14 years ago, in the summer of 2010, LeBron James made ‘The Decision’ to leave Cleveland and join the Miami Heat. Turning into the biggest villain, fans question his decision to leave his home team even today. The same discussion sparked a heated debate as Gilbert Arenas and Brandon Jennings claimed Bron had no other option left. Nobody wanted to team up with him. However, Rashad McCants believed instead of teaming up with Bosh and Wade in Miami, LBJ could have stayed in Cleveland and lured other stars to join him.
Talking about the power that players have today of choosing where they play, Gil’s Arena panel took a trip down memory lane. Arenas and Jennings scoffed at McCants’ notion, saying, “LeBron wasn’t gonna get nobody to come to Cleveland.” Not being as attractive and glamorous as teams like the Knicks or the Lakers, Arenas claimed that no free agent was interested in joining the Cavs. And McCants denied those claims without hesitation by listing out the players who did end up making that move, “Shaq came out there too.”
Although only for one season, the four-time Champion joined the Cavs and played with LeBron in 2009. However, Arenas pulled up Shaq’s stats in Cleveland on his phone and exclaimed, “Shaq was 37, averaged 12. He didn’t come there to win nothing man. He better relax.” Way past his prime and in the final stages of his career, Shaq was no longer a dominant force when he teamed up with LeBron James. And similarly, stars like Derrick Rose and D Wade, who joined the Cavs during LeBron’s second stint were on the older side when they moved to Cleveland.
→ Swipe to see more articles
Gilbert Arenas gave Rashad McCants a reality check about LeBron’s decision
Disagreeing with Arenas and Jennings’ argument, McCants claimed that LeBron didn’t need Bosh and Wade to join him because he had singlehandedly led the Cavs to the first seed for two straight seasons before that. So, even a smaller free agent signing could have been enough to get the Cavs over the hump. But Arenas reminded McCants that year had one of the hottest classes of free agents in league history. With stars like Amare Stoudemire, Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, Yao Ming, and more on the move, staying in Cleveland might have hurt LeBron’s chances of winning because no one wanted to join him.
“If he wouldn’t have done anything then, he probably couldn’t have won a chip for 4-5 years,” Arenas claimed. More importantly, teams like Orlando and Atlanta were on the rise and Celtics and Lakers were still dominating with their stacked roster. With that, there was a risk that Wade and Bosh might have teamed up to form a super team somewhere else, had LeBron not moved to Miami. So, although hated for his move, ‘The Decision’ might have been a necessary evil for LBJ to save his legacy!
