Re-evaluating LeBron James' possible legacy

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Hypothetical: LeBron James plays the next 11 years for the Miami Heat alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, winning four championships. Each team features a balanced scoring attack, and the big shots are split pretty evenly between James and Wade, with Bosh throwing in a few and even Mike Miller draining some huge Derek Fisher-esque 3-pointers.

James retires with the four rings, four MVP trophies and hundreds of millions in cash.

How does his legacy stack up?

Since James' ridiculous one-hour TV special a week ago, which, by the way, got spectacular ratings -- yeah, ESPN did all right -- there has been a huge backlash against James. Some of it, criticizing him for the way he made his decision, he deserved. And a lot of it, bashing him for his free-agency choice, was, of course, just silly. It's his choice; he has no obligation to stay in Cleveland.

What's also been said, however, and deserves more thinking about is this -- that James severely tarnished his potential legacy by signing with the Miami Heat and Wade, arguably the third best player in the Association, and 20-10 guy Bosh. In essence, that he called for "HELP!!" instead of digging down to try to lead his own team to a championship.

Some say that any title James wins in Miami won't mean as much, won't garner him as much respect in the history books as if he had carried the Cavaliers to a championship. Others say that's garbage, pointing to Magic Johnson winning four rings playing with Kareem and Bird gaining three with a loaded Celtics team.

Here's where I stand: James set expectations so high, anything he does in Miami likely won't exceed them. Sure, if the above hypothetical works out, he'll likely be mentioned in the same breath as Bird and Magic. But it was just this past season that everyone was comparing James -- not his style of play, mind you -- and his potential to carry a franchise to Michael Jordan.

In joining up with Wade, a player who will likely possess the ball just as much as The King and take as many last-minute shots, James distanced himself from a chance at ever reaching M.J. status. When asked this week who the best player in the league is, Jordan's response was quick and short: "Kobe." James is not his type of dude -- that's clear.

And not the similar player, either.

One argument that I just had to laugh at involved comparing James' and Jordan's teammates. It was mentioned, in contrasting Jordan's Bulls to Wade and company, that Scottie Pippen was a top-five player in the league when playing with Jordan. Arguable, but maybe true. Still, how often did Pippen have the ball in his hands in the final seconds of a close game?

Very rarely. It was almost always Jordan's rock. Pippen was a great player, but he was no Wade when it comes to being clutch and making big plays. That might have had as much to do with playing alongside Jordan as anything else, but it's the truth.

Bryant, of course, relied heavily on Shaquille O'Neal for his first three titles. But now he's furnishing his legacy by leading the Lakers, and taking almost all the big shots, to back-to-back titles -- and, I think, a third next season.

James, if he wins three or more titles, will go down as a great champion. There's no doubt about that. And who knows, really, how things will work with the Heat? Maybe Wade will play off the ball most of the time. Maybe he'll defer to James and be a Pippen-like spot-up shooter.

But until the Heat become "LeBron's team," it will be difficult for him to crack the pantheon of the top five players of all time. Every headline that reads "Wade and James lead Heat to NBA title" hurts, just a tad, James' legacy. Just a tad.

I love the fact that this trio made selfless moves to gang up and give themselves the best chance to win championships. It's rare that you see something like this, especially in the NBA. And I believe their heads are all in the right place and they all have the same priorities -- winning, winning, winning.

So who really cares if James doesn't go down as The Greatest of All Time or The Best Since Michael? It should be a joy to watch how this duo of superstars -- plus an All-Star -- works together, and we'll see how many titles they can ring up.

And about that legacy? Well, we've always said there will never be another Jordan.

More and more, that's looking like the truth. In fact, Bryant might be as close to the next M.J. as we'll ever see.

LeBron's legendary status could depend on this decision

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The options must be enticing, like walking a buffet lined with Filet Mignon, the best ribeye and the freshest seafood.

Play in Chicago alongside one of the best young point guards for the next 10, 15 years.

Head to South Beach to run cats up and down the floor with D-Wade, one of the top five players in the game.

Compared to whom he's played with in Cleveland, LeBron James' options come the opening of free agency at midnight tonight are ridiculous. Put James next to Wade, or receiving alley-oops from Derrick Rose, or in a frontcourt with Chris Bosh, and he's undoubtedly on the favorite to win the next 13 NBA championships (give or take).

But aren't we forgetting about one less glamorous option? Yet an option that James still has the most to gain from in terms of his place in NBA history.

Yes, Cleveland.

Over the last couple months, I've been reading Bill Simmon's gigantic "Book of Basketball," an epic, thoroughly thorough history of the NBA. In it, Simmons ranks his different pyramids of the league's top players from 1-100. I believe James was somewhere in the 20s.

