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DECISION DAY
2010
July 8, 2010
LEBRON –
WHO IS HE?
We will find out a lot about LeBron James by his choice
tonight. Is he a true competitor, like the greatest of
all time: Jordan, Kobe, Bird, Magic, Kareem, Wilt,
Russell. You notice that we don’t even have to use full
names for these players. They are iconic names in
basketball, and LeBron James is poised to join them, and
always be known as LeBron or King James. A wrong
decision and a potential legacy can be destroyed and he
will not be LeBron , but will be LeBron James.
I LOVE THE SHOW
I am not one to always side with players over the media,
but I am not with the LeBron backlash for his show
tonight – I love it. LeBron did not create this media
circus over his decision, the media has, as they have
wanted to know his intentions a full year before he ever
had to make a decision. LeBron has handled these last
few months with great dignity, not speaking about his
decision, meeting with all teams, keeping any
conversations private.
Those who do not like the show fall into 2 categories:
those upset that they cannot break the story or have had
wrong information, and old school people who are in
favor of humility over self-promotion. Regardless of
what anyone thinks, the media made this show, and if
LeBron is going to raise money for Boys & Girls Clubs,
he should be lauded for using his star power to help
kids.
THE NON-COMPETITOR CHOOSES THE CAVS OR HEAT
Let’s start with the Cavs, where he would love to have
finished his career. Some people will trump out there
that LeBron was disloyal to his hometown or led the
Cavaliers on, and never had any intention of staying
there. If he chooses the Knicks, maybe this is true, but
I believe he wanted to see if anything could be done to
stay in Cleveland. I think he was leaning to Cleveland,
but this all changed if Chris Bosh turned LeBron down to
go with Wade in Miami. If LeBron is a competitor, he is
furious that Chris Bosh nixed a sign & trade that the
Raptors would have done sending him to Cleveland. Chris
Bosh turns his back on LeBron and the people and city he
has loved his whole life. The reason he has to leave
Cleveland is that he cannot take the risk to be on a
sub-par team while watching Wade and Bosh attract good
players to South Beach. A competitor knows that
Cleveland is out.
If Stephen A Smith and now Chris Broussard are correct,
and LeBron is leaning to Miami, I will be shocked. I
would be disappointed in LeBron forever, and I will
never consider him to be one of the games greatest
players. Playing in Miami with D Wade and Chris Bosh
will make the Heat the most despised team in the NBA, a
collective effort by three stars to try and dominate the
league. If LeBron is a competitor, he will not go play
in the town that loves D Wade first and foremost, join
the player that turned him down to play in Cleveland,
take money not commensurate to his value, and join a
superstar triumvirate that will never set him apart as
one of the games best. His image will never survive this
decision.
It is possible that he will join the Knicks as well, but
similar to the Cavs, I am not sure how he competes for a
championship there. Maybe the Knicks have a plan that
has persuaded LeBron . Maybe D’Antoni will only coach
one year before Phil Jackson returns to bring the Knicks
glory. If he lands in New York, it will be for the same
reason Bosh landed in Miami; he always wanted to play
there, and that could be crushing to people in his
hometown.
THE COMPETITOR CHOOSES NETS OR BULLS
I have predicted the Nets for a long time, and if Chris
Broussard is finally right, well my prediction is out.
Here is why the Nets: They have the 2nd best young big
man in the game: Brooke Lopez, some nice young players:
Terrence Williams (2nd year), Courtney Lee (3rd year),
Chris Douglas Roberts (3rd year), and Derrick Favors
(1st year). That is a good, young core of players to
grow with him and compliment him. Devin Harris will be a
better Mo Williams with LeBron and this team can compete
immediately for a championship. Also, when New Jersey
goes from 12 to 55 or 60 wins next year, he will receive
all of the credit. He will have all the elements he
wants in Jersey as well: An owner that can help him be
global, a coach with championship experience, New York
media and a chance to cement a legacy as the defining
player in the New Jersey and soon to be Brooklyn Nets
history.
The Bulls are the only other choice for him to make.
Rose, James, Deng, Boozer, & Noah – that is the best
starting 5 in basketball and it is relatively young. He
will be playing in a Basketball crazy city and if he has
some resentment toward D Wade taking Chris Bosh with
him, what better than becoming the hero in the city that
D Wade calls “my heart.” It would be Michael Jordan to
Isaiah Thomas all over again. While he will have to live
with some Michael Jordan comparisons, Chicago has always
treated their stars the best of any big city, and LeBron
would be no different.
I have lauded LeBron James for being the only player
that can compare with the greatness of Michael Jordan by
time his career is over. This prediction took a serious
hit with his bust performance in Game 5 & 6 against the
Celtics and Kobe winning another championship. He can
right the ship with his decision tonight and one day see
LeBron etched with the all-time great names of
basketball or he can go down the wrong path and forever
be known as LeBron James.
David Adelman
Founder of Play Hard Hoops
www.playhardhoops.com
David Adelman was a college basketball assistant for
nine years, seven years as a Division 1 assistant and
spent two years as the General Manager and Assistant
Coach for the Westchester Wildfire in the professional
league USBL. He currently resides in Chicago where he
operates his Play Hard Hoops Business (www.playhardhoops.com)
that includes, but is not limited to basketball
instruction and events. |
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