LeBron Decides

LeBron James has made his decision. After months of speculation and rumours, LeBron told the world that he was going home.

This story was first broken by Sports Illustrated where LeBron discussed his reasons for the move with Lee Jenkins. And the thinking behind writing a magazine column to discuss his choice, rather than a press conference? Apparently, LeBron thinks that “After this, it’s time to get to work”. He also wished to explain himself about Miami without interruption. He said he didn’t want anyone to think “He and Erik Spoelstra didn’t get along. … He and Riley didn’t get along. … The Heat couldn’t put the right team together.” He started off by saying that he now realises that “his relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball”. This is something he didn’t realise 4 years ago, but he can see that importance now. 

LeBron James revealed his decision in a piece in Sports Illustrated

It seems as though forgive and forget was the order of the day as LeBron said that he didn’t have any hard feelings against Cleveland fans. Neither did he have any bitterness towards Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert. You may remember Gilbert from 2010 when he penned a furious open letter about James leaving Cleveland. In the letter, which was released on the Cleveland Cavaliers website, Gilbert described James as a former hero and a coward and described the build up to “The Decision” as narcissistic and self-promotional. LeBron couldn’t exactly ignore this career-defining moment in his essay, but when the time came to talk about it, he was fairly reserved. He said “I’ve met with Dan, face-to-face, man-to-man. We’ve talked it out. Everybody makes mistakes. I’ve made mistakes as well. Who am I to hold a grudge?” It looks as though the past has been forgotten, with the future being the only focus.

Speaking of the future, it is currently unclear as to who James will play alongside. Kyrie Irving is a definite team mate, after he recently put pen to paper on a 5 year, $90 million contract. As is former team mate, Anderson Varejao, who he said he can’t wait to reunite with. He described the Brazilian center as one of his favourite team mates. The big debate is whether LeBron will play alongside number 1 draft pick, Andrew Wiggins, or not. Trading the number 1 pick away without giving him a chance to prove himself may seem like a mad decision, but it is rumoured that it might be the only way to get Kevin Love. The power forward from the Minnesota Timberwolves is said to be intrigued by the idea of playing for the Cavaliers, and will be even more interested now that he will get the opportunity to play with the best player in the league. It could be Love’s best shot at a ring. Also, the Cavaliers are yet to sign Wiggins to a contract, which means he is still eligible to be traded this season. In his interview, LeBron name checked four of his new team mates, who were Irving, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao. Wiggins was not included in this list, despite being the main name on Cavs’ fans lips. This may be reading too much into things, but with the scrutiny this statement must have gone through, surely one of James’ entourage mentioned it to him?

LeBron obviously has many reasons for moving back to Cleveland, not least of which the fact that it is his home town club. The former Cavaliers star “always believed that he’d return to Cleveland and finish his career there”. He also said that we wanted to bring a title to Northeast Ohio, a place that “hasn’t had that feeling in a long, long, long time.” But his commitments to Cleveland stretch beyond just basketball. He said a big factor in his decision was the idea of being able to raise his kids (2 boys, with a girl on the way) in his hometown. Also, he feels that he has a “responsibility to lead” and pointed to the example of helping 3rd graders through his foundations. Although many will see this as pandering to the media attention, it is nice to see an NBA superstar think about more than the money and market of teams.

So, what of Miami? Well, there are plenty of rumours flying around about their other free agents. Ray Allen had hinted at the idea of retirement in this off-season, and said he was going to consider it in his free time. But when Cleveland reportedly came knocking at his door, he is willing to play again. Chris Andersen has already left, Shane Battier has become a commentator and the Miami Heat still only have 4 players under contract. To make matters worse, the one man they thought they could rely on to re-sign a contract with them, Dwyane Wade, is now be linked to his hometown club, the Chicago Bulls. They have tried to convince players to stay by signing free agents Danny Granger and Josh McRoberts, but they’re not the marquee players that will draw big stars to the club. The one saving grace is that their draft selection, point guard Shabazz Napier, is looking promising in his summer league appearances. You can’t exactly replace LeBron James, but there are plenty of small forwards on the market, such as Luol Deng and Trevor Ariza, who could be heading to South Beach. Chris Bosh has been the main target, with the media saying that he is likely to join the Houston Rockets in the next couple of days. However, it was recently reported (in fact, during the writing of this report) by Adrian Wojnarowski that Bosh has signed a $118 million deal that keeps him at the club for the five years. It will be interesting to see how this deal affects the decision of other free agents.

Overall, it’s easy to see why LeBron James returned to Cleveland. Although it won't go down well with those in Miami, Cleveland fans have seen the return of their king. Let’s hope he can bring them some long awaited success.