With the talent James possesses, there's no way he shouldn't end up in the top 5 with Jordan, Russell, Kareem and Magic/Bird (although Kobe's making a bid for a top spot, now, as well). The only way James could sabotage his legacy, to an extent, would be to play his best years alongside another top-five current player in his prime, such as Wade.

Think about it -- nobody was talking about Bryant as one of the best Lakers when he won three consecutive championships beside Shaquille O'Neal. Only when he ditched Shaq -- or had management do it, to be politically correct -- and finally won a couple as the team's unquestioned leader did this conversation of Bryant as the Greatest Laker begin.

If James plays alongside Wade, he'll have to share the praise after each championship. Wade is that good. This wouldn't be a Scottie Pippen-M.J. situation in which Pippen was a great player, but no one ever questioned who the leader was or whose hands the ball belonged in at the end. This would be completely different if James played with Wade or even the younger Rose, who will only get better and always want the ball in his hands.

To a lesser extent, the same would be true if James were to pair up with Bosh, as many experts have speculated. While Bosh wouldn't be handling the ball at the end of games, I'm sure the ball would go through him on plenty of possessions.

I have no idea what's going to make this decision for James. If I had to guess, I'd think he will pair up with another star. He hasn't shown the Jordan or Bryant singular thirst for championships, and at times during crucial games has seemed content to let the Mo Williams of the world run the offense. Maybe he doesn't care so much about always being the alpha dog, about everything being about him.

But if James truly wants to be remembered in the same breath as Jordan and Bryant -- and, no, he won't reach Russell status even if he plays with a Wade, Rose or Bosh, because no one in this era is coming close to the legend's 11 titles -- he needs to stay in Cleveland, be the man all the time, put up ridiculous numbers and start winning championships.

It's the most difficult route he could take, but it would also certainly be the most fulfilling road to legend status.

Oh, and Cleveland might just name itself after him.

So what's it going to be, LeBron?

Enough with the LeBron-Kobe argument: The answer is easy

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Some things in life are difficult to figure out. Example No. 1: Last night, I decided to walk over to the grocery store. This required me to skip down my back steps, hop a fence, then walk about 150 yards to the Harris Teeter. I did so without incident, perused the aisles for some good deals -- I was actually pretty pleased with the amount of healthy food I was getting for $29.03 -- and then reached in my pants' pocket for my wallet.

Gone.

I retraced my steps four times, no joke. I got down on my knees and peered underneath aisles while fellow customers wondered if I was mentally stable. I walked back through the parking lot, eyes trained on the ground like a dog looking for that tasty-smelling treat. I checked the food cabinets in my apartment, the washer and dryer, the bathtub. Then I went back outside with my headlamp, did the whole hands and knees thing again, and searched by my jumping location for 17 minutes.

Nothing. Gone.

Didn't make any sense. Probably, almost certainly, never will.

So that's nonsensical. We'll call it the Disappearing Wallet conundrum.

Which, at long last, brings me to the point of this column: On this day in time -- mark it down as May 4, 2010, 11:07 a.m. EST -- LeBron James is a better basketball player than Kobe Bryant. Period. Enough said. L.A. fans can keep up the "M-V-P" chants all they want, but their boy is no longer the Association's best player.

And it pains me to hear the talk-radio guys give themselves a bad name -- wait, sorry: most of them already have one -- by saying things like, "Well, until LeBron wins a championship, he's got nothing on Kobe." Um, yes -- he won't have the hardware that Bryant has with his four NBA titles, but that, folks, doesn't mean he's not as good of a player.

Which brings me to the obvious point of the column: LeBron James would embarrass Robert Horry in a game of one-on-one. Horry's got seven rings. James has none. Doesn't matter.

James deservedly destroyed the field in MVP voting this year, winning the award for the second consecutive year in a landslide vote. Anyone who voted against him ought to be barred from the process (or maybe life in general): see below. You shouldn't even need stats to see that James is clearly the NBA's best player, but just in case:

This season, James averaged 29.7 points, 8.6 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks per game for the best team in the Association. He shot 50.3 percent from the field despite constant double-, triple- and quadruple-teams and played in 76 games for a 61-win team.

"M-V-P, M-V-P!" shout the L.A. fans upon arriving at Staples Center in the second quarter and seeing Kobe hit a fade-away jumper. Um, fans: Bryant averaged 27 points, 5.4 rebounds, five assists and 1.5 steals per game. Numbers not even close to James'. Bryant also shot just 45.6 percent and played fewer games than James (73).

Bryant was so far off the radar this season, the seven votes James didn't get for MVP weren't even for No. 24 in L.A. They were for Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard, who both had great years and led their teams to good records and the playoffs. But are you serious? How could seven human-being voters not choose James? That's like calling Fleetwood Mac better than the Beatles. Ludicrous.

