For some reason, the National Basketball Association has become LeBron James’ video game. For starters, James is definitely the best player in the NBA and it’s even more assured that he’s my least favorite player – at least really high on the list, because I hate a lot of things. In his first go-round in Cleveland, he was just a good player that I enjoyed to root against, because I’m just like that. Then, he opted to move down to Miami to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to make a mockery of the league. By going to Miami, he did what I would did as a teenager playing my NBA Live video game. After things got a little tough, I’d just make some trades, acquire some all-stars that in no way belonged on my team and quickly breeze through the league. Wins were nice, but in the end, they felt slimy and ungratifying. Now, Miami didn’t breeze to titles like my binary-code constructed teams did, but it was quite a success. The Heat may not have won six or seven titles, like was joked about during an introductory pep rally for the threesome, but they did go 224-88 with four Eastern Conference championships and two World Championships. Not bad. However, after watching Wade sit out game after game in the 2013-14 regular season, a move to keep him fresh for the playoffs, James witnessed his buddy grow very old, very fast in a five-game NBA Finals loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Through the playoffs, Wade’s points per game increased with each round, starting with 17.5 against Charlotte (49.1 field goal percentage), then 18.2 against Brooklyn (50.7) and peaked at 19.8 (54.5) against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Reaching the final round, Wade then aged quickly, lost his speed and leaping ability and was held to 15.2 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting against the Spurs. With one year remaining on his contract with the Heat, James looked around at an aging ‘Big 3’ and opted to opt out. By opting out, many thought he was doing it as a way to either make more money from the Heat or free up some money for the team to actually sign a viable free agent not named Greg Oden, Juwan Howard or some other guy that made you say, “That guy still plays?” Instead of doing either of those, James tugged on everyone’s heart strings and returned to Cleveland. Announcing his decision to return to the city that lost its mind when he left in the first place, James wrote an eloquent essay in Sports Illustrated, commenting on his reason for returning to the city that nearly rioted when he left and to a team whose owner publicly blasted him repeatedly. Hearing the news on my way back from vacation, I actually liked the idea of him going back to Cleveland. What a guy, going back home, and in no way could he be trading an old ‘Big 3’ for one with himself, 2012 Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving and 2014 No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins. Not to mention, the Cleveland Cavaliers also had 2013 No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, as well as Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters, two guys some are high on, but seem mediocre to yours truly. But honestly, I have no idea about Thompson and Waiters, because I don’t watch the Cleveland Cavaliers, and who would? In another move to show just how much he enjoyed coming home, James signed a one-year deal, which pretty much holds the team hostage. If the Cavs don’t do everything he wants them to this season, then he can easily bolt for greener pastures. But what could he want? Oh, I don’t know, maybe the squad signing his former Heat teammates James Jones and Mike Miller. Both have the outside shooting James likes, and hey, Jones did average 4.9 points per game last season and Miller put up 7.1 in his 14th season. Proving that the NBA was just his play thing and that the league is now based solely on going wherever you need to go to win easiest, he then orchestrated the move to bring Minnesota’s Kevin Love to town. By sending Wiggins, Bennett and their next first-round pick to Minnesota, the Cavaliers improved its ‘Big 3’ to James, Irving and Love. Kudos Mr. James. Kuuuu-dos. As a Chicago Bulls fan, maybe I’m delusional, but I still put them as the team to beat in the East, although the Cavs will be mighty fun to play. The move to acquire Love does hurt my team’s chances of reaching the Finals, but moreso James’ pursuit of power and the rings necessary to call himself the best ever is nauseating. By hiding behind some warm and cozy storyline about him returning to Cleveland, all he’s really done is upgraded his situation, while also gaining control over the team – and the league. Outside of Derrick Rose, who seems to go out of his way to keep star players from signing with the Bulls, it seems that every other NBA player will drop what he’s doing to team up with James. NBA general managers also begin clearing space at the hint of James looking around, making every concession possible to attract him to their team. The league’s gone from one where teams want to scrap and claw to a championship, to one where teams want to either cut everyone and vy for a high draft pick, or cut everyone to clear cap space to sign a free agent superstar. For the Cavs, both worked for them this season, and in the span of a couple weeks, they went from a non-playoff team to a championship contender. But, hey, if it doesn’t work for Cleveland this year, I’m sure teams will begin clearing cap space and engineering elaborate trades to attract James next offseason. After all, it is his league.
