King James

After months and months of speculation, NBA all-world basketball player LeBron James has decided to join his buddies Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami to be a part of a Heat trio that hopes to dominate the NBA.

I'll believe it when I see it. I'm not saying that the "Next Three," or whatever they're going to be called, won't rule the basketball world for many years to come and win 5-straight NBA crowns, but I've seen stuff like this before in sports. Maybe not of this magnitude, but the best teams on paper don't always turn out to be the best teams in real life.

Last night, during a much-hyped and much-criticized 60-minute show on ESPN, James announced his decision to leave his hometown (or at least close to hometown) Cleveland Cavaliers and ply his basketball trade in Miami.

I don't know why LeBron agreed to this narcissistic one-hour show, but he had to know it wouldn't come off well to most people.

James went to the NBA right out of high school so he never got to experience college recruiting and the pomp and circumstance that goes with it. And in essence, with the max-contracts in the NBA, that's what this was. It wasn't about the money because James would have made the maximum amount that an NBA player could make no matter where he signed. I didn't see last night's spectacle, but if there wasn't a pep-rally, that's the only thing that separated it from the college recruiting process.

I don't think I've ever seen a player of Jame's magnitude leave his long-time team and join another organization.

When A-Rod left the Mariners to join the Texas Rangers ten years ago, that was a big deal. But even though Rodrigeuz signed a record $250,000,000 deal, he was no where near the celebrity that James is.

The Wayne Gretzky trade from Edmonton to Los Angeles back in 1988 was unreal. Wayne Gretzky was Mr. Everything for Edmonton and the NHL. He was arguably just as big a star as James, but again, that was a TRADE, not a free agent signing. Imagine Peyton Manning deciding to leave the Colts in the prime of his career and sign with another team. That's what this James situation feels like to me.

Even though I'm a Pittsburgh sports fan and always wish ill-will on any team from Cleveland, I kind of feel sorry for the fans up there. James was everything to them. He owned that town and probably would have for the rest of his life if he wanted to.

But now he's being vilified for leaving his city and his team and who knows if they'll ever forgive him. If he goes on to win the titles that he's hoping for, the city will probably never let him forget it or welcome him back with open-arms.

Cleveland sports fans have had some rough times. As others have pointed out, The Decision will now be up there with The Drive, The Fumble, and The Shot as infamous, devastating events in Cleveland sports history.

The town hasn't celebrated a championship of any kind since 1964 and James was their best shot.

With a perennially bad Browns team and a declining Indians team, James represented the one hope for ending that drought. The Cavs came close many times but could never get over the hump with him, so what's going to happen now that he's gone?

Penguins fans are still bitter about Marian Hossa's departure from Pittsburgh to Detroit a couple of years ago, but that's child's-play compared to how they'd feel if Sidney Crosby left as a free agent to sign with another team in the prime of his career.

That's what people are feeling in Cleveland right at this very moment.

Where will the Cavaliers go from here? The window for a title is seemingly closed for good, but maybe they can go out and acquire another top player to fill the King's shoes. It's not going to be easy, of course, but they have to do something to give their fans some hope. They obviously have some freed-up cap room these days. I say, try to utilize it and stay in the championship race. After all, the Eastern conference of the NBA isn't exactly filled with dominating teams.

As for James, I believe he's painted himself into a corner. If he does win a title with the Heat, there will be critics who say he couldn't get over the hump until he played with other mega-superstars; he couldn't put a team on his back and take them all the way. If he doesn't win a championship with Wade and Bosh, he'll get criticized even more.

And can you imagine if the Cavs somehow win an NBA crown without Lebron James? His legacy would be tarnished forever.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in Miami next season. Who is going to be the Man in Miami? Will it be James, who is the biggest star in the game, or will it be Wade, who is considered on-par with Lebron in terms of talent and already has won an NBA crown. Wade is a pretty huge star in his own right and is the leader of the Heat. Will there be enough shots to go around? Those guys might be friends now, but how will they co-exist night in and night out? There is something to be said for chemistry. I don't think there has ever been two players with this kind of star-power on the same team. And what about Bosh? He was used to being the go-to guy in Toronto. Will he be able to stomach being the 3rd-wheel in Miami?

And what about Kobe? Will this stuff elevate Kobe Bryant even more? Bryant is still in his prime and has already won 5 titles in Los Angeles.

If anyone thought Bryant would be done trying to prove himself, "The Next Three" have given him all the motivation he needs.