Fitting in after 'The Decision' as told by Heat teammates of LeBron James (SN Archive — 2010)

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July 8 marks the 16th anniversary of 'The Decision' with LeBron James announcing his intention to join the Miami Heat alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. This article, 'Sporting News Conversation: Mike Miller, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mario Chalmers' by Steve Greenberg, originally appeared in the October 25, 2010 issue of The Sporting News.

Still sweating after their first training camp practice at American Airlines Arena, the three players gathered on plush leather seats around a glistening coffee table just begging to be scuffed by some giant sneakers.

Around here these days, it's all about breaking things in. That includes getting to know one another as teammates. This particular trio has yet to play in a game together—and most certainly won't raise a trophy together come June if they don't blend as well as Heat president Pat Riley is betting they will.

It won't hurt if Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh get on the same page, too.

But astute NBA fans know those superstars won't win a championship if their supporting cast is less than stellar. Heading into the most anticipated season in franchise history, that supporting cast—led by veteran free-agent signees Mike Miller and Zydrunas Ilgauskas—has put egos aside as well as, in some cases, millions of dollars that could've been earned elsewhere.

Miller, a 30-year-old swingman, hasn't enjoyed a single playoff series victory in his career. Ilgauskas, a towering 35-year-old, was James' center in Cleveland, where the past three seasons ended in bitter disappointment for the Cavs.

Along with third-year Heat guard Mario Chalmers — still best known for a buzzer-beater that saved Kansas against Memphis in the 2008 NCAA title game — they spoke with Sporting News' Steve Greenberg.

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SN: What's the dumbest question you've been asked regarding your trio of superstar teammates?

MILLER: The dumbest question: How good are they?

CHALMERS: How competitive are they?

MILLER: I think people realize how good they are by now, so that's what makes it a dumb question. They're good.

ILGAUSKAS: Probably that the team is not going to work, that it's going to crash. I think it's just wishful thinking. Guys gave up a lot of money to come play together. They sacrificed financially, which you don't see in this league. Usually, you see it the other way: guys leaving to go to other teams and getting a lot of the money they want, which is good; you can't blame them for that. But these guys did the opposite. So why wouldn't they make it work on the floor? They already played together on the national team and everything. When people say anything else, do they really know those guys and their personalities? I doubt it.

SN : John Paxson, Robert Horry, Bruce Bowen, Derek Fisher—all of them experienced being afterthoughts, yet all will be remembered as clutch performers, linchpins, winners. There's a lot more than meets the eye here for each of you, isn't there?

MILLER: There is, but at the same time we understand our roles in this situation. We understand what we've got to do for us to be successful—get on the same page and make sacrifices.

CHALMERS: Same thing. We know we're going to get our chances to step up, and when our time is called we'll be ready for it. But for now we just have to be patient.

ILGAUSKAS: Everybody kind of realized that this could be the beginning of something special. Whether a guy is here for one year, two, three, whatever, everybody wanted to try to give it a shot. A lot of teams talk about making the playoffs, but honestly, how many teams have a realistic chance of winning a championship at the start of the season? Five, six, seven? The guys felt this was one of those teams. It just made sense.

October 25, 2010 cover of The Sporting News

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: OCTOBER 25, 2010

SN: What do the words role player, or supporting cast, mean on a team like this? And is it accurate to call all three of you guys that?

CHALMERS: Accurate.

MILLER: I think it's accurate. I don't think role player necessarily means you're not any good. There are role players who can do a lot of things. But at the same time, we've got to be able to be accountable for what we're supposed to do on the floor. With D-Wade, LeBron and C.B., they're going to ask us to do different things than they'd ask us to do on different teams. Those are our roles. It doesn't mean we're not any good.

CHALMERS: Exactly. Look at all the championship teams from the past—they all had role players. They all have those players who stepped up when somebody was struggling, somebody was in foul trouble, things like that. It's accurate to call us that.

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SN: Athletes routinely talk about making decisions based on winning championships above all else. Mike and Z, you're really walking that walk now. Why?

ILGAUSKAS: Because you play this game to win a championship. And I came close a couple of times, but it didn't work out.

MILLER: I've had some success individually. This is the first time I got to make a decision for myself. I said all along in the summer during free agency that I was making the decision to win.

SN: Have you ever had to reassess where you're at as a player—to say, “OK, I can't carry an NBA team, but I think I know how I can best help one win”?

