Stop the presses. The 2014 NBA season is already over. LeBron James has signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
That’s right. Apparently, there’s a sequel to The Decision, and it’s happening right before our eyes. A few days ago, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said the Lakers might be preparing to court LeBron in 2014 when he is able to opt out of his current deal with Miami.
Can we give it a rest already? Haven’t we been through all of this before?
Back in 2008, the Knicks were in the same situation. They were putting their eggs in a basket they didn’t even have. They were ready to go after LeBron James once the summer of 2010 hit, and were willing to bet their franchise on a contingency plan.
That isn’t how you run an organization, and the Lakers know better than that. They’ve been doing this for years – superstars love Los Angeles. It’s one of the most desirable destinations in the NBA for a number of reasons (celebrity, championships, weather, women).
But that doesn’t mean James will up and leave Miami because the Lakers want him to. First, we have a two-year window between now and then for any unforeseen circumstance to come up.
What if Dwight Howard doesn’t return to Los Angeles? Can we guarantee LeBron will remain healthy for these two years between now and then? What if his production starts to slip and he turns into a slightly-better version of Andre Iguodala?
We must ask these things before putting together super rosters that may never come to fruition.
James himself came out and said he isn’t interested in L.A. right now (which makes sense considering it’s TWO YEARS AWAY). He will let the chips fall where they may while staying focused on his current title chase in Miami.
Yes, I know that we’ve heard this all before. He wrote a check he couldn’t cash when he promised Cleveland a championship. He faced extreme consequences for doing it in the court of public opinion as well. Well now, we’re in a different time. James is a ten-year pro that knows what it takes to win a championship.
When James made his initial championship-or-bust statement in Ohio, he obviously had no clue how hard it actually was to win a title. He figured Cleveland would just continuously go to the Finals on his talent alone. Yes, that was arrogant on his part. He didn’t know Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce would join forces in Boston or that Rajon Rondo would become the force he is. He didn’t know Dwight Howard would become one of the best bigs in the game so quickly. All he knew was that he was good.
This time, the pieces are actually there for him to keep his promises in Miami. He has a better team than he’s ever had and it’s not even close.
LeBron’s coming off of one of the most successful year-long stretches of basketball ever. He’s one of two players – the other being Michael Jordan – to ever win a title, be the regular season and Finals MVP, and win a gold medal all in the same year. He’s pretty comfortable in his own skin right now, and being in Miami has a lot to do with that.
It would be great if we could drop all of the superfluous speculation and just watch what basketball he has in him right now. James isn’t even 30 years old yet, and already, we’re contemplating (and some are expecting) him to soon be playing for a different team.
For once, we should let James think for himself instead of having the media do his thinking for him. We are always trying to analyze what’s in his head instead of his play on the basketball court. That’s where the media takes it too far.
His contract situation in 2014 is something he’ll handle as a man and deal with himself. He’ll make that decision when it comes time to. We’re making a big deal out of an opt-out – still a long ways off – that’ll most likely happen because of the restrictions the new-age NBA put on max extensions.
It would be fiscally irresponsible for James to make any other decision besides opting out. He has the right to milk the NBA for whatever they have to offer.
but until that day, let’s leave him be. After all, he’s satisfied us enough over the last calendar year. LeBron James needs to be treasured right here and now – instead of predicting the future in 2014.
Has speculation in the current NBA culture gone overboard when it comes to free agency?
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