I will never root for LeBron James…

LeBron James's signing with the Miami Heat is bad for LeBron, bad for the NBA and, potentially, bad for the Denver Nuggets.

If LeBron James bailed on Cleveland in the least classy way possible (as he ultimately did) I was all set to use "LeBron James is a selfish, clueless dickhead" as my column header, but Deadspin's Drew Magary beat me to the punch earlier this morning with a much more succinct, articulate and humorous diatribe than anything I'd have come up with. But regardless of what name-calling you want to deploy in reference to LeBron (and trust me, they're all warranted at this point), it doesn't change the fact that his signing by the Miami Heat is bad for everyone involved and the NBA in general.

First off, I feel awful for the city of Cleveland and Cavaliers fans everywhere. Like Denver, Cleveland is a small market city by professional sports standards and, also like Denver, its basketball franchise did whatever it could (read: spend gazillions of dollars, fire two coaches, fire two GMs and make countless deals to get "the King" a ring) to build a team around its superstar in hopes of keeping him there. Therefore, I don't begrudge Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert one bit for his post-announcement comments referring to LeBron's "shocking lack of disloyalty" among other much more colorful statements. Gilbert and the Cavaliers did more for LeBron than Glen Taylor and the Timberwolves ever did for Kevin Garnett and yet LeBron didn't have the courtesy of talking to Gilbert face-to-face about his decision, opting instead to string Gilbert and Cavaliers fans alongside the rest of the world.

Second, I regret re-upping my season tickets for the 2010-11 Denver Nuggets season, because I don't want to support the NBA with my dollars right now. The system is broken. Two franchises - Toronto and Cleveland - died this week, meaning as a Nuggets season ticket holder I'm stuck with two more worthless games that combined will cost me about $600 to sit through. And while I appreciate Gilbert's comments guaranteeing that Cleveland will win a championship before Miami does, the Cavaliers effectively have to start over (just as Denver might next year...more on that shortly). By LeBron, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade effectively colluding to play together in Miami, they've ruined the competitive balance of the NBA in one week. Suffice to say I'll be rooting boisterously for the Celtics, Bulls and Magic to kick the Heat's ass in the Eastern Conference next season.