The Decision sounds more like The Over The Top Spectacle

On July 8, 2010 at the Boys & Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, free agent and the reigning two time Most Valuable Player LeBron James announced on television that he was "going to take my talents" to South Beach and join the Miami Heat with Heat Captain Dwayne Wade and fellow free agent Chris Bosh, late of the Toronto Raptors. His decision caused shock waves in the sports world because the idea of three all-stars (two players from different teams) in their prime joining forces on one team was unheard of. It has been done whether through the NBA draft (Ex: The four time NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs) or by trade (Ex: The 17 time NBA Champions Boston Celtics with Ray Allen via then-Seattle Supersonics and Kevin Garnett via Minnesota Timberwolves- The C's by the way won the NBA Crown in 2008 and made it to the finals this past season losing the series in 7 games against the Los Angeles Lakers) but never like this. Right now there are two teams that within a few years are going to be contenders for the NBA Crown (Oklahoma City Thunder and the Chicago Bulls) who have built their respective teams for the ground up (save a few free agents) through the NBA Draft, even though they have tried to lure free agents to their squads.

Congrats to both Owner Mickey Arison and GM/President Pat Riley for making the deal happen. The Heat has the chance to bring a few championships to South Beach, but at the same time, I don't know if this was the right way to build a title contending team.

Communication wise:Poorly Handled

I don't have a problem with LeBron leaving because as a free agent, you have the right to stay with or leave a team for greater opportunities (i.e. championships, more playing time if you are coming off the bench) or money. It's the American way, that why so many of us leaving our current job for a new one (well, it kinda tough nowadays because of the economy you need to hang on to the job as much as you can.) But the idea of going on national television and telling the team that you have been for a number of years that you are leaving was inexcusable. It was bad enough to not telling the Cavs nothing about his intentions to stay or leave the team but having reps from the Knicks, Bulls, Nets, and Clippers fly into in Cleveland and lead these teams on thinking that they have a chance to sign him was horrible. As a free agent, there is a right way to make your exit and that was definitely the wrong way to go about it.

The State of Ohio- Specifially Northeastern Ohio

I was born in Akron, Ohio, which is also LeBron's hometown, and I know how sports fans in Northeastern Ohio felt when Lebron announced his decision. It felt like a punch in the gut along with the feeling that someone just ripped your heart out. Sports fans here has stuck by the Indians, Browns and Cavs during the good times (World Series, NBA Finals and AFC Championship apperances) and the bad times ( losing championship games, losing seasons and sagging attendance at home games.) But the setiment here in Ohio is that LeBron is a marked man, a traitor, turncoat, a guy who can't walk and/or stay in Ohio anymore ( not unless he makes a visit here either as a late at night/early morning kind of deal.) Once the decision was made, people expressed themselves in great lengths such as: burning LeBron's jersey, throwing away anyway with his face or name on it, called him every dirty name you can possible think of on message boards online, among other things. Unfortunately, every amount of goodwill that he has built with Ohioans since his St. Vincent-St. Mary's days is gone for good.

Summer of 1996

When I heard that LeBron was not coming back to the Cavs reminded me of the summer of 1996 when Shaquille O'Neal left the Orlando Magic for the Los Angeles Lakers. O'Neal, who ironically played with James last season, played four outstanding seasons with Orlando, a young team that when to the NBA Finals in 1995 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 1996. The Magic were one of the best teams not only in the Eastern Conference but around the league as well. Shaq and Penny Hardaway were supposed to be the Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar of the 1990s and had plans to lead Orlando to a number of championships.

When Shaq, then a member of the 1996 Dream Team in the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, held a press conference, I figured that it was probably something about the Olympic basketball team. However that all changed when Jerry West, then-General Manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, was sitting next to him at the press conference, then I knew that something was up. Shaq announced that he was going to sign a deal with the Lakers, I couldn't believe that he would leave a great situation with Orlando for L.A. It did not help matters that Shaq kept bashing the Magic organization and the city of Orlando by saying he was a "big fish in a small pond" time and time again (the funny thing is that to this day, he still has a home in Orlando!) The Orlando Magic survived Shaq's departure by making the playoffs the following season but that the lone bright spot for a number of years. The team when through constant roster changes, and a number of up and down seasons until the team drafted Dwight Howard in 2004. Since then the team has improved dramatically and now the Magic is a serious contender for the NBA Title. But it took a while for the team to bounce back and it looks like Cleveland is going to experience the same thing.

The best way to handle the situation

In May when the Cavs lost game 6 in Boston and LeBron start shaking hands with the Celtics fans, taking off the wrist bands, the headband and then the piece of resistance, when he took off his jersey in the locker room tunnel in full view of the television camera of the TD Garden, you had the feeling that he wanted to leave behind anything related to Cleveland. What he should have done was take some time away from basketball for a while (10-20 days) andtold the Cavaliers that "there's a good chance that I would not come back to the team next year." If he told them that, the Cavs could move on and sign whatever free agents were available at the time. However, when he held the organization hostage with his decision, the Cavs was forced to scramble and find some players to play with them. But they couldn't sign the top free agents because either they re-signed with their old team or took their services else to a new team. Tell them straight up with your intentions face to face and don't use TV or online to say where you are going to play.

I really don't think that LeBron and his inner circle realize how bad they came off with "the decision." It is a given that he's going to get booed in Cleveland when Miami plays two road games at Quicken Loans Arena, but the Heat plays at Madison Square Garden in New York, the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey and the United Center in Chicago, they are going to get treated badly because as illustrated earlier, those were the cities that Lebron strung along and pulled the rug underneath them on national television.

It's hard to believe but at this point last year, both LeBron and Tiger Woods were two of the biggest names in sports today and now a year later, both athletes have taken major self inflicted hits to their public image. I know that Lebron has a marketing team to help build his brand name, but what he also need is a public relations team because whatever his team is doing right is a total disaster.