But back to the Kobe-LeBron "argument." LeBron haters say that they'd rather have Bryant in a big game, that they'd rather have him taking the big shot in crunch time. This, of course, is extremely short-sighted and has nothing to do with the players the two have become. Yes, over his 14-year career, Bryant has made many more "clutch" shots than James. He's hit more playoff winners than James.

I wonder why. Um, maybe because he's been in the league twice as long as James, not to mention on a championship contender for almost the entirety of his career. I cringe when people say that James has been a playoff failure. Really? Well, consider this:

He's only lost one playoff series that his team should have won -- against Orlando a year ago. Outside of that, James' squad fell to a much better and more experienced Spurs outfit in the 2007 playoffs; and in '08, he gave an incredible effort in a second-round matchup against the Celtics and a healthy and *young Big Three. Before '07, James did an admirable job of boosting the Cavs from the bottom of the NBA to the playoffs within three years, where in '06 they came a game away from the conference finals.

So, yeah, you can't ask much more of James' first six seasons in the league. And without much of a supporting cast until last year (read: Mo Williams signing, and this year the Shaq signing -- albeit, he hasn't contributed much), he's done all he could. He's developed into a tremendous team player who knows when he needs to take over games. And, yes, he's clutch in late-game situations (read: No player can bring his team back from an 11-point deficit in three minutes). You might have forgotten (heck, I did, too) that James had 44- and 49-point nights in the two close loses to the Magic last year. I'm going to climb a limb and say he did just about all he could.

So go ahead, LeBron haters. Say Bryant is better. It's as flawed as a moldy pita. What you can argue, still, is that the Lakers are a better team than the Cavaliers. I won't argue it, because I think, despite Boston's shocking, dominating Game 2 win in Cleveland last night, Cleveland is en route to its first NBA title. But there's an argument to be made.

Which also, it turns out, makes my LeBron-is-better-than-Kobe column.

The Lakers' supporting cast is better than Cleveland's. Not by much, but better all the same. Meaning, of course, that James has to do more than Bryant for his team. Pau Gasol is the best player not named Bryant or James on either team. He's developed into a reliable low-post threat who can be counted on when Bryant's outside shots are bricking. Antawn Jamison, on the other hand, is getting old and is much more of an outside player at this point in his career (translation: streaky). So that's that.

Williams has at times been an able backcourt sidekick for the King. But did you see him last night? He got manhandled, owned, by young Rajon Rondo. You think Derek Fisher, creaky bones and all, would have let that happen? I'll take the reliable Fisher over Williams by a hair.

And then the Lakers have their defense-rebounding guys in Lamar Odom and Ron Artest. Yes, they tend to take games off -- presumably, these are the game when Artest jogs to the liquor store during halftime and Odom is too busy thinking he can shoot 3s to do what he does best -- but they're still better and more able than anyone Cleveland can offer.

I could go on, but it's pretty clear that L.A. has a better supporting cast than Cleveland.

And, yes, the Cavs have the better team (at least I think). They've won more games.

So what gives? It's simple, really: They've got the best player in the NBA. And it's not even close.

And the next time I hear an "M-V-P!" chant, here's to hoping it's coming from the famished fans in Cleveland. Because as good as Durant was this season (and he'll only get better), as dominant as Howard was defensively (but where's the offense?), and as clutch and scary as Bryant remains, there's only one best player in the Association right now.

And it isn't debatable.

LeBron James' recent moves not so spectacular

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Hey, we all know the NBA is a league run by superstars.

Michael Jordan got all the calls. Almost any other player would have been whistled for a push-off against Bryon Russell during the climatic moment of the 1998 Finals.

Dwyane Wade was the star of the 2006 Finals, and that was demonstrated by the ridiculous amount of calls he got. Every time he drove to the basket, it seemed, he was rewarded with a trip to the free-throw line.

We know how the league operates. And it's only human nature that if a player gets his way most of the time, he'll come to expect such things.

But once the game is over, all players regardless of their salaries and endorsements should be expected to act in a professional manner. Heck, especially the stars, who have their images to groom and then uphold.

LeBron James hasn't done that, at all, the past six weeks.

I've always liked James, both as a player and a person. Despite being ludicrously wealthy and famous at such a young age, and having never spent a year on a college campus, he's mature beyond his years. He's stayed out of trouble, taken care of his kids and proven to be quite the entertainer (see his SNL appearance and his pregame routine).

But he's come off as a diva and wide-receiver type recently.

First he rushed off the court following Cleveland's Game 6 loss to Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals, not shaking the hand of a single Magic player and then leaving the arena before talking to any media members. A day later, he said his competitiveness kept him from doing such things.

Oh, and other players enjoy losing, LeBron?

