Whichever decision he makes, I would argue that LeBron has approached free agency the right way for the most part and has made several decisions to tone down the circus of this free agency. He definitely has a huge ego, but Chris Broussard, Chris Bosh, World Wide Wes and many others have approached this free agency as an opportunity to raise their profile much more so than LeBron. Granted, if he does an hour long tv show and then leaves his hometown, he would be on pretty shaky ground. But consider:
1) LeBron cut off discussing free agency with the media midway through the season and he and his people haven't thrown out hints, teasers, tweets, etc. World Wide Wes was shut out of the process in part because he was seeking too much media attention and putting gas on the fire. It frustrated me that articles have described him as a "25-year-old kid" being lured back by cartoons, when the fact is his true inner circle has been tight in a way Obama's administration should be envious of.
2) He did not take a free agency tour. Interviewing for a high-level job - a get paid a lot of money, uproot your family to go there job- is a long and involved process. I'm a doctor, and as I was finishing my training a few groups flew me out, took me to nice restaurants, introduced me to CEOs; and then I took weeks to make my decision and a few months to iron out the contract. Why is LeBron waiting 7 days after free agency opens to make his decision unreasonable? Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers both went through their "maybe I should walk away" charade for a few weeks when there were certainly fewer variables for them to consider in making their decision.
And if the Health Channel wanted me to announce my decision on the air and raise money for charity, I would do it. Many high school kids announce their college decisions on ESPN these days. Don't get mad at Lebron because his show is going to get ratings.
3) Going through the free agency process gave him the best chance of recruiting a second star to join him- in Cleveland or elsewhere. He has been trying to recruit Bosh to Cleveland for a few weeks. He had much better access to the other free agent stars being one of them. If you are already under contract with a team, you are an extension of management recruiting someone and less effective. If it's, "let's go here together," it's more effective. He was also wise not to get into picking or giving his blessing on coaches for teams that he was not committed to.
4) It's a business for teams and players. Should LeBron really be expected to be so loyal that he would not put the Cavs fans through this so that he can make the best decision? For all the talk about loyalty, if LeBron did a Shaun Livingston and had a career-ending injury this season, would the Cavs be talking about signing him to a max contract? He took a risk for this... Also, the Cavs were going to ship Delonte "second best Cav in the playoffs '09" West to Toronto so he could be bought out and lose 4 mil. And also probably send Parker back to Toronto after he took less money than Toronto offered to come to the Cavs the season before. The whole 09-10 season was a demonstration of a lack of loyalty to Big Z.
I'm certainly not saying everything was done perfectly, or that I haven't been nauseated with the coverage. But he does have a right to make his choice and take a reasonable amount of time to do it.
