Lee Jenkins: LeBron James is returning to Cleveland

DJnVa

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BigSoxFan said:
Birdman would be a great bench signing for Cleveland. Sounds like LeBron is basically calling the shots now.
 
Or the front office knows the kind of players he needs around him. 
 
 
Anyway, here's Simmons take on LBJ and Cleveland: http://grantland.com/features/god-loves-cleveland/
 
Mind you, it's 6 paragraphs about LBJ, then 12 about Jordan and then 11 about Bird/Magic before we get back to LBJ.
 

moly99

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Grin&MartyBarret said:
Anthony Bennett's clearly lost a lot of weight, and is playing aggressively right now in this summer league game. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him have a good season this year as a second unit scorer.

Unless he's in a Love trade. If that happens, he's doomed.
 
He doesn't really fit with ANY of their projected starters, though. Their other players don't need a plodding dude down in the paint on offense when they are a team full of athletic slashers and other big men who are not really floor spacers either. He is also a horrible fit with their other players on defense (except Varejao, I guess.) It isn't his fault, but they never should have drafted him. He probably would have struggled anywhere, but he never made any sense for that team.
 
BigSoxFan said:
I read that article and it's a bit much, especially the "LeBron is a genius" stuff. What exactly makes him a genius? The fact that he correctly identified that his Heat team wasn't as good? Everyone on this board knew that. We all saw the same things - Wade was breaking down, Bosh was disappearing, the rest of the team sucked, etc.
 
Simmons is an emotional guy who has trouble separating basketball skill with things like momentum, chemistry, "killer instinct", etc. Adding genius to that list was perhaps inevitable.
 

luckiestman

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As for the on-the-court stuff, LeBron certainly has a high basketball IQ but so do a lot of people. The difference is that we're not 6'9 270 freaks of nature with NFL secondary speed. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I hate when Simmons gets all mushy like this and creates some narrative like LeBron is Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind" or something.
 
Most of the guys in NBA are good athletes. Just like most of the posters on SOSH are good mathletes. There are different types of genius and LeBron is certainly one. 
 

Devizier

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I would wager that the only thing about LeBron James that has changed since The Decision back in 2010 is that he now knows precisely what kind of horseshit sports fans and sportswriters want, and how to deliver that horseshit.
That is kind of bullshit. We don't really know anything about LeBron, only how he presents himself publicly. And, to be fair, the fact that he has enough self-awareness not to repeat a Decision-style fiasco is probably a good thing.
 

jon abbey

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I went to one of the MIA/BKN playoff games in Brooklyn, and the most fascinating thing about the game was that LeBron spent a really long stretch, maybe 15 or 20 minutes, where he focused on Jason Kidd as much as he could while the game was going on. He hung around near him on FT attempts, he watched him as he went up and down the court (when possible), he tried to get close when Kidd was talking to D-Will. Not exactly sure how that relates to the whole 'genius' thing, but I've never seen anything like it. 
 

Rocco Graziosa

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I'm obviously a stupid sucker (no breaking news there) because I thought that was a brilliant move by Lebron.  That was one of the most heartfelt and (IMO) honest letters I have ever read by a professional athlete.  Explained his decision, says he didn't regret it, and explained why he did it.  The college analogy was perfect to me.

I have ALWAYS liked Cleveland as a sports town.  Some forget, but when I moved to Boston in 1991, it was a very similar place to Cleveland with regards to sports teams and their success.  I got a pretty good sense of what the people of Cleveland have gone through and what this means to them.

That was essentially a love letter to the State of Ohio.  Pretty fucking cool and I will be rooting HARD for the Cavs.   I think as long as they add Love they are the immidiate favorites in the East.  

I honestly can't think of a city more deserving of Lebron James.   
 

BucketOBalls

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This is "legacy" move I think. He had his  dynasty in Miami, and this move turns him back to a good guy. Along as he puts up a good performance  and doesn't overtly throw is teammates under the bus no one is gonna fault him if he doesn't win a championship in Cleveland. He also  avoids  the whole "mercenary" rep, while  still moving to another team. Not to mention what happens if he  actually does win a banner with the Cavs..
 
