My last word on the subject...
Its roughly 17 hours till Lebron James announces his free agent destination on his historic television special tentively called "Decision". The rumors have been flip flopping so fast it has literally made fans heads spin. The strongest Rumor at this hour is Lebron will find his way on the Miami Heat's roster to play with Bosh AND Wade. Now there have been some "Big three" trio's in the past, most reciently Kevin Garnett, Pal Pierce, and Ray Allen with the Celtics. The old Laker teams had Jerry West, Wilt, and Elgin Baylor. The "Showtime" Lakers had Magic, Jabbar, and James Worthy often faced the Celtic big three of Bird, McHale and Robert Parish. Though those names are arguably better or equal to this possible "Super Trio", with the state the NBA is in right now, I personally do not think its the right decision to make. The talent in the NBA is horrible. There are only a handful of teams that are legit contenders. The Celtics were an aging bunch that relied heavily on their youthful bench/reserves to carry them to the finals against the Lakers. With that said, no other team even challenged them in the East. The West was no better. The Lakers hardest match before the Celtics was a scrappy group of over achievers surrounding a 50 year old Nash and Amare Stoudamire. Amare has since moved on. Kevin Durant and his group of college all-stars and Dirk and his choking Mavericks are the only teams worth mentioning in the West.Aside from mashing possibly 3 of the top 5 talents in the league on one team, you'd have to ask each of them: If you win a championship...who did you beat? Isiah Thomas takes great pride in saying he beat the best to get his championships. He beat the Celtics with Bird, McHale and Parish. He beat a young and dominant Micheal Jordan. He beat the "Showtime" Lakers. He beat Clyde Drexler and his great Portland team. In the 80's, The Lakers and Celtics faced each other in the NBA Final 3 times in epic fashion after taking out some superbly talented and physical teams. Same as Isiah Thomas, when the other legends like Magic, Bird, and Jordan speak about winning their multiple championships, they talked about who they beat. They seem to take more satisfaction in knowing they did beat some great players and teams on their road to become champions.
This Lebron/Wade/Bosh fiasco has been embarrassing. Nothing is set in stone at this time, but these guys seem happy to hold hands on their way to possibly competing for the NBA Championships together. They'll have to ask themselves years later...WHO DID YOU BEAT??? If they do link up and win multiple championships no one will respect them. The NBA legends that they claim to look up to will not welcome them into the fold. When you have conversations years from now, nobody is going to give them respect for handcuffing this watered down league. Miami Heat fans have also expressed this sentiment on message boards. This Knick blogger will go as far as calling this possible threesome CORNY.
Rivalries is what made the NBA the great organization it is now. When Magic went to the Lakers and Bird went to the Celtics, every historian will tell you that they saved the league. The Patrick Ewing Knicks though they never won a championship, they went to WAR with the Celtics, Pistons, Bulls, Pacers, Heat, and Magic during the 90's. Some of the greatest basketball games ever played were during this era where all the teams were just so tough top to bottom. There were times where the superstars of that era could have joined forces, case in point, that other super free agent year back in 1996. Jordan, Gary Payton, or Reggie Miller all could have joined Ewing on the Knicks. They all chose to stay with their clubs and instead tried to get some of the second tier guys to help them stick it to each other.
This is a different era. This is an era where young men of all ethnicities sag their pants below their butts as a fashion statement. They blatantly use the "N" word in public like there is nothing wrong with it. There are no leaders and most of the role models are out there doing things that could rival something you'd see in cheesy 80's movie. With that said, you can understand why Wade/Lebron/Bosh would have no problem joining forces. I wouldn't put it pass them to have their own reality series surrounding this.
Again...nothing is set in stone. Lebron still has the chance to make the right decision in signing with the Knicks. I'm not just a homer saying that...He can't play in Mike's shadow and walk past that statue everyday in Chicago. Meanwhile the Nets/Clippers are collectively the large and small intestine of the NBA. Bosh and Wade together was always the best situation for both players careers and the Miami franchise. They could use the remaining cap to build a fine team. The Knicks essentially signed the best finisher in the league in Amare Stoudamire. With the ball handling Lebron does, Amare's skill set fits in perfectly. Knicks still have Gallo, Chandler, Toney Douglas, Bill Walker and the contracts of Curry/Lee to fill out the roster. They'd also have roughly 2-3 million to sign another rotation player. The best situation for Lebron has always been New York.
The opportunity to take the NBA to the next level and possibly reach another golden era is in Lebron James hands. It would be a sad day in sports if he decides to join up with his shower buddies from the olympics. We're all at the edge of our seats and simply can't sleep until we hear it outta the "King's" mouth. Let's hope he makes the right decision. History is waiting.
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7/8/2010 7:52 AM
