Would we take him back?
The Lebron-to-Cleveland tumors rumors have started back up again. Here’s a link. I don’t have much to say about this, and I don’t feel like arguing with anyone. The idea of Lebron coming back leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’m sure many people feel that a chance at getting the best basketball player in the world is something you don’t pass up. But I sincerely hope that the Cavs don’t handicap our next two years of basketball for a shot at the hometown hero who stabbed us in the back, then twisted the knife.
Tags: Lebron James
I sure hope LeBron comes back. Everyone is Cleveland who says she/he woudn’t root for him or wouldn’t welcome him back is full of crap.
It would be awesome to watch him play for the Cavs again. Full arenas, 60 win seasons, long playoff runs, leading off sportscenter, it’d be great!
I’m not full of crap, and I don’t want Lebron back. It just seems like a pathetic way to gain success….licking the boots of the man who left other Cavs a shuddering shell of a team.
Do I want him back? No. But would I still hate him if he were back on the team? Unsure. I would love for the Cavs to become a competitor again, but like you said, I don’t think this is the way that it should be done.
This is a done deal, the prodigal son returns to bring Cleveland its first chip in decades.
I am full of crap about most things, but I would definitely welcome him back. Minutes after The Decision I threw up. Then I couldn’t sleep for two nights. That’s when I realized I cared too much about something that doesn’t care about me back. Dan Gilbert has moved on, but he’d welcome Lebron back too. Both are different people than they were in June of 2010. I just hope wherever he signs it will merely be a tweet of him wearing a new hat and not an ESPN special.
I, for one, welcome our new basketball overlords.
I am at present trying to figure out how we can add LeBron and another max player (K-Love?) over the next 2 seasons and kinda hating myself for it.
I gave up actively rooting against him a long time ago and feel emotionally divested from him at this point, which is absolutely for the better. I do think he’s realized a lot about humility since the Finals loss against the Mavericks.
The prospect of having the best player in the game playing next to a top 5 PG (presumably top 3 at the time of the signing) is, forgive me, exciting, whether it’s just a Cleveland sports fan fantasy or not.