It's a brilliant move honestly.   Not sure I would call not repeting "the decison" brilliant. Anyone could have  told him that.
 

bankshot1

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LBJ's marketing seems real, and struck a chord that resonated with most sports fans. The risk to LBJ is that he while he's bringing his talents back to Lake Erie, the championships go elsewhere. LBJ's marketing campaign with the Letter" was smart. The Letter said in an eloquent manner, "home is where the heart is", and eliminated the two letters he sent to Cleveland, "F U". , And who of us didn't root for Dorothy, as she finally melted the WWW, (hi Pat) and she got her wish to bolt the dazzling technicolor world of Oz for the black and white simplicity of Kansas?.
 

Mooch

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The Deadspin take on the Lebron story couldn't have been more predictable: He told you suckers (media and fans) exactly what you wanted to hear, you're all a bunch of sappy rubes who fell for this feel good story that isn't really true, Lebron is carefully trying to repackage his own image to rebuild his brand, etc...

Magary claims that "what you have is a story of the NBA's best player ditching a loyal group of aging teammates for a bigger salary and a franchise with better and younger talent and more maneuverability under the salary cap." Except this Cavs team as currently constituted isn't close to being a championship team and may not be for several years. On the other hand, if Lebron stays with the Heat, Riley makes a few tweaks and they get a bit of luck, could win another ring or two in the next few years. Given the initial Lebron goal of multiple championships, it seems pretty clear to me that there's something more than cold hoops calculation going on here. At that point, why not take Lebron at his word that he feels a special tie to the area and the people of NE Ohio that transcends basketball alone.
 

ifmanis5

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Didn't read the Deadspin piece but I agree with it. He's rebuilding his brand and was sick of being hated on. He wanted to be liked again. He could see the writing on the wall with Wade that he's done and Bosh's best days were behind him.
Plus, Lebron + Kyrie + Wiggins + one more quality big like Love is going to be WAY better over the next five years than Wade + Bosh. This was an easy decision.
 

Reardon's Beard

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At the end of the day this was a business decision. That the optics line up along with public sentiment and basketball operations is a boon to the NBA well beyond Cleveland.
 

JBill

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ifmanis5 said:
He's rebuilding his brand and was sick of being hated on...This was an easy decision.
But to rebuild his brand he admitted he was wrong (about The Decision), and had to come to terms with playing for Gilbert again, the man who publically called him a coward. None of that sounds easy, not for a multi millionaire, hyper competitive athlete with a massive ego. Sounds hard to me.
 

ifmanis5

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Admitting the Decision was wrong was hard? Come on. Also, it's easier to live with your mistakes once you have two chips. He bailed out of Cleveland because he couldn't take it anymore and now he's going back for similar reasons. He wants to be liked again. Let's stop giving him Human Being of the Year platitudes.
 

DJnVa

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Rocco Graziosa said:
I'm obviously a stupid sucker (no breaking news there) because I thought that was a brilliant move by Lebron.  
 
You're not breaking new ground on SoSH--it seems like 95%+ here liked what he did.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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ifmanis5 said:
Admitting the Decision was wrong was hard? Come on. Also, it's easier to live with your mistakes once you have two chips. He bailed out of Cleveland because he couldn't take it anymore and now he's going back for similar reasons. He wants to be liked again. Let's stop giving him Human Being of the Year platitudes.
 
I don't see anyone here calling him Human Being of the Year.  If I missed it, please point it out.  What It think resonates with most folks who are applauding this move is the tone with which he did it.  It was the anti-decision and seeing an human being learn from their mistakes is also cool.  
 
We can say all we want that these guys are extremely well paid, pampered and they essentially live in a bubble.   That is beyond debate.  However I doubt this decision was easy for him given all the history with Gilbert, his affinity for his Heat teammates and the uncertainty of what is going to be a completely new situation.  Those things would give anyone pause regardless of their situation in life.  Unlike other folks, he is one of the most famous athletes in the world and this decision was being scrutinized by millions of people.   Furthermore, it was going to have ripple effects across the NBA that would certainly affect wealth transference (his good friend CB just got $30mm more from the Heat, likely because of this and now contract dominoes will start to fall too), reshuffle the contention landscape and ultimately impact the league's brand.
 
That James was able to deftly do this in a way that answered just about every question, squelched any controversy, came off as humble and left no room for misinterpretation is very impressive.   That may seem like something easy to do but as we see on an almost constant basis, even the smartest famous people have trouble under the spotlight.   
 

