In the hours leading up to this morning’s game in Shanghai, China, I couldn’t help but think about the biggest news in the NBA from the day before. While the headlines had little to do with Warriors themselves, I felt the statements made by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett sort of reflect the league as a whole.
James essentially accused the one-time Boston Celtics of being hypocrites, saying their treatment of Ray Allen and his move to Miami a year ago makes less sense to him now that they’re also on new teams:
“I think the first thing I thought was, ‘Wow, Ray got killed for leaving Boston, and now these guys are leaving Boston,'” James said. “I think it’s OK; I didn’t mind it. But there were a couple guys who basically [expletive] on Ray for leaving, and now they’re leaving.
“That’s the nature of our business, man. I don’t know what Boston was going through at the end of the day. I know Ray had to make the best decision for him and his family and his career. Doc [Rivers, former Celtics coach], KG and Paul did that as well. You can’t criticize someone who does something that’s best for their family.”
It’s not the back-and-forth that intrigues me. I’ve heard far too much on the topic already. But it seemed both sides struck a cord with a large sect of the NBA fan base, and I think that’s indicative of a change in NBA eras.
You need not look further than the cover of the upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated, which features Kobe Bryant and the words “The Last Alpha Dog.” Kobe may or may not actually be the last of his kind, but the point is clear. The culture of the NBA is changing, and changing rapidly.
The influx of younger, friendlier, social media-savvy players has done away with many of the games’ great rivalries. A safer, less violent league has eliminated the bloody battles once held between teams like the Miami Heat and New York Knicks. Stars from opposing teams get along far better than the league’s best from the 1990s.
Dwight Howard, one of the biggest stars in the NBA, has had interest in just about every major contender there is in the past two years, and is joining (by choice, I should point out) his third team in as many seasons.
Howard may be a special case, but players like Garnett and James come from two different worlds. Never mind that both entered the league upon graduating from high school, or that both will end up as Top 50 players when their careers are over. KG, like Bryant, is also one of the last of his kind. A player who, for the most part, refuses to acknowledge anyone who doesn’t wear the same colors.
James is of the new breed. He’s friendly with most of the league’s other stars, and has shared workouts with potential threats to his MVP crown. He even decided to join Wade in one of the biggest free agent moves the league has ever seen.
Like Garnett and LeBron, fans and front offices also find themselves taking opposing view points on this front. Gone are most of the bloated end-of-career contracts that reward players for sticking with a team. Instead, many GMs are looking to ship out long-time franchise stars or favorites as soon as the right deal is on the table. Again, the business of basketball is foremost.
Warriors fans found themselves in this situation recently, when Monta Ellis was sent away for Andrew Bogut. The team improvement since the deal has been significant, but that didn’t stop many of the old school fans from booing the perceived lack of loyalty. It was hard to separate loyalty to Monta from the team’s potential gain.
That brings me back to the exits of the “Big 3” in Boston. Save for the fact that all three are now on different teams, the situations just aren’t alike, even if James seems to think so. I can fully comprehend the argument that loyalty in the NBA – especially between player and franchise – is fleeting. I can even understand those who don’t value loyalty, though I don’t agree.
But in the cases of Allen, Pierce, and Garnett, there is a clear differential. Say what you will of the latter two players – there’s plenty of negatives, like the fact that KG can often be a jerk – but the way they’ve handled themselves in their careers has long shown how much value they put in loyalty.
They’re no longer in Boston, but unlike Allen, they’re in Brooklyn due to a GM who was looking to move on. Unlike Allen, they didn’t cozy up to another team seconds after a heart-breaking series loss. The team they joined didn’t defeat them in consecutive playoffs. I’m not even sure it could be said that they’re rivals, despite playing in the same division. They didn’t turn down extra money to go to an already assembled contender. If the Nets are at that level, it’s only because Pierce and Garnett were brought on board.
All the reasons that they’re on a new team are different than the ones that brought Allen to South Beach. It’s important to remember that Allen had issues with being constantly mentioned in trade rumors. That he didn’t get along well with budding star Rajon Rondo, and that he didn’t like losing playing time to Avery Bradley. Here, James is right. Allen looked out for number one, just like LeBron did three years ago when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers.
To some, like me, all of this matters in how I view a player, but obviously not everyone is going to agree. That’s the way the world works. But LeBron seems to completely misunderstand why fans, as well as Allen’s teammates, were upset with him.
Maybe it’s from having faced the same treatment after The Decision. It’s been clear all along that James felt victimized after leaving Cleveland and has reveled in success the past two seasons. He and Allen are very much alike, and perhaps James was speaking every bit as much from a personal level as he was in defense of his teammate.
But he and Allen weren’t labeled so negatively because they left. It was the circumstances of their departure. James’ secret pact with Wade and Chris Bosh in the summer of 2010 struck at the hearts of Cavalier fans like little else could. All the loyalty (real or imagined) between fan and player was struck down in an instant. Similarly, Boston fans couldn’t bear to see a player so loved leaving for a team they despised, for less money, even.
I liken it to Bogut skipping out on the Warriors after this season for another team, taking less money to do so. I for one, would feel at least a bit jilted, just like I did when my one-time favorite Warrior, Stephen Jackson, forced his way out via trade.
If you haven’t ever felt malice toward a player, coach, or even your favorite franchise for a less-than-acrimonious departure, then you likely will. Passion for the game and for a team make it nearly impossible to avoid. Some take it too far. Some have trouble letting go. But as the saying goes, “time heals all wounds.” Eventually, Boston fans may reconcile with the great things Ray did in a Celtic uniform, just as Cleveland fans may do the same with James. Most Warrior fans have already come to grips with management for the Ellis trade (there are still some holdouts, of course).
Loyalty is what drives the business of professional sports. Without it, there are no fan bases. There are varying levels, of course, but as fans, we’re all loyal to something. Which is why I have such a hard time understanding fan agreement with the sentiment that loyalty doesn’t matter. But in today’s NBA, it grows ever more true.
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