LeBron James is pure entertainment, on and off the court.
He entered the league with the self-proclaimed title of “The King”, “The Chosen One” or whatever else he felt best fit his talents.
There is no denying the talent the man has with a ball in his hands but there is also no denying the size of his ego.
Strike One…
It started in High School with the throwback jerseys and that expensive a** Hummer. No one in his camp told him or his mother that it would be a STUPID idea to show that off in public with all eyes being glued to every move he makes. He didn’t care, he figured he was the biggest thing since Michael Jordan and was untouchable.
Strike Two…
He was drafted by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in 2003 and history was about to be made. He came in as the happy, always smiling kid from Ohio that was hell-bent on bringing his city a championship. He tried. He gave it his all and in 2007 it happened. The Cavs led by James, Drew Gooden and Daniel Gibson met and were swept by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and the San Antonio Spurs. James knew changes had to be made if the Cavs were to get back to the Finals.
They never made it back as they keep falling short of expectations, even with the roster around him continued to improve. Hughes was replaced with All Star Antawn Jamison, Gooden was replaced with Shaquille O’Neal and Eric Snow was replaced with Mo Williams but instead of being the King he was labeled to be he played more like a court jester. The NBA set up commercials for Kobe Bryant and LeBron, figuring James would do his part to lead his team but he failed for two straight years. Realizing he wasn’t a leader, and he couldn’t handle the world coming down on him so he did the unthinkable.
Strike Three…
After he walked away from the Cavs he headed south to play with his buddies, All Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and formed a younger version of the Big Three in Boston and San Antonio. They won two titles in four years together as he finally shook the label as loser but his image was damaged in the process. The fans wanted a 4/4 stat, maybe that was asking too much but with the team they had it was possible. Along the way there were grumblings over inner turmoil between James and head coach Erik Spoelstra. But unlike in Cleveland Pat Riley ran a tight ship and laid down the law that a player is not bigger than the movement of the team.
With that being said, coupled with the losing and knowing in his heart Wade wanted him to take over the team but James wanted to hide he searched his heart and realized he missed home. Or better yet he scanned the NBA for a younger Big Three and found one.
Strike Four…
With Kyrie Irving already in the leading role in Cleveland LeBron came in and said the right things to win over the fans he let down 4 years earlier. He declared that this was still Irving’s team but James still wanted changes made. He wanted Kevin Love, figuring Love would take some of the pressure off him on the glass. He got his wish and in their first season together (just like the Heat) they made it to the NBA Finals only to lose to the Golden State Warriors. It was bittersweet as they reached the championship but it was done without Irving and Love, both out with injuries. This was his time to shine, bring his city a title and he failed again. No excuses as to who wasn’t there, you are the King, The Chosen One, the best in the league, this was your duty.
Along the way there was tension with then first year coach David Blatt but the team tried to make light of it and throw it under the rug but you could see that neither of them was happy being around the other. Last week James got his way again with the Cavs organization when (depending on who you believe) he forced Blatt out the door for his friend Tyronn Lue.
Strike Five…
If James says he is coming to your team Do Not and I repeat Do Not let him tell you how to shape your roster. Case in point:
While in Cleveland his first go-round he swore he needed better defenders around the rim, and they went and got Shaq when they already had Anderson Varejao but James wanted the name player instead of the player that could contribute. How did that end for him? No ring. In Miami he wanted the newest NCAA sensation PG Shabazz Napier out of Connecticut and the Heat did everything in their power to get Napier there, never mind the fact they had Mario Chalmers, who helped guide them to those 4 Finals appearances. James got his way, Napier was brought in then James left the team leaving Riley high and dry to deal with a pissed off Chalmers.
Remember Mike Brown? I’m pretty sure LeBron does. Brown is the laid back coach the Cavs quit on in 2009, yes the season he bolted for the Heat. LeBron was known to laugh at Brown’s anger with the team and refuse to run the plays that Brown called on the sidelines. Do you see a pattern here? Want another one? Brown was fired and within a month’s time LeBron was off to Miami. You got it now? No problem I will sum it all up in a few minutes.
There is still more left.
James wanted Love so bad he made the Cavs trade their top pick that year to Minnesota for Love. I still believe James saw Andrew Wiggins as a threat to his throne and wanted no parts of it. He was younger, more athletic and hungry for the chance to prove himself but he wasn’t a name yet in NBA circles so he had to go. Maybe if he had Wiggins last season he might have won the city that ring instead of watching Love sit in street clothes and James tire himself out depending on the likes of Matthew Dellavedova and Timofey Mozgov. But the one roster move that proved to be a work of art in the LeBron runs the Cavs discussions is the re-signing of Tristan Thompson. James started this mess the same way he did in Miami with Napier and Chalmers.
How?
The Cavs just lost the Finals to the Warriors when LeBron said that Thompson should be a Cav for life. The issue is that Thompson and Love plays the same position. The Cavs already had Love on a deal that would pay him $21M+ so why was James dropping subtle hints that the Cavs should keep Thompson while also giving Thompson leverage to go into the negotiations asking for max contract cash all because James thinks he should retire a Cav? Thompson ended up getting a $14M+ a year contract all on the strength of him being cool with the new Cavs GM..lol.
To sum it all up:
LeBron get’s picked first by hometown team. He figures he can’t win with team then goes to Miami to form a super team, wins 2 titles, fights with coach, pretty much says his PG is not good enough and thinks the team should draft a better one, They do and he still leaves. He goes back to Cleveland, kisses the fans butts, trades away the #2 pick for a defenseless Love and loses the Finals. Convinces the Cavs to overpay for Thompson, gets Blatt fired, gets Lue hired (so he can run over him) and the best is still to come…
Don’t forget he can opt out again next year.
