?!?

> Repeat: the C’s are a flat-out better defensive team. “Defense wins in the Finals.” It is the word of Hashem.

Oy, this is a tough one. The only thing I’m certain of is that I couldn’t be more excited about the Finals this year. No matter what happens. Vos vet zein, vet zein.

All right, all right, my prediction already:

C’s in 7.

-G