LeBron James’ Free Agency Fiasco: The Seven Biggest Winners

It's been almost a week since LeBron James went on national television to build his brand and announce what was apparently a foregone conclusion. In the wake of LBJ's crab dribble to the Miami Heat, all hell has broken loose. The outpouring of criticism has been immediate and staggering when you consider this was an athlete who once enjoyed such an incredible approval rating. The voices of skepticism include David Stern, Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Chris Webber, the New York Times, ESPN, FOX Sports, and everywhere in between. The harshest condemnation came from Cleveland Cavaliers' owner Dan Gilbert. The one resident of the Sixth City with ZERO reason to complain took the platinum pacifier out of his mouth long enough to spew some truly ridiculous and counterproductive idiocy. Nobody's gonna have sympathy or patience for a whining billionaire who had seven years of exclusive ear-bending to convince LBJ to become a lifer. Of course, the fun didn't stop there as Jesse Jackson took a page from Gilbert's book and one-upped him on the stupidity scale. Sadly, the Reverend's knack for sniffing out racial machinations everywhere they hide means his comparison of obscenely privileged professional basketball players to slaves doesn't even sneak into his top 10 dumbest blunders (I have the Duke lacrosse abomination and his hostility toward Obama's genitalia battling it out for the title). Outside of humility, it's clear the biggest losers in this unnecessary mess have been the city of Cleveland and LeBron James, himself. But who (or what) walks away from the mushroom cloud with the biggest smile and cleanest hands? In honor of each year the dethroned king so charitably gave to a place he'll always call home, here are the charade's seven biggest winners.Begin Slideshow

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