Do I Want Lebron in Chicago?

Of course I do.  What, do you think I’m crazy?  But, I am gonna delve a little deeper into the matter by changing the question up… How badly do I want Lebron to be a Bull?  My answer may surprise you -  while the idea of Lebron wearing a Bulls jersey excites me, it seems I’m not as pumped about the idea as many of my fellow Bulls fans.  I mean, about 5 times a day I receive a picture message on my phone from my brothers that looks like this…

I love their enthusiasm, I really do!  But I afraid he may not be what they (my brothers and MANY others) think he is.  Here’s a scenario that I think lets you know how I feel; I win the lotto and am told over the phone that I will have a 1 million dollar check delivered to my door in 3 days.  But when they come to drop off the check, the check is for 250 k, and not the original million that they told me I won (in my fake story, there are no such things as taxes.  So no, the reduced money has nothing to do with taxes being taken out, just go with it…).  I would be like, “WHAT!  This is not what I thought I was getting.  But I’ll still take it because I am now $250,000 richer than I was last week at this time!”  To me, Lebron represents the $250,000.  The Bulls (or any team that gets him) are going to a lot richer (better), but not as rich as they thought they would be when they first signed him.

Why DO I Feel This Way?

At this point in his career, he is lacking that “it,” that so many people talk about.  He doesn’t smell blood like some of the people that we all compare him to.  You know, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane  Wade, Larry Bird etc. (And yes, I do put D. Wade in this category as I’ve seen him take over many a game.  And on the biggest stage – against the Mavericks in the finals a few years back – actually, he took that whole series over!)  I mean, I watched MJ play in some  huge games and ended up saying; “Michael didn’t have his best game today.  His shots weren’t falling, and he turned the ball over a couple times when they needed a bucket.”  But I have never, ever, ever, ever, said, “Jordan didn’t show up today.  Where was he?  It was like he just disappeared!” 

With Lebron, I have said that, and on more than one occasion.  I’ve seen him shy away instead of take over the game and WANT IT so bad that it looked like his life depended on it… like appeared to be the case EVERY TIME Michael took the floor, and every time Kobe takes the floor.

 Another thing that bothers me about Lebron, is that he seems to find a way to always make it about himself.  When the media asked him about his future after the Celticts knocked them out of the playoffs it looked like he couldn’t wait to address the questions.  I would have much rather seen him say something like; “I don’t know what the future holds, but right now I’m not going to worry about that.  I need to be here for my teammates.  We just lost a very disappointing series and it’s very hard on all of us.”  But he choose to sit up on the podium and let us know that “he and his team are weighing all of the their options, blah, blah, blah.”  C’mon Lebron, at least lie to us and make us think you and your teammates are hurting from the loss, and that that is all that matters right now.

Wrap Up

Above I mentioned that whatever team he goes to will be getting a “disappointing” $250,000.  Maybe the scenario should have gone more like this; “Danny, here is a check for 250 k.  Once you prove to me that you REALLY WANT IT, and that you are willing to do ANYTHING for it, I’ll be delivering the rest of your money to you.   And I do think you’ll get there soon.   Right now though, I’m not sure where where your priorites are, and I’m not sure how much it truly means to you.”

The worse case scenario is Lebron making me (the Bulls) a whole lot richer (better), with a good chance of making me a millionaire (championship ring) down the line.  So, I think it is fair to say that I’d take Lebron with open arms.  It’s just that at this point, my arms are not as wide open as other people’s are.