The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James first got a taste of playing together.

LeBron James is the scarcest of resources, and he has allocated himself to the Miami Heat.

James announced yesterday that he will leave the only franchise he has known in his first 7 NBA seasons, the Cleveland Cavaliers, for the greener pastures (or whiter sands) of South Beach and the Heat. There, he will form a triumvirate with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, creating an alliance of 3 of the top 10 players in the NBA. Who else will be joining the squad is yet to be determined. Upon trading forward Michael Beasley to the Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday for a 2011 second round draft pick, the Heat currently have 4 players on their roster (once the Holy Trinity is inked), plus 3 unsigned second round picks from last month’s draft. Depending on the contract figures for James, Wade, and Bosh, the Heat will see how much cap space is available, determine how far they’re willing to go over the cap, and look to sign affordable veterans, minimum salary guys, and possibly their own 2010 draft picks. The 3 Team USA alums have expressed they would take less than the max contracts, in state income tax free Florida, to help bring in the players necessary to win titles. Compare that to taxes in New York or Chicago, and James won’t be leaving a great percentage on the table in net salary.

The unbelievable overreaction by the media to this star athlete announcing his free agency decision has been shocking. Most members of the media have chastised James for “how” he made his decision; namely, creating an hour television special on ESPN called “The Decision”. As one popular sports columnist surmised: “I just hope he remembers to wipe the blood off the knife after he pulls it from Cleveland’s back.” The over-charged rhetoric coming from the media is hysterical. The idea is that LeBron, opting to leave the Cavs, was cruelly punishing the city of Cleveland with the television show; a city that hasn’t seen a professional sports championship since 1964 and Jim Brown’s Cleveland Browns. It was said that LeBron showed himself to be an egotist by creating this grandiose platform (him and Jim Gray talking, how grand), and didn’t give the Cavaliers organization, or any of his other suitors, the courtesy of a phone call before the special. They were all hung out to dry as it were.

It’s odd that the same media which has been capitalizing on the “Summer of 2010″ and the LeBron sweepstakes for 2 years, has a problem with James capitalizing on his own life and opportunities. They have taken the story, and created such hype around it with their troops of “Basketball Insiders”, that it has been a traffic machine for organizations like ESPN. One more report from Ric Bucher or Chris Broussard and I think I’ll start pulling my nails back. Eyeballs, whether on the TV or the web, means profits. After creating and fostering the ballyhoo for 2 years, the media is taken aback when LeBron forms a television show for 1 night to announce his decision (which ESPN benefits from). While other free agents signed contracts with much less fanfare, ranted and raved the media, LeBron had to be on his own, at a neutral site, promoting his brand.

Yes, LeBron James has a marketing company, LRMR Marketing. Yes, he just launched a website this week. Yes, he fired up a Twitter account for the first time. Yes, he was trying to capitalize on free agency. Just as Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade were trying to do with cameras following them around, filming their journeys for a future documentary, and just as the media was doing for their own gain. But the reality is that LeBron was the biggest star in this class, and the best overall player. All teams with cap space were lining up to snag him away from Cleveland, first and foremost, before any of the other names. He was the last one to make a decision because he wanted to stay in Cleveland all along. His priority was to have quality running mates and win multiple titles. And he wanted to do that at home. He tried to recruit Chris Bosh to the Cavs, which would have been more than enough to get James to stay. Both Bosh’s Toronto Raptors and the Cavs had agreed to a suitable sign and trade which would have made it happen. Bosh nixed the deal. He didn’t want to play in Cleveland. Bosh was the most influential player this summer. Where he went, LeBron and/or Wade would likely follow (ironically to their own teams). Presumably, playing with LeBron was Bosh’s primary goal (with the triumvirate being the long-shot hope). Bosh decided against Cleveland. And one or both obviously opted not to team up in Chicago. When the primary goal seemed to fall through, and Bosh wanted to make a decision, he went to plan 1A: team up with Dwayne Wade in Miami. At that point, LeBron had to leave Cleveland if his decision was driven by winning. It was either going to be Miami or Chicago. While Chicago has an attractive core, the special opportunity to play with Wade and Bosh appealed most to LeBron. Yes, the egotist, opted to play with two other all-stars, probably revert back to his more Magic Johnson-like playing style, all in the name of winning. What a pompous ass. And he announced this self-centered decision on a self-made production, in partnership with ESPN, which raised $2.5 million for the Boys and Girls Club. Screw you, LBJ.

