King or Jester?

First off, kudos to the Bulls for jumping on their second choice after Bosh made the fateful mistake (I think this will prove itself out) of not signing here and instead heading to South Beach with Wade. I can't wait to see Derrick Rose's numbers this year working the pick-and-roll with a guy that a) knows how to run it properly and b) can actually knock down that shot.

So the big question right now is whether LeBron is King James as he likes to call himself or is he going to cop out and go play with Wade as his second jester. Did Michael go play with Magic? Did Magic go play with Bird? Did Bird go play with Dr. J? HELL NO! They rose to the challenge and won the titles without joining forces. Does LeBron think we will all still think of him as King James if he ends up packing his bags and going to play on Wade's team? Let's make NO mistake here either...this is most definitely Wade's team. If you're King James, people play with you not the other way around. Well, Wade has one thing LeBron doesn't have...an NBA ring! And after watching his rival for #1 in Kobe Bryant win his 5th ring, how can he stay in Cleveland another year hoping the stars somehow align and he can win there?

Well, I think LeBron heard all he needs to know about his home town club when the previous Toronto Raptor (nice hair cut Chris!) turned down a fairly no-brainer sign-and-trade offer with the Cavs to join LeBron. NOBODY really wants to play in Cleveland! That should include YOU LeBron! Get out while the gettin' is good my friend.

Wade dropped a bit of a gauntlet saying he wanted to play against LeBron, so let him have his wish but this time have the guns backing you up.

So where should he go? Duh...how about the Bulls? It's only a 6-hour drive back to Akron (I've done it!). If this is truly a basketball decision (and of course ego enters in), how can he justify not signing here and playing with Rose, Noah, and now apparently Boozer?

What disappoints me most about D-Wade going back to Miami (and there are PLENTY of things that bother me about it) and not signing with his hometown Bulls is the deal with his kids. He's in the middle of a custody battle with the kids' mother and they all live here in Chicago. If he REALLY wanted to gain custody of his kids and/or just spend time with them, wouldn't he have signed with the Bulls and spend some time at "home"? Even his dad said he would have signed here to be with his family. So why sign back with Miami who has done ZERO for him in the last several years allowing him to blow 3 years of his prime? SELFISHNESS - clear and simple! He can sign a bigger deal with the Heat and there's no state tax in FL so instead of helping to rebuild his hometown franchise, he dragged a guy down there with him. OK - he didn't exactly have to drag Bosh out of Toronto to South Beach, but neither are going to win anything down in Miami; not without some serious magical effort by Pat Riley. This after ignoring Wade's needs for the last 3 years...did he just awake from a coma?

Chris Bosh couldn't even get his team into the playoffs in a WEAK Eastern Conference instead folding down the stretch so our young, over-achieving Bulls could go back again led by second-year phenom - D-Rose. How Chris Bosh is included with Wade who has won an NBA title and LeBron who is the best or second best player in the NBA as one of the "big 3" free agents is beyond me. Granted, he'd look nice in a Bulls uni playing with Joakim and Rose, but who is going to play C in Miami? Shaq? HAHAHA!

So if LeBron makes the right decision, here's the roster comparison between the Bulls and Heat with their ages in parenthesis:
1. Rose (21)
2. Ray Allen (35)/Redick (26)/Korver (29)
3. LeBron (25)
4. Boozer (28)
5. Joakim (25)
Bench - Deng (25), Taj (25), James Johnson (23)

1. Chalmers (24)
2. Wade (28 - with a LOT of wear and tear)
3. ???
4. Beasley (21)
5. Bosh (26)
Bench - EMPTY

I'll take the Bulls roster there! Heck, even if you (gasp!) don't pull in LeBron, I'd STILL take the Bulls roster over Miami's. Again, what has Bosh EVER won? In 7 NBA seasons, his teams have been to the playoffs twice (um, Rose has been to the playoffs twice in TWO seasons!) and his teams were 3-8 in those games. If he's so good, how come he couldn't even bring his teams to the playoffs in either of the last two years.

So we are under 24 hours from the LeBron Reality Show live on ESPN...we'll know a lot more then...just in case, I'm wearing my Derrick Rose All-Star jersey along with my Blackhawks Stanley Cup hat (hey, the Hawks were undefeated in the playoffs when I was wearing my Bulls gear so I'm hoping the karma translates the other way too).

GO BULLS!