Theres More to Life in the NBA Than Winning Championships: Herm Edwards never played or coached basketball at a high level, but theres a reason the ex-NFLers famous postgame rant is still so popular in the sports world. That is, because its true. You play to win the game. Every game. No matter the stakes or the opponent. At least, thats the point of the exercise. Its not competition if only one party is competing. Hence, you may play to win the game, but things arent always going to turn out in your favor. What then? What happens when the inevitable nature of sports as zero-sum games comes home to roost? Whats an NBA player to do when hes not one of the fortunate few on the one team out of 30 that wins it all? What if hes not on one of the final two, or final four, or final eight or even the 16 that qualify for the playoffs in pro basketball? Does he just give up? Not usually, no. Hardly ever, it seems. In the NBA, as in any sport, theres far more to play for than lifting the Larry OBrien Trophy, raising a championship banner or finding the right place to display a commemorative ring slathered in diamonds. Its incredibly difficult to win a championship, Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh told CBSSportss Ken Berger. I know that, and I know its a whole process. Indeed, Bosh experienced seemingly every possible peak and valley associated with title contention during his four years as LeBron James teammate in South Florida: The periods of uneven play and overriding uncertainty, like during the Heats 9-8 start in 2010-11. The long winning streaks, like the 12-gamer that immediately followed that shaky beginning or the historic 27-gamer that came together in 2012-13. The postseason epiphanies, like when Boshs abdominal injury in 2012 sparked a small-ball revolution on South Beach. The sky-lighting flame of a shooting star, as in the teams back-to-back titles, and its eventual fade, as in the Finals shellacking this past June. Bosh couldve sought out such a roller-coaster ride this past summer after James took his talents back home to Ohio. Reports at the time had Bosh strongly considering a shorter, less lucrative contract to form yet another formidable Big Three, alongside Dwight Howard and James Harden, with the Houston Rockets. I could see where people would think thats an attractive site, Bosh said. They were trying to win right away. And I was really happy to be touted that I possibly couldve been out there. But you know, that doesnt guarantee anything, and I know that. All that guarantees is a bunch of pressure. Bosh and the Heat endured that incessant pressure throughout their four years together, from their bombastic introduction to the basketball world until their flameout at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 Finals. It wore on them to the point where the game itself wasnt quite as fun to play. It was great, you know, we went to the Finals four years in a row, and it was everything we wanted from that standpoint, but sometimes throughout that run, at certain times, it just wasnt fun, Dwyane Wade told Bleacher Reports Ethan Skolnick. Individually, it was great having certain relationships and having my best friend here with me, but all of us didnt have fun all the time. That experience led Wade to re-evaluate his priorities—not that winning was no longer important, but rather, winning wasnt the only thing. I think now Im at the point where I want to enjoy the game, Wade went on. Because once Ive won three championships and been so successful, youve got to have something to play for. And I want to be able to play for my teammates and just the joy of the game. The joy of the game. In other words, playing because its fun—something that the game wasnt always for Wade when everything the Heat said or did was being dissected a gajillion times over. Basketball may be more fun when you win, but chances are, you wont be able to sustain a winning environment if those within it arent enjoying the process to some extent. And not just on the court either. For Bosh, the comforts of his adopted home in Miami played a pivotal part in his decision to stay put. Im familiar with people, Bosh added. I know how to get to work. And if theres traffic, I know the shortcuts. Its those small things that I really love about the city and I love about being comfortable that guided me back. And you know, if you can make a couple of dollars on the side, then it works out. More than a couple of dollars, in fact. The deal that was reportedly on offer from the Rockets (four years, $88 million) was shorter and less lucrative than the one Bosh ultimately inked with the Heat (five years, $118.7 million). Itd be tough to blame Bosh, though, if he did have second thoughts from time to time. His Heat, at 13-15, are hanging on for dear life in the weak East amid a flurry of injuries. The Rockets, meanwhile, are a robust 19-7, good enough for fourth place in the wild West. The same goes for Carmelo Anthony, whos not been shy to share how close he came to ditching the New York Knicks for the Chicago Bulls this past summer. It comes down to winning at the end of the day, and thats what theyre about. So thats what I like, Anthony said of the Bulls in his documentary, Carmelo: Made in New York, on MSG Network (via ESPN New Yorks Ian Begley). For them to hit everything right on the nail, first time at bat, thats hard to do. That was impressive. Impressive, but not enough to lure Melo away from his hometown team. In the end, Chicagos shorter offer was no match for the five-year, $124 million deal with which the Knicks alone could (and did) shower him. Its easy to consider what Anthony said and did and conclude that theres a cognitive dissonance between the two, that it didnt come down to winning for him. After all, his Knicks are a franchise-worst 5-25 in a dead-heat with the Philadelphia 76ers for dead-last in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls, on the other hand, are 17-9, just four games back of the top spot in the East. Clearly, Chicagos in much better position to compete for a championship than New York is. But maybe, just maybe, being a hired gun on a likely title contender helmed by Derrick Rose, a hometown hero in the Second City, wouldnt have meant as much as doing for the Knicks what Rose is attempting to do for