Image by ProgressOhio via FlickrOne thing has been made clear after LeBron James’ announcement that he’ll be joining the Miami Heat next season -- the fans in Cleveland never genuinely loved James to begin with.For seven seasons, basketball fans -- particularly in Cleveland -- argued that the 25-year-old superstar was the greatest player in the game and was capable of becoming the best ever. He was the “King” and nothing that any other athlete accomplished -- past or present -- measured up to James’ success. That’s all changed now that James decided to make a move that was unpopular with his so-called loyal fans, that some have mistakenly said he owed more than what he's already given.
In James’ five years since Gilbert assumed ownership, he led the Cavaliers to the best regular season record in the NBA in 2009 and 2010 and the franchise’s only appearance in the Finals in 2007. The team won 272 games with the team built around James. The superstar, however, couldn’t lead the team to their ultimate goal of a championship.
It was certainly a disappointing set of results, but understandable when you consider the caliber of player management brought to town to help James. Mo Williams and Wally Szczerbiak have never helped anyone win anything and Shaquille O'Neal is now 0-for-2 in his two most recent stops.
Could you really blame James for weighing his options?
Let’s get the obvious out of the way; LeBron James is a free man with every right to make the best decision for himself and his family. He doesn’t owe the fans anything outside of maximum effort when he steps on that court; they got that and more during James’ seven years in Cleveland.
Fans do not make their life decisions based on the opinions or feelings of athletes or entertainers, yet they unrealistically expect these athletes to put them before themselves and families because they spend a few dollars on a jersey.
The same thing can be said about team owner Dan Gilbert.
Only after James decided to leave Cleveland did he suddenly become a “self-declared, cowardly former king.” Only after James didn’t agree to the Cavaliers’ sales pitch did he become a “spoiled” superstar that “quit” during the playoffs. Just minutes prior to James’ announcement, Gilbert was said to be prepared to do everything in his power to keep James in town.
If James has really been such a diva, why did Gilbert want to keep him in Cleveland?
Regardless of the efforts made by Gilbert and the rest of the franchise, they were unable to create a situation that was impossible for James to leave. Now, Gilbert is throwing a tantrum and making empty promises of a championship. How is he going to win an NBA championship without any top-tier players if the Cavaliers were unable to with arguably the league’s best?
McGrady was compared to Kobe Bryant with the same intensity people have used to boost James. He was greatly celebrated and was said to be another star player away from winning multiple championships.
Then he got hurt any everything changed.
McGrady went from being an unselfish version of Kobe Bryant to a diva that couldn’t be coached. The Rockets put him on ice and turned him into an expiring contract that could be used as a commodity without giving him a genuine chance to get back on the floor.
Gilbert isn’t mad because of any silly disrespect James showed him. He’s upset because the biggest draw in the league is no longer his employee and there's no way for him to immediately recover from it. He overestimated James’ attachment to Cleveland and underestimated how much another All-Star would help the team win.
The fans aren’t mad because James left the Cavaliers. Let’s be honest, only 7,000 people were going to the games before the 03-04 season. There were very few die-hard fans when Shawn Kemp was playing in Gund Arena.
The fact is LeBron James did nothing wrong or out of the ordinary.
By going to the Heat, he made a smart basketball decision that gives him the best chance to be a champion. He's taking less money than he would have in Cleveland and his individual legacy will become inseparable from that of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
http://cavaliers.realgm.com/articles/131/20100709//
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