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.
2 comments:
Now that they've got Booz, Chicago is the best team basketball-wise. Noah in the middle to clean up defensive mistakes, hustle and challenge all entry passes. Booz, 18-10. Bron-dizzle. Luol as your fourth scoring option. And an All-Star 21-year PG. That starting 5 is the best in the East. This team would leave $2M in cap space. Get a couple of mercenary veterans and voila!! Instant favorites to win the East.
Wade, Lebron and Bosh is nice and all. But still on their rookie contracts Noah and Rose is better.
Man, this is just so hard to gauge. Mos def: If he wants to win, independent of everything else, Chicago is the place to go.
But does he want to live directly in MJ's shadow? Moreover, does he really want to be The Man? (Strange question, but he never did have the killer instinct that MJ, Kobe, Bird, etc., did. Maybe he likes the idea of Wade being an option in the clutch.)
Ultimately, as I emailed you earlier, I don't trust all this half-assed "reporting." Things are being leaked, and there's no time to get real confirmations or denials on anything.
Bron is "leaning" toward Miami? Meanwhile, he's about to make his announcement 9 miles from Madison Square Garden? (Buzz, buzz, buzz...) Sure feels like a lot of media-savvy people toying with us.
I'm sticking to my guns/guts that he stays in Cleveland -- though the Cavs look like his third-best pure basketball option at this point. (They couldn't have managed a sign-and-trade to bring Boozer home? too much bad blood there, maybe?)
I just can't fathom Bron, loyal hometown guy as he's always seemed to be, killing the city of Cleveland on national TV like that, with millions of people as "witnesses." Just too cruel. Can you imagine if AI would've done that to us in his prime? Philly would've looked like Watts circa 1965.
G.
Post a Comment