MORE THAN A SHAME
During a visit to New York in 2004, my father, a much wiser man than I, sat with me and watched an episode of ENTOURAGE. Back then, the HBO show was snappier and fresh, the banter was witty and snarky and all the players seemed like they were genuinely having fun with their characters. My father didn’t care much for it and his critique was succinct. “Where are the adults?” he asked. Unlike his son, Senior Mcfly is not at all enamoured by glitz and machismo Hollywood escapist fantasy. His point, however, stuck with me. Over the years, I have remained an ENTOURAGE fan in spite of stale plotlines and a discernible lack of maturity. Such parallels can be drawn to the Lebron James free agency boondoggle.
As of now, I remain a Lebron fan but check in with me later…he has me teetering on the precipice, and worse, I am beginning to wonder whether my two-year masturbatory daydream of “the King” resurrecting basketball in New York City culminating with a championship at The World’s Most Famous Arena, has clouded my judgment of the man and his potential legacy. Even if he comes to New York, it will feel somewhat cold and hallow at this point. Here is a brief breakdown of the weeks events:
This whole thing kick-started with “the summit” in Miami between Wade, Bosh and James on June 28th. Fittingly, because of NBA rules, the meeting never “technically” took place. Yet since everyone knew about it, Steven A. Smith eagerly reported with BREAKING NEWS “his sources tell him” Lebon will join Bosh, Wade and Riley in Miami!
Prior to July 1st, every blowhard from Mcfly to Scoop Jackson tried to out-scoop and unpack Lebron’s maneuvers. It’s quite possible Steven A.’s “sources” were right all along and this whole charade was just to put neon blinking lights over the LBJ banner. But, James & Camp certainly went through the motions, summoning the brigades to the foot of his throne in Cleveland for the proverbial feeding of succulent grapes. It was quite a display watching ESPN’s Shelly Smith stand outside and report on July 2nd how Pat Riley (with Championship jewelry in-tow) “seemed agitated as he paced the lobby of the IMG building” waiting for the Clippers to finish their presentation. Never have we ever witnessed such theater in the wide world of sports. And James, presumably tight-lipped and jovial, sat through each pony show with his poker face in full tilt.
Simultaneously, Bosh and Wade each held similar meetings in Chicago, as if to head fake the Windy City, and then go to dinner for a photo op, with Bosh flippantly Tweeting about how “it feels like someone is missing…” Golf clap.
By July 3rd, Dirk, Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay and Paul Pierce were off the board. And by the 4th it was inevitable Amar’e was going to New York. (Sidenote: Amar’e is a the most talented player NYK has had since Alan Houston in his prime. The downside, he’s a delicate defender, a light rebounder and a big recipient of Steve Nash’s all-world pick ‘n’ roll. The upside, he could have gotten similar money from at least three other teams (with better rosters) but he wanted to play at the Garden. Knicks fans need to show the man some love for at least buying into the vision of “Knicks are back!” He also gave them legitimate bait to dangle before His Majesty.)
By the 5th, Amar’e was a Knick. Speculation around Wade and Bosh grew to a crescendo and by Tuesday night, it was leaked (some say by Lebron’s camp) that both were leaning towards Miami. It was also reported all day Tuesday that Lebron had recruited Bosh to come to Cleveland, but as we have seen, James doesn’t roll up his sleeves or dirty his hands, so such efforts were done quietly or by proxy. Not exactly a hard sell from the self-proclaimed “King of Ohio.” In fact, when asked about playing for the Cavs, Bosh said, ‘I wasn’t sure if LeBron was coming back [to Cleveland] and I just wanted to leave that decision up to him.”
Okay, Chris. We know you’ve been stuck in NBA Siberia for the last seven years (apologies to you Wall $treet, Toronto is a lovely city) and South Beach is a nice place to floss your $100 million, so I suppose you get a pass. Tuesday’s events continued with KingJames (at the behest of Chris Paul) joining Twitter, giving his 250,000 instant followers a window into absolutely nothing. Then, Tuesday night, Lebron announced plans to announce his plans via “The Decision” an hour-long circle jerk of a special airing on (where else) ESPN. Groan!