That was an extremely weak act on James' part, but it was shrugged off by most people because of James' crystal-clear record when it came to such matters as sportsmanship and making himself available to the media.

He should have been more widely criticized for the disappearing act. Hell, if I was covering that series, I would have been enraged to have to rely on interviews from other Cavaliers after their final game of the season.

But whatever. Life went on.

Then, however, came the alleged incident earlier this week at James' skills academy. James was playing a pickup game with NBA and college players when Jordan Crawford, a 6-foot-4 guard from Xavier, posterized him. Yep, dunked on LeBron.

The gym, apparently, went nuts. Well, at least the high school kids in attendance let loose. Not only that, a couple videographers, who had been taping games all day, got the dunk on video.

But not for long.

According to Ryan Miller, one of the videographers, James went over to Nike's Lynn Merritt and told him something. A minute later, Merritt was confiscating the tape from Miller.

Since the pickup game Monday, there's been all kinds of talk about what happened, but not a peep from James or any of his representatives. All Nike has said is that there's a policy against taping after-hours games. But, again, Miller and others had been taping for a while before the dunk and hadn't been bothered.

What happened in Akron, Ohio, is pretty obvious. And, really, it's silly this is even garnering so much attention.

Thank James for that.

For the past six years, I've considered James an incredibly precocious talent very secure in his broad-shouldered body. Now, all of a sudden, he can't stand the thought of people seeing him get dunked on by a college kid?

If Miller and others weren't accosted by the Nike people and posted the video on YouTube, it would have been a huge hit. Millions of people would have watched it.

But why? Because James is such an amazing, incredible talent. Because he doesn't get dunked on.

All it would have said is that, yes, James is human after all. And life would have moved on, with James continuing to be his dominant self and probably never allowing another dunk during his career.

Big whoop.

By allegedly having Nike swipe the footage, though, James was acting insecure, as if one tiny sign of weakness on the basketball court during a summer scrimmage would damage his reputation.

It's mind-boggling to me. I don't understand it.

I always thought, from watching James the player and person, that he would be the type who could act classy after a loss and put it in perspective (Hey, I'm only 24!) and laugh after such an unimportant happening and maybe even throw a compliment the kid's way.

Maybe we common folk don't know James like we thought. In the aftermath of Steve McNair's tragic death, it is fair to assume that we don't know the half about the pro athletes we watch in sports venues and on TVs around the country.

Still, I thought James was better than this. We all know he has to have an enormous ego to be as good as he is, but I believed he could hold it in check when it wasn't his day.

Hopefully for the fans' sake, James won't have any larger blemishes on his record when we view his career after its conclusion.

Wouldn't you like to be Stephon Marbury?

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Question: If you could live the life of any athlete right now, whose would you choose?

Obviously, there's Tiger Woods. Dude makes yacht-loads of money, has a gorgeous wife and, oh yeah, is well on his way to becoming the best golfer of all time. But we're talking about today, and at this moment Woods can't even hit the Big Dog.

No, being Tiger right now isn't the ideal situation.

OK, how about LeBron James? Dude's one of the best two players in the NBA, is so loved by fans that the folks in Morose Minnesota gave him a standing ovation Wednesday, and he's quickly becoming a global icon. As an added bonus, you get to be boys with Stephen Curry.

Not bad, but LeBron continues to carry a heavy load for the Cavs. At this time of year, I'd prefer a little R & R.

Well, it is the baseball offseason, correct? Players don't have to report for two months. So being C.C. Sabathia would be tight, right?

Except that it wouldn't. C.C.'s going to be under such intense scrutiny next season, he's probably already hitting the treadmill two hours a day to try to trim that stout frame for the New York media hounds. Don't want them blaming your girth when you lose a game in April.

So forget about CC. Mo money, mo problems.

Except, however, when you're talking about Stephon Marbury. Yep, out of all the great players in the sports universe today — the Woodses, the Federers, the Kobes, the Peytons, the A-Rods and the Phelpses — none of them have a better life than Marbury.

Technically, Marbury is still a member of the New York Knicks. In fact, he was at their game Tuesday night against the Lakers. Only thing was, his bottom was plastered to a court-side seat at Staples Center alongside the likes of Jack Nicholson and the rest of Los Angeles' finest.

Marbury, sporting a hot-looking black leather coat, watched a tad of the game, did some texting and talking on his mobile device, and even conducted an interview with reporters during halftime. When he said, memorably, "I'm still earning my check by doing nothing. I'm staying in shape. My mindset is to enjoy my life."

In truth, Marbury is doing nothing. For all intents and purposes, he's unemployed — only his unemployed compensation for this NBA season is $21 million. And while I'm happy that he's staying in shape and enjoying life, he must be corrected on this: he is not earning that rather hefty paycheck. Not in any way.

