Being from Miami I'm a bit biased but I've also had a ton of time to think about this as it’s the only subject which has been on our minds the last several day.
Right, off the bat I'm going to say something which I think is pretty obvious at this point. "The Decision" was not well thought out, was classless and egocentric. However, two things no one talks about. One, until late Wednesday night and through Thursday morning, when suddenly sources had Lebron coming to Miami, no one had a clue where he was going (well, except for Stephen A. Smith, kudos). I think Lebron realized (albeit to late) that ripping out Cavs fans hearts on a nationally televised spectacle was wrong and the information was leaked out to "soften" the blow. I think the other thing that’s lost is that they raised almost 5 million dollars in charity in one hour which is amazing.
Next, any remorse James might have had must have been removed after Dan Gilbert showed his true colors and lack of class in his "letter to the fans". Dan, if all those things were true you should be throwing a party celebrating that you don't have that kind of player on your team and that he's left town. Lebron made you relevant for 7 years, gave people something to do and personally made you millions. What did you do for him? Nothing that any other NBA team who won the lottery that year wouldn't have done. In the two way relationship he did most of the giving while the Cavs and their fans did the taking. To expect him to stay simply because of the coincidence that he was born there is insane. When you look at all the great teams in NBA history it speaks to Lebrons talent that they won as much as they did with so little. I wanna see Cavs attendence this season when they barely struggle to make it into the playoffs as an 8 seed.
Also, the national coverage of this entire thing is a complete joke. Was Bill Simmons complaining when his Celtics put together the Big 3? Was he predicting failure and that they'd be lucky to win 50 games? This is from a so called NBA expert. Brent Barry was visibly angry that Lebron chose the Heat and Mike WilBUM continously put his slant on the story by saying Chicago is a better destination? Really? Why? Play in Jordan's shadow? Go to a team that was just an 8-seed with a supposedly deeper roster than a Miami team that won 45 games was a 4 seed with essentially D-Wade an nobody? Yeah Noah, he's awesome averaging 8 and 8 AND Rose at 21 years old are much better options than two top 15 guys. Yes, currently the Heat have those three Chalmers and Mike Miller; but does anyone really believe that the roster wont be filled out by the time the season starts. Plus next year they get the mid-level and lower level exemptions back and if they can convince Udonis to resign for 1 million this year he gets his Larry Bird rights back next year. Orlando doesnt have a go to guy and Boston will be another year older. Miami will go to the finals this season and will only be better moving forward. It was a great decision for him to come to Miami, and all the crying outta the national media is simply sour grapes.
As for Lebrons legacy...At the end of the day people only talk about one thing and thats how many titles youve won. This notion that the Heat are the first team to assemble superstars playing together is laughable and contrary to every champion in NBA history the past 20 year save a team or two. Whats different here is that these players on their own accord decided to each sacrifice a bit of their individuality and a bit monetarily to make this happen instead of the team itself doing the assembly work.
Ill save the space and not run off the list of each champ but will say of course Jordan didn't go anywhere. The Bulls had two of the top 5 players in the NBA at the time in Jordan and Pippen and other players flocked to play with them. There is no way Jordan's Bulls beat the Suns and Jazz without one of the top PFs off all time and greatest defenders in Dennis Rodman. That team also had the Euro Jordan in Toni Kukoc along with Ron Harper (all-star) and a ton of sharp shooters. They didnt win 72 games simply because of Jordan.
Kobe was ready to leave LA because they werent putting him in position to win. Along came Gasol (Top 15 player) Odom, and now Artest. In addition to the rest of that all-star squad.
Once the anger settles and the season starts and the titles start rolling in; everyone will see that Lebron made the right decision for him. Hes going to come to Miami (and by all indications play PG ala Magic) and average nearly a tripple double a game...they will win their first title in the next two years and no one will ever look back.