But WHY Should LeBron Want To Come To Chicago?
Bill Simmons wrote an excellent piece on the LeBron James situation. He not only breaks down what LeBron is and can be, he also points out why Chicago is the best option for him:
If he cares about winning titles (multiple) and reaching his full potential as a player, he has only one move: the Chicago Bulls. That’s always been the play. If you’ve been listening to my podcast or reading this column, you know that I’ve been touting this possibility since the winter, and here’s why: Deep down, I think LeBron (and, just as important, the people around him) realizes that he needs one more kick-ass player to make his life easier. That means Miami or Chicago. And really, I can’t imagine him signing with Miami because Dwyane Wade is almost too good. LeBron wants help, but he doesn’t want to be perceived as riding someone else’s coattails, either. Wade might be the best player alive for all we know — he certainly was in 2006, and he’s been banged-up and trapped on bad teams ever since.
No, Chicago makes more sense. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah proved they were warriors these past two springs. They could be LeBron’s Pippen/Grant or McHale/DJ. Easily. Rose could take the creative load off LeBron on nights when he doesn’t have it. Rose could come through a few times in the clutch. Rose could hide some of LeBron’s faults. It’s the single smartest basketball move for LeBron James. It’s the Michael Corleone move.
Of course, it doesn’t have the same upside as New York: Biggest market, great fans, most meaning. If LeBron saved professional basketball in New York and brought Knicks fans their first title since 1973? That’s the best available accomplishment in team sports right now. Name me a better one. You can’t. Biggest star, biggest city. But it wouldn’t be a smartbasketball move. He could bring only one good free agent with him, and from what we’ve seen, would LeBron + (Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Joe Johnson or Amar’e Stoudemire) combined with what the Knicks already have (not much) translate to anything more than what just happened in Cleveland? Please. That’s the Sonny Corleone move.
The other realistic option: Just stay in Cleveland. Finish what you started. That’s the second-best available accomplishment in team sports right now: Be like Tim Duncan. Be the guy who didn’t flee for greener pastures. Be the guy who stayed when almost everyone else would have left. Be the hometown kid who saved Cleveland sports, brought home the first title since 1964 and single-handedly removed the fatalistic malaise that hangs over the city. Be the guy who proved loyalty matters more than anything else. That’s the Connie Corleone move. Remember when she finally forgave Michael for killing Carlo and became the matriarch of the family? Exactly. Family trumped logic.
(And yes, if you’re scoring at home, the Clippers would be the Fredo Corleone move.)
It’s one of the greatest sports decisions I can remember: LeBron can choose winning (Chicago), loyalty (Cleveland) or a chance at immortality (New York). We have one answer — Doc 2.0 with some Magic and Bo sprinkled in — and now, we’re waiting on the other. Within the next six weeks, we will find out precisely what matters to LeBron James. Just know that, wherever he lands, he’s going to need a little more help than we thought.
I highly recommend you read the rest of Simmons’ piece. While it is extremely critical of LeBron in the sense that it is saying he really isn’t one of the greatest players to ever play the game (essentially because he did not show that MJ determination to win at all costs), the fact of the matter is that LeBron and the Bulls would win rings. Could this really be happening?
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Comment from Bernie Dyme
Time May 16, 2010 at 10:36 am
Great piece and great piece by Bill Simmons. We all think that the best (maybe only) choice for LeBron is Chicago but does he. That is the real issue. Is he at the point where he realizes what Bill Simmons is saying? And here is where the piece about being too nice is really important. Because if loyalty takes over, he is in Cleveland to stay. One more thing that needs some mention. The Bulls management structure hasn’t yet shown that it is hungry for a winner. Who is Gar Forman? He hasn’t yet demonstrated his mettle and skill. Like it or not, Jerry Krause did it and no matter how much he was hated, he was a great judge of talent not just in the draft, but in creating the supporting cast. Because even with LeBron, the Bulls need a masterful coach (who is that really?) and a GM that can give him help via the Rodmans, Wenningtons, etc. One thing is for sure, you won’t ever see Joachim lay down and die.