Quote:
Originally Posted by SmootSmack
Well in the case of the Heat, they drafted Wade. But whether it's through the draft or free agency the NBA is a different animal simply by the fact there are only five players on the court and one player can make all the difference in the world.
I mean let's compare Albert Pujols and Kobe Bryant for example, each arguably the best in their sport. Pujols can only contribute so much (3-4 at bats/game). On the other hand, Kobe can basically be "at bat" every time in his sport.
As for staying in Cleveland, I think he's past the point of being concerned about his image in Cleveland.
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Re: the bolded portion, that's exactly my beef. It's not the structure of the NBA or the way the business model is set up that causes the problem, it's just a sport that revolves around star players. Coaches come second to star players. One star player makes a gigantic impact. In that way, it's much less of a team sport, and hence a lot less appealing to me.
As for James' image, Cleveland will never forgive him. The rest of the country won't care, and as soon as James wins that first title in Miami, he won't even care about Cleveland anymore. He'll feel the love and adulation from Miami fans, and that will help him move on from the bad breakup with Cleveland.
But I'm just turned off by the ego involved here. He's purposely keeping his lips sealed as to where he's going (or at least telling Broussard not to reveal the information and thus managing the message), so that he can go on TV for an all-about-me hour dedicated to revealing where he'll go. He's got a marketing team to push his "brand".
Can he do that? Hell yeah, it's his way of making a buttload of money, and I can't fault that but so much. But the ego of it is overwhelming.
I just prefer the NFL, where superstars make an impact, but still recognize that as great as they are, they aren't bigger than the team.