But please don't blame Marbury. Seriously — the man's doing nothing wrong. It's obvious that New York coach Mike D'Antoni wants nothing to do with the point guard, and after a couple failed attempts at getting him to enter a game from the bench, their relationship was over.

After a fractured meeting with team president Donnie Walsh, Marbury was banned from all Knicks games and practices. In fact, he had to make sure that it was OK for him to attend Tuesday's contest in L.A. since it involved his, eh, team. (And it was fine; no violation.)

Such is the life of the 31-year-old from Brooklyn. I mean, just consider this for a moment. A kid like Marbury, who grew up dirt poor with nothing but a dream. Now he's getting paid a fortune, a life's salary, to do absolutely nothing. Life couldn't be grander, right?

Well, Marbury is actually handling this correctly. While he said he can't wait to be freed from his contract, which expires after the season, he has no plans of bailing out the Knicks for their woeful financial decisions (on a side note, Walsh must be loving Isiah Thomas right now).

And why should he? They agreed to pay him a certain sum of money. Now they want nothing to do with him. He owes them nothing, and I doubt he thinks very highly of the franchise.

Marbury said another NBA team has expressed interest in him. If so, and if he gets a new contract after the season, good for him — and maybe good for that team, as long as they are very careful not to pull an Isiah and do some deadly overspending.

Heck, maybe after a year of free millions, Magnanimous Marbury will make an appearance and agree to pay for a small salary.

Or maybe not.

But back to the question...

Come June, I'd like to be Tiger; he'll be hitting the Big Dog with regularity.

But at this moment, no athlete's life is better than Stephon Marbury's.

Barkley's right: LeBron should be quiet

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The Summer of 2010 remains a long way off. For instance, here are a few sports events that should happen before then:

The Detroit Lions will win a game. Maybe not multiple games, but a game. Hey, that's a start.

Roger Federer will break Pete Sampras' record of 14 grand-slam titles.

Tiger Woods will inch closer to breaking Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major titles.

The Michigan basketball team will make its first NCAA Tournament since the long-ago year of 1998.

And on we go...

The point is that November 2008 is no time to be talking about that far-away summer. Not even the almighty LeBron James has that right — yes, even if he's asked that question by the oppressive New York media.

This is what James had to say when asked about the possibility of playing in a New York Knicks uniform after he becomes a free agent:

"I don't know if it's going to happen. But you have to stay open-minded if you're a Knicks fan."

Charles Barkley might have been a controversial player, but you could never doubt his loyalty to the team he was on. After James' visit to the Big Apple, the outspoken former All-Star gave James some sage advice (though he could have worded it more politically correct).

"If I was LeBron James, I would shut the hell up," Barkley said on Dan Patrick's radio show. "I'm a big LeBron fan. He's a stud. You gotta give him his props. I'm getting so annoyed he's talking about what he's going to do in two years. I think it's disrespectful to the game. I think it's disrespectful to the Cavaliers."

Barkley couldn't be more correct. And thankfully he spoke out, because we'll never hear a member of the Cleveland organization speak out against James — unless he kidnaps a cute kid or shoots himself in the leg, or something — because they don't want to do anything that will lower the probability of James re-signing with Cleveland in that much-talked-about summer.

To summarize, James has the Cavaliers hog-tied. He can do whatever he likes, within the law, and say whatever he wants. And hardly anyone in Cleveland will talk bad about him.

So how did James so eloquently respond to Barkley's comment?

"He's stupid. That's all I've got to say about that."

Nice and succinct. Hey, kind of like the answer James should have given when asked about the Summer of 2010.

Seriously. James is a smart man. He understands how the world works. He reads the news, knows what's being said, knows how certain comments are reacted to. So obviously he was aware of how his comments would be interpreted.

All he had to say was this (which, of course, is boring and typical, but also the right thing to say given the situation): "My focus right now is on the Cleveland Cavaliers. I'll deal with that decision when the time comes."

We hear smart athletes make similar statements all the time. Do we enjoy the non-answers to questions? Of course not — they're boring and don't tell us anything. But from the athletes' perspectives, they're doing what's right for their situations.

Now, the immediate impact of James' flirtation with the New York media hasn't seemed to affect his team. The Cavs are on a roll, having won all three games since their rout of the Knicks last Tuesday. While the players had to deal with questions about 2010 instead of their current dominant team, they haven't let the distraction affect their play.

Cleveland rested Monday night 14-3, three and a half games ahead of sagging Detroit in the Eastern Conference's Central Division. Its next game is a home rematch with the Knicks Wednesday night.

The Cavaliers are clearly the second-best team in the East behind the defending-champion Celtics. And last season's playoff series between the teams went to an epic seventh game, which Boston barely survived. So the difference between the squads isn't as big as some might make it out to be.

