LeBron James is more popular, powerful and rich than he was before his infamous "Decision". Clearly he survived this so-called blunder.
The question is whether he would have been even more successful had he handled things differently.
Brand guru Jonah Disend of Redscout tells us The Decision was a critical error:
The Decision did him NO favors as a brand and he will spend years trying to come back from it.
By him going to Miami, he is a follower, not a leader. He wants to be seen among an elite class of players - a class of players who have teams built around them rather than someone who has to chase the team and the championship.
The Decision could have been a great moment of transparency, but instead it made him a bad guy, turning his back on his city. If he had just left without The Decision, the fallout wouldn't have been as bad. He loved having the city of Cleveland adore him and then he turned his back on them. He knew that if he left, the team would just fall apart but he wanted to win a title (easy, fast - rather than working on it in his home town) so he left. Turning your back on a city that was in dire need of him hurt him more than anything else—doing it on national television was just cruel.
We, however, think it was a good career move:
(1) All press is good press. The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. Nike knows this, and was quick to cash in on the controversy with the powerful "What Should I Do?" commercial. (2) Titles are the most important part of a legacy. Joining Wade and Bosh in Miami was at least arguably his best option, and he might win his first title this week.
Please tell us what you think and let us know in the comments.
More From Business Insider
