UPDATED: Media and fans in Miami are elated with the news of LeBron James coming to South Florida, while New York tries to understand how anyone could spurn the Big Apple.
View full sizeMarti Acosta, right, and Alfi Portela react Thursday in Miami as LeBron James announces on ESPN that he is signing with the Heat.It's safe to say that Miami is not feeling Cleveland's pain.
Miami is in full celebration after LeBron James announced Thursday night he will join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Heat. The news led Miami Herald columnist Greg Cote to declare South Florida the "mecca of basketball," and he doesn't have a lot of sympathy for Cleveland:
"As for Cavaliers fans feeling angry and betrayed? Get over it, mi amigos. Players leave. Ever heard the phrase "greener pastures''? Besides, when Column A is Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and living on South Beach and Column B is far less a supporting cast and living in Cleveland, well, let's just say Mensa membership is not required to reach the conclusion James did."
Miami Herald columnist Dan Le Batard praises James for the "bravery" of making his decision to go to Miami, and that James values winning above money and ego:
"This had to be so very hard for him. And brave. He has crushed his hometown of Akron, going from the most beloved person in Ohio's history to its most despised with just a few words and a signature. But he just told you that he values winning above all else. Above ego and glory and brand and money and commercials and hometown and fans and comfort and fame. It is an unprecedented decision being made by a reigning two-time Most Valuable Player in his prime."
Go here for coverage from the Miami Herald.
Of course, Cleveland fans weren't the only ones disappointed on Thursday. The media in New York seem stunned that James had the audacity to pass on playing in the Big Apple. The New York Post's headline on the main page of its Web site: "Knicks Stood Up!"
Post columnist Mike Vaccaro says the Knicks must move on after failing to land LeBron. Actually, his advice could apply to the Cavaliers as well:
"If you are the Knicks, and if you root for the Knicks, the pursuit of LeBron is officially a part of yesterday, officially a part of the past. It serves no purpose to lament, to lick wounds, to shake an angry fist at that old master of Machiavelli, Pat Riley."
View full sizeA cutout of LeBron James ends up in the garbage can at the Winking Lizard in Lakewood on Thursday after James announced he is signing with the Miami Heat. New York Daily News writer Meena Hartenstein says James deserves a new nickname and is asking for readers' help after James "broke the hearts" of New York fans:
"OK, LeBron, you broke our hearts. New York was ready to love you - well, other than Gov. Paterson - but you led us on and let us down. . . . So we think it's time for King James to relinquish his crown and get a new nickname from the city he spurned. What do you think we should call him? Le Fraud? King Lame? Court Jester?"
Daily News columnist Mitch Lawrence says James' decision to not sign with the Knicks is "humiliating." But Lawrence has harsher words for James:
"Just as he did in Game 5 against Boston, LeBron James quit on the Cleveland Cavaliers. This time, he quit on them for good. . . . James, of course, was not required to come (to New York). He was free to decide his future. But it's almost a joke that he threw in the towel on himself by joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. He has a nice cover. He says he wants to win. But in making 'The Decision,' James basically threw up his hands and said, 'I give up. I can't lead a team to the title by myself.' And this guy thinks he can be another Michael Jordan? He's not even in the same league as Kobe Bryant."
Here is more coverage from the Daily News.
While Los Angeles Times columnist Mark Heisler didn't care for the spectacle surrounding James' decision, he says LeBron has every right to leave Cleveland for Miami, and that it's a good decision:
"After seven seasons of trying to carry Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao and Co. to a title, James joins Wade and Chris Bosh on a new East power as glamorous as the Lakers, the previously unchallenged kings of glitz. . . . In spite of the storm about to break around his head, James had every right to leave, even if it meant breaking his hometown's heart. He spent seven years trying to get the Cavaliers over the top. Then he spent the last week trying to get another big free agent like Bosh or Amare Stoudemire to join him on a sign-and-trade. With the Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors reportedly agreed on a deal, Bosh turned down the chance to go to Cleveland--taking less money to sign with Miami. Only then did James turn toward Miami."
Washington Post columnist Mike Wise says LeBron made the right "basketball decision," but he is sacrificing his legacy on the court with his decision to go to Miami:
"As a legacy guy, he needs to know: His decision to spurn the Cavaliers for more talent and hope in Miami forbids LeBron from ever being one of those all-time greats who persevered through coaching changes, roster changes and wrenching playoff losses to lift a trophy to the rafters for the team who drafted him."
Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News and a frequent contributor on ESPN's "Around the Horn" believes James and Wade are not a good fit:
"Wade and James are too much alike to thrive together naturally. This isn't Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen where there was a very obvious 'A' player and 'B' player. And the 'B' player just happened to be the best defender in the league. Even if you label Wade a shooting guard and James a small forward, both take on point guard roles in crunch time. Both need to dribble the ball and drive. It's what they do best. At least it was until now."
Sports Illustrated columnist Michael Rosenberg says James is taking the easy way out by joining the Heat:
"But James does not have the heart of a champion. He does not have the competitive fire of Jordan, the bull-headed determination of Kobe Bryant, the quiet self-confidence of Tim Duncan, the willful defiance of Isiah Thomas or the winning-is-everything hunger of Magic Johnson. He is an extremely gifted player who wants the easy way out."
Rosenberg gets more brutal:
"I thought he would stay in Cleveland, because I thought all he cared about was adoration. I was wrong about Cleveland, but he is wrong about adoration. He thinks he'll get it by winning a title. He has insulated himself from the world, surrounded himself with yes men. He has no idea how much backlash he is about to get. That's one of the great ironies of this -- James is trying to flee pressure, but he will just face more of it. He is trying to maximize his 'brand,' but he just damaged it."
Harvey Araton of the New York Times says the Heat has become the new evil empire of sports:
"Who outside of South Florida wants to root for Miami after the way James walked out on Cleveland and his home territory of northern Ohio in a mercenary reach for championship rings? On the other hand, who won’t want to see the three-man super team play with the hope of watching it take a big fall? Had James stayed in Cleveland, he would have had the support of a nation wanting to see The Loyal One rewarded. Teaming up with Wade, Bosh and Darth Riley makes him more antihero than hero — but perhaps an even more marketable commodity for the N.B.A. brand."
David Ramsey of the Colorado Springs Gazette says LeBron might be known as The King, but The King of what?
"He has not won a championship. He’s not the best player in the NBA, and it’s not even close. James has won consecutive MVP trophies. Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant has won consecutive NBA titles with the Lakers. LeBron is the supreme athlete. Kobe is the supreme winner. Kobe rules the playoffs, when the true emperors of sports emerge. LeBron rules the regular season, when exhausted, disinterested defenders shrug as the Counterfeit King rises for a dunk."
ESPN's Henry Abbott says he's puzzled by the vitriol being hurled toward James:
"What is James' crime, exactly? . . . Pretty much it boils down to the fact that he put himself on TV to make this decision, which sends the twin messages that he has an overblown view of his own role in the world, and that he's insensitive to how the whole thing would play in Ohio. And OK, fair enough. Quibble with his media philosophies if you'd like. But realize, if you're bitter, you're bitter about the format of his expression. Not the contents of his soul. And without clearing the bar in that last sentence, it's a little extreme to call him nasty names on the Internet, isn't it?"
Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan has great sympathy for Cavaliers fans and the city of Cleveland:
"LeBron was beloved because he had preached community and loyalty. He was the hometown kid made good, and that resonated in an area hard-hit economically. Yes, even more so than other locales in this country. He was a source of pride. He was one of them. And now he has abandoned them. That’s the way it will be framed. Is this fair? Should they have been able to hold him as an emotional hostage? Did he owe them anything at all? The good news for all of us is that this ordeal is over."
Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times says James "has made me feel dirty, foul, infested with tiny crawling things that want to creep into my ears and eat my brain.":
"Players change teams all the time, I know that. Who doesn't? Hello! But no player has ever done it with the pomp, phoniness, pseudo-humility, and rehearsed innocence of LeBron James and his ESPN bed-mates."
Sun-Times columnist Rick Morrissey shares his colleague's sentiments, and says any accomplishments in Miami will be devalued:
"No matter how many titles James wins, they will be devalued by the fact he needed to join ranks with Wade and Bosh to do it. Had he remained in Cleveland and won a title, he would have been called an American hero for staying true to his team and his state. Had he come to Chicago and won a title, he would have gotten high marks for pushing a young, talented team over the hump. . . . Had he gone to New York and built a champion with Amar'e Stoudemire, he'd have gotten major props for rolling the dice. But this? This is a playground game in which the best players unite to own the court on a Saturday afternoon. Where's the accomplishment in that?"
More links:
LeBron looks neither royal nor loyal (Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times)
LeBron's decision a cruel blow to his hometown (Fanhouse)
LeBron's bad call? Doing it on TV (San Jose Mercury News)
ESPN's 'infomercial' a sellout (Houston Chronicle)
LeBron James' snub of Ohio a blemish on image (Boston Herald)
A dark(er) day in Cleveland (CNN)
Three very different reactions to LeBron James' decision (Yahoo! Sports)