Maybe We Are to Blame for the LeBron James Circus

So the decision came down yesterday. LeBron James sat with, a less than probing, Jim Gray for an hour long ego stroke and told us that he will play for the Miami Heat next season.

Was I surprised at how LeBron James conducted this spectacle? Absolutely not. How do you expect the man that has been fawned over since the age of 14. You get enough people telling you how great and important you are, you just might start believing it all. LeBron James is not above blame here, but the agents and hangers on are a big part of this as well. So many people want a part of the James machine that they will tell LeBron whatever he wants to hear to inflate his ego even more. Add to this the people at ESPN who decided to give James an hour long advertisement, only because they didn't have any World Cup games to jam down our throat.

Is this bad for the league? No, not any more than what the Boston Celtics did three years ago, in putting together their big three. There was something a tiny bit unseemly about the way these three, James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, orchestrated this, but they played within the rules. If the league was really concerned they would have put something in place to prevent this. It was no secret that these three wanted to play together and set it up so that they would be free agents at the same time.

The real shameful behavior came from Cleveland. I find it foolish that fans were burning jerseys, but fans of many teams are foolish. Fans are reactionary, but owners are supposed to handle themselves with a little more class, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban being the one exception.

Cleveland Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert, acted like a jilted high school cheerleader. Somehow Gilbert thought that LeBron and he had something special, but alas it was just a business relationship in the end. Instead of wishing LeBron luck in Miami, he took out the flamethrower and scorched the earth.

Of all the comments that Gilbert made the worst one is that James quit on the Cavaliers in the playoffs this past season. My only question for Gilbert is why would you try and woo James back if you honestly believe he quit on you? There are only two answers. Number one would be you are just stupid and don't follow the once bitten, twice shy policy. Number two, and the more likely answer, is that you just wanted to sully LeBron's reputation in any manner possible, and calling someone a quitter is a good way of doing that. I think this will all come back and bite Gilbert in the end, because what free agent will want to sign with an owner that will completely flame you if you ever you choose to leave. I am just curious though, did head coach Mike Brown act this way when you fired him?

NBA Commissioner, David Stern, needs to step in and put Gilbert in a timeout, yes just like you would do with a three year old. Take away his toys, he can't be involved in any trades or free agent signings. Put him in the corner, suspend him from his owner's box and the arena for a few games. Lastly just give him some time to think about his actions.

LeBron James signing with a new team wasn't and act of betrayal, it was just and act of business. Cleveland and Dan Gilbert need to realize this and move on, hopefully from here on out with a modicum of class. I for one wouldn't hold my breath though.