The point is that James is in a pretty good situation. It's not like he's part of a dysfunctional franchise run by idiots. This Cleveland team, with its current makeup, is capable of winning an NBA title. Sure, it'd help for James to have an All-Star sidekick such as Michael Redd.

But it's not like Cleveland did nothing during the offseason to help James' cause. The Cavs signed point guard Mo Williams, who is only the team's second-leading scorer and is dishing out 4.6 assists per game (also second on the team behind you-know-who).

James has nothing to complain about — except Cleveland's crappy weather — and to his credit, he has been very upbeat about the 2008-09 Cavaliers.

So why even think about 2010? Why look ahead at all. The opportunity that sits in front of James this season has to be as tantalizing as the thought of moving to New York in 2010:

James has a chance to lead the city arguably the most hungry for a major-sports title to a championship. By giving Cleveland a title, or sticking around and winning multiple trophies, James could be remembered as the single greatest athlete in the history of Cleveland.

If he goes to New York, he'll be fighting Ruth, Mantle, Gehrig, and company, and the handfuls of championships the various sports teams have captured. If he made the move and didn't win a title there, he'd be termed a failure. That wouldn't happen in Cleveland.

But that's James' decision to make ... in a year and a half.

Until then, he'd be smart to devote all his basketball attention to the great opportunity he has in Cleveland playing on one of the NBA's best teams in front of adoring sold-out crowds every night.

Live in the present, LeBron; the Summer of 2010 will be here soon enough.

The not-so -appealing NBA

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The upcoming Olympic Games have taken on new meaning for the United States men's basketball team.

Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade and company must prove that their country is still the king of the basketball universe. Anything less than a gold medal would say otherwise.

But the Olympics aside, the past month has not been a good one for David Stern's league. (And I'm not even gonna say Tim Donaghy's name, besides just doing it.)

All of a sudden, Josh Childress of the Atlantic Hawks bolted to play professionally in Greece.

Then went another player. And another.

And ... oh ... I just looked at the bottom line, and Orlando backup point guard Carlos Arroyo is making a exodus as well. He'll play in Israel now.

This isn't something that happens every summer, folks. This is a new phenomenon.

Bottom line: For players who aren't the centerpieces of their franchises, the NBA no longer holds the appeal it used to. Just playing in the world's best basketball league isn't enough any more.

I don't have Childress' phone number in my Fave Five. Actually, to be completely honest, I don't even have T-Mobile. But to get to my point, I can understand what Childress, Arroyo and many others — such as former Nets big man Nenad Krstic — are thinking.

Consider the lifestyle of a sixth man in the NBA. Sure, you're still earning more than people like me will make in four lifetimes. Sure, you're still living the dream. But you're on a team full of other stars who get all the attention. You're simply expected to do the dirty work, wash the dishes.

Now consider the life Childress will enjoy in Greece, playing for Olympiakos. First of all, I've heard from trusted sources that living in Greece isn't bad. Secondly, thirdly, fourthly and fifthly, Childress will earn more money (about $20 million after taxes for three years guaranteed); he can opt out of the contract after each season and still make the full $20 million!; his housing will be provided and he'll be given a car; and, as if that's not enough, he'll be a star. Fans will love him. He won't simply be considered Atlanta's sixth man.

Now tell me how that's not better than his situation in Atlanta. As long as a player is comfortable with living overseas, it's a no-brainer.

And I didn't mention the style of play. No offense to the NBA, but foreign basketball is more team-oriented. It's not all about the stars and one-on-one basketball. All five players on the court are involved in the offense.

Granted, a reason for this is that you won't find any LeBrons or Kobes in Turkey or Russia. There aren't players that dominant, guys who you can simply give the ball to and get out of the way.

And part of what makes most of the U.S. stars so great is their ability to create easy shots for their teammates, for guys like Childress. Outside of the money he got, Kobe Bryant, I'm sure, is a reason why bench playerSasha Vujacic decided not to join the exodus and stay with the Lakers. Bot only so many players are privileged enough to play on teams like the Lakers and Celtics.

Childress was on a team — the Hawks — with an aging point guard (Mike Bibby) and a star (Joe Johnson) who knows how to do one thing: shoot. Staying with the Hawks was an invitation to stay the player he was without much room for becoming a mainstream-type guy. With a few signatures, he changed all that and became much richer.

Sounds like a tasty deal to me.

This is just the beginning, basketball fans. As we've seen in international competition the last five years, the level of play around the globe is only getting better each year. Don't expect this trend to end. The quality of play in the NBA, however, hasn't improved. And there's no reason, really, to expect it to.

When high-schooler Brandon Jennings chose to play in Europe for a year instead of college, American players suddenly noticed the overseas option. Playing abroad is no longer some abstract idea to U.S. hoopsters. It is a legitimate option.

