Winners
D-Wade – Perhaps nobody came out of this mess better than D-Wade. Miami is and will forever be Wade town. Any success the trio has will fall upon him. In many ways this situation is eerily similar to the New York Yankees. A-Rod is the best player but when you think Yankees you think of Jeter. James is going to have a hard time establishing himself as the greatest player of all time living under Wade’s shadow.
Stephen A. Smith – Smith comes out of this ordeal golden. He correctly predicted where the King would land and got a lot of publicity in the process. The last few days before “The Decision” you couldn’t avoid him if you wanted to.
Dan Gilbert – It would be easy to criticize the Cavs owner. If he could have held on to Boozer years ago then LeBron would already have 2 rings. If he would have dealt Shaq’s contract sooner the Cavs may have kept LeBron. If he would have been building for the future, such as the Thunder have done, he would have some pieces to rebuild with. Despite all of Dan Gilbert’s failures, he has successfully turned all the blame towards LeBron. By promising his fans that they will win a title before Miami he has transformed himself into the hero.
Twitter – Twitter established itself as the source for up to the date sports news. With Chris Bosh posted his every move there. Kevin Durant first announced his contract extension there. D-Wade continues to post his feelings there. Sports columnists were able to post their unsubstantiated theories there. It was definitely a lot of good exposure for Twitter.
Players Union – In an economy where everyone is hurting, it was already going to be tough for the owners to explain how their businesses were still turning a profit. Through in the teams’ willingness to throw max deals at Joe Johnson, Amare, and the likes and it is going to be near impossible for them to argue they don’t have the money to raise player salaries.
Losers
King James’s brand – LeBron has been blasted repeatedly by just about every major news agency. Even David Stern has come out and said that LeBron’s actions were “ill-advised.” The King went from universally loved to universally hated in an 1 hour segment.
Atlanta Hawks – How in the world did Joe Johnson end up with the biggest payday this off-season? He might not even be the best player on his own team. This contract will haunt the Hawks for a long time.
Jordan Farmar – When Farmer said that he was going to leave the Lakers he had a perfectly legitimate reason: he wanted to be a starter. Can you explain why then he signed with the Nets? Last time I checked Devin Harris is pretty darned good and isn’t about to retire any time soon.
Utah Jazz – My heart breaks for the Jazz perhaps more than any other team. They lost both Boozer and Korver to the Chicago Bulls. If the Bulls win with a great point guard and those two it may be too much for Jazz fans to handle. Throw in that the Jazz may still lose Mathews and it is a bleak time to be a Jazz fan.
Small market teams – The days when teams picked their players may be limited. Superstars teaming up together may become the new norm. Already there are talks of Chris Paul teaming up with Carmelo and Amare in New York next season. If this does become the new reality it is going to be increasingly more difficult for smaller markets to attract the stars.
I agree with all the losers and winners, but I think Gilbert will end up a loser as well on this. His now famous letter could potentially scare players from going to Cleveland.
ReplyDeleteThis whole Super-Team in Miami makes me sick. As a Jazz fan who just lost 2 good players, I might be vulnerable right now, but I find my interest in the NBA declining rapidly. My interest in the Jazz is the same, but overall NBA I just don't care as much. People say baseball is too dominated by a few teams, but I think basketball is even worse. You basically know who is going to win before the season begins. That is why I love the NFL so much, there are probably 10 or more teams that could win the SuperBowl this year.
My team basically has no chance to win. I could blame the owner and say that their not trying hard enough, but I don't think that solves it. The only way we can win is if we draft well. The Jazz are never going to be able to land a LaBron in free agency. It's going to be Lakers vs Heat for the next 5 years, and maybe a Boston sprinkled in. So why should I watch? Why should I care?
I agree with mark about Gilbert. He may be a hero to his fans, but I think most people on the outside looking in are not real impressed with his childish letter. Who is going to want to play for this guy now? Gilbert should have thanked Lebron for his years of service, then moved on with his now deep pocket book to build a new team-instead he ranted bitterly, and desperately made promises that he can't keep. I didn't see a hero in his letter, I saw a broken man attempting to put the blame on someone else.
ReplyDeleteTo add to your comments about D. Wade being a winner(and why Lebron and his legacy isn't one), here is a nice quote from Bill Simmons which I'm sure you have already read:
"Michael Jordan would have wanted to kick Dwyane Wade's butt every spring, not play with him. This should be mentioned every day for the rest of LeBron's career. It's also the kryptonite for any "Some day we'll remember LeBron James as the best basketball player ever" argument. We will not. Jordan and Russell were the greatest players of all time. Neither of them would have made the choice that LeBron did. That should tell you something."
Jazz signed Jefferson today. While its not Lebronesk, its a pretty good pick up. Losing Korver and Mathews is still going to hurt though.
ReplyDeleteJefferson + Raja Bell. Probably the best news I've heard all offseason is Raja snubbing Kobe about as literally as in his face as you can get, and then signing with the Jazz so he can play defense directly against him several times over the next three years. Hopefully he has enough tough defense left to make it interesting.
ReplyDeleteMatthews is lost, but the good news is that if the Jazz can turn an undrafted signee into a $7M/year star in one season, then there is always the hope they can do the due diligence and repeat that process.
And agreeing with Natedawg, I think Dan Gilbert is a LOSER.
ReplyDelete1. Lost the Lebron race
2. The letter, which went to display his Loser denial mentality
3. New reputation that will carry forward into future free agent signings (or avoidances)
Seriously, this guy doesn't realize that LBJ made him rich and increased the value of his franchise. LBJ made the Cavs, and the front office couldn't deliver on giving him the pieces. Period. You can't just talk about last season and whether or not he gave up. This is 6-7 years in the making, not one year. The Cavs failed him, so they should have expected to lose him.
Also, owners tell players in their faces all the time they will keep them on the team, then cut them the next day or send them to the Grizzlies. Tough love for owners.