I don’t know what it is. People seem to get upset when talented people have options. LeBron owed nothing to the Cleveland Cavaliers organization. Based on a cost-benefit review by Forbes.com, LeBron made the Cavs $60-100 million more valuable when he played there. Dan Gilbert bought the team from Gordon Gund in 2005 for $375 million. Gund paid $20 million for the franchise in 1983. Gund cashed in on the LeBron effect, and is probably the real winner here. The team was valued at $476 million before all of this free agent hoopla, and LeBron’s impending departure. Just by Forbes’ estimates, Gilbert can scratch at least $60-100 million off that figure, and why would anyone be surprised if it were more? All of the sudden, Gilbert is right back around the value he paid in 2005, and the outlook going forward isn’t pretty. James took Cleveland to their first NBA Finals 3 years ago, pretty much by himself. His presence created new industry in Cleveland. The Cavs have won more games in the regular season the last 2 years than anyone. Neither the city of Cleveland nor the Cavs own this guy. He’s done plenty for them. Judging by Gilbert’s open letter tirade last night over LeBron’s decision, I would advise him to look in the mirror. LeBron wanted to stay. You had 5 years to assemble a better roster to win and be poised to win in the future. You put in the effort, but as John Wooden told us, never mistake activity for achievement. The acquisitions of Ben Wallace, Mo Williams, 97-year-old Shaq, Antawn Jamison, and Coach Mike Brown wasn’t enough. Could LeBron have performed better in this year’s playoffs? Sure. But if Gilbert wants to point to LeBron and blame him for the Cavs’ shortcomings, that is all the more reason to leave. The Lakers spent the last 6 years acquiring assets (Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Ron Artest, Trevor Ariza, Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, Coach Phil Jackson), drafting the likes of Andrew Bynum, and trading for Pau Gasol to surround Kobe Bryant. That’s how you build a team, Dan. Clearly it isn’t easy, and there are no guarantees you can get deals done. But you didn’t.

LeBron has the right to weigh his options, and do what’s best for himself and his inner circle. People need some perspective. It’s just basketball, and it’s just business. Judging by the images of burning LBJ jersey’s surfacing last night, I doubt there is much perspective in Cleveland. Feel lucky that you had him for 7 years, and if you want to be upset, look to ownership and former General Manager Danny Ferry. Had they acquired Amare Stoudemire on multiple attempts the last 2 seasons, LeBron probably would have stayed, and they probably could have signed Carlos Boozer or David Lee to stick alongside both of them. This is the same Carlos Boozer the Cavs originally drafted in 2002 and eventually parted ways with in 2004.

While many people are skeptical of how the 3 stars on a currently gutted Heat roster will fare, do you really think that having these guys is going to end badly? Obviously there are risks. You’re always exposed to risk. And the Heat may not be able to assemble a championship roster for next year. But they will creatively maneuver, sign veterans over the years that want to win a title, and these 3 virtuosos will make everyone they stick on the floor better. Much better. I can’t wait to see who the Heat acquire and to watch the team next year. There may be injuries to any of the 3 stars, which could particularly hurt the Heat next year while still in transition, but having only 2 of the top 10 players in the league for a period of time is not the most awful predicament.

LeBron surely has an ego, as does every high profile NBA star. You don’t get to that point in competitive sports without one. Even the mild-mannered Tim Duncan has an ego. Why don’t we appreciate the fact he made a decision as best he could, with a wildly fluid set of scenarios at hand. He announced it, I wasn’t crazy about the third person speech bubbling up in the interview, but the discussion with Jim Gray was pretty level-headed. It’s not as if the media wouldn’t have interviewed him similarly. LeBron simply set it up, capitalized on it for LRMR/LeBronJames.com/Twitter etc., and raised $2.5 million for charity in the process. It’s his life and talents, if everyone is going to capitalize on them, he might as well, too.

P.S. Can we get over the “LeBron’s legacy is tarnished” nonsense? And the “3 apha dog super team will diminish any potential championships he wins” hyperbole? People don’t win titles by themselves. Talk about myths needing to be broken. Even Jordan, who seemingly won titles by himself, didn’t. He had Scottie Pippen, a Top 50 Greatest NBA Player, Phil Jackson, the best coach in NBA, and perhaps, sports history, as well as Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, John Paxson, B.J. Armstrong, Scott Williams, etc. What was amazing about Jordan’s run was that he never had a dominant big man. But he had help. Lot’s of it. When Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen teamed up for their run over the last 3 years, has it tarnished anyone’s legacy? Has it tarnished Kobe’s legacy to have Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher, and Phil Jackson? No. We saw what happened when Kobe went it alone with an average roster. The Lakers went 121-125 over 3 seasons. LeBron is Magic, Wade is Jordan, and Bosh is Gasol. My question is will Bosh get tougher in the paint as Gasol has had to over the last 3 years? Will the Heat find a long, physical big to put alongside him a la Andrew Bynum or Kendrick Perkins? That, and assembling their roster, will be no small task. But the Lakers and Celtics don’t have many more title runs left in them. I think we’ll be seeing a lot of the Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder challenging for titles beginning not next season, but the season after.

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