LeBron simply pursuing crown

I like to refer to this as the "Post-NCAA Tournament bracket stage of things."

It is when opinions begin flowing from others after the national championship in college basketball each year about how some wrongly predicted NCAA games three weeks before.

You know, taking shots after the fact.

You know, once it's over.

Michael Jordan has finally spoken on the Summer of LeBron. So has Charles Barkley. So has Spike Lee. So, incredibly, has Nick Saban. Everyone is chiming in. Everyone within reach of a sound bite is now quick to wield that all too familiar wand of judgment.

This isn't to say LeBron James over the past month hasn't shown himself to be somewhat of a narcissistic boob. He has at times displayed the sensitivity of an ex-husband crashing the engagement party of his soon-to-be-wed former spouse.

When it comes to self-obsessed tendencies, James is suddenly a runaway winner as the NBA's version of Paris Hilton. His free-agent journey to Miami has been received nationally as one might a very rich, very talented, very powerful Tin Man.

But no matter what anyone thinks of how James handled his bolt from Cleveland -- the lack of compassion for anything Cavaliers or those who cheer them, the contrived, advertisement-driven announcement on ESPN, the buckets of vanity by which the entire saga was defined -- no one can challenge his most basic motive for it.

The guy wants to win a championship.

He thinks this is the best way.

"There is no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry (Bird), called up Magic (Johnson) and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team," Jordan said over the weekend at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. "But that's ... Things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys."

He's right. Things are different. The exposure, the money, the league. What will always set Jordan apart from other stars is a competitive nature beyond maniacal. No one wanted to win more. No one worked harder. No one enjoyed beating down his closest peers more.

But why should anyone expect James to own a similar view on how best to rule the NBA?

Because those who came before say so?

According to whom, them?

To color Jordan's views on James as overly critical is to strain for a sexy headline on a slow news day. But there is within the quote, which has an appropriate informal tone coming from one who owns the tag of majority owner, a definite air of machismo that you would expect from Jordan.

Jordan is saying he didn't need the help of other superstars to win rings. That he was better than that. That any comparisons between him and James should forever be expired. All true.

Jordan isn't so hard to take. He is the best player in history. He has six championships. He has as much cred as anyone.

I began counting the number of rings Barkley won and never raised a finger.

Barkley questioning James' honor and legacy and saying they will be tarnished if he now wins titles away from Cleveland is laughable at best.

What, James isn't going to the Hall of Fame now?

He isn't going to make ungodly amounts of money?

If he wins four or five rings with the Heat, do you really think he's going to be considered any less an individual talent when ranking the all-time greats?

The sanctimonious charges of others that typically accompany such a debate is expected if not trite. The fact Saban -- Mr. "I will not be the Alabama coach," -- says James is not a team guy because of the way he left Cleveland while questioning the player's respect for an organization is beyond absurd.

Miami Dolphins on Line 1 for you, Big Nick.

There is no NBA rule that says James or Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh or any other player who enjoyed free agency this summer had to first consider how those who came before might have faced such decisions.

Rip away at how James handled the process, but to criticize the end result is like taking shots at someone's NCAA bracket after the fact.

Fact: James and the Heat will matter, and all those condemning his decision will follow with great interest.

In the end, he will most likely win multiple rings.

Hasn't that always been the goal of any player?

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618.