Food for Thought: The NBA Summer of 2010

I'll be the first to say it: I'm disappointed LeBron left Cleveland. Going into this off-season, it was my hope that would get him a big man in his prime and he would stay and bring championship glory to a city that has been starving for basketball glory so long. But the Cavs couldn't get him the help he needed to stay, so he left to play with his friends in a potential dynasty in Miami. I'm not gonna jump into the Miami bandwagon, neither am I gonna thrown the Molotov cocktail to start the likely riot in Cleveland or Akron. I'm gonna take emotion out of it and reflect. Cuz I learned something from all this. For the first time in a long time, an athlete said "This had nothing to do with money. It's all about winning to me" and I believe him. Staying in Cleveland would've represented the biggest paycheck available and loyalty to his hometown despite not seeming like an immediate opportunity to win; Since Bosh turned down the sign-and-trade that would have brought him to Cleveland, your biggest competition has gotten better and the Cavs roster hasn't. Even if he left Cleveland, playing in New York or Chicago (which both acquired high level big men this off-season) would still represent a chance to win on a team where he's the only big dog and he could build his legacy into that Greatest Player Ever discussion with enough success. Going to Miami, fresh off verbal commitments from Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, will require bigs sacrifices (including likely taking him out of the Jordan, Magic, Bird category no matter how many rings he gets) but can mean several championships over the next 5-6 years. I know, "super team" and sacrifice don't sound like they should be in the same sentence, let me explain. Due to the upcoming collective bargaining issue, players below the level of LeBron and D-Wade are breaking the bank; whether superstars (Amare-$20 mill a year, Carmelo-$21.7 mill a year extension, Durant - $17 mill a year extension) or even second- or third-tier stars (Joe Johnson- $20 mill a year, Carlos Boozer-$16 mill a year, David Lee - $16 mill a year, etc), they are on track to be making more than Bosh, Wade, or James becuz they are all gonna take multi-million dollar contract concessions (if that's what you wanna call $13 mill a year instead of $20 mill) to fill out the Heats roster around them. Also, becuz the touches r going to b spread around, there will be less stats and glory to go around. Plus, I do believe LeBron when he says that he does truly love Cleveland and Akron. So, it has to hurt to forego any opportunity of going home again. Kobe got boo'd at the All-Star game back in his hometown Philly, but I think he can walk the streets of Philly without bottles flying his direction. LeBron is now right under Art Modell on the 'Cleveland's Most Hated' list. It's only been a few hrs, but the Cavs fan (expectedly) and the Cavs' owner Dan Gilbert (more surprisingly) are lashing out viciously at the former hometown hero; not with much class either. He may not get one restful night's sleep until he actually breaks through and wins a championship. I think that's the only thing that will fully put his mind at ease with this decision. But all in all, the biggest lesson learned was that if unselfish, superstars can sacrifice stats and money to win championships if it's important enough for them. The thought of being the biggest hometown hero but struggling with no big man to beat LA, Miami, n Boston seems to have taken its toll. Furthermore, this concept is so foreign that when it happens the media will have no idea how to respond to it. Jordan got Pippen without a pay cut, Kobe got Pau without a pay cut, etc. This is new territory. Despite how unfair it looks, he proved that winning was most important to him...

Now, to get ignorant for a moment. Forget the fact that the Cavs couldn't seal the deal to get Bosh or other help to Cleveland, the Miami Heat need to thank Delonte "The Mother Fucker, literally" West for getting LeBron also. Whether true or not, rumors about West sleeping with LeBron's mom are so shocking, so hurtful, so distracting that I honestly don't think they could've kept West on that Cavs roster and expected LeBron to come back. Dan Gilbert should'veI don't wanna be on the Cavs bench on the road when the opposing fans start singing "Ms. James, she smashed the homey" to get the Cavs off of their game. If LeBron is the franchise and West did (or even put himself in a situation where ppl might think that he did) smash his mom, Delonte has GOT TO GO. Period. There's nothing he can say to save that situation. And somebody should've called Dan Gilbert and said this "Ay Dan, lemme start by saying I love the Byron Scott hire. BUT, No new big man has arrived and Delonte hasn't left, we may be in deep shit right now." Where r ur friends when u need em?? Just sayin, it's Food for Thought...