Final thoughts on Lebron, Heat, Bosh, Gilbert…

• I never bought into the notion that the Heat wouldn’t have enough players and I still don’t.  You don’t need talent from 1-12 on your roster.  They already have 3 elite players – all it takes now is one or two second rounders or undrafted free agents finding their respective niches.  I don’t know if they’ll win the title this year, but they’ll be right there next season with a choice MLE signing.

Update: more thoughts on other stuff

• Lakers vs. Heat should be great, a sort of villain vs. villain clash.  The health of Bynum will be more crucial than ever, at least for now until the Heat can find a big man on the cheap next year with their MLE.
• After pulling this off, I almost don’t think I could blame Riley if he decides Spoelstra needs to spend more time with his family.  You almost feel good for the old bastard after years of punishment at the hands of Jordan and his arch-nemesis and now having had to watch Jackson dominate the league with a new great.  Interesting to consider that between the two men, they will now have had Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and Lebron James all in their primes.
• Brian Windhorst is one of the most reputable beat-writers in the industry, but his insider piece on this whole ordeal came off as somewhat disingenuous.  His implication was that this was somehow orchestrated years ago with his proof evidence being a strong desire between the 3 to join forces.  That’s quite the logical leap.  We all knew already they wanted to play together – that doesn’t mean they were set on it from the start and were somehow stringing everyone along throughout this process.
• I still have no problem at all with the crux of Lebron’s decision.  In leaving, he made the right call.  Too many athletes have waited around far too long, wasting away their primes on bad teams.  Good for him for taking control of his destiny.  They’ll discard you like an old shoe the second you can’t play anymore – what does he owe anyone if they couldn’t put a decent team around him?
• This has been just a bizarre few months.  Most fascinating was that “the decision” by the three completely flies in the face of all rational expectations.  They turned down money, logical success (Chicago), and personal pride for happiness.  I suppose it had to happen – when Ron Artest almost single-handedly won the NBA Finals, nothing else in our world could ever again make sense.  We’re having to start over.
• James remarked in their welcoming that they would win seven championships – I’m assuming he means himself and Bosh because Dwyane Wade doesn’t have seven years left in his body.  That’s really the part of this that I don’t understand and I think it stems from a sense of deluded invincibility that plagues many athletes regarding themselves and their friends.  When you’re on top, you feel/seem like you’ll never fall off.  It’s similar to why so many people just naturally assume Kobe will stay elite until he’s 36, as did Jordan.  The human mind can’t really conceptualize a downfall unless it’s imminent.  Wade will be 29 next year and with his smallish size and aggressive style, can’t maintain this level for more than another 2 or 3 years.  That’s fine but if James really wanted to set himself up, he would have teamed up with Rose/Noah where he really could have expected to win 7.
• Still shocked by how Lebron did it.  He owes them nothing but he could have had the decency to let them mourn in private.
• After that debacle, I didn’t think there could be greater cause for embarrassment but Dan Gilbert proved me wrong.  The “letter” was just utterly pitiful and a complete disgrace.  Is it too much to ask of people these days to conduct themselves with a modicum of dignity?  Gilbert proved himself to be a childish lunatic and where I originally felt sympathy for the franchise, I hope he fails in his future attempts at recruiting talent to his team.  The most amusing part of that monologue pertained to the notion that the Cavs would somehow try even harder now that they had been spurned.  That promise should really having them flooding the phone lines for season tickets, Dan.
• It’s a bit odd how the triumvirate is being mentioned, and I can’t help but cringe everytime.  Let me offer the obligatory disclaimor: Bosh is great, I wish we had him, he would have lifted this team to contention; I’m not bitter.  But it should be somewhat embarrassing for him that he’s being lumped together rhetorically with James and Wade as virtual equivalents.  Bosh is elite in his own right but James and Wade might be the two best players in the league.  This isn’t the coming together of “three great players.”  This is “2 all-time greats and one great player.”  Glad I got that off my chest.
• Final note is on the Rockets who, if merely taking the floor on November 1st as currently composed, could very realistically contend for the #2 seed.  This is a very good team without any additions.  The problem remains that the gap between #2 and the Lakers is still so big that there will need to be some sort of upgrade for the team to realistically contend.
• That Kyle Lowry has drawn little interest, much less than Jordan Farmar, speaks to how greatly inefficient this market is.  You almost have to assume that other teams simply stick to conventional metrics (ppg-apg-rpg) and don’t properly scout because Lowry was the Rockets’ most impactful player last season.  Kyle Lowry makes this team go.
• Update: there was a report over the weekend purporting that the Mavs had strong interest in Al Jefferson.  I chuckled.  The way that team is assembled, you almost get the feeling that it’s run by a fan insofar as their yearly pursuit of just about whoever is the hottest name at that time on the market.  That’s not to say that this isn’t necessarily a good strategy – with a closing window (Nowitzki’s age) and no financial concerns, it probably is smartest to amass talent and hope for lightning in a bottle.
• There’s an opinion that the Heat will dismantle due to a clash of egos.  I don’t think that will be the case.  Bosh is by nature a second fiddle and having Wade allows James to do what he feels most comfortable doing – passing the basketball.  What’s overlooked is that James has been forced into Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant when that’s not who he is; Lebron isn’t a shot-maker, he’s a creator.  He’s at his best when he’s passing the basketball and making plays for others.  As I have said, the big concern is Wade’s age.