Lebron's Legacy and New Last Name: Dwayne Wade's Sidekick

After the anti-climactic conclusion to the "Summer of Lebron", it is clear that at age 26 and a half (and at an emotuional age of 15), Lebron has considered his legacy in basketball and in the world about as much as he considered the consequences of announcing his "Decision" in an hour long special on ESPN.

In case you were cowering under a rock until the events of the "Summer of Lebron" would blow over (like Jeff Van Gundy, who then emerged, disoriented, and proclaimed that the Miami Heat would win more games than the 72 - 10 Chicago Bulls team), you would know that, despite compelling presentations from several NBA teams, including one that would have put Lebron literally playing in Michael Jordan's shoes and along side MVP candidate, Derrick Rose, Lebron made the cowardly "Decision" to join Dwayne Wade on HIS Miami Heat team.

A bold offer to a man who lacks enough "bolds"; Lebron can't fill MJ's shoes.

When Lebron could have plugged into a perfect win-now situation with a complete and talented team, with the franchise that Michael Jordan exploded, in the stadium that Michael Jordan built, in the city that Michael Jordan made into a basketball town and that had been starving for a basketball hero, Lebron could have built a legacy in Chicago that would have written itself. Lebron brand would have elevated itself to a worldwide brand, strengthened by its organic association with the iconic Jordan.

And although it would have been difficult to see at the time, it is clear now that the New York proposal was also a powerful one, with Amare Stoudemire's continued MVP-like efforts for the New York Knicks this season. Amare has New York squarely in the playoff picture and is making the case as a legitimate destination for next year's most coveted free agent, Carmelo Anthony.

And, of course, the Cleveland Cavaliers, though hampered by salary cap restrictions, would have found a way to make the necessary upgrades to stay the class of the NBA, if Lebron had stayed. And if he had won even one NBA title with the Cavs, the city of Cleveland would have rejoiced with the pent up energy of all the years of frustration that came before. Lebron's legacy would have been Cleveland's Greatest Champion.

Lebron should just change his name to "Lebron James Dwayne Wade's Sidekick"

However, whether it had been planned since the 2008 Olympics or even earlier, Lebron chose to join Dwayne Wade, a player who has already gotten it done in the NBA Finals and already has his own NBA Championship and NBA Finals MVP legacy. No matter how many championships they hope to win together, DWade will always have one more; one that he won after being the underdog and trailing the favored Dallas Mavericks two games to none in the series. Wade was the one man wrecking crew carrying his Miami Heat to victory in the series in Jordanesque fashion. And that is why, by joining DWade's Miami Heat, Lebron's legacy can only be one thing:  Dwayne Wade's Sidekick.

At best this would mean being "Scottie Pippen" to Wade's Jordan, but Lebron will still have to win multiple championships in Wade's shadow to even be considered as great as Pippen really was. Wade and his sidekick have yet to show that they can play together with the same kind of chemistry that Jordan and Pippen had in winning 6 NBA Championships.

In this day and age of NBA Superstar branding, it is amazing that Lebron's PR people would have allowed Lebron to make such a collosal PR mistake, as they have continued to allow him to do since "The Decision" show. Whether Lebron can change his legacy is mostly a question of whether he is willing to change the PR team that got him here, for this much is clear; Lebron has decided not to be responsible for his legacy, just as he has decided not to be responsible for the failures of his teams in past and future playoffs.

Lebron Returns to Cleveland: Post-Game Postmortem

CLEVELAND, OH.  Lebron's big return to Cleveland was marked by nothing more than a much needed "W" for the Miami Heat. Nothing more. DWade finally shot a respectable percentage from the field, and the Miami Heat were able to get a big lead in the first quarter and cruised.

The two major stories of the game hardly concerned the actual basketball that was played.

Signs of the times: this is no longer 2003 for Queen James.

Cleveland fans were empassioned at the start of the game, and they did their fair share of "booing" before being quieted by the Heat's big first quarter.

All the bogus threat of violence perceived by Lebron's caretakers and the ESPN news machine was nothing more than making a news story out of a molehill.

The atmosphere created by the fans in support of their underdog team exceeded the effort that was given on the night by Cavs players.

Despite the magnitude of the game, Cavs players joked and laughed with Lebron, putting him at ease in the hostile environment. All that we learned on Thursday night was that Cleveland fans are classy but still upset, the current Cavaliers team still has the "warm fuzzies" for Lebron, and Lebron is still a LeBiatch.

Lebron tosses chalk in the air because he can't juggle.

Lebron is a LeBiatch because he did his Chalk Toss routine, in front of a chorus of "booing" Cleveland Cavaliers fans at the Q. In spite of numerous questions about it and suggestions that not doing the chalk toss would go a long way towards repairing the bitterness felt in Cleveland about "The Decision" show and other displays of disrespect towards the fans that loyally followed Lebron, Lebron goaded the packed stadium who rained "boos" down upon the villainous traitor. The Cleveland Cavaliers fans showed up in force to "unwelcome" Lebron, and to be present for the event. But there was no apology, no show of grace, no show of respect from Lebron that would have to be returned in kind.

However, the packed stadium was enough to prove a point to the self-appointed "king". Here was a basketball fan base that knows and appreciates sports and sports history. They filled the stadium for all those seven years that Lebron played for their Cavs. Now, Lebron joins Wade, playing before fans who can hardly show up for the first half of the game and have no sense of history. I suppose it is fitting that a player whose legacy is ruined would want to play in front of fans who don't care and won't remember. Being the best player to not achieve his potential and the best player to be completely forgotten will be Lebron's legacy.