It was uncomfortable watching LeBron James on one side, Chris Bosh on the other with Dwyane Wade in the middle.
I do not think Bosh cares, but LeBron seems out of his element.
I do not blame him either. He is getting a lot of Heat for going to be on "D-Wade's team", so I think the Heat should be more sensitive to his feelings and make some press conference adjustments. Here are their most basic options:
Option A: Keep D-Wade front and center and let people say what they will. It is D-Wade's team and LeBron has to accept that.
Option B: Put Chris Bosh front and center and laugh at the situation. Wade or LBJ will be flanking the sides, just like they will be on the court in a regular basis.
Option C: Come up with a rotation that allows them all an equal chance to get center stage.
Option D: Don't bring them all out at once. They are not the Boston Celtics, no need to market a Big 3.
My preference is to rotate the players into center stage. They are all leading men and over the course of the season they will all take turns carrying the team on their back. Maybe Dwyane is the leader and he deserves to get the center billing, but I think he needs to be a gracious host and step to the side to accommodate LBJ and Bosh's egos.
They were not drafted by the Miami Heat and they have not won an NBA championship yet, but if they did not decide to join D-Wade, he would have gone elsewhere. He needs to thank them by dialing down the perception that it is D-Wade's team.
Besides that, it was really nice to see the statistics ESPN posted during the press conference:
* D-Wade, LBJ, Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson are the only guys since 1973 to average 25 points, 5 assists and 1.5 steals.
* Bosh (23 points, 10 rebounds), Ming and Zach Randolph are the only guys to average 20-10 over the past three seasons.
* 66-16 is the projected win total for the season after 10,000 simulations. The high was 77 and the low was 41. There was a 35% chance of winning the title and a 15% chance of winning 73 games and taking the all-time regular season record from the Chicago Bulls.
Dwyane Wade, after grabbing all three microphones and smiling about being villains: "We'd like to turn those fans into cheering."
ReplyDelete2 minutes ago via web
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Great job by Ira posting all of the quotes on his twitter.
I do not want to stir the pot, but not only does he take center stage, now he grabs all three microphones and speaks for them too?
It is just one press conference, but LBJ seems bummed out. I think he feels like he is being castrated of his manhood willingly.
LBJ feels like he is the best player in the NBA, but his own team treats him like a second banana, helping fuel the perception that he is a punk?
I don't like it. When Shaq came over there was a great energy with both superstars saying it was the other one's team. This time around it does not look like they are having fun...
LBJ should take center stage at some point. Come on D-Wade...
So nice to post without captcha :)
ReplyDeleteI am not trying to overreact to the press conference, but it just seemed so toned down that ESPN cut out relatively fast.
These guys are focused and it is not all about public perception, but they are going to have to figure this thing out on and off the court so that nobody feels envious of each other.
I know Wade and LeBron are big friends and competitors... they have to be bigger friends than competitors now and Wade cannot be marketed as the leader. It is going to ruin the friendship in my opinion. They have to be equal at the very least, or he is going to get his feelings hurt really bad.
I know many of you want LBJ to be mature and not care about being thought of as the man, but that does not mean that office politics will not get to him. People can say what they want, but how does the franchise treat him and Dwyane? He deserves equal treatment for being the bigger man and coming to Miami. It really is that simple to me.
LeBron deserves better than to be opposite Chris Bosh, flanking D-Wade. He deserves as much time center stage as Dwyane, because this is about the future of the franchise... not about reflecting who has already won a title for this franchise, etc.
Sacrificing is something all three of these guys have to do, and that includes Dwyane during press conferences.
Again, it cut out early and it is not the end of the world, just something to pay attention to.
My favorite soccer team, FC Barcelona, has lots of superstars and they do not get jealous of each other... the guys that did got traded.
I think these Heat players will make the adjustments, because they really do like each other and want to make this work.
http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=2&language=en-US&family=editorial&assetType=image&p=miami%20heat
ReplyDeleteEveryone should see these pics... nice to see the guys having a good time.
I gotta say I like option A. I think Lebron understands, and in a couple years when Wade ages it will be his team. Again, thank you for my freedom on Iras blog!
ReplyDeleteNo problem. I know what it is like... he claims that I only got a 2 day suspension, but I was blocked for a long time and needed you guys to unblock me too.
ReplyDeleteI don't like seeing LBJ on the side... he is not Wade's younger brother. If Shaq had asked to be traded to Cleveland instead of Miami, maybe LBJ would have 3 rings... we do not know.
Yes, Wade is more mature and has won a Finals MVP, which should not be forgotten, but I do not think the team needs to dwell on who has been here longer, etc.
We have two Alpha Dogs and one of them was almost the consensus #1 guy in the whole league with back to back MVPs... let's not insult him. He is just as much worthy of being front and center.