By Wednesday morning, Bosh and Wade proclaimed “Miami!” and the LBJ rumors swirled like a tornado in its media wreckage. Unsourced reports gushed from everywhere. Meanwhile, Ray Allen and Carlos Boozer were signed and, essentially, all of the pieces fell into place…except for one.
NO RING
This brings me to my larger point. Let’s go back a year. The Cavs were upset by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite a legendary moment from Lebron in game 2, the series lasted 6 games and Cleveland was thoroughly outplayed. When it was over, Lebron ducked into the tunnel in a huff, sparing any sportsmanship or congratulatory gestures to his Team USA friend, Dwight Howard. Some criticized him for this, many defended his display of pride and distaste for losing, but for me, it didn’t sit right. Bottom line, James has two sons and this sends the wrong message. Fast forward to May of this year. The Cavs had arguably the most talented team in his tenure and as Boston put the clamp down, Lebron checked out early, as if he had a more pressing engagement with free agency. Most Cavs fans felt like this was it, he had already packed his bags, and few felt he owed the city anything. Still, in defeat, his comments were troubling. “I spoil a lot of people with my play…” he said after a game 5 drubbing. “When you have a bad game here or there, you’ve had three bad games in a seven-year career, then it’s easy to point that out.” When I heard this, I cringed. This got me thinking, who in his inner-circle is exposing him to the raw realities of failure, who is coaching him on checking the hubris when appropriate? He has insulated himself exclusively by people who not only keep him insulated but prop up his arrogance. This is all he knows. It is only recently that the curtain has blown back just far enough for us to catch a peak of life on the other side.
I have long been a member of the Lebron James fanclub. Overall, I think he’s a good dude. I’ve marveled by the way he has handled himself throughout his career, given his age, the hype, the pressure, the expectations. I’ve admired how he surrounded himself by his boys from Akron, who, throughout their early twenties, remained focused on nurturing a superstar and cultivating a global brand. Every magazine from Business Week to Fortune to TIME has waxed-on for years about the savvy of LBJ, Maverick Carter, Randy Mims, Richard Paul and the LRMR conglomerate. But here we are, right on the cusp of the biggest moment in the history of free agency, and somehow, within a 10-day period, Team Lebron has manged to gut its fan base and set fire to its brand, all while calculating the opposite result. I think of my father. “Where are the adults?”
Remember the Michael Jordan Nike commercial “Failure“? Re-watch it and think of Lebron. I cannot recall an instance in his career, on or off the court, where he has learned from his own shortcomings. This is where the value of adult-experience is noticeably void. The “yes men” surrounding him are all twenty-five year old millionaires, living off his fame and fortune, sewing his successes, building his brand, and stroking his ego. Problem is, all of his people seem to be tone deaf and have grossly miscalculated public perception. Flying from Cleveland to the York suburbs for a contrived one-hour spectacle destined to rip out the hearts out of Cavs and/or Knicks fans is inexcusable and unforgivable. And if the verdict is “The Heat,” it will be a low moment for the NBA. If he was going to Miami all along, why not make the announcement alongside his teammates rather than upstage them with a 60-minute special? I cannot think a city more fitting for a glitzy, XBOX-style dream team. “The Miami Heat, brought to you by EA Sports, if it’s in the game, it’s in the game.” And I cannot think of a sports city more dispassionate and unworthy of a dynasty. Just picture DJ Khaled sitting courtside, high-fiveing Lebron screaming “wi da bessssssst, who? weee nukkka!” It’s utterly nauseating. I can’t take this. I’m tuning out until 6:00pm pacific. Until then…
Stay tuned…
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well said Mcfly. I cant believe anyone out there thinks this sideshow is ok . nauseating is right. m