Rumors have it this evening that Lebron James will be joining Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami for the near future, combining a trio of players unseen in the NBA since the 1980s. Tomorrow night, on the outside, Lebron James might seem happy about this decision, but on the inside, I have to believe that he’s not thrilled with how everything played out.
All along, we knew the following thing: Lebron James really wanted to play with either Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh, or both.
However, while he would love to play with Wade, I believe Lebron wanted Wade to join him at a new team, whether it’d be Chicago, New Jersey, or New York. Wade lead Miami to the title in 2006, and this is clearly his team. If Lebron James goes to Miami, he will definitely be 2nd fiddle to Wade in the eyes and hearts of all the fans. If Miami ends up winning titles, the knock on Lebron will be that he had to join Wade in Miami to win a title…he couldnt win it by himself. Wade didnt need Lebron to win it.
All along, analysts and commentators believed that Lebron James would shape the entire free agency picture. He would be the first domino to fall, and everything else would just fall into place after his decision. Deep down inside, I believe Lebron felt that he had complete control over the situation…even going so far as to think that Bosh and Wade would follow his decision and what he did.
Has Lebron James been completely torn over where to go? Who knows? But for the sake of discussion, lets suppose that as of Wednesday morning, he was still unsure where to go. After hearing that Bosh and Wade both decided on Miami, I feel that the decision wasnt his anymore, and that his hands were tied.
He knew that if he went anywhere else, hed have to compete against Bosh, Wade, and a probably very strong Miami team. He knew that if he didnt join them, hed still have to compete against other strong teams like Orlando and Boston. After hearing about Bosh and Wade, Lebron James really has no other choice but to go to Miami if he wants the best chance to winning championships. Had he gone to another team, his life in the Eastern Conference would continue to be a nightmare.
But at the same time, I think he’s taking a big hit, and his brand name will suffer. Again, he’d be going to Miami to a team that already has a beloved player. James would always be 2nd in the eyes of Heat fans. Even if he wins championships, he will still continue to face criticism for not being able to achieve this on his own.
Deep down inside, I think Lebron wished that Bosh or Wade would join him at either Chicago, New Jersey, or even in Cleveland, though Bosh was 100% against that idea. On these teams, he’d have as good as a shot to win the title, but then he’d also be better positioned to be the alpha dog of his team.
For the first time in his life, Lebron didnt get his way. For the first time, he had to base his decision on others. Let’s see how he deals with it.
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