HomeRunBaker

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Bergs said:
 
So 3 other guys out of the thousands of NBA players since 1979 (Magic's rookie year). I'm thinking that's kinda rare by definition.
 
I'd say Jordan was easily in that category as well, but still. What are you arguing here, that 5 individuals over 35 years of the NBA don't qualify as rare?
First and foremost I never said LeBron is out to remove Blatt. All I said was that Blatt would have to make significant adjustments to his coaching style which is not an easy task. Ultimately it WILL be up to LeBron whether Blatt is the right coach for the team.

Secondly, players get coaches fired pretty regularly however you need a special star cache for one player to do so like Payton to Westphal or Vince Carter to Wilkens......most are the players approaching management collectively which is common. They can also run coaches off BEFORE they are fired which is what happened to Dave Cowens when I was living in Charlotte and more recently when Jerry Sloan stepped down due to ownership not supporting him in the Deron Williams feud.

It's a players (and their agents) league.....and why most coaches are paid like a 8th/9th man.
 

HomeRunBaker

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BigSoxFan said:
Birdman would be a great bench signing for Cleveland. Sounds like LeBron is basically calling the shots now.
If Shabazz Napier hasn't yet signed his rookie deal, which i haven't seen reported, and is traded to Cleveland it would certainly solidify this.
 

Zomp

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ifmanis5 said:
Admitting the Decision was wrong was hard? Come on. Also, it's easier to live with your mistakes once you have two chips. He bailed out of Cleveland because he couldn't take it anymore and now he's going back for similar reasons. He wants to be liked again. Let's stop giving him Human Being of the Year platitudes.
 
Or he was a 26 year old kid who admits he made a mistake in the way it was handled, and wants to atone for it...
 

ifmanis5

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DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
I don't see anyone here calling him Human Being of the Year.  If I missed it, please point it out.  
I was taking a shot at ESPN, not anyone here. I couldn't even make it through the Simmons BJ of a column.
 
I guess I'm more cynical than others but to me it's pretty simple. He figured out he couldn't get it done in Cleveland so he bailed. He figured out the Miami thing was over so he bailed again. It's nice that he's atoning somewhat by going home and I'm happy for the city of Cleveland finally getting a break but this is a brand making a marketing decision as much as anything and I see it for that.
 

kelpapa

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RedOctober3829 said:
Yup. His co hosts went off the rails.
That's not what happened at all. That was all shtick and joking after the Bosh news was broken.
 
I like Le Batard, but can't stand his co-hosts. Stugots makes the show damn near un-listenable, but I was in my pickup for a long drive yesterday and had to listen to it to see what would happen. At no point did Le Batard criticize LeBron for leaving.
 
They started the show off playing sad music at every interval. Le Batard was laughing about that, and kept mocking the producer or co-anchor (I think Mike Ryan?) for the decision to play sad trombones and "ain't no sunshine" at every break. Le Batard repeatedly said things like he was happy for the city of Cleveland, and just grateful for the previous four years. At one point on air, every member of the show ripped on some idiot for painting over Lebron's face on a mural of the Heat team.
 
The Bosh signing broke halfway through the show and the two other idiots started going nuts and sarcastically started calling out LeBron and chanting "Let's go Heat." They made stupid comments like saying they can't wait to meet Cleveland in the EC finals now, if the Cavs can even make it, since Bosh is back and Mello might be coming. They were 100% joking, and it was all shtick. If you just tuned into that, you may have thought they were going off the rails.
 
Did you listen to Jon Weiner (AKA Stugots) on SVP and Russillo earlier? Listen to it here. That's not going off the rails, and that's a completely reasonable take. "It's disappointing, but at the same time, you have to be grateful for what he did in this city for four years. Wasn't born here, this isn't his home town, always had a feeling that he was going to go back to Cleveland if he could get past the Dan Gilbert letter." "There's a part of me that is happy for the city of Cleveland." 
 
He went on to joke that he's pissed because his season tickets are worthless now, and Russillo jokes with him that he's able to get over because he's not really a fan and from Long Island.
 

crystalline

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ifmanis5 said:
I was taking a shot at ESPN, not anyone here. I couldn't even make it through the Simmons BJ of a column.
 
