NBA commissioner David Stern congratulated LeBron James on his decision. He just wishes it came without "The Decision." Stern said Monday he would have advised James to tell the Cleveland Cavaliers of his choice to leave for the Miami Heat earlier than he did, and that the two-time MVP's public announcement shouldn't have come in a made-for-television special that attracted nearly 10 million viewers. he commissioner said James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh violated no league rules in discussing free agency among themselves, and that the league isn't investigating how the Heat managed to land all three. That doesn't mean Stern didn't take issue with certain elements of free agency, particularly James' decision to say he was leaving Cleveland on ESPN. "The advice that he received on this was poor," Stern said after NBA owners met in Las Vegas. "The performance was fine. His honesty and his integrity, I think, shined through. But this decision was ill-conceived." Meanwhile, Stern also took action against Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert, fining him $100,000 for words that the commissioner described as "a little bit extreme." http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5374799
LeBron/Wade/Bosh: "Let's get together in Miami and win some championships!" Sponsors: "Wait, put this on TV! Vote them all off the island!" LeBron: "Uh... I'm taking my skills to South Beach." Gilbert: "Coward! You've betrayed us all, and now you can never come back!" Cavs Fans: "Yeah!" Jackson: "He ain't your slave, sucka!" Stern: "Do I really have to be the voice of reason?"
I agree completely. LeBron's integrity shone through. Thanks for letting everyone know who you are and what you're made of, LeBron.