Even for players not seriously considering playing overseas, it could be used as leverage against an NBA team. A player in contract negotiations with his team could use a better offer from a European outfit to garner an increased offer to stay in the States.

None of this can be considered good for the NBA. Only a couple years ago, the focus was on the hordes of international players coming to the U.S. to join the NBA. Italian Andrea Bargnani was taken with the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft.

Now, could a player of Bargnani's caliber decide to stay in Italy instead? I doubt it — the allure of being drafted in the top five of the NBA draft and becoming a franchise-type player is still very strong. But for lower-rung guys — potential second-round draft picks — a career in Europe could be much more satisfactory. A guaranteed contract (something second-round picks don't get); a spot in the starting lineup right away — players could decide not to come to U.S. in the first place.

All of this is speculation, of course, but what can't be doubted is that international basketball is dunks and jumpers better than it was a decade ago. And, just as important, international teams have plenty of cash to dole out to talented players (foreign or American).

Will the NBA miss Josh Childress, Carlos Arroyo and Nenad Krstic next season? No, don't think so. Their jerseys weren't exactly big sellers (I think). But their respective teams might miss them. And from now on, teams better pay attention to their players who are looking for new contracts — if, of course, they covet the players.

Because otherwise, such players might be gone in the snap of a finger. Headed for more money, better cuisine and stardom in a foreign land.

Pierce shows Celtics are his team

ON BASKETBALL

There never should have been any doubt, really.

Sure, Paul Pierce acted the ultimate diplomat, saying that he, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen would be Boston's equal leaders as part of the "Big Three."

And for the most part, he was right. But in Sunday's Game 7 against Cleveland, when everything the Celtics had accomplished since November was in jeopardy, Boston's fate rested squarely on Pierce's shoulders.

As great a shooter as Allen can be, he was off the entire series against the Cavs and spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench. And even when at his best, he's more of a complementary offensive player, a catch-and-shoot guy.

As for Garnett, he might have been Boston's MVP candidate, but he's not a player who takes over a game offensively. ESPN's chat between him and Bill Russell was perfect because the players share many traits, especially unselfishness, outside of Russell's 11 championships.

Boston's take-over-the-game player is, definitively, Paul Pierce. Just ask Garnett:

"Tonight was basically get the ball to Paul Pierce, get the hell out the way," the All-Star said after the game.

And despite LeBron James' best game of the series, a 45-point effort, Pierce matched "The King" shot for shot to score his 41.

Pierce's effort was all the more impressive because he didn't touch the ball on some Boston possessions. James, on the other hand, dictated Cleveland's attack every time down the court — he had to — and played all but a minute of the 48.

The great thing about watching Pierce excel is that nothing he does is spectacular. Unlike the behemoth James, Pierce doesn't jump out of an arena, doesn't glide through the air — at least not in his 10th season out of Kansas.

Rather, Pierce, when at his best, uses his body smartly to create shots for himself and also get to the foul line. On Sunday, James, who is 6-foot-8, had two inches on the guy he was guarding, but Pierce was able to create enough space to make 13 of 23 field goals and 11 of 12 free throws.

And he hit one big shot after another.

As did James, but we all knew that Boston is the better all-around team. The only chance Cleveland had to escape with the road victory was if James outplayed every Celtic. Take away three of Pierce's field goals, and Boston's 97-92 win could have gone the other way.

But despite having to guard James for most of his 44 minutes, Pierce never fatigued, never let up, and he made one of the biggest non-box score plays with just less than a minute to play.

Boston was clinging to a 91-88 advantage, and Cleveland's 7-3 Zydrunas Ilgauskas was prepared to win a jump ball against Boston's 6-8 James Posey. The smart play for Ilgauskas was to tap the ball toward James, who should have been able to box out Pierce.

Pierce, however, wasn't giving in to the bigger, stronger James. Instead, as the ball was tossed into the air, he bulled his way past James toward where he anticipated Ilgauskas would direct the ball. And sure enough, there was the orange sphere, just within Pierce's wingspan. He tipped it to himself, corralled it as he fell to the floor and quickly called timeout.

The play didn't result in any Boston points, but it ran off a valuable 20-plus seconds that Cleveland could have used at the end.

Garnett is the Celtic best known for his hustle plays, but Pierce made the defining play, the effort that will be highlighted decades from now on those NBA Films shows.

"His mental toughness was fantastic," Pierce's coach Doc Rivers said. "Obviously he was great offensively. I was just happy.

"Paul had two turnovers (toward the end). When you have those turnovers down the stretch, you can easily go the other way. ... I thought he got better after that, so I was very happy for him."

Of course, Cleveland's elimination shouldn't take away from James' performance. If he had Pierce's teammates, there's a very good chance he'd be back in the Eastern Conference finals against the Pistons.

