Pre-Finals Cavaliers Frowndup

Of course, a lot's been written about LeBron and the Cavs in recent days, and we were glad to see some of the Nation's very best hoopswriters came around yesterday with their takes. This includes Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski who took a look at the bigger picture surrounding "Handshakegate":

Who has the guts to tell [LeBron] that he sounds like an immature, self-absorbed brat?

Here’s the problem for the Cavaliers and James: No one.

It won’t be Cleveland Cavaliers ownership, front office and coaches. It won’t be the NBA. It won’t be Nike. And it sure won’t be those childhood sycophants who surround James and tell everyone what a brilliant businessman LeBron is because they can answer the phone when corporations call for a famous pitchman.

Someone should’ve told James that the pregame Polaroid act was belittling and beneath a championship contender, but it never happened.

All season, the Cavaliers acted too entitled, too arrogant for a team that’s won nothing. They ran out demanding that Mo Williams be made an All-Star, when the truth bore itself out in the playoffs: Cleveland has one All-Star. Nevertheless, Williams still embarrassed the Cavs with foolish proclamations and guarantees his middling talent couldn’t deliver.

“If you believe in karma with that nonsense,” one Western Conference executive said, “then Cleveland got what was coming to them.”

The Cavaliers are terrified of James. When you’re around them, it’s sometimes embarrassing to watch the way they tip-toe and grovel with him. In their defense, that’s how James wants it. As a childhood prodigy, that’s all LeBron’s ever known. The Cavs are at his mercy until he becomes a free agent in July of 2010, and that isn’t going to change. There’s no chance that he signs an extension this summer, because that would be the end of the drama, the intrigue and LeBron James isn’t letting that go away.

James distanced himself in losing again, after a season in which he sold himself as all for one, and one for all. James had been an MVP until the very final moments of the basketball season, and then, he embarrassed himself and acted like a petulant kid. In a world where everyone in his life is too fearful or too dependent, LeBron James goes into the summer believing his own nonsense that he walked out of this season a winner.

As usual, there’s no one to tell him.

Which might be a reasonable criticism of the Cavaliers front office and LeBron's advisors, mentors, and family, but who does Woj think is in a position to scold the King like this in a way that's likely to resonate with him?  Why isn't the failure that Woj alludes to might just be a result of LeBron's singular status?  Why hadn't you taught him these lessons by now, Woj?   It might be that LeBron didn't have a father around to help raise him, but it might also be that these are just lessons that Kings have to learn for themselves.

And maybe, with respect to the handshake anyway, the King doesn't have much to learn, as ESPN's Sports Fella (Bill Simmons) suggests, with this refreshing take:

When you caused a controversy by storming off the court after Game 6 and refusing to attend your press conference, you did something even better: You brought us back to the days when "rivals" didn't hug each other like Red and Andy after every game, when NBA stars actually took losing personally and treated their peers like enemies instead of friends. I loved it. That was an old-school move. And as reader Brian Naftaly points out, you accomplished something even better: You made your teammates cover you in the postgame press conference, marking the first time all series they did something or helped you in any way. That was genius. Hold your head up high, LeBron James. You could not have done more with the possible exception of coaching the team … and really, that might not have been a bad idea.

And about who those teammates were, doesn't Simmons nail it on what Ferry might have done differently?

You mean other than trading Wally Szczerbiak's expiring contract in February when 20 teams were dying to save money and you had a chance to turn a zero into a crunch-time guy? Besides that?

You looked around at the playoff landscape, shrugged your shoulders and said, "Yeah, we're good," even though you didn't have a backup center or a true perimeter player with size other than LeBron. If you turned Wally into Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood, that could have worked. If you turned Wally, J.J. Hickson and a future No. 1 into Marcus Camby and an expiring deal, that could have worked. If you turned Wally into Richard Jefferson (whom the Bucks were trying to give away), that would have worked. If you turned Wally and Pavlovic into Shaq and Matt Barnes when Phoenix was desperately trying to shave money, that REALLY would have worked. By doing nothing, you basically said, "We can win with what we have." And you didn't. Note to Cavs fans: If you're looking for a place to direct your anger and dismay, start here. Your front office choked. Not only could Shaq have defended Dwight Howard without help, he could have out-Tweeted him after every game. You were robbed.

Not much more to add there, so let's move on to Simmons big whiff in trying to "talk Cleveland fans off the ledge":

I don't believe in curses or jinxes, but I do believe that a franchise (or even a city of franchises) can pass a point with its fans at which they expect bad things to happen -- always, without fail -- and the players almost get contaminated by that negative energy. Sadly, there's no way to stop it; no pill to take, no exorcism to be had. It has to happen organically. For Red Sox fans, it was the Roberts steal. For Cleveland fans, Cubs fans and Bills fans, it will be something else. But it WILL be something else. It's just the law of averages. There is no infinity button for failing in sports. At some point, things turn. They always do.

Right.  As soon as Dave Roberts steals a base.  And there's a difference between "I don't believe in curses," and "I don't believe in karma"? 

So we'll wait for Roberts even though there is an obvious exorcism screaming to be had? 

This isn't Boston, Bill. You didn't have a curse like this in Boston, if you ever had one at all.

Back this afternoon with our NBA Finals preview. In the meantime, check out this fantastic vision for a new Bron/Kobe puppet commercial from the Rumors & Rants crew.

Thanks to ESPN/Elsa/Getty Images for the photo.