That is what I felt last night before I lay myself down to sleep. He has gone to the right place. Southern California is a mystical, mythical heaven on earth, the world capital of Cool, so different from the Miami heat and stress. So different from the Cleveland cold and incompetence. "Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there," wrote Cleveland's Dan Gilbert in 2010. Heaven is a place on earth and its name is Southern California. This Decision means James is done chasing that ghost from Chicago. The pursuit of happiness for LeBron James is over. They catch ghosts, and happiness, in L.A. He has never played for an iconic franchise, there are only two in the NBA, Boston and these "Lakers" and he grew up a fan of iconic franchises in the NFL, Dallas, and in MLB, New York "Yankees." He is the King and he's going to the Imperial Valley. Purple and gold are the traditional colors of royalty.
James has also never played for a great coach, a Pat Riley, a Phil Jackson, a Gregg Popovich, or, in his opinion, a great owner. Objectively, he had a great owner in Miami and played for a very good coach there with a legendary coach as team president. If he had joined the "Lakers" of Dr. Jerry Buss and Jerry West and Pat Riley he truly would have been joining an organization from top to bottom fit for a king. But he is joining the "Lakers" of Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson, of Luke Walton and Lavar Ball, a franchise, until just now, of dysfunction and disarray. He has, though, in Walton a former assistant coach, a former acting coach for half a year, of Team Happiness, the Golden State "Warriors" and in Johnson the smiling face of happiness incarnate. He evidently has trust in Magic that he never had in Dan Gilbert on abundant evidence, nor in Micky Arison and Pat Riley on less abundant evidence. On that trust these "Lakers" can lift the burden on James, if burden it truly was, of input on personnel and coaching decisions. A player should not have the "burden" of management, not that level of "input." Trust in the abilities of others is unburdening, freeing, it is a state of happiness.
James has also never played for a great coach, a Pat Riley, a Phil Jackson, a Gregg Popovich, or, in his opinion, a great owner. Objectively, he had a great owner in Miami and played for a very good coach there with a legendary coach as team president. If he had joined the "Lakers" of Dr. Jerry Buss and Jerry West and Pat Riley he truly would have been joining an organization from top to bottom fit for a king. But he is joining the "Lakers" of Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson, of Luke Walton and Lavar Ball, a franchise, until just now, of dysfunction and disarray. He has, though, in Walton a former assistant coach, a former acting coach for half a year, of Team Happiness, the Golden State "Warriors" and in Johnson the smiling face of happiness incarnate. He evidently has trust in Magic that he never had in Dan Gilbert on abundant evidence, nor in Micky Arison and Pat Riley on less abundant evidence. On that trust these "Lakers" can lift the burden on James, if burden it truly was, of input on personnel and coaching decisions. A player should not have the "burden" of management, not that level of "input." Trust in the abilities of others is unburdening, freeing, it is a state of happiness.
