Cleveland Is My City: LeBron Returns to Cavs

LeBron James came home. Many people are praising him for returning to the place he called home for the
first seven years, and the state he grew up in.  It is great for the NBA. The idea of LeBron going to Houston or Los Angeles would be the same, old tired narrative about James leaving for a better opportunity as he sees a sinking ship with Miami.  LeBron heading back to Cleveland brings everybody back to the player that a majority of the country loved and adorned for years. It couldn't have been played more perfectly from James as he won the Summer.

We all know about the letter by now.  Sports Illustrated Lee Jenkins is the best NBA feature writer right now with Zach Lowe of Grantland right there in another capacity, but Jenkins writes elegant features doing athletes very fair. James' camp gave him the scoop where the newest Cavalier explained the whole situation in his own words where Jenkins made The King's words into his own. The idea of calling Miami his version of college couldn't have been said better.  It was a four-year journey where James got his degree in championships. Even though I am new media (Actually I am nothing, but whatever), it was refreshing to see old media getting the biggest sports story of the summer.

LeBron comes to the team as the 'old man.'  This hasn't happened yet and it is so damn fascinating to see how it will play out.  James has always been the leader of the team, but Miami and former Cleveland always had multiple older players. Now LBJ has a stable of young players like Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. Granted, Mike Miller or Ray Allen could be on this team, yet right now, there are only two players older than James. It is a group of young guns playing with a guy they might have looked up to in the last decade. All of these players will get better even Waiters whose been the runt of this group. There have been much talk about Waiters-Irving relationship, but it feels like this could be a huge step for Waiters.

Many people wonder why James could play for Dan Gilbert, the same guy whom ripped him with Comic Sans on the night of The Decision. The fact of the matter is time heals all wounds. Gilbert is a clown. He is an unlikable figure in the NBA, but at the same time, he made a hell of a pitch to get LeBron back to Cleveland. He is a salesman and did just that with LeBron. I don't think this will be like the first time around where Gilbert found his hands in everything. He might not be able to help himself which could be the downfall, but James signing a two-year deal puts everyone in the front office on notice. They need to win right now and don't drive LeBron away from Cleveland again.

James says he will not leave Cleveland. He wants a better deal in 2016 when TV money could be readily available for James to bankroll himself. If anyone is calling him greedy should take a long look in the mirror because everyone would have taken James short-deal to make it an even bigger deal in 2016.   The jury is out whether he should be believed right now or not. If Cleveland doesn't make the NBA Finals in these two years, does James start getting the thirst to look elsewhere or does he really want to bring another championship to Cleveland?  That's a question left out in space to ponder in the next coming years.

Cleveland becomes a contender in the Eastern Conference, and the Central Division becomes the beast of the Eastern Conference. This is a bad news for Milwaukee's professional basketball program. People love the idea of the Bucks playing in this division because it will toughen them up playing against high competition, 12 or 16 times (Detroit could be pretty good too) and who cares if they loses heavily. I get that whole idea, but what needs to be realized is Milwaukee needs to start winning early and often to build the momentum from the casual fan base as an attempt to buy people in on a new arena. If Milwaukee continues to be in last place, there will not be much growth for this Bucks team.

LeBron will head back to Cleveland in one of the most anticipated starts to the NBA season. There are some games where we want to see what the crowd will look like versus the actual game itself.  That's what late October in Cleveland will be like this year.

Charlie.

Cleveland Clears The Way For LeBron

LeBron James made the month of July about himself again like he did in 2010. James went from being a guy whose going to opt-out to make more money and stay in Miami to he might end up either playing for Miami again or a return to Cleveland. The latter became much more of a possibility on Wednesday morning when Cleveland cleared cap space by trading away Jarrett Jack and Marcus Thornton to Brooklyn and Boston in a three-team deal to pave the way for max money for James. Cleveland is either welcoming their King back or getting hurt again although this time the pain for them shouldn't be the same. 

There is a real chance LeBron comes back to the city where it all began. The city is alive right now with sports due to Johnny Manziel and the up and coming Browns plus Cavaliers have a young nucleus ready to make the playoffs. LeBron joining the fray would put Cleveland in the epicenter of all sports, and all fans of James rejoicing they can wear their 23 Cleveland jerseys again. It is hard to get into the mindset of Cavs fans right now, but you have to think people are writing on walls or computers 'I will not get excited about LeBron James' 'I will not get excited about LeBron James.' I mean there is no way this fan base is going to burned again, right? 

If it were me, I would lie in the weeds, read as little as possible and try to believe that this isn't a reality until we see James holding up a jersey next to Dan Gilbert and Kyrie Irving. There is a chance right now, but in no way should Cleveland fans get excited. What's cool about this whole free agent saga is the Cavs pushed their chips in. They didn't pussyfoot around this thing, and instead cleared out money to attempt to sign LeBron to a big deal. Why the hell not? Let's go for it, that has to fire you up as a fan whether LeBron comes back to Cleveland or not. At least, they aren't resting on their laurels here because they know they cannot. 

The great thing about this whole thing is Cleveland has a ton of money to spend if LeBron decides to stay put in South Beach. Rumors are Trevor Ariza will be the play whom could be a good option for them to add a wing to this team plus a little veteran leadership and a guy whose excelled with a strong point guard. They could also make a slight run at Pau Gasol. They have some young big men inside, but why not at least see what Pau's interest would be in playing with a bunch of young players? It wouldn't hurt. They have money to blow if LeBron becomes unavailable.  The fact of the matter, Cleveland's risk is a good one because having all of that money is not a bad thing. Losing Jack is not the worst thing in the world, he didn't fit in with the Cavs system. This was a solid move by them, and if people are calling it dangerous play or anything like that is completely wrong. 

The other thing about not getting LeBron is this team is still on pace to be a good one with Irving, Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters. The last one might be a stretch, but that's a solid young core for the future especially in the Eastern Conference. It is not like LeBron is the savior in this situation. I do not think this is too much of a reach to say Cleveland could be a deep playoff contender in the next couple of years as Irving heads into his prime including the other two coming near it as well. Cleveland will be a fun time with or without LeBron. 

The biggest question if LeBron comes back, do we have a video of 'Coming Home' or 'Cleveland is My City?' I am available to make either one, just ask.

Charlie.