CHALMERS: You've got to. I'm pretty sure when Mike was in college, he was a star. When I was in college, I was a star. A lot of players were stars, but now we know who are the stars. You've just got to take what you've learned and bring it to the table.

MILLER: It's about knowing who you are. I realize that in order for me to be the best basketball player I can be at this level, I'm a third, fourth option—a really good third, fourth option, I feel. The reasons I wasn't as successful with other teams—we made playoffs, we didn't make playoffs—maybe that was just because I was asked to be the No. 2 guy or something like that. It's knowing who you are, knowing what you're capable of doing and going out there and doing it.

ILGAUSKAS: Your body tells you when you've played basketball for so long. You might be able to fool somebody, but you can't fool yourself. Your body tells you when it's time to become a role player or come off the bench or whatever. The older you get, it becomes harder and harder.

SN: Will it be a harder adjustment for you guys or for the trio of superstars?

CHALMERS: I say both ways; it's equally hard for LeBron and Chris Bosh to learn our system, our team, what the Miami Heat organization is all about. As far as us, we've got to learn to get with what they like to do, what makes them comfortable, and gain their trust.

ILGAUSKAS: We're all going to be fine. They've done a good job of assembling a good mix of young guys and veteran guys—unselfish guys. We don't have any idiots on the team or guys with bad track records. Everybody knows what they're here for: to win a championship. Sometimes you're going to be asked to take a back seat, but you keep working because your time will come. Nobody came for their statistics; they came here to win.

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SN: The Pat Riley sales pitch—is it as good as advertised?

ILGAUSKAS: He didn't have to sell me. We talked on the phone, but at this stage of my career I was able to make my own decision. Me and LeBron talked after his decision; he called me and said they wanted me to come and play with them. I didn't have to look around long and figure everything out. I stepped away from all the hoopla—because it was crazy the first few days after it happened—and just looked at it from a basketball standpoint, and that was it.

MILLER: He does a great job. To do what he did this summer, you've got to be good at what you do. He just gets you ready to play; you feel like when it's time to leave his meeting, it's time to go play basketball. And he stresses, more importantly, about winning and being a champion and stuff like that. I think that touches home with everybody because that's obviously what we all play for.

SN: Mike, you're due to make $5 million, but together the three of you will make about half what each of the Big Three guys will make this season. Could there be any divisions among the players if you aren't careful?

MILLER: There can, absolutely. But I don't think it will happen—only because we realize the sacrifice those guys made and, in return, they understand the sacrifice we made, too. They understand that just because we're not making nearly as much money, we could've went and made money somewhere else; we took a sacrifice to be here, and they respect that just like we do. It's a unique situation all around, and I don't see it ever being a problem.

CHALMERS: That's the key word: sacrifice. The goal is to win a championship.

ILGAUSKAS: Guys knew what they were getting themselves into. That's just the wishful thinking for the outside world. We will not have that problem.

SN: The Heat may get more attention during November than most teams get in the playoffs. On December 1—18 games in—what will be a successful start?

CHALMERS: 18-0.

MILLER: That's a tough question, though, because our biggest hurdle is going to be ourselves. Do we have enough talent on paper to win a championship? Absolutely. But it takes a lot more than that. We understand every loss is going to be big. If we lose two in a row, everyone is going to wonder what's wrong with the Miami Heat. So we've got to understand in our locker room that we still have enough talent. We've got to make sure we're the best come April, May, June.

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CHALMERS: It doesn't really matter how we start the season; it's how you finish. We've just got to work out our kinks early in the season.

ILGAUSKAS: I don't think it's going to be judged by our record. The record doesn't mean anything on December 1. How are we going to be playing defense? What are other teams shooting against us? How are we rebounding? How are we jelling on the floor? Obviously we're going to lose games, but if we can see things are going in the right direction, if we're learning how to play with each other, getting comfortable... but it takes time. We're going to be behind teams. The Celtics and Orlando and the Lakers, they've been together a long time; they don't have to look at each other to communicate—they know. We don't have that luxury. So for us, it's not about that record. I've been a part of two best-record regular seasons in the NBA the last two seasons and have nothing to show for it.

SN: Maybe you should just throw the first game, take the pressure off.

CHALMERS: No way, man. We want to win every game.

MILLER: There are a lot of variables that are going to be involved. Health is one of them. The one thing we should have as a goal is to finish No. 1 in the East. And we know Boston is the team to beat; Orlando is right there, Chicago. Our goal should be focusing on the No. 1 seed rather than the record. You don't get jewelry for best record in the league.

