LeBron's Opt-Out is a Smart, Calculated Decision

A typhoon hit Twitter on Tuesday morning when ESPN had a story saying LeBron James opted out of his contract with the Miami Heat making him an unrestricted free agent. This led to people vomiting overreactions all over Twitter with Photoshop pictures of LeBron playing for different teams as well as wondering how things will all fit. This is the silly season right now about James. He is only becoming a free agent to rework a contract to bring in some high level free agents.  LeBron does have some options outside of Miami, and some team could sweep in with a Godfather offer yet it seems like Miami is still the destination.

 With how the Big Three is structured right now, Miami cannot really afford to get a big-name free agent. They still probably couldn't get a Carmelo Anthony, but if things were structured the right way, they could make a run at a Kyle Lowry which would be a massive upgrade to Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole. The reason LeBron wants to do this in order to have all the options on the table, and he wants control of the roster which is something James deserves at this time of his career. If you call him selfish, remember Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan both did similar things. 

If somebody thinks this is classic LeBron and immediately believes he will leave for another team is a downright sucker. They are the same people whom link out clearly fake stories at least once a month. Sure, it is fun to live in dream world thinking James is coming to your team, but at the same time, it is definitely overreaching to make those sort of assumptions unless a reporter gives you a nugget that might make you think otherwise. Until then, it should be understood LeBron is opting out only to give Miami more choices in the upcoming offseason.  Sorry for being the wet blanket in the situation, but that's how things are going to work until we know for certain LeBron will make a move other than Miami. 

We might never know though which is the problem with all of this drama. James' wife Savannah posted an Instagram photo of the State of Ohio which is going to get blown up even more given it happened only a couple days ago. I can almost guarantee there will be a story coming out whether it be Yahoo! or ESPN will have a story about the dissension between Pat Riley and James which will lead everyone to think LeBron might head out. The only real thing where you could point to LeBron leaving would be if Dwyane Wade decides to bypass his option and play out the final two years of his contract at 41 million dollars, an insane amount of money for the player Wade is right now. 

LeBron will probably not do this but what if he wanted Wade off his roster which would then allow Miami to make a realistic push at Melo?  I mean it would be like Shawn Michaels superkicking Marty Jannetty through a glass window because it would be the ultimate heel move by James. More so than what he did at The Decision. Wade is the stalwart of the Miami roster, and if James would run him out of town,  I am not certain how people would react to something like it. Let's be honest, Wade is not a second banana anymore on a playoff roster. He could be a star on some teams in the lottery, but right now, Wade is half the player of what he was when LeBron first made the decision to be a member of the Heat.

This is only the beginning with James and the Miami saga. It will get ridiculous and there will be rumors, but 2010 was a fun summer with this nonsense, why not run it back for another time? 

Charlie.