Review, LeBron, Raja

I have an old friend who’s a legit literary critic (or something), so I asked him to give me his most pretentious review of the 2GG trailer.

Here it is:

Shall I compare you to Jean-Paul Belmondo in A Bout de Souffle instead? Ok then…your nonchalant, cat like nimble way with the guns reminded me of Jean-Paul Belmondo smoking his cheap cigarettes as he relieved an innocent passerby of his car, using the gun like his fist, and of course never ruffling his suit. There is perhaps a dash of the vengeful protagonist in Old Boy, a seething drive to act and kill based on the supreme truth of a profoundly unjust life.

That’s DVD cover material.

Anyway, the Cavs just kinda swatted the Nets aside as prep for the Lasers tonight, and as the game was in Jersey, the talk of course turned to where LeBron is going to play in 2010.

“When I decide to make that decision, it’s going to basically put me in a position where I feel I can win multiple championships,” James said. “If it’s staying here, I’ll be here, and if it’s moving elsewhere, then I’ll have to look at all my options.”

I haven’t done this in awhile, so let’s go ahead and discuss it.

Keep in mind, during my NBA sabbatical, I came to peace with the whole “LeBron will leave CLE thing”. If he goes, it won’t affect me one way or the other.

Honestly, I don’t have a gut feel on it right now. The people on message boards saying LBJ cares most about the people of Cleveland are delusional – let’s make that clear.

My breakdown, and none of these points smoothly connect with others. The point is nobody has a clear picture right now:

1) The most important thing to LeBron is his brand.
2) The best thing for the that brand is a championship.
3) The best place to do that, talent wise, right now, is in Cleveland.
4) Another good thing for the brand would be moving to the Knicks, obviously. (I think we can all agree NJ is out at this point, and the Lakers can’t afford him.)
5) In terms of sports history/legacy only, winning a title in Cleveland is far more valuable than winning one in NY.
6) If the Cavs win a championship in the next couple years, it makes it easier for him to leave, ie “I need new challenges”. (The key would be for the Cavs to win in 2010, so he looks like a huge jerk if he doesn’t defend it.)

What it comes down to is nobody knows what he’s doing, and it’s clear LeBron loves being famous, and loves toying with people’s perceptions even more.

As the NBA stand right now, if he leaves, he doesn’t really care about winning. There’s my contribution – like I said, I’m fine either way, and there’s no reason to talk about this until season after next.

I love the contact form – here’s another old school friend who got in touch:

Raja Bell () wrote: Choo choo!

Although Raja – how could you not fill in the “website” part?