the Bulls, even if the latter situation is less likely to yield a ring than the former. It would be no better feeling than winning one [here], given the impact I would have, not just from a basketball standpoint, from an overall standpoint, Anthony said at his second annual Tools for Teachers Initiative back in October, via Newsdays Marc Raimondi. To that end, Anthonys reasons for staying home arent all that different from those that drove James to return to his roots. My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question, James wrote in announcing his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, via Sports Illustrated. But what’s most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio. So far, James Cavs have looked like theyre ready to do that only in fits and spurts. Like the Heat of 2010-11, theyve endured plenty of ups and downs already amid an absence of familiarity and the trust it breeds. The guys in the locker room are who we have, and I think we can compete against anybody when were playing at our best, James said the day after the Cavs recent 127-98 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, per Fox Sports Ohios Sam Amico. But its going to take us to maintain our focus every single day. We cannot afford to take a step backwards, because a lot of teams are just better than us as far as chemistry, as far as the camaraderie they have over the years, and we dont have that. James might not have had to handle such challenges this season had he opted to stay with Wade, Bosh and Company in Miami. They already knew how to win. Theyd practically sleepwalked their way into a fourth straight Finals this past spring—something no team since Larry Birds Boston Celtics had pulled off. Chances are Miamis Big Three would be right back at or near the top of the East had James not vacated his Biscayne Bay manse. Of course, James could be playing a longer game here. After seeing his Heat handled by the Spurs, he may have seen the end of the road for those Heat and, in turn, given stronger consideration to a Cavs roster that, despite its recent failures, was fertile ground for not only a rapid turnaround, but also a long-term success story. That still required James to jeopardize some of his prime and potentially much more than that. Would he have taken that same chance on a team that wasnt so close to his hometown of Akron? Would he have cast his lot with a talented but unproven group if adding to his crowded trophy case was all that mattered? Probably not. If we flipped the script for another successful superstar, would Kobe Bryant be so loyal to the Los Angeles Lakers if they werent like home for him? Would he be riding out the remainder of his brilliant career with a franchise that doesnt yet appear to have a clear strategy for exfiltration from its current quagmire? As NBAs Shaun Powell put it: Theres nothing wrong with Kobe putting limits on what he will do to win a title. Kobe can stay in L.A. and keep shooting while the Lakers keep losing. He can puff his chest at the notion of wearing one uniform proudly from start to finish. He can pray the Lakers wisely use their cap space and lottery pick (if its in the top 5; otherwise it belongs to the Suns) next summer to bring help, although theres no potential savior at the moment. Sure, Bryants $48.5 million extension looks a lot like hush money for the 19-year veteran, especially now that the Lakers are stuck among the muck toward the bottom of the West. That contract, along with Kobes newfound physical limitations, might make it difficult for the Lakers to find a suitor for the 36-year-olds services on the trade market if they were so inclined. But Bryant could angle for a way out if he really, desperately wanted to. And given the chance to land an all-time great who still has a lot left in the tank, there probably wouldve been at least one strong squad to step up as a suitor for Bryants services. In all likelihood, Bryant wont do that, and the Lakers certainly wont push him to. He wants Ring No. 6, but theres more at stake for him than that: loyalty, legacy, comfort and his post-playing career prospects. Granted, these luxuries are somewhat unique to Bryant. Few have ever had the privilege of playing for one organization over the course of careers that were anywhere near as long as Bryants has been. By all accounts, he wants to be a Laker for life and will have that option as long as he wants to keep playing. Moreover, Bryants already proved his championship bona fides over the course of his five title runs in purple and gold. He doesnt have to go chasing rings elsewhere if he doesnt want to. And, frankly, no player is obligated to do so. Theres plenty of room for greatness among the ringless. Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Steve Nash, Elgin Baylor and Patrick Ewing are but a handful of the all-timers whose playing days came and went without a single championship sip. That didnt render their careers any less remarkable. Nor should it read like a scarlet letter on active superstars like Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul. All are tremendous talents whove accomplished plenty already and figure to bolster their resumes further in the years to come, whether or not they win it all. As Grantlands Zach Lowe opined: The game provides truth. When you have truth, you don’t need narratives — including the one that says a player is somehow flawed until he wins a championship. Death to RINGZ. Well, maybe not death. Paul and his fellow ringless superstars all figure to find themselves in the running for some serious hardware come spring. One of them might just be fortunate enough to extricate himself from the tired narrative over which Lowe lamented. As for the rest? They wont give up their pursuit. Nor will they all sulk until theyve achieved their dream. Rather, theyll continue to play the game—because they love it, because they get paid well to do it, because of the opportunities it affords. And because they want to win, even though that process necessarily leaves them susceptible to the agonizing sting of defeat. Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter. Follow @JoshMartinNBA Read more NBA news on BleacherReport #NBA #Opinion #fantasybasketball
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 02:06:14 +0000