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.
