Since last Thursday I have processed in my mind the disaster most of us “witnessed” on ESPN when The One announced he’s going to “take his talents to “South Beach,” which is akin to a free agent saying they’re going to L.A. and taking their talents to “Newport.” Using the S.B. term just shows how immature LeBron is. “South Beach” is another way to say “party town,” which gives you a peek into what one of the priorities may have been for him making this Decision.

There have been several articles written since Thursday night that describe more fully the debacle that occurred on national TV, so I won’t reiterate them here. I will point out, though, some of my own observations that you might not have read elsewhere.

His entire interview on ESPN and the decision-making that he exhibited for weeks leading up to The Moment shows that as great of a player he may be, he completely destroyed his brand and legacy. Fans who just last season would come to his games to cheer him on will be outnumbered by fans who will probably boo him based off the bad P.R. he’s racked up over the past few weeks. I’ve never seen a quicker fall from grace for a big-time athlete in such a short of time since, well, Tiger Woods.

Plus, it was really strange to see him up on stage the next day in Miamia with Bosh and Wade as just as part of a Three Amigos. His “talents” will now be diluted among his compadres, and he won’t ever be the big star he wanted to be, as seen with having this one-hour special in the first place. Many observers think he sold his talent short, and that he took the easy route to try to win a championship. Weak.

Seeing this P.R. disaster makes me fortunate I decided to catalog back in 2002 the activities and events of a class guy like Yao Ming. After seeing what we saw on Thursday night, it’s arguable a guy like Yao, who really started to learn English only about 8 years ago, knows the language better – and how to answer questions in English – than a guy who has been speaking it as his native language for almost 3x longer.

Yao and the entire Rockets’ roster and organization show so much more intelligence than the Wade/Bosh/James triumvirate in “South Beach.” Watching these guys get interviewed on Friday in unison was a complete turn-off. They used the standard cliches’ and sound bites, like it’s not about the money, they are there to win championships, blah blah blah. But at times they managed to butcher even the clichés!

In contrast, I think how fortunate Rocket fans are to have high-achieving players who can also provide insightful responses to interview questions (now that McGrady is gone). Yao, Shane Battier, Aaron Brooks, Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Martin, and Chase Budinger are just a few that come to mind. And it always seems to have been that way with Rocket players from the past. Sure, there have been a few players from time to time who bucked that trend, but it’s really hard to think of many.

I think this shows just how well the Houston organization values getting guys who their fans can be proud of, both on and off the court, and can contend for a championship at the same time.

I simply am not a fan of teams that try to win championships by throwing money at high-priced free agents. As much as I hate the Spurs and think Gregg Popovic is a royal a-hole, I respect how they acquired their Big 3 of Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker through the draft, and have brought in free agents to compliment them.

I also really like what Oklahoma City is doing, who will be a force for years to come with draft picks like Durant, Westbrook, James Harden, etc.

These aforementioned players don’t play in the coolest towns. But that’s okay, too, because if championships are only going to be won in LA, New York, Chicago or Miami, then it would become a pretty predictable league. And you’ve got to give the fans in smaller markets hope. Otherwise, they will abandon the sport and the league will crumble.

Back to the Rockets. Right now you look at their roster and most of it has been built through the draft (Yao, Brooks, Budinger, Taylor), or by non blockbuster-like trades (Scola, Battier).

I know the Rockets are not odds on favorites to win a championship (40:1 according to Vegas, which is worse than the Knicks!). But if you just look back to last year, they came within ONE game of beating the imminent champs (Lakers) in their playoff series. If Yao hadn’t been hurt and they had managed to win that series or Game 7, just think how things might be VERY different if the Rockets had gone on to win a couple of more series and the championship. Teams around the league would be looking at how the Rockets built a balanced roster -– through the draft and wise trades –- rather than trying to get a “Big 2” or “Big 3” through free agency with the craziness we’ve seen the past couple of days in “South Beach.”

And I’ve got to give credit to Daryl Morey for not fawning too much over Bosh and getting wrapped up in the silliness of coddling him or other free agents too much. He made an earnest effort without embarrassing the organization or its fans with silly tactics, then moved on. Morey has nothing to be ashamed of. New York and Chicago didn’t land Wade, Bosh, or James either.

Now it’s time to watch Morey try to work his magic by getting a player (backup center) who we know will compliment the rest of the roster and be grateful for the class guys we have, unlike what we saw on Thursday as a hometown boy basically told his fans to “F— off” on a world stage.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 11:00 pm and is filed under Rockets' off-season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.