LeBron James has made his decision – and while the process was drawn out and watered down in many ways, the overall aftermath from the King’s decision to join the Miami Heat is still very major.
It impacts many players, fans and teams throughout the country.
In particular, here’s who I feel to be the WINNERS and LOSERS from LeBron’s decision to bolt Ohio for South Beach – in the form of a “Sexy Seven” at The Wife Hates Sports, featuring seven on each list:
LeBron James to Miami: Winners and Losers from the Decision
WINNERS
Pat Riley – “Riles” proves he’s still got it – being able to lure LeBron to Miami, putting together a super trio base of stars. Miami still has some work to do adding depth and bodies to the Heat roster.
LeBron James – It’s a rollercoaster day for King James, and while he’ll certainly leave a hefty chunk of change on the table in exchange for joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh – Miami immediately becomes the potential favorites to not just win an NBA title, but start up a new dynasty.
Chris Broussard – The ESPN NBA analyst nailed the report leading up to LeBron’s big decision, all when there were a number of rumors flying across multiple cities that were in the mix.
Stephen A. Smith – Days ago, Smith discussed on The Dan Patrick Show that Bosh, Wade and James would wind up in Miami – and that it was basically “done”. At the time, that description seemed very extreme, but Smith turned out to be correct – and has earned bragging rights.
Dwyane Wade – D-Wade gets his wish, adding two major pieces, while staying in the city where he began his career – and has won one championship.
Chris Bosh – Another obvious choice, as Bosh goes from being the lone star on a Canadian team, to joining two superstars in South Beach.
ESPN – Certainly, there are a lot of critics of the coverage and the handling of the situation, but in the end – LeBron and Co. approached the worldwide leader to put together an hour-long special, and ESPN is certainly reaping the benefits in the form of ratings, website PV’s and so on.
LOSERS
Byron Scott – Hey Byron, welcome to Cleveland – you’re superstar is heading south. Umm, is that assistant job still available in La-La land? Can anyone say out clause?
Adam Morrison – No player in recent years had an easier road to 2 NBA championships – while barely contributing at all. Now, there’s a super trio of Wade, Bosh and LeBron in Miami? C’mon now – we know Morrison is sensitive (see right).
Carlos Boozer – Boozer decided to head to Chicago, and while the Bulls will still be a talented group – they don’t just miss out on adding LeBron, but also now Boozer moves from the Western conference to the Eastern conference – where Miami, Boston and Orlando all play.
Amar’e Stoudemire – Same as with Boozer, Stoudemire left the West for the East – from Phoenix to New York. He adds a piece to the Knicks, but New York still has a long way to go.
The City of Cleveland – No one should feel worse than the city of Cleveland, who most certainly should feel like certain doom is ahead for each of its sports franchises. Cleveland hasn’t seen a title since 1964 – that’s almost 50 years. Right about now, it has to feel like it will be 50 more before another arrives.
New Jersey Nets – The Nets are the biggest loser of this entire offseason, as the other big names in play for LeBron at least added other major pieces to their respective rosters. The Nets’ current major signing has been Travis Outlaw, who agreed to a deal earlier Thursday.
Finally, there’s the King himself…
LeBron James – James – while also mentioned a winner – is also a loser in this situation, too. Plain and simple, his home state hates him right about now – and during ESPN’s broadcast after “The Decision”, Shelley Smith reported that, “LeBron is the second most hated person in this city, Art Modell being first.” Smith followed that statement with, “They’re very bitter.”
In addition, ESPN’s Rachel Nichols reported that many Knicks fans are now listing LeBron James as a more hated player than Reggie Miller. Yikes.
So in the end, James certainly may finally get that ring while in Miami – but he’ll pay a major price when he travels on the road to Cleveland, New York and so on.
haha miami FTW i was getting really tired of people telling me that my fav team sucks look at them now haha we gonna win many champioships to come
I honestly don’t know who I feel more sorry for right now. The Cavs and their fans or the Heat and their fans? I’m not so sure Miami is big enough to hold LeBron’s ego. I was never really that much of a LeBron fan, but now I dislike him even more. They certainly have enough weapons in Miami to win, but I don’t think it’ll happen this season. Time will tell. He’ll need major protection the next time he goes back to Cleveland.
Ryda–
Thanks for stopping by and pitching in to the discussion here…
He’ll certainly have a great chance to win a title in Miami with that group on board… but he had a solid chance in Cleveland, too. I really do think that group there would have kept trying to put the right pieces around him to make it happen… they just were unsuccessful in past attempts.
TOP AL–
You know, Gilbert’s response was fascinating to me – and very surprising. The only line in there that I would have left out (if I were him) was the one where he said that we could take it to the bank that the Cavs would win a title before LeBron did. Well, right now… Cleveland has a long way to go… and Miami would have to get ousted by some of the other big guns.
And just like that Miami is a perennial powerhouse