Miami Heat: LeBron James, "It's Not Always Great to be the King"

"What should I do? Should I admit that I've made mistakes?"
"Should I remind you that I’ve done this before?"
"Should I give you a history lesson?"
"What should I do? Should I tell you how much fun we had?"
"So, this went well. Should I really believe I ruined my legacy?"
"What should I do? Should I tell you I’m a championship chaser, I did it for the money, rings?"
"Should I be who you want me to be?"
"Should I accept my role...as the villain?"
"Should we just clear the decks and start over?" 
"What should I do? Should I be who you want me to be?"

The words of the new LeBron James commercial keep echoing in my head.
Never before has a player fallen from the good graces of fans, so far, and so fast, for just changing teams. What is our culture coming to, when a player is hated at this magnitude?
Does he deserved to have his jerseys burned, his banner torn down, and his legacy ruined, for his decision to switch teams.
Tiger Woods cheated on his wife with countless women, which tore apart his marriage, resulting in a divorce. Kobe Bryant cheated on his wife, and was accused of rape.
Ben Roethlisberger has been suspended from the NFL countless times, and was also accused of rape. Michael Vick was involved in a dog-fighting ring, in which he did inhumane things to dogs.
Yet none of these iconic sports figures are hated anywhere near the magnitude in which LeBron James is hated at the moment. They all broke the law, or failed morally, and yet all are applauded on the road to recovery.
James was a free agent who switched teams in the offseason, and yet he is forced to walk this road alone with only a small number of faithful fans.
Should LeBron be punished for his decision?
In his commercial, he asks "Should I really believe I ruined my legacy?" If the above-mentioned athletes have not ruined their legacy by breaking the law, or failing morally, then why should James be held to a higher standard for switching teams.
LeBron has been fueled by all this hatred, and we are seeing a different side of the king these days.
Many people now think of LeBron as the villain, and have posted hateful tweets on his Twitter account. He has reposted many of these messages, letting the world know that this is what fuels him now.
He said he has been taking mental notes of everyone who was hating on him, and he will use this to his advantage.
LeBron once ruled the city of Cleveland. He put them on the map, gave them good years, brought them an incredible source of income.
How does the city of Cleveland repay him? By burning his jerseys, tearing him down verbally and trying to destroy his legacy.

LeBron has had to walk through this adversity alone, for the most part. It goes to show that it is lonely at the top, and when you are the king, people are going to try to knock you down.
So the next time you go pointing your finger at LeBron, realize that there are plenty of others you should be pointing at first.
I wish James the best in this time of his life. He is my favorite player and will always be, but this season will test him emotionally.

There is a very popular saying, "it's great to be the king", but LeBron has shown us that it is not always great.
With the great title, comes great expectations.

When it's all said and done, LeBron will show us, "it's great to be the king, when the king finally has his ring."

Miami Heat: Why LeBron James Is Robin and Dwyane Wade Is Batman

2008 Upper Deck First Edition MLB Baseball Factory Set(506 Cards) + Game Used Jersey + 5 "Yankee Stadium Legacy" Cards2008 Upper Deck First Edition MLB Baseball Factory Set(506 Cards) + Game Used Jersey + 5 "Yankee Stadium Legacy" Cards

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This is Dwyane Wade's team. This is Dwyane Wade's city. LeBron will just have to learn to be Scottie Pippen.
To be totally honest, when I watched "The Decision" (albeit, a bit annoyed by how disrespectful LeBron was to his hometown) I was expecting LeBron to either stay in Cleveland or steal Derrick Rose's thunder in Chicago.
Oh, how wrong I was.
For some reason, LeBron must of deflated his ego, or forgotten the fact that the city of Miami loves Mr. Wade. If he needed any indication of South Florida's love of this man, he look no further than the formerly named Miami-Wade County.
They changed the name of a county as a hope to keep Wade on South Beach, and to show No. 3 the love he deserves.
LeBron's decision shocked me. But it showed me how dedicated he is to winning. I mean, the whole pay cut wasn't that much of a big deal; his off-the-court endorsements will more than cover that.
More the fact that he decided he wanted to join Dwyane Wade, in Dwyane Wade's city. Sure, you'll have the bandwagoners who jump all over him and pretty much forget about Wade. But any true Miami fan knows that Wade is the man.
Think back to '06. The first home game for Miami in the Finals series, where Dwyane Wade literally carried the team on his back in that incredible fourth quarter.
The turning point of the series, which swung everything back into the Heat's favour.
That is why Miami is Wade's team, and until he leaves, no one will have that honour.
No addition of players will ever take away the feelings of joy and pride we Heat fans experienced when Wade led our team to the promised land, in statistically one of the greatest Finals series performances of all time.
And when things turned ugly, Wade remained. He said consistently Miami is where he wanted to be.
He plays his heart out every night he laces up. For the past two seasons, he has made the Heat competitive on a nightly basis, leading a poor quality roster to the fifth seed twice.
LeBron will be shown love by Heat fans everywhere. Heck, even I have taken a warming to the guy. But it is crucial that Heat fans show Wade more love.
Because, to any true Miami fan, it is, and always will be Dwyane Wade's House.

