LeBron James and much more

LeBron James. This name has become more than a basketball player, blooming to an enterprise/marketing dream. Everyone around the NBA knew this was going to be a special offseason, with the daily talks about where each player was going to go (more on this degrading sense of journalism later), the free-agents becoming more popular than the teams with the ‘summit’ talks, and how two of the top five players in the NBA were eligible to join any team that they pleased. On June 4th, approximately twenty-six days before teams were allowed to talk with LeBron, LeBron went on CNN’s Larry King Live to talk about his upcoming free-agency. I watched this interview again after his decision to join the forces in Miami, and you can tell during that interview that Miami was easily the route that he wanted to go, but I think he just didn’t believe that a team could afford all three of the top free agents and still have money left over for anyone else on the team. LeBron claimed that he wasn’t joining a team to win a championship, but he wanted to win multiple championships. I don’t believe LeBron cares about all of the legacy talks, but would rather win the elusive ring, that has evaded him in his first seven years. Although he knew that he was going to be criticized for leaving Cleveland after he has been there his entire life, and how the Cleveland organization has tried everything to get LeBron back into Cleveland, the opportunity of a ‘super team’ was one that he couldn’t pass up.

The Change in Journalism
I feel a need to comment on the way journalism has changed in the past five years, even though the new media has dramatically changed sports coverage in the past twenty years. However, with the role of twitter, and the greed of journalists these days hoping that they will be right, it has changed the anonymous sources credibility from trustworthy to just barely more credible than the old grandpa that lives across the street. The most horrible example, besides LeBron, was when Chris Henry fell off of his girlfriend’s pickup truck and hit his head. It was unknown that night of the severity of his fall but most outlets were reporting that he was in critical condition. On Twitter, a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter (I don’t remember his name) reported that Henry had died from the fall, while ESPN’s Adam Schefter (the NFL’s top reporter, follow him on Twitter if you want all the NFL news, because it usually goes through him) refuted the Cincinnati Enquirer’s report that he was dead. After midnight, most outlets had to make a choice of which side of the story that they would share with their viewers, and all of them took the critical condition route, because journalists are never suppose to report that people are dead without strong confirmation (example: Michael Jackson was reported in a coma for two hours before being reported dead by most outlets, however Jackson stopped breathing before paramedics arrived at the scene), and nearly every outlet is going to take Schefter’s take on the rumors compared to any other NFL source out there. Back to Twitter, the Cincinnati Enquirer reporter took a jab at Schefter saying that he wanted a written apology from Schefter by noon for refuting his story. Later on, Schefter refused, saying that the reporter was blatantly wrong. By the next morning, Chris Henry was now confirmed to be dead, and what does the Cincinnati Enquirer reporter tweet? He reported that everyone should be thanking him for being right, that Schefter is a moron, and that he deserves a raise for sticking by his story. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This reporter is celebrating the fact that he guessed someone would die, and wants recognition for it? This is exactly what I mean by journalism is a lost art these days.

A credible source
Back to LeBron, how tiresome can “unnamed sources”, “a source close to the situation”, or anyone else that is not close to LeBron get when people are only guessing where he will go. Stephen A. Smith reported the Heat right before July 1st for Wade, Bosh, and LeBron. However, if you read Smith’s reports closely, you will see that he wasn’t fully behind “his source that has never been wrong” with quotes such as: “I got a call last night from a source and I double-checked it with another and they told me essentially that LeBron James and Chris Bosh are going to tag team and go together and join Dwyane Wade in Miami,” and “I believe it’s highly likely, I wouldn’t say anything is a done deal with LeBron James until it’s signed.” With words such as ‘essentially’ and ‘highly likely’, Smith leaves himself an out in case that he is wrong. Why would he leave himself outs if his source has never been wrong? My point is that true journalism is declining rapidly, because Smith use to be one of the best NBA reporters. However, during the LeBron saga, I heard reports that he would be going to Miami, Cleveland, Chicago, New York, and New Jersey all respectively. My wish is that reporters would be held up to what they said and that all of these so-called journalists would take responsibility for putting up fake rumors. Also, I’m sick of unnamed sources, if you want to take credit for being right on LeBron, stick your name out there and let the world see if you truly are a good source.

Worst Interview Ever
Another point that needs to be made was that “The Decision” on ESPN became one of the worst PR-stunts for a high-profile athlete due to the fact that the viewers had to wait 25 long and boring minutes for LeBron to announce his decision to go to South Beach, as well as the horrible interview by Jim Gray. Check out some of these Q and A’s:
(First question) Q: Are you ready to go LeBron? Where is the powder?
A: Left it at home.
-- Is he ready? He decided to make this the most highly publicized free agency of all-time, as well as deciding to announce his decision on a one-hour ESPN special, and you ask if he is ready?

Q: What’s new? What’s been going on with you this summer?
A: Man, this whole free agent experience, looking forward to it.
-- Has Jim Gray been hiding under a rock? LeBron had his own ESPN and SI page to update the current rumors of him. Everybody else heard what LeBron ate for breakfast everyday, and Jim Gray asks what’s been going on this summer?

Q: One hand or two hands [describing how many people know of his decision]?
A: Let’s say one.
-- He is waiting for you to ask where he is going next fall so he can announce his decision to the world, why do I care how many people he told before the press conference. Does it really matter who has the inside information when he is about to say it in two minutes?

