Mulligan:

Man, no Ted Nelson weighing in? We must truly be in the dog days of summer..  

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Careful!! If you type Ted Nelson’s name three times he appears behind you and crushes you with a 20K word post on Anthony Randolph’s “upside.” Or so the legend goes…

The problem I have is him specifically joining with Wade.

All great players need an excellent supporting cast. It’s not unusual for the best teams to have 3 all star caliber players. However, most of the real incons of the game were the leaders of their team. As leaders, they were often relied upon to take over critical games or at least take over the last few minutes with great playmaking, scoring, defense, shot blocking, steals, or a combination of the above.

Wade has already demonstrated that ability.

You can argue that Lebron has to some extent also, but he has never done it against a team with similar overall talent and another elite player under championship caliber pressure.

Maybe he has that ability, but we may never find that out because with Wade, the pressure and demands on him will always be muted.

I think that’s the complaint that guys like Jordan, Barkley, Magic, Miller and others are making. This argument may not be considered vital on a stats based forum, but I think virtually all elite competitors in every sport would understand it quite well.

Love it. KG, Shaq, Kendrick, Big Baby, Sheed?, and Jermaine should give Miami all they can handle in the paint. Provided no one breaks a hip.

This is totally unfair to the Heat, but when a superstar like Shaq joins a storied franchise like the Celtics or Lakers, Cowboys or Yankees it just feels more normal and therefore OK and natural than “The Decision”.

Or, if you will, call them the decision and “The Decision.”

As far as the decision goes, 60% of me thinks that these guys put in their time, the rules is the rules, and they had a right to go anywhere they wanted, collusion or not.

The other 40% knows that Bosh gave Toronto a weak effort late in the 09-10 season — and LeBron’s surrender in the final minutes against the Celtics June 2010 was truly telling. Both of them will be perceived as quitters/non-closers and that perception won’t change when Wade takes the winning shots.

Then there’s “The Decision.” That was just character suicide. From the TV show, to the whole talk of going town to town to have everyone court him, the whole thing was just an exercise in brand destruction of the highest order.

For all the press about LeBron’s relationship with Warren Buffet, “The Decision” reminded us that some of these kids (NBA players in their 20′s) are willing to trust their finances, their PR reputations, and more to their friends, “associates,” and others who have no idea what they are doing. In a month when one NBA player was found shot dead in a forest, and another was publicized as a former NBA great, recipient of millions in wages, now homeless and bankrupt, it’s a reminder that quality accountants, marketing, and PR executives might just have actual skills to justify their salaries.

These things don’t go away. LA still sells a ton of Kobe jerseys, but lots of people see him as a rapist who skirted a trial. Crazy Ron Ron was charming winning a title, but many recall the image of him in the stands in Auburn Hills. I don’t think these things go away as fast as others might.

While A-Rod’s individual stats don’t suffer (if he could ever get to 600 HR) I think it would be fun to watch LeBron chase Kareem’s scoring record and/or Stockton’s assist records and I wonder if he’ll be able to do that in Miami. Potentially.

As far as who will take the last shot, I think he and D. Wade will hit a rhythm. As much as I’d love to watch them fail, I think they’ll figure out how to win. And whoever has the best chance to hit the shot will get it.

@41 IMHO, Chalmers-LeBron-Miller-Bosh-Udonis is much better than Mo-LeBron-Hickson-Jamison-Varajaeo. Bosh is a huge upgrade and the rest is somewhat even.

For LeBron to declare “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” at the age of 25 is gutless. An admission of failure.

@23

re: Wade getting hurt: you may be right, but since he won’t have to carry much burden now, Wade’s body will probably hold up a little better. But let’s just say he does get hurt. Is Bosh, LeBron, Miller, Chalmers, Haslem, House, Ilgauskus, Arroyo, Juwan Howard, Magliore, 2nd rounders really much better than what LeBron played with in Cleveland the past few years? Possibly not.

The A-Rod comparison holds up in that neither one knows how to act when it comes to public scrutiny or when it comes to being a dominant force in their sport. They are two of the most talented athletes the world has seen but they are clueless as entertainers.

What LeBron has set up is not morally wrong, it’s just boring to watch. I hope the new CBA prevents this from becoming a trend. Despite Mike’s compelling reasons, I think the American League’s duopoly must be painfully boring for every other city.