Marbury didn't reject the Heat, he's just waiting for a call back

On Friday we all had some laughs about Stephon Marbury(notes) turning down a chance to play with the Miami Heat. 'Twas typical Marbury to refuse a shot at a championship in order to throw "alley-hoops" and shoot halfcourt threes in China. However, there's another part of Stephon Marbury that rears it's head pretty often — fighting with the media.
And now, he's doing just that, making this the perfect Marbury story arc. From the New York Post's Marc Berman:

Marbury, back in China for promotional events, said a Chinese reporter mixed up the translation of his remarks and that it was erroneously reported he had rejected the Dream Team's overtures -- an account picked up in New York.
The 33-year-old told The Post that the Heat contacted him in early July before LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes) and Chris Bosh(notes) formed the Dream Team and told him they would get back to him after "they handled all the things they had to handle."
Marbury still is waiting to hear back from Heat president Pat Riley, as Miami continues filling out its roster and could use another point guard. Marbury has not heard from James or Wade.
"It's total nonsense, why would I turn down a chance to play for the Miami Heat?" an irate Marbury told The Post from Beijing. "The report was a fabrication."

OK, cool. This makes a bunch of sense too. It's pretty easy to envision a scenario where the Heat were brainstorming ways to build their team and someone suggested Marbury making a return to the NBA. Then, maybe the Heat made a call and told him they'd get back to him after adding James and Bosh, then realized they had seriously just called Stephon Marbury asking him to play a small role on a team competing for a championship. Then they probably shared a hearty belly-laugh and ate tuna salad sandwiches before moving on to more serious matters. That is a very feasible thing that may have happened.
And while Marbury says the report is both a fabrication and a misquote, he also clarified part of his statement to Xinhua News, telling the Post that "[his] point to the Chinese journalist was that a point guard is not essential on that unit because James and Wade handle the ball so much and he would be taking on a small role in their success, as opposed to his status in China." So basically, yeah, he might prefer starring in China to barely playing in Miami. I'm not quite sure how a report can be fabricated but also contain inaccurate quotes while still needing to be expanded upon, but I also don't have a tattoo on my scalp. Yet.

While we don't really know what's going on here, we do know one thing is true. If, somehow, Stephon Marbury ends up back in the NBA, he will be the exact same guy that left a year ago. That's kind of comforting.

We Three Kings: 10 Trios That May Mesh Better Than LeBron & Miami Thrice

When LeBron James announced his decision to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, the basketball world descended into chaos.

Since that day, fans and followers alike have had to listen to the "expert" opinions of various sources predict the Heat's success for next season.

Despite all of the nonsense that is currently circulating the media hotlines, it cannot be denied that the talent of Miami's newly-formed trio is off the charts.

We have not seen two of the game's top three players join forces, and also have an All-Star caliber forward to work with in the post.

However, regardless of how talented these players are, the matter of on-the-court chemistry is still a major question mark.

There are some who believe "Miami Thrice" will have no issues playing together, while others, including LeBron's former teammate Wally Szczerbiak, believe there is no way they will be a compatible fit on the floor.

It is hard to believe that three players with as much combined experience, knowledge, and ability will not be able to make it work come game-time.

It is more likely that it simply takes them at least a season to fully gel and get on the same page.

This article highlights 10 NBA Trios who could mesh more effectively than the Heat's Big Three next season.

LeBron James' Championship Quest Puts Status As Legendary Player in Doubt

It has now been four full days since "The Decision," and the hurt still hasn't lessened. Before I go any further, I want to say that I stopped being a Lebron fan after his first two years in the NBA.

His maturation process was not one that lent itself well to his wonderful talents in my opinion.

The sense of entitlement he walked around with was enough to distance me even further as the years went by. Yet I still marvel at how he is able to give the game whatever is needed with seemingly little effort. Just like fame, the game came rather easy to him.