He attacked the Celtics from the opening tip, making sure the game never slipped away from the Cavs. Whenever it appeared Boston was ready to build an insurmountable lead, James made a huge basket or created one for Cleveland's only other offensive player Sunday, Delonte West.

But at the end, it was James who let Pierce get to the jump ball. And it was James who took a poor, driving, in-between shot that missed badly with the Cavs trailing by three. On his way toward the basket, James passed on taking an open 3-pointer, which begs the question, 'How much confidence does he have in the long-range shot?'"

(James finished 3-of-11 from behind the arc.)

James should be given credit for taking ownership of his team. He never shied away from the spotlight, putting the Cavs on his back.

But at the end of the day, James was left to talk about the opposing player who's moving on to the next round.

"When a guy keeps hitting jumper after jumper, you have to respect that," James said.

The Hornets are for real

ON BASKETBALL

Let me start off by saying that until they are eliminated, the San Antonio Spurs remain the favorites to win the NBA title.

I don't care how many games they lose or what seed they end up with. If they're healthy come mid-April, I'm picking them — with the same nucleus as a year ago — to repeat as champions.

With that out of the way, here's a question: Which Western Conference team has the best record?

The Spurs? Nope.

The Mavericks? Nope.

The Suns? Not quite.

No, the correct answer is the New Orleans Hornets. (Don't believe me? Check your local paper.)

The Hornets began Wednesday a game up on Dallas and three and a half games ahead of San Antonio in the stout Southwest Division. Their 32-12 record is percentage points better than Phoenix's 33-13 mark.

Their turnaround from a sub-.500 record a year ago is not as unbelievable as you might think.

The only reason New Orleans missed the playoffs a year ago was injuries. Point guard — and current MVP candidate — Chris Paul missed 18 games. Newly acquired free agent sharp-shooter Peja Stojakovic played in a mere 13 games. David West, the most underrated player in the league, missed 30 games.

For all you math whizzes out there, that's 117 games missed by the team's Big Three.

This season, all three are healthy and thriving. But they haven't risen to 20 games above .500 by themselves. The reincarnation of big-skinny man Tyson Chandler has been a huge key in New Orleans becoming one of the NBA's best defensive teams.

Chandler, who stands 7 feet 1 inch, is averaging a career-best 12.1 points per game and matching hist output from a year ago of 12.4 rebounds a game. (Yep, that was a Bulls fan who just jumped off a bridge, mourning management's decision to give up on the young stud by handing him to New Orleans for two players no longer in the Windy City.)

It is clear that the 25-year-old Chandler has regained whatever confidence he lost during his five non-productive years in Chicago. He plays with a renewed swagger down low, and he's a big reason why scoring easy buckets against the Hornets is no longer a walk in the park.

Because of the team's newfound success, it's easy to question whether the Hornets are a legitimate contender. I tried to do that the other day. Here's how my conversation with myself went:

Doubter: I'm concerned about their depth, especially inside. Melvin Ely isn't exactly a playoff performer.

Responder: That's an excellent point, but here's the beauty of this team: Every key cog is young and fit. Chandler doesn't mind playing 35 minutes a game, and Ely's a banger. They don't need him to score.

Doubter: OK, but Stojakovic is so fragile. What happens if he goes down again?

Responder: Dude, Jannero Pargo is playing out of his mind right now (my fantasy team just picked him up). He averages 7.5 points and 2.6 assists per game, and he's an upgrade defensively. A Stojakovic injury wouldn't do the damage it caused a year ago.

Doubter: But what about the lack of experience? Besides Pargo getting stepped over by A.I. in the finals seven years ago and Stojakovic throwing up a lame-duck air ball against the Lakers, this team is devoid of seasoned playoff players.

Responder: Two words: Chris ... Paul. At the midway point of the season, averaging 20.6 points, 10.7 assists and 2.57 steals a game, he's my MVP. There, I said it. This guy is icy clutch and isn't about to disappear in May. The modern NBA is ruled by point guards, and the Hornets might just have the best one in CP3. Plus, anyone who watches "SportsCenter" knows that David West makes as many game-winning shots as Kobe, LeBron or anyone else in the league. The team you see right now will be playing the same way — or better — come "win or go home" time.

And with that protracted, but strong, response, the conversation ended. I had convinced, well, myself that these Hornets' sting won't be any less painful in the months to come.

With one of the NBA's top starting lineups, a decent bench, and a hunger that is seen on both ends of the court, New Orleans has what it takes to make a run in the playoffs. Of course, I'm writing this in January — a lot can, and will, change between now and money time.

But don't be surprised if, just like the Saints last year, the Hornets bring energy to their struggling city with some late-season excitement.