To quote a disgusted Walt Clyde Frazier “He took the easy way out”. As the sports world watched; Lebron James went on National TV and declared he’s going to take his talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat. In one statement James proved all his naysayer’s correct. The former king (I’ll get to this later) of the NBA shrunk under pressure yet again and took the easy way out.
Dwight Howard may be considered the superman of the NBA but by all accounts James was the player with all the super human ability and charisma, but last night in front of millions he burned his own cape. His lips quivered as he tried to explain to the world why he was leaving Cleveland to try to win championships with a dream team. Not only did the Ohio native leave his hometown team, he made a one hour TV special to rub it in the face of the fans that supported him since he was 15 years old.
James idolized Michael Jordan growing up and has often been proclaimed as the second coming of Michael Jordan, but would Michael Jordan ever have shown up at a boys and girls club in Connecticut in jeans and a button down to announce that he was leaving Chicago to go play with Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing? MJ optimized the meaning of cool. MJ could show up at a press conference after dropping 50 or losing a nail biter looking as cool as ever in his $100,000 suits and answer ever single media question without actually answering the question. Lebron made it perfectly clear last night that he is no MJ, in fact he made it perfectly clear that he is no Kobe.
The Real King of the NBA
The name King now belongs to Dwayne Wade. With the help of Pat Riley, Dwayne Wade pulled the strings and brought two superstar level players to his team and his city. Wade flirted with other teams and went on visits but you knew he was never really going to leave. In fact he probably just went on these visits to provide the Heat staff with inside knowledge of the other team’s pitches.
Wade comes out looking amazing. He’s the unselfish player who is willing to take much less money in order to share the spot light with two other players. But the thing Lebron fails to realize is; Lebron is helping to further build the Dwayne Wade brand not the other way around. Wade is the star of what could very well be the next great sports dynasty. Lebron will now be villainized across the country while DWade comes out looking great. Wade won his solo ring and that’s something Lebron will never be able to say.
Goodbye DLee
David Lee gave the Knicks everything he had since his arrival. He played in one of the worst situations possible but he steadily improved every year and he should be commended for that. He’ll never be anything close to a defensive presence but he is a double-double machine and I wish him all the best in Golden State.
Next Season
I’m not going to lie the immediate future still looks pretty bleak. Amare Stoudamire, Anthony Randolph, and Kelenna Azubuike are nice additions and with the future growth of Gallo, and Toney Douglas we should improve. The main goal at this moment should be to find a short term solution at point guard and hope that coach D can work some magic with a roster that is better built to run his system. As things stand right now I’d have to predict around 35-40 wins max for this team. But with the expiring contract of Eddy Curry we may be able to make a trade that makes us more competitive.
The Future
You’d think I’d learn my lesson but as we stand right now the Knicks would have the most money going into free agency next season. Three free agents out stand out in next years class; Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Toney Parker. I’d take my chances with a squad of Amare, Melo, and Paul against the Heat.
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