Is LeBron's Move a Mistake or a Stroke of Genius That Will Bring Him a Championship?

Yair Katan: Hello.

Tzipi Shmilovitz: Hello hello.

Yair Katan: Hello hello hello.

Tzipi Shmilovitz: I always win at this, so let's skip to the end.

Yair Katan: Ugh, I wanted to come off as the mature one. You are currently walking the streets of New York, I am watching the sunset with the elderly on the beach in Rishon LeZion, there is no better time to analyze the "last decision" of LeBron James — to try to win a championship with Philadelphia on a two-year contract. Ready?

Tzipi Shmilovitz: Ready.

Yair Katan: Did LeBron make the right decision? I am not entirely convinced. Golden State is finished so there was no point in him joining Steph Curry, in Miami maybe Giannis Antetokounmpo is more of a superstar than LeBron could have contained, but he at least could have returned nicely to Cleveland with a certain chance for a championship.

Tzipi Shmilovitz: He made the right decision for a championship merchant, not for one of the greatest athletes in history. If your motivation is to scrape together another championship with four All-Stars, that is of course completely legitimate, but very, very disappointing. In Golden State at least it would have been charming to see him with Steph, and a return to Cleveland was the only good decision for closing such a career. Now what? A fifth option on a team full of stars? Between 23 and CR7.

Yair Katan: It is clear that only a championship is in his sights. After all, 8 million for two years is an amount that comes out of his nostrils when he sneezes. Even Vasilije Micic thinks he is a sucker. I am just trying to understand why we feel disappointed in him, and with us many others. After all, the step is legitimate on the face of it.

Tzipi Shmilovitz: I agree that if you look objectively at LeBron's career, there is no reason to be disappointed. He always put his place in history before everything, and therefore also made this decision. LeBron is the man who turned the NBA into a league of players and not owners, and that is a very good part of his legacy. I had a lot of sympathy for a man who was born in a zip code that promised him prison or worse, grew into this legend and passed every bar they set for him. But this monkey on his back should have been taken off a long time ago and not continue to influence every decision of his. He said in his message that he was already sure he was retiring, and that is probably what he should have done. Because if you are not going to finish at home, then what is the point of all this at age 41.

Yair Katan: Suddenly I am getting, also because of the age, a Cristiano Ronaldo vibe.

Tzipi Shmilovitz: I am not underestimating the difficulty of such rare players to retire. But in LeBron's case, he has so many other things in life and it is doubtful that anyone will ever pass him, so why add another team to the list?

Yair Katan: At least unlike Ronaldo, he is not a burden. Cristiano physically harmed the Portugal national team in the World Cup with the need to look for him in the attack. It must be said to LeBron's credit, he is aware of various and strange limitations of a player his age.

Tzipi Shmilovitz: We will have to see if he is really aware of them. There were a few weeks last season when it really looked like that, and that is why the Lakers looked like real contenders, but the injuries ruined everything for them again. We will wait to understand if he is ready to finish games with eight points and three assists. According to what we have seen so far, there is no reason to believe so.

Yair Katan: Fifth option you say. Is Philly's starting five really the real thing?

Tzipi Shmilovitz: On the face of it sure, all the other four are giant players in different positions and at least two, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown, have a lot of reasons for motivation. All this does not guarantee that Embiid will not get injured again or that Brown will be able to share the ball with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

Yair Katan: Embiid wanted to answer you that it is not true that he gets injured all the time and then got injured while typing. It is a matter of time. When he is fit, in those few moments, the comparison should be to this year's Knicks, at least in the short term. Jalen Brunson is at his peak and Mikal Bridges here and there still outperform Maxey and Edgecombe who have never in their lives gone through such pressure. OG Anunoby was a giant in the championship, but Brown gave an All-Star season and now he is charged after what Boston did to him. Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns are centers with rare and different qualities from each other, and when Embiid is fit he is preferable. But the Knicks have Josh Hart, and that is the mother and step-grandmother of the X-factor, because he fights and curses and scores and defends. It is not just that LeBron is not like that, but that Philly does not have that motherfucker.

Tzipi Shmilovitz: It is impossible to estimate how the Knicks will look after such a huge championship, but it is certain that their championship shook the whole league. We are done with building slowly and for the long term, there are no more dynasties, going for a championship here and now. In any case, Brown is such a one in my opinion, and Maxey too. I do not think toughness will be their problem. Only that he was missing.

Yair Katan: The negativity is slightly surrounding us. The issue of limitations came up here, but I see a player who just a few months ago took the Lakers almost alone to a series victory over a young and talented Houston. He manages the game better than before, and is capable of catching big shooting games, at the highest level.

Tzipi Shmilovitz: I do not think there is an argument about his abilities even at this age, it is clear that he can be what they are missing, but we do not know if he is capable of being number 5 in the starting five. In any case, the discussion is not about whether LeBron is an unprecedented player and still top 20 in the league, but about the way he chooses to end his career. The "ring culture" killed all the romance, and this is despite the fact that the biggest stars are the ones who complain about this culture the most.

Yair Katan: Michael Jordan did this generation serious psychological damage. Not only is everyone chasing titles, but his conduct left everyone with serious FOMO of "what would have happened if he had continued at his peak". LeBron and his likes are unable to let go out of fear that they will miss something else that could have been achieved.

Tzipi Shmilovitz: That is true. The mistake is to think in advance that any of them is really competing with Jordan. They are not. No one. But I will tell you this: Steph will be remembered with much greater affection than LeBron. It is like the reason everyone loved "The Odyssey" so much, because it is a real movie without green screens and stunts. The world is cynical but fans are not, they want the romance, and therefore the truly mythical championship, the one of LeBron, was with Cleveland, and will always be remembered as the moment when all the fantasies around him came true. Even a fifth championship will not change that.

Yair Katan: I constantly feel the need to defend him. LeBron made choices according to his vision as an athlete and also as a brand. Took a championship in every team he played in, even if in a second tenure. Why is that championship more mythical? Because it is his home? He loaded superstars there like everywhere else. We want a poster hero, frozen and without wrinkles. He is a bit of trash sometimes, and he chases titles, but I support him and officially remove my disappointment from the decision.

Tzipi Shmilovitz: He had one superstar - one - in the championship in Cleveland. I am not looking for a poster hero, Jordan was not a poster hero, Kobe Bryant, accused of rape, I could not stand. LeBron decided that this is his way and I respect it and am disappointed by it. As stated, it should not bother him.

Yair Katan: Okay, so a championship will not upgrade LeBron's status, but is there something that can happen in Philadelphia that will hurt him? Worst case: classic Galacticos collapse, Embiid retires in the middle of the season, another star gets injured, LeBron does a David Blatt to Nick Nurse. They will talk about it as a jarring final chord, but it will not be catastrophic damage for him.

Tzipi Shmilovitz: The legacy is locked, for better or worse. The only question is how he will be remembered by fans who are not "LeBron James fans" who go with him to every team. If he takes a championship we will hear that he is greater than Jordan, but he is not. On the other hand, LeBron always did what he wanted - he is a free black man, this has deep meaning for him - and may he be in good health.