Did Something Happen Last Night?

Apparently, the music scene, beer scene, and strip clubs were not enough to bring LeBron James to Portland. Although I guess South Beach has a lot of those also. Ultimately, whether or not this is the right decision will not be clear for another 5 years, at least. For now, it looks to be the right choice out of only a few intriguing options. You could write a book on the unnecessary drama this summer, and how legacies have been tarnished, and who has embarrassed themselves (Dan Gilbert, LeBron) and who (teams, players, and images) has come out on top. In basketball terms, the Miami Heat afford LeBron James the best opportunity to win championship rings with his friends.

Regardless of what word you would choose to describe the free agent situation this summer (Horrendous, fiasco, debacle, and circus all come to mind), LeBron made the choice that benefits him the most. If you were 25, and had a chance to move to a cool city with your best friends and live it up, wouldn't you do it? Maybe not. Maybe loyalty and career aspirations and a level head would get in the way. What if your best friends were two of the most talented in your desired field, whether it be anything from rocket science to hair styling? Now you're all in the same city, having fun, and bringing out the best in each other and giving each other a crutch whenever needed. One friend fills in the right variables you don't see in the giant math equation on the chalkboard. The other friend evens out the bangs on the sassy girl's hair you've just finished cutting. LeBron gains something he has never had before: good teammates. Not just good, but great. Wade and Bosh can help clean up math equations and hair cuts.

As far as basketball goes, this is the smartest option for him if he only cares about rings. Cleveland may have been better from a family/loyalty point of view. In Chicago, the obvious MJ comparisons would have been a daily reminder of the standard he would have to uphold. The Bulls were a nice second option, but Wade/Bosh > Rose/Boozer. For those that worry about chemistry being an issue, there really should be nothing to worry about (I feel ethically obligated to inform you at this point that I think the 03-04 Lakers and 2004 US Men's Basketball teams should have won their respective championships. Flukes, poor coaching, and once in a lifetime ego discrepancies brought those dreams crumbling down). Bosh knows he's number 3 on this team. Wade and LeBron have both proven in the past they know when to defer (Olympics, 2006 Heat). All three possess an incredible ability to pass. As far as crunch time concerns go, there should be no question about who takes the last shot of a game on this team: Whoever is open. But they should look for Wade first.

Then there are questions about the supporting cast. Right now, the only other player on South Beach is Mario Chalmers. They also have a few competent second round draft picks in Da'Sean Butler, Dexter Pittman, and Jarvis Varnado who will gladly play for the rookie minimum to be a part of this All Star team. It really shouldn't be that hard to find willing role players to join this march to basketball immortality. Guys like Mike Miller will be happy to be key components to a championship contender. Guys like Juwan Howard will be happy to get a chance at a ring so late in their careers. There are plenty of players around the league willing to be a part of this historical situation.

Make no doubt about it, this is indeed a historical situation. Never before, in any sport (not even the Yankees), have there been players this talented in the primes of their careers playing on the same team. Wade and James are two of the top three in the league, and Bosh is in the top 10. Anytime you've seen more than two future Hall of Famers on the same team, they've all been at different stages of their career (97 Rockets, 04 Lakers, 69 Lakers, 77 Sixers, etc). Maybe the Celtics in the 80's were at the same stages in their career, but McHale and Parish were not top 3 guys, let alone top 10. This will be intriguing to watch from a basketball standpoint just to see how they play together, and how teams adjust to playing them.

It would be easy to say the Heat will be the favorites to win the NBA Championship for the next 5 years running. However, there are other teams out there. The Bulls are young and improving. As are the Thunder. The Celtics are old and looking to prove doubters wrong again. The Magic are talented. As are the Nuggets. The Blazers are young and hopefully healthy. And of course, the Lakers are the defending champs. And talented. And have Kobe. Whether or not going to Miami was the right choice, it looks like it gave LeBron (and Bosh and Wade, for that matter) the most potential to win the most championships for the next few years. Their most difficult year will be this year, getting through the potential chemistry issues and if they make the finals, a hungry LA team looking for a threepeat. However, even if they don't get one this year, it is safe to say you can pencil them in for 2-3 in the next five years. And that's the point. With this many young and outstandingly talented guys on one team, in their primes, it would have been stupid to go anywhere else.