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LeBron James makes his pick: He's going to Miami

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-07-09 10:47

In a photo provided by ESPN, LeBron James sits with Jim Gray before an interview on ESPN in Greenwich, Conn., July 8, 2010. [Agencies]

See ya, Cleveland.

Sorry, Chicago, New York and New Jersey. Maybe next time around, Clippers.

LeBron James chose superstar help over the comforts of home and is heading for Miami because he wants to win a championship with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

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NBA, get ready: A superstar trio has just been born.

Ending weeks of will-he-or-won't-he speculation, the two-time MVP said Thursday night that he's decided to join the Heat and leave the Cavaliers after an unsuccessful seven-year quest for the ring he covets.

"I can't say it was always in my plans, because I never thought it was possible," James said on a made-for-Lebron live show on ESPN. "But the things that the Miami Heat franchise have done, to free up cap space and be able to put themselves in a position this summer to have all three of us, it was hard to turn down. Those are two great players, two of the greatest players that we have in this game today."

Olympic teammates in Beijing, James, Bosh and Wade all helped deliver gold medals.

This time, it'll be about a gold trophy, the NBA championship one — the one Wade got in 2006, the one that James and Bosh have yet to touch.

"Winning is a huge thing for me," James said from a studio in Greenwich, Conn., where an audience of kids from the Boys and Girls club was present for the announcement.

It's a huge victory for the Heat, which got commitments from Wade and Bosh on Wednesday. That duo, along with James, formed the upper echelon of the most-celebrated free-agent period in league history.

Heat president Pat Riley landed them all, a three-pack of stars to help shape his quest for a dynasty in Miami.

"There's magic in the number three," Wade said, a nod to his jersey number.

And for Cleveland, a city scorned for generations by some of sports' biggest letdowns, James' long-awaited words represented a defeat perhaps unlike any other.

James is gone. Home sweet home no more.

He said he made the decision Thursday morning and knows it won't go over well in Ohio.

"They can have mixed emotions, of course," James said, adding that Akron will "always be home for me."

His new home — part-time or otherwise — wasted no time in beginning the celebration. Horns honked outside the arena and on Miami Beach, where Wade was watching the announcement with members of his inner circle.

"It's going to be crazy," Wade said.

In Cleveland, the immediate reaction was predictably filled with outrage. Television images showed at least one fan burning James' No. 23 wine-and-gold jersey.

"I can't get involved in that," he said. "I wanted to do what was best for LeBron James ... At the end of the day, I feel awful. I feel even worse that I wasn't able to bring an NBA championship to that city.

"To my real fans out there, I hope that you'll continue to support me all the way to Miami."

James met with six teams on the free-agent recruiting circuit, and said the process was "everything I thought, and more."

"We are disappointed that LeBron James did not pick the New York Knicks, but we respect his decision," Knicks president Donnie Walsh said.

Added Mikhail Prokhorov, the new owner of the New Jersey Nets, another club that swung and missed on landing James: "We have a vision of a championship team and need to invest wisely and for the long term. Fortunately, we have more than one plan to reach success, and, as I have found in all areas of my business, that is key to achieving it."

And Bulls general manager Gar Forman said he was convinced his organization "made the strongest of bids to acquire LeBron James during this free agency period."