LeBron James will play in Miami. Just so there’s no doubt about this being a prediction rather than a followup to his televised announcement on ESPN, check the time it was posted on the website.
Tonight will be about more than a free agent’s announcement, however. It’s another step toward a new age in media and -- regrettably for this former newspaperman -- away from the relevance of print media.
Today, athletes can control their message. If not in a one-hour special on ESPN, then at least by Twitter, as Kevin Durant did earlier this week. You’re not likely to learn of it when the newspaper hits whatever it hits outside your house in the morning, assuming you even subscribe to a newspaper -- unless you hadn’t watched SportsCenter or conducted another attention-deficit scan of the internet the previous night.
James has taken the simultaneous blessing and curse that is the democratic nature of modern media to a new level by commanding an entire hour of our time to tell us where he wants to play next. He’s being attacked as a megalomaniac who is putting himself above the game, and maybe he is. But he’s also very forward-thinking and, tonight, a pioneer. Just wait and see what kind of rating this new breed of reality show pulls, and you’ll have all the proof you need. You can hate LeBron for doing it this way, you can hate ESPN for showing it, but they’ll be loving the result. Remember, people also made fun of the automobile when it was introduced.
As for James’ choice, I believe the reports that he’s headed for Miami are true, although some in the media are holding out for Cleveland, New York and Chicago. But it has to be Miami, unless he has a last-minute tug on a heartstring and decides to stay home, or everything that's happened up to now has been an elaborate ruse.
We should have known this all along, in fact, even before we heard reports that he‘s scheduled a party in Miami for the weekend.
* There were reports after the 2008 Olympics that James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had agreed to play together at the first opportunity. Here it is, fellas.
* Nobody wanted to believe that he didn’t want to have a voice in the Cavs’ front-office decisions this summer, but this explains why. It wouldn’t have made sense for him to talk with coaching candidate Tom Izzo, for example, if he knew he wasn’t playing in Cleveland next year.
* He knows the odds against winning a title in Cleveland are enormous. No premier free agent wants to go there, and he knows he’ll be bashed as along as he doesn’t win a title. (There’s a good chance he won’t win one there next year, either, but that’s another blog.)
* Pat Riley. He’s waiting in the wings, ready to rush onto the stage and coach yet again. No doubt he and LeBron have already agreed upon that. LeBron would have a rookie head coach in Chicago, a twice-fired coach in Cleveland and an unproven coach in New York.
* Where would you rather live through the winter? South Beach? Chicago? Cleveland? New York? Easy call.