I’m laughing very hard watching the toadies in the sporting press line up to fellate LeeBong this summer. The letter his people crafted worked as intended and the full force of the liberal press is out promoting LeeBong Inc. I give the guy a lot of credit for hiring smart people and letting them run his affairs. One sports guy not falling for it is the thoroughly cynical Ron Borges.

If NBC is looking for contestants for the next season of “The Biggest Loser” they can start with Dwyane Wade.

Wade now understands what Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert felt like four years ago when he was jilted by LeBron James and temporarily lost his mind. Put your trust in someone who says, “I’m all about business,” and you’ll probably end up getting the business from him eventually.

Four years ago James stuck it to a city, but at least the team he played for deserved it to a degree because in seven years they didn’t give him much help. This time he only stuck it to one guy but that guy, Wade, damn sure didn’t deserve to be “Clevelanded.”

LeBron James was supposed to be more than Dwyane Wade’s teammate. He was supposed to be his friend. But, hey, cash is thicker than blood (at least when it’s in an $88 million pile), which is way thicker than water and considerably thicker than whatever bound James to Wade apparently.

Two weeks ago Wade joined James and Chris Bosh, and opted out of the remaining two years of his contract and the $41.8 million guaranteed to him by the Heat, ostensibly to make room for Miami to do what it could to keep the Big Three together. Only problem was The Big One wasn’t staying.

Any chance he could have given Wade a wink or a nod? Any way he could have left an anonymous tweet in Wade’s direct message box saying, “Ixney on the opt-out!”? Might he have considered saying, “Think twice, my brother, because you ain’t my brother, brother!”?

He might have, but instead he did to Wade what he did to the Cavaliers and the city of Cleveland. LeBron James played him.

LeeBong is not a dumb guy. He’s not a genius, but by the standards of the NBA is an elite intellect. Unlike most of these knuckleheads he is trying to build something that will outlast his playing days. To do that means you have to be selfish. In this case, it means walking away from his current team and playing the role of the prodigal son returning home. Like the people managing his life, he always has a suitcase packed and the care idling in the parking lot, ready for a quick escape.

Maybe he didn’t do it consciously. Maybe he really believes he didn’t know he left his heart in Akron, but the idea that it just hit him in the last week that, as he put it on SI.com: “My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn’t realize that four years ago. I do now,” is ludicrous.

Where Wade goes from here is an open question. Not surprisingly after a dalliance with the Houston Rockets that convinced them to deal away point guard Jeremy Lin and a draft pick to the Lakers to open up cap space for him, Chris Bosh reversed field and went back to Miami last night, agreeing to a five-year, $118 million contract. Houston offered him the max at four years and $88 million, but Miami could give him the extra year and an additional $30 million, and Bosh, having learned something from watching LeBron, snatched it.

At 32 and with aching knees, Wade is not in the same boat. At times this year he seemed to have become the third wheel of the Big Three. When healthy he can still play like D-Wade, but when his knees are aching he plays like Lil Wayne, if he plays at all.

To save them and improve the Heat’s chances of getting at least to “not two rings,” Miami rested him for 28 games. He averaged only 33 minutes all season and played only nine games in 31 days going into the Eastern Conference finals. Yet he still faded in the championship series. He wasn’t alone, by the way.

Since he opted out, the Heat owe him nothing, but could admit he opted out more to help them keep LeBron than to feather his own nest. Coupled with all he’s brought to the franchise, maybe they pay him fairly, but he won’t get paid like Bosh or James did, and unless Pat Riley has lost his mind, he won’t get paid like he was going to be paid two weeks ago either, whether he stays or leaves.

In the end, Dwyane Wade sacrificed himself for his team and his friend, but it was all for naught.

Welcome to the other side of the NBA, Dwyane.

The reason teams like to have veterans on teams is to help the young guys figure out the reality of life as a pro. One of the things they need to figure out is they only have so many years. At 20, a player may think he will play forever. At 30 most have figured out they have only a few years left. The guys who figure this out early tend to have better career, assuming they avoid the things black players tend not to avoid.

James watched Wade fall apart over four seasons. He knows life after basketball is right around the corner and he better be ready for it, even if that means using and abusing his friends in the game. This move back to Cleveland is all about LeeBong Incorporated producing cash long after LeeBong in out of the league. That and giving the white fans another reason to worship their black heroes.