LeBron James' public flirtations toward the NFL have died down lately, and one former NBA player believes it should stay that way.
The NBA players union rejected the latest offer from NBA owners on Monday, putting the entirety of the 2011-12 season in doubt. We assume a cancelled season would free up James' schedule considerably, but Jalen Rose said this week on "The Dave Dameshek Football Program" that success in football wouldn't come as easily for James as many seem to believe.
"LeBron is probably one of the best athletes in professional sports right now, and probably is going to be discussed over the history of all sports when you say best athlete, because of his height, because of his strength, because of his athleticism, his speed, his agility," Rose told NFL.com's Adam Rank. "But from a basketball player (pointing to himself), to play football? That's something totally different."
Rose, now an analyst for ESPN, believes that James' size would actually work against him.
"We've seen some guys do it I know -- Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham, I get it," Rose said. "But at 6-8 and a half, 6-9, that's a big target to hit. So you go across the middle, you go up for the football, and all of a sudden here comes (Troy) Polamalu or Ray Lewis, or Patrick Willis -- and while he may get his hands on the football, his feet will never hit the ground."
Rose thinks the finesse nature of the NBA -- relatively speaking -- makes it the best place for the Miami Heat star.
"LeBron, continue to play in the NBA where a guy can get in front of you and flop, and they may call it a block or a charge -- stay away from that Gridiron," Rose said.
If Rose gets to dole out unsolicited advice, so can we:
LeBron. Bring your talents to the NFL. We have labor peace, cheerleaders who date the players, and -- best of all -- the globally renowned Super Bowl, a vehicle that would allow you to fall woefully short on the grandest of all stages!
(OK, that last part needs work.)
