Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
I understand why LeBron is being ripped for joining Miami, but I am on Team LeBron here. Arguably the best player in the world, in his prime, agrees to take far less money than he could have had, and leaves his hometown which he plainly loves, and sublimates his ego to be Wade's "sidekick", simply to go to a team that he thinks has the best chance of winning and to play with guys he respects and likes. It's refreshing, frankly. No one can question that his sole motive here is winning. Was the televised special on ESPN narcissistic? Sure, though it was also for charity. Would it have been graceful to give the Cavaliers' management a courtesy call beforehand letting them know that he wasn't going to sign with them? I suppose so, but he wasn't a Cavs employee any more, he was a free agent, and they are big boys who had to suspect this would happen. Plus, the reaction of Cleveland's fans and owner leads me to think he made the right decision to leave Cleveland -- they actually think they had some entitlement to his services, like he owed them something. (The owner is also a hypocrite: he decries LeBron's disloyalty, just weeks after he fired the coach and GM.) LeBron needs to live for LeBron, and he is. Good for him.