I guess I'm more cynical than others but to me it's pretty simple. He figured out he couldn't get it done in Cleveland so he bailed. He figured out the Miami thing was over so he bailed again. It's nice that he's atoning somewhat by going home and I'm happy for the city of Cleveland finally getting a break but this is a brand making a marketing decision as much as anything and I see it for that.
I would normally take this view and I think these are large factors, but I might guess this situation has a small personal element.
Lebron lived his whole life in Cleveland, he married his high school girlfriend from cleveland, and he's 30, still young enough to be a little bright-eyed. Of course- who really knows?

If I were going to be cynical about this whole affair, I'd be wondering about the draft lottery and Silver's motivations more than Lebron's motivations.
 

Erik Hanson's Hook

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The draft was rigged! Silver wanted to break up the Big 3 and have everyone talk about LeBron, the Cavs and the NBA all summer and he gave them the #1 pick to make it happen! 
 
You say this like it's not possible. I wouldn't be shocked.
 

amarshal2

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Erik Hanson said:
 
You say this like it's not possible. I wouldn't be shocked.
I'm sure he rigged the nba finals blow out, reconciliation between LeBron and Gilbert, and weakened Wades knees too!

Edit: my English be bad but point clearish. Ridiculous to say the whole thing orchestrated by Silver.
 

Judge Mental13

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While holding a 1 hour tv special announcing your decision to leave your hometown to win a manufactured championship on Miami Beach is the height of narcissism, I guess I'm failing to see how dictating an essay to Sports Illustrated (in which you talk about how hard it was for your mom to watch Cleveland fans burn your jersey on TV and give shout-outs to Dwyane Wade, whom you just cost several million dollars and "Rio" Chalmers whom you publicly embarassed time and time again) while essentially declaring yourself the savior of Cleveland, the city that you thrust the most violent middle finger at in modern sports history 4 years ago is the opposite of that.
 
Lebron James is completely and utterly full of shit and I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that he always will be.  It's not a big deal, most pro athletes are utterly full of shit, but Lebron's particular brand of full-of-shit-ness is dwarfed only by his basketball abilities, which are vast. 
 
You want the opposite of "The Decision" ? You call your agent, tell him you want to sign with he Cavaliers, the Cavs send a contract over, you sign it, send it back, the team makes an announcement and then you have a press conference just like every-fuckin-body else.  Instead he hired one of the best sports writers in the country to pen an image-crafting love-letter.  Was it better than The Decision? No doubt about it, but good grief, people not from Cleveland are getting emotional reading that??? Really?
 

Kliq

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Would anybody have more respect for LeBron if he had stayed in Miami? In a vacuum, this was the same thing that he did in 2010. He got sick of the team he was on, and bailed to another, cushier location, while also holding the entire sporting world hostage with the "Where is LeBron going to go?" storyline. The only difference this time is that he didn't have an ESPN special and he is going back to his original team instead of going to a tourist hotbed.
 
Look, the letter was nice and all, but I agree with some of the people above me that the media is blowing LeBron's nobility out of proportion.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Kliq said:
Would anybody have more respect for LeBron if he had stayed in Miami? In a vacuum, this was the same thing that he did in 2010. He got sick of the team he was on, and bailed to another, cushier location, while also holding the entire sporting world hostage with the "Where is LeBron going to go?" storyline. The only difference this time is that he didn't have an ESPN special and he is going back to his original team instead of going to a tourist hotbed.
 
Look, the letter was nice and all, but I agree with some of the people above me that the media is blowing LeBron's nobility out of proportion.
The media blowing the biggest sports story of the summer out of proportion? Man, didn't see that coming.

How the media ran with this shouldn't be held agaiant LeBron as he handled this season about as perfectly as one could while remaining completely out of the limelight. Once the Thornton/Zeller trade was approved by the league the announcement was ready to be released. Are people really arguing he shouldn't have made an announcement?

I don't really know what a "manufactured championship" is......maybe it's different than KG refusing to be traded to Boston unless convinced by a Ray Allen acquisition but that would be the definition of creative thinking if so.
 

BostonFan23

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HomeRunBaker said:
I don't really know what a "manufactured championship" is......maybe it's different than KG refusing to be traded to Boston unless convinced by a Ray Allen acquisition but that would be the definition of creative thinking if so.
The way the Celtics' Big Three came together did not happen in the same way it did for the Heat. Come on.
 