(Last question before announcing his decision) Q: Are you still a nail biter?
A: I have a little bit. Not of late.
-- When during the LeBron saga did people ever question if he still bit his fingernails? Does biting fingernails mean Cleveland and not mean Miami?
I remember sitting on my couch, watching the interview and asking around the room, if Jim Gray was really seriously asking if he still bites his nails. I want to know the details that I haven’t learned in the past month of all-LeBron coverage. I understand that Jim Gray was hired by the LeBron James camp, and doesn’t work for ESPN anymore, but for a person that was once criticized for ripping on Pete Rose (Check out a story of it the next day); he has certainly changed with the times and threw out bigger softballs than the beer leagues on Friday nights. Only a couple of weeks later, the British media grills Tiger Woods on Doctor Anthony Galea and his possible HGH usage, his divorce, and his sex addiction. Those are the answers that I want to learn form an interview. Its increasingly frustrating that everyone was anticipating the end of the LeBron saga, and Jim Gray decides it would be a perfect time to kill more brain cells than I lost trying to figure out if LeBron was going to Cleveland or Miami. Interviews in the past were used to figure out essential information in learning the brains behind the idea, but Jim Gray’s interview of LeBron has to go down as the worst interview of all-time considering the time and place of it.

Traitor
When I first heard that LeBron was going to announce his decision on ESPN, I immediately believed that there was no way that he could leave Cleveland by announcing his decision on national television. This move has to put LeBron equal to or above the decision of Art Modell to move the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. Cleveland basketball fans understand that the Cavaliers had a chance every single year to win a title, and they were about one or two small pieces from having a chance to be there, but losing your homegrown talent on a national televised interview, where LeBron started talking about what he has done for Cleveland and not the other way around has to be a huge stab in the heart. This same fear was spoken by Minnesota Twins fans, after Joe Mauer’s pending free agency next season started rumors that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees would offer around $200-$250 million. The Twins have lost perennial All-Stars in Johan Santana and Torii Hunter but they didn’t have the magnitude of the possibility of homegrown Joe Mauer would have had, had Mauer signed elsewhere in the offseason. LeBron James takes a huge risk as he loses his personal legacy as being considered the greatest basketball player of all-time for the opportunity to form the greatest dynasty in NBA history (Bosh, Wade, and LeBron will be together for the next six years). Cavalier owner Dan Gilbert ripped LeBron to shreds in his letter that I have never seen before, but it was a letter that reassured Cavaliers fans that Gilbert wasn’t an owner that was going to sit back and watch LeBron leave right in front of his face. Although he has a hefty $100,000 fine to pay, it was one that needed to be made to assure Cavalier fans that they will pursue winning next season and not enter rebuilding mode.

Future
When the LeBron saga ended, I don’t know if anyone else felt this way but I have less respect for LeBron as a person for the way he handled his free agency. The typical way would have been the Kevin Durant way, as he signed an extension and it was quietly announced on Twitter. A simple press release was all that was needed to announce that Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade were headed to Miami. However, LeBron made his announcement bigger than the game itself, which made me lose respect for him as a person. With LeBron trading his personal legacy in for a chance to win rings, but proving that he needed two more All-Stars to have the chance puts Kobe Bryant on a much bigger pedestal in my book for sticking with the Lakers after Shaquille O’Neal left, and has started his own dynasty. Also, I will be bold and say that the Lakers are still the heavy favorites over the Miami Heat, until the Heat get better bench help.

Michael Jordan
In recent news, Michael Jordan made headlines for saying, “There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team.” I don’t understand how this made headlines though, as Jordan is known for being one of the fiercest competitors who ever lived. Look at his Hall of Fame speech where he dissed Jeff Van Gundy and Bryon Russell among other people. It shouldn’t be surprising that Jordan doesn’t approve of the game’s top players having a free agent summit and then teaming up for the same team. Although Jordan had Scottie Pippen, there was no doubt that the Chicago Bulls were always going to be associated with Michael Jordan’s legacy compared to Michael Jordan plus any other player. I understand that anything Jordan says is going to catch people’s attention but the media needs to learn how to filter vital information against regular information.

Final Thoughts
Although I don’t agree with the way that LeBron handled his decision to go to Miami by putting Cleveland fans through this entire process ending it with a national television special without saying goodbye, it definitely gives him a better chance to win a championship. Do I think he will win a championship next season? As of right now, not a chance. The Los Angeles Lakers are still head and shoulders above everyone else, especially if they are healthy by the playoffs next season. In the Eastern Conference, I think it is a three-team race, starting with the Orlando Magic then the Miami Heat and followed by the Boston Celtics. The Heat really struggled when they attempted to sway Derek Fisher to leave the Lakers for the Heat, but without a strong point guard (Wade and LeBron are slashers, not point guards) and without a center to help Bosh in the frontcourt, I can’t picture this team winning a championship. Also, the bench isn’t strong enough to help the Heat if a star were to be injured or help win games by themselves. It should be an exciting NBA season next year, and I’m sure the Miami fans are counting down the days. However, it has to be said that the first time LeBron returns to Cleveland, it should be one of the nastiest sport star returns to former team appearances in the history of sports.

Thank you for reading this super long post, and I promise that not all posts will be this long. The LeBron summer had a sour taste in my mouth and I had a lot of thoughts that I wanted to put on paper. Thanks again.