Let's analyze the impact of LBJ's leaving from business perspective. What kind of impact for LBJ's brand?  

LBJ's leaving Cleveland to Miami is a disaster from branding perspective. His childhood buddies ruined everything. They threw everything he could have accomplished possibly out of the window, they fxxk up so badly. It is absolutely a train wreck. 10 years later, when LBJ looked back, he would have wished that he had done this differently. He could have had a chance to be the biggest shinning star, but he screwed it all up.

Branding is to make it likeable. How would a person be likable if the person goes on the national television to divorce his first sweetheart? It is cold, heartless, and cruel. LBJ could play for another team, no doubt about it. But he could have handled this in a sensitive manner. The people in Cleveland go out on night-in-and-night-out basis to root for self-proclaimed king, and he turns around and ditch them, on national television one hour special? The image of LBJ perceived by the rest of country is very negative, totally opposite of being likeable.

LBJ was envisioned as “next MJ” since he entered the league. He failed miserably. If he was MJ, he would have stayed in Cleveland and would have been “the man”. Now he is a side-kick. His leaving is an acknowledgement of failure, and is a message to the rest of world that he couldn't shoulder the pressure and be the hero. Why would the fans to cheer for a loser? Not winning anything yet doesn't label LBJ as a loser, but the way he quit and took an easy way out does. He ran away from responsibility and challenge, he hid under another shadow of superstar. He quit, he tucked his tail and run.

We are all witnesses, what a spectacle, what a shame.