Miami Heat: LeBron James Video Tribute Is Wrong, Necessary
By David Ramil
On Christmas Day, the Cleveland Cavaliers will face the Miami Heat, whose front office has decided to welcome a former player back with a video tribute.
The short segment will presumably include highlights of his years in Miami, knocking down big shots, doing what he can to ensure a successful era of Heat basketball and celebrating the two championships that he helped win.
The player’s name? James Jones, of course.
Oh, and someone named LeBron James will be included in the tribute, as well, And while it’s likely that the video will be very James-centric, it’s easy to see that,given the right circumstances, a brief production of strung-together highlights can be made about anybody.
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Jones was a nice, valuable role player during his time with the Heat, but he wasn’t exactly setting the basketball world on fire with his average of four points per game in 31 starts over that span.
Yet, Jones — and James — will both be honored on Dec. 25, according to this report by the Northeast Ohio Media Group. It’s a simple way of thanking both players for their contributions on a historically-great team (argue that if you will, but four Finals runs, a 27-game win streak and two titles supports the designation).
To most around the country, it’s likely perceived as the right move, the least they can do for the best player on a championship contender for four all-too-brief seasons.
That is not the prevailing thought in South Florida, however.
The blow of James
desertion
return to Cleveland has been somewhat softened by now. The preseason game where the Heat and Cavaliers awkwardly faced each other helped take some of the considerable edge off.
The season is also now in its third month. Miami has proven they can still be a very good team but injuries and inconsistency seem likely to doom them. The Cavs have flashed signs of greatness while also showing the world that putting three star players together isn’t as easy as it seems.
Put simply, a lot has happened since James’ July 1 announcement that he was “coming home” and Miami fans have proven they can do what Cleveland fans couldn’t in 2010; move on. There will still be animosity toward James but mostly indifference — if he didn’t want to remain with Miami, then good riddance and all that.
Still, the video will be difficult to watch even as it has the desired effect of pacifying the crowd.
Highlights of James’ leading the fast break, catching lobs from self-proclaimed “Heat Lifer” Dwayne Wade and holding the Larry O’Brien trophies that eluded him outside of Miami will sting, painful reminders of what once was and will never be again.
Throwing Jones in there, a smart, quiet man that played high school, collegiate and professional basketball in South Florida, will certainly lighten the mood.
But it’s hard to justify welcoming back LeBron James with open arms, considering how he left. Except Pat Riley, Miami’s team president and a master motivator, has his eyes on a prize that go beyond the spectacle of Christmas Day.
Some may decry this as insincere hypocrisy but Riley likes showing the world that the Miami Heat is as tightly knit as any other family.
He’s hired former players as coaches (Bob McAdoo, Keith Askins, Juwan Howard), had others join the front office (Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway) and believes there’s an organizational sense of loyalty in place that appeals to NBA players.
It sold the team to James in 2010 and Riley is confident that same approach will work in 2016, when the team will be mostly free of salary cap commitments and can rebuild the team into a title contender.
Ultimately, the things that appeal to most players are an opportunity to win and a chance to get paid. But just lower in the hierarchy of values is family and Miami’s past deeds shows a stability and devotion that other teams usually don’t demonstrate.
Just compare the effect that James’ departure had on both Cleveland and Miami. While Cavs owner Dan Gilbert wrote a rambling, senseless letter that forced him to grovel at LeBron’s gnarly feet four years later, Heat owner Micky Arison remained thankful and appreciative.
Cleveland plummeted in the 2010-11 standings after James left but Miami hopes to be a playoff contender, one that could be surprisingly dangerous if healthy and engaged.
And while Cavs fans were encouraged by the organization to berate James when returned to Cleveland for the first time, the Heat organization will instead pay tribute to one of the greatest players in franchise history.
This makes a difference to NBA athletes and people in general, a willingness to let bygones be and still show that they can rise above it all. It will be a factor in 2016 as Riley, the smooth operator, once again woos a strong free agency class to join an established culture of winning…and family.
So while Miami fans may bristle at the video presentation, it has less to do with James than it does with players yet to don a Heat jersey. It’s a look at the past that will lead to brighter, better future.
It seems only fitting that it takes place on Christmas Day, and it allows James a chance to give one more present, wrapped up tightly in a free agency bow and bearing a tag that reads: “Do not open until 2016.”