He turned ordinary players, like Moe Williams into all-stars; now Williams and the players formerly known as the Lebronettes will have to make it work without him.

It is a tough road to walk when much is given and expected of you when you have yet to earn or master the technique necessary to make those same arguments true.

David Stern's ingenious plan to promote the individual after Michael Jordan's rise to global fame is the root of LeBron's meteoric ultimate rise and the resulting backlash to his legacy.

Once Stern saw how much money could be gained by promoting individual stars, it was the end of team identity linked to team play. Your team sucks, don't worry we have a star player that can score in bunches and make the ESPN and NBATV top 10 highlight reel every night.

He forgot about the basketball purists who are the real fans of the game and James' announcement just proved their point. It is still about championships, but in the end, it still matters how you get those championships.

Robert Horry will never be a Hall-of-Famer even though he has more rings than Jordan.

This is what we get when we stare into the pit of adoration without proof that it is warranted.

The NBA draft lottery and free agency period is played like the futures market on Wall Street with some (wink-wink) insider trades. Sometimes it works other times they get caught like the Minnesota Timberwolves did with Joe Smith in their efforts to surround KG with more talent.

The Miami Thrice, a name that is already being bandied about for the new Heat triumvirate, turned the NBA on its proverbial heels by beating the NBA and the mass media at their own game. Their choreographed decision stunned and upset more than the Cleveland fan base.

You got the necessary pork barrel agreements i.e. Joel Alexander, Mike Miller et. al. to surround your high end products Wade, James and Bosh then you ride the speculation to millions and possibly billions of dollars. A brilliant marketing and financial deal that started bearing fruit before James' uttered a single word.

This may also open the door for Carmelo Anthony and some other star player (feel free to insert Tony Parker or Chris Paul in here) to join Amare Stoudemire in New York.

Kobe Bryant and possibly Kevin Durant may be the last stars to be the lone superstar on a team to lead their team to greater heights. It may also force the Hall-of-Fame selection committee to change the criteria for what it means to be a legacy player.

I say all this because I have seen the rise of the one legacy player that all modern NBA wing players are judged on, Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant is one step closer to being in that discussion though his once and very public trial and indiscretion in Denver make it a harder sell.

LeBron hasn't done anything as bad. His improper use of etiquette in dumping his employer is not a particularly egregious offense, but the way he went about this public divorce does leave one wondering about his character.

He can never sit at the round table of champions and have the same stories to tell as Magic, Jordan, Duncan, Shaq and even Kobe. It just won't have the same flavor.

These guys will be able to tell how they learned to rely and build trust in their lesser skilled teammates.

They didn't have the luxury of hand picking their superstar teammates to help them get championships. They simply relied on the basketball savvy of their respective front office.

They probably won't say it publicly but I bet you they respect Wade and Bosh more so than Lebron.

Bosh was never really considered a NUM-BUH ONE. James on the other hand ran the gambit he exceeded NUM-BUH ONE status before he put on an NBA uniform.

Worst case scenario, Lebron James will be considered to be a better Scottie Pippen, the greatest second banana in this modern era. James has the same skill set as Pippen, except he brings a myriad of problems because of his speed size and strength.

By himself Pippen couldn’t carry the Bulls to victory, but when paired with Jordan he was phenomenal. Lebron could carry his team to victory alone, but he found it a lonely and heavy yolk to bear.

He had consulted Kevin Garnett on what it was like in Minnesota and I am sure that factored in his decision to move to Miami.

Another thing James and Scottie have in common, when the game was on the line is that they both quit on their team.

There are those in Cleveland who are actually okay with his leaving, but he would have been better served to leave with decorum than to leave with the false pomp and circumstance that had surrounded him for the last seven years.

Unfortunately this is the way NBA business is done and the rest of the sports world can only watch.

Grown men with obscene amounts of money are being brought to their knees, groveling at the feet of a 25 year old sports savant who is still locked in his own delusional sense of self.

Maybe this will force NBA owners and the basketball sporting world to pause before giving such praise and pressure on someone who has yet to be able to ride the waves of transition from childhood to adulthood.

On second thought nah...

James is not entirely guilt free, neither is his former employer or the NBA for aiding and abetting him in this duplicity for seven years. They enabled him and he willing took it; who wouldn't, I know I would soak it up.

To paraphrase Mark Jackson, he made a grown man move, now the NBA world awaits the result of his grown man play. It is a rather tawdry result even though he will get his championships.