One could argue that the LeBron James free agency watch has gone on since he signed his last contract in 2007. At the very least, we can say it's gone on since the end of the 2010 NBA Playoffs. Regardless, it all finally comes to a fitting and decisive end tonight when James officially makes his decision in front of zero people at a Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich, New York.
Sorry, did I mention ESPN is blocking off one hour to televise this 15-second decision? Oh right, I forgot about that.
Yes, ESPN will carry live coverage of this, starting at 9 p.m. It's almost like LeBron is going through Signing Day like any hyped 17-year old. (Nobody's made that joke yet, right?).
If the whole thing sounds absurd to you, it is. But let's be honest: How else was this going to end? We can point the finger at LeBron for being an egomaniac. We can point the finger at his handlers for enabling this monster to be created. We can point the finger at the media for feeding people all these baseless rumors and speculation. We can even point the finger at ourselves for actually scooping up all of that. But the truth is, there is nobody to blame, and there is nobody to credit. As soon as all these forces converged, something like this ridiculous TV spectacle was going to happen. It's the only fitting way to close a chapter on the most insane free agent derby of all time.
So at this point, you might as well watch and enjoy it. We at SB Nation certainly will, and we'll be providing updates and snarky, snarky commentary throughout the one-hour show. Hopefully, we can do as well as this. It'll be a tall order, but we'll try.