SN: After the Big Three, which player is in position to make the biggest impact on this team?

MILLER: All of us. We're all going to have to step up during different games; everybody is going to have to do their part. We understand those are our core guys. Those guys are going to have the most pressure on them; they're going to have the most impact. But we have to be ready to do our jobs when called upon, and that means all of us.

ILGAUSKAS: This is a marathon. It's a long season. Injuries happen and everything else; guys have nights off, they're tired, they play four games in five nights. There's going to be a lot of times when other guys have to step up, whether from the bench or the starting lineup, especially in the playoffs because in the playoffs the good teams will try to take away your first and second options and make you try to beat them on the back side. If you're not able to do that, you can't win. With LeBron in the past, the better teams like Boston and Orlando, they blitzed him; they tried to make somebody else beat them. If you make them pay for it, they'll back off. If you don't, you're going to have a long night.

SN: People are speculating about who will take the last shot in endgame situations. Mike, I think if you're open, you'll get your chances. Z, you know how to find an open spot and knock down a shot.

CHALMERS: Not me?

SN: Come on—Memphis. That's a good track record right there.

ILGAUSKAS: Hopefully, it won't come to that.

SN: There's going to be a game at some point that's close.

MILLER: Obviously, it's speculation. If we have the opportunity to make an open shot, we're not going to back down from the challenge—we're not scared of the situation. But it's all speculation. Will they double LeBron? Will they double LeBron, and will D-Wade be open, or will they double D-Wade?

ILGAUSKAS: They can't double everybody.

MILLER: Exactly—you can't double everybody. But they're the money guys; they're going to get most of the shots. But if we're open, are we afraid of that? Absolutely not. We'll step up and make the shot.

SN: Is it possible Bosh will be more in your boat than in Wade and James' boat? Are they focal points in a way that Bosh—perhaps to his benefit—isn't?

MILLER: I think at the beginning it's going to be that way, only because he played in Toronto and a lot of people don't know him. But once they realize how good he really is? I don't think he gets enough pub already, to be quite honest with you. He averaged, what, 24 and (11) last year? That's pretty impressive. I don't care who you are, when you slice it up, the numbers don't lie.

CHALMERS: I think the same way. You're going to see D-Wade and LeBron handling the ball. Chris Bosh isn't going to be handling the ball; he's going to be receiving the ball. If you look at that, his numbers are still going to be there, but he's going to have quiet numbers.

ILGAUSKAS: When they all played on their own teams, everybody was saying how great they are. And as soon as they got together, everybody started picking on their games. “He can't do this, he can't do that.” All of the sudden, they became worse players. That's ridiculous. They're the same players. Everybody is piling up the dirt, but they didn't lose any skills. If anything, they're going to get better; they're going to make each other better. Playing with better players makes it easier, not harder.

SN: ” The Decision”: Who here knew the answer ahead of time, and when did you know?

CHALMERS: I found out the moment he announced it, that's when I found out. The moment he said he was coming to Miami.

MILLER: I was watching it. I was a free agent, so obviously I was in tune with everything that was going on. I was trying to make the best decision for me to win.

SN: You're friends. I don't believe you didn't know.

MILLER: (Laughs.) Like I said, it was something I really wanted to know about. I wanted to be a part of a championship. It wasn't about money for me this summer. I've been blessed— this is my 11th year; I've made money. I want to give myself an opportunity. I want to see, when a shot comes, if I'm going to make it or I'm going to miss it. At least then I'll be able to know.

ILGAUSKAS: I found out on ESPN. I was in New York at a restaurant; the bar was kind of closing and the TV was off. It was an Italian restaurant, full of old people. I made them turn the TV on. When the point came, there were some people behind me—Knicks fans. They were like, “He's coming to New York” Rumors had started circulating that it was Miami, but it was impossible to know because every time you turned on the TV, you heard something else.

SN: Mike and Z, where was the rest of the world when you announced your own Decisions?

MILLER: (Laughs.) I don't think anyone cared.

ILGAUSKAS: Yeah, exactly. Did you wake your kids up?

MILLER: I shared it with my family and the Heat. That's about it.

ILGAUSKAS: I talked to my wife. That's the only thing that matters— we're going to move the family, how we're going to do it. She said it was all right, and that was it.

SN: Will you put rings on your fingers in 2011?

MILLER: We hope so. That's what we came here for. We'd be lying if we said we didn't expect to win it, but a lot of other teams expect to win, too. We're definitely not the team to beat at this point, but hopefully come June we will be.

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