That said, as a long-time LeBron Hater, I don't see how anyone could have a problem with how this was announced. Give the guy a break. As long as the Celtics are out of it, I'll be rooting for him in Cleveland. Or at the very least, not rooting against him.
 

HomeRunBaker

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BostonFan23 said:
The way the Celtics' Big Three came together did not happen in the same way it did for the Heat. Come on.
 
That said, as a long-time LeBron Hater, I don't see how anyone could have a problem with how this was announced. Give the guy a break. As long as the Celtics are out of it, I'll be rooting for him in Cleveland. Or at the very least, not rooting against him.
No it wasn't the identical scenario but how is LeBron only going to Miami if Bosh joins them as the 3rd HOFer any more "manufactured" than KG only coming to Boston if Allen joins them as their 3rd HOFer? Pierce and Wade were both entrenched as the face of their teams franchise too.

Aside from a cable TV spectacular that raised millions for the Boys and Girls Club and pissing off your former fanbase it was every bit as manufactured imo......and I don't find either offensive or bothersome as they were well within the bounds of the CBA.
 

Mloaf71

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Judge Mental13 said:
So Dan Gilbert basically has two years to not fuck things up so badly that LBJ leaves again.
 
Nah, Lebron is just lining up his free agency to when the Celtics have cap space  :q:
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Judge Mental13 said:
While holding a 1 hour tv special announcing your decision to leave your hometown to win a manufactured championship on Miami Beach is the height of narcissism, I guess I'm failing to see how dictating an essay to Sports Illustrated (in which you talk about how hard it was for your mom to watch Cleveland fans burn your jersey on TV and give shout-outs to Dwyane Wade, whom you just cost several million dollars and "Rio" Chalmers whom you publicly embarassed time and time again) while essentially declaring yourself the savior of Cleveland, the city that you thrust the most violent middle finger at in modern sports history 4 years ago is the opposite of that.
 
Lebron James is completely and utterly full of shit and I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that he always will be.  It's not a big deal, most pro athletes are utterly full of shit, but Lebron's particular brand of full-of-shit-ness is dwarfed only by his basketball abilities, which are vast. 
 
You want the opposite of "The Decision" ? You call your agent, tell him you want to sign with he Cavaliers, the Cavs send a contract over, you sign it, send it back, the team makes an announcement and then you have a press conference just like every-fuckin-body else.  Instead he hired one of the best sports writers in the country to pen an image-crafting love-letter.  Was it better than The Decision? No doubt about it, but good grief, people not from Cleveland are getting emotional reading that??? Really?
 
I am not sure that LeBron was the one who cost Wade money.  Wade was the one who opted out and while I have no knowledge of the specifics, at the time, he had no guarantees that LeBron was coming back.  
 
And you are really going to call a player who yells at his teammates a phony?  As a younger guy, Chalmers seemed to get a ton of crap from his teammates, including the team leader in LeBron, which is the way things are at that level of sports.  That doesn't mean they don't have a great relationship.  Hell, Tom Brady has yelled at a bunch of his teammates and yet it seems when he is joking around with the same guys on the sidelines, it seems as if its real.
 
Perhaps you have some inside information about James given your line of work and if you do, that is fine (he really did make his boy Windy look bad).  However from where I sit, I assume all pro athletes are about self-promotion.  Hell, we all are on some level.  But I think the essay was extremely well done, even if I didn't get emotional about it.  
 

The Social Chair

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The two years is because there will be a new CBA and TV deal by then and the most underpaid athlete in sports can get a bigger max deal after that WITH Cleveland.

Lebron has been the model athlete on and off the court the last couple of years. He'll never be able to make everybody happy as the last couple of pages here show
 

axx

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The Social Chair said:
The two years is because there will be a new CBA and TV deal by then and the most underpaid athlete in sports can get a bigger max deal after that WITH Cleveland.

Lebron has been the model athlete on and off the court the last couple of years. He'll never be able to make everybody happy as the last couple of pages here show
 
Two years is a long time... a lot can change between now and then. There's no guarantee he stays in Cleveland after those two years, esp if it's obvious he doesn't have enough to win the title there.
 
The only downside I see for Lebron's side is whether he is giving up the opportunity to squeeze out 2 max deals (IOW making max money at 38/39)
 

jon abbey

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Not only is it a 2 year deal, but ESPN is reporting that there is an opt-out after one, the phrasing here is hilarious:
 
"James signed a two-year, $42.1 million deal with the goal of re-signing with the Cavs before the 2016-17 season when a new television deal is expected to create a large jump in value of the maximum contract.
As part of the deal, James will have an option to become a free agent next summer but is fully committed to the Cavs long term, sources said."
 
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11207703/lebron-james-deal-cleveland-cavaliers-2-years-421-million
 

moly99

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Judge Mental13 said:
While holding a 1 hour tv special announcing your decision to leave your hometown to win a manufactured championship on Miami Beach is the height of narcissism, I guess I'm failing to see how dictating an essay to Sports Illustrated (in which you talk about how hard it was for your mom to watch Cleveland fans burn your jersey on TV and give shout-outs to Dwyane Wade, whom you just cost several million dollars and "Rio" Chalmers whom you publicly embarassed time and time again) while essentially declaring yourself the savior of Cleveland, the city that you thrust the most violent middle finger at in modern sports history 4 years ago is the opposite of that.
 
He didn't see it as giving Cleveland the middle finger. You have to understand that these guys live in a bubble and have no idea how normal people live and view them. He was naive rather than spiteful.
 
I don't think he is quite as selfless as he portrays it in the letter. (There's no way he would be going back without Kyrie and Wiggins.) But he could have tried to engineer another super team and instead he chose to go back to his hometown and lead an inexperienced team with young players he will have to mentor.
 

BostonFan23

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HomeRunBaker said:
No it wasn't the identical scenario but how is LeBron only going to Miami if Bosh joins them as the 3rd HOFer any more "manufactured" than KG only coming to Boston if Allen joins them as their 3rd HOFer? Pierce and Wade were both entrenched as the face of their teams franchise too.

Aside from a cable TV spectacular that raised millions for the Boys and Girls Club and pissing off your former fanbase it was every bit as manufactured imo......and I don't find either offensive or bothersome as they were well within the bounds of the CBA.
Their collusion months (years?) before free agency, the fact that they were signed rather than traded, their respective ages (25, 26, 28 vs 30, 31, 32), the insane party they had where they said the games would be easy and they could win 8 championships, etc...
 

Ed Hillel

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jon abbey said:
Not only is it a 2 year deal, but ESPN is reporting that there is an opt-out after one, the phrasing here is hilarious:
 
"James signed a two-year, $42.1 million deal with the goal of re-signing with the Cavs before the 2016-17 season when a new television deal is expected to create a large jump in value of the maximum contract.
As part of the deal, James will have an option to become a free agent next summer but is fully committed to the Cavs long term, sources said."

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11207703/lebron-james-deal-cleveland-cavaliers-2-years-421-million
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If he ditches the Cavs one year after that letter, his career is tarnished big-time. I can't imagine he leaves.
 

jon abbey

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Ed Hillel said:
If he ditches the Cavs one year after that letter, his career is tarnished big-time. I can't imagine he leaves.
 
Probably not, but the front office did him no favors getting him help in his first seven years there, and it's still the same owner. If the MIN trade doesn't go through and Bennett somehow regresses and Irving and Waiters get into a knife fight and Wiggins plays like a 19 year old and Varejao takes a job as Sideshow Bob in the live-action Simpsons film, at least he's not locked in. 
 

Infield Infidel

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Short term, obviously having Love is better, but long term, in 4 years Wiggins could be a top-5 player in the league, right when Lebron will be in his decline phase. They would also be trading the right to sign Wiggins to a larger contract than anyone else. 
 
They would never do it but if I was the Cavs, I'd keep Wiggins and trade Irving+ for Love. Irving's skills (scoring and ballhandling) overlap with LeBron and Wiggins, and Wiggins will actually play defense. I think they could find an average PG, maybe even a veteran looking for a ring, and be fine.  
 
Minny wouldn't do it because of Rubio, so the two teams needs would probably not match up well. (Unless they'd trade Rubio in a three team deal)
 
Varejao/Love/LeBron/Wiggins/Avg PG with Thompson on the bench is way more attractive.