This is a tale of two (NBA) cities, and of two superstars.
Royal Screw Job
Alas, the King was fickle lover. After tough post season losses, James began to make demands. He wanted a stronger supporting cast and his friends some new contracts. The Cavs relented, signing Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao into long term contracts. Boobie GIbson got one too. When more losses came, James began flirting with other teams as early as two years ago, pressuring the Cavs to buy more talent, all the while claiming to be loyal to the Cavs. The man with "Loyalty," tatooed on his back would turn in less than impressive playoff performances after that, then ultimately shut himself off from his adoring fans to think about his next move. Then, in the most dickish move ever, goes on a one hour national TV special to announce he's turning his back on his hometown. The worst part? Practically waiting at the last hour, while calling himself loyal, LBJ agreed to sign a long term contract, longer than any he had signed with Cleveland. With his much delayed decision, practically all free agents have been signed, leaving the Cavs with no options for the future. Meanwhile, LBJ begins his new affair in Miami.
They Complete Him
The Oklahoma City Thunder got to an inauspicious start, with Seattle residents hating on them for leaving. In the draft, however, they came up aces. They lucked into Kevin Durant, a phenom with only one year of college ball, but boatloads of shooting touch, long arms and athleticism. When I say lucked into, though, I wasn't even talking about the basketball talent. From day one, Durant said and did all the right things. He was a no frills superstar, playing to his talent, being the consummate teammate and the ultimate ambassador for the city. Durant always talked OKC, never even once musing what it felt like to play elsewhere. This was the guy, who despite being an all-NBA talent, flies to summer league games to offer advice to his less illustrious teammates and flies to the NBA draft to welcome his new teammates.
As the NBA rolls into a new season this November, the tale of the two (NBA) cities continues. Oklahoma, feeling their unconditional love reciprocated by their leading man, looks forward to another run to the playoffs this year, and four years after that. The much-maligned city of Cleveland, though, faces uncertainty for at least another 5 years, no matter what their owner boldly stated.
OKC, you lucked into a good man, one fathers would kill for. Cleveland? Papa warned you about men like him.
4 comments:
Nice analogy, sharwin!
I was a Lebron fan up until they lost to Boston.
Cleveland tried its best to really make him happy and he left them high and dry.
Of course it was partly his fault that they couldn't sign potential key players since they knew Lebron wasn't giving his commitment to the team (like Durant did for OKC). Still... I think Shaq, Jamison, Parker were good additions. He could have made it work... but he didn't.
Now that he is basically on the East All Star Team of Miami, I don't think it would be as meaningful to win the championship. In fact, it would be an embarrassment if they don't.
Man... this Lebron things depressing... where's the honor and pride?
Anyway, nice post, shar!
-andrew
Hi, Sharwin.
I'm of two minds on this.
I do feel for Cavs fans. The nature of being a sports fan is the imbued loyalty and fanaticism, so yes, it must feel painful to lose such an outstanding player. As a fan, one expects the same loyalty from that player as a fan would give.
However...
I'd like to point out that James is just an employee. He doesn't own shares in the Cavs, is not a part-owner, nothing. So he's just like any other employee who is out seeking greener pastures (not necessarily in the form of money; it could be in job satisfaction (winning); or in this case, it seems, playing with his Olympic buddies). Of course, this would require him to move away from home, but that's no different from other employees who were given better offers away from their neighborhood.
So, for me, there is an element of "No, loyalty is an issue, but a player, like an employee, has the prerogative to choose also". I'm not sure loyalty to team should be the only issue held up to James. These are the pros, after all, so whether one carries oneself with that loyalty to team is a personal choice (as shown with your Durant example). In other words, it's up to the player to live up to the "loyalty" definition of fans, but we shouldn't judge him wholly based on that (though, once more, I point out that I understand the fan's point-of-view, and the pain at the loss). Loyalty is an emotional standpoint, but if the player is willing to take the consequences because of his personal or professional choice, then that's his business, too. If he's willing to be branded a winning mercenary only, ala Alex Rodriguez and be able to live with it; or be like Durant, in trying to be the fans' loyal man ala Duncan, Bryant, Jordan, then that's a player's personal choice also.
Here's an analogy: Say you're a top professional chef, and you've worked for an organization for the longest time here in Manila, your hometown. You're respected and taken care of by management, and you're well-liked and have an outstanding rel'ship with your organization mates; but you're not a partner or anything. Then a better offer from Europe comes along, one that satisfies you both financially and personally. You'll need to move there if you accept. Does loyalty come into play? After all, your current organization has given you all that you wanted, but still, the European offer is superior. Does loyalty come into play? Of course! But as a professional, you have a chance here also in Europe that staying will not give you.
What, for me, in indisputable, is the manner by which James made his choice. An hour-long, boring special? Dragging the choice out for months? Pretending to be this or that and playing coy? I think, in that, the Cavs fans deserved more respect. A simple, quiet statement saying "Thank you" and then explaining honestly why he's moving would have been better than pretending to give hope to the fans when there was no intention to, is, I think, the more respectful way to have made the decision.
First of all, thanks for the comments! Love 'em!
Andrew - i can't shake the feeling that miami might lose in the second round! if orlando comes back a year older and wiser, chicago takes advantage of its balanced line up and boston paces itself well, any of those three could still beat all star miami.
Pgenresotries - Great points. Definitely, every player has the right to move. I do agree that the manner by which he did it was the most despicable. I actually understand why he left the cavs and i wouldn't find his actions in bad taste had he not spent over two years flirting with moving (while still playing in meaningful playoff games) and had he not kept stating that he loved cleveland and it would always be his home. Kudos to miami for pulling it off though. :-)
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