James saga made for surreal TV

Published 12:00 am Friday, July 9, 2010

Behind the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl victory, “The Decision” on ESPN Thursday night was the most surreal thing I’ve seen on television this year.

When the special was announced, I had the same thought as many: that there is no way LeBron James calls for a primetime special in which he drives a stake into the heart of his hometown. Nobody is that oblivious, right? He HAS to be going back there.

But as time went on, it became clear: James MIGHT do just that. And when I saw him sitting across from Jim Gray in Stamford, looking equal parts rehearsed and uncomfortable, I knew that King James was certainly on the move.

As a fan, his decision to jump to Miami to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh disappoints me.

I understand it, now: taking slightly less money to go spend my prime years in South Beach, living it up and collecting championships with my uberstar buddies … you probably wouldn’t have to twist my arm, put it that way.

But one reason the NFL remains so popular is balance. Fans in every city know that their team has a shot to win in a given year if things break right.

Not so in the NBA, which is trending toward MLB territory more and more. First it was Boston’s big three, then Los Angeles stole Pau Gasol from Memphis. Now, three of the NBA’s best 10 players (including two of the top five) have joined forces, and it feels like the season’s end game narrative has been written: Miami vs. L.A. in the Finals. This year. Every year.

And don’t get me wrong, it would be an epic series. Kobe Bryant is already obsessively, maybe psychotically training in order to be the guy that takes this machine down. It’s something that could make his legacy.

But barring injury, those are the teams with a legit shot. People can say, “Miami’s going to have to roll with league minimum players” but we’ve seen this debunked before. Boston traded near everything they had for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen three years ago and came out just fine. Miami’s already convinced Mike Miller to join up, and Mario Chalmers isn’t a bad fifth guy.

For cities like New Orleans, Denver, Utah and Orlando, it’s a game changer. In the era of dynasty basketball, you better adapt around your star, or they’re going to join up somewhere when they can. Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams might already be exchanging texts. Fans in those cities all but know they’re out of the hunt right now.

Miami? Lets not kid ourselves. Everyone will watch. It’ll be a box office smash … some people will tune in to see them dominate, perhaps more will tune in hopes they fall flat. Yankees syndrome.

Has this whole thing tarnished James’ legacy? Yeah, I have to think so. It’s being called “the easy way out” by many today … to me, bringing a championship back to Cleveland or resurrecting the Knicks would mean more than essentially signing on to a team expected to be Dream Team 2010. James is a guy with the physical ceiling of being the greatest NBA player of all time. Even if he wins six or seven titles in Miami, I don’t think he ever surpasses Jordan now in the view of the people.

But those things are often overrated. Because no matter how many people are angry at him in Cleveland, he’s the King of South Beach, and he’ll be having the time of his life over the next five years (or more). Will he be a villain across the NBA? Sure — after this most recent free agent tour, Kobe’s probably downright beloved by comparison.

And maybe he just doesn’t care.

I truly feel for Cleveland. It’s a city that’s had some epic experiences of falling short on the field. It’s bigger losses may have come off of it: When the Browns moved, that city saw them win a Super Bowl quickly in Baltimore, which would be akin to all of us having watched Drew Brees and Sean Payton talking about the support from the best fans in the world … in San Antonio, last February.

Thursday, they watched basketball in their city be murdered by a man who calls himself their native son.

In fact, we all watched it. Because it occurred on national television, in all its narcissistic glory.

The only thing missing was for James to make his announcement, then smile maniacally and bellow “Are you not entertained?” Gladiator-style.

We are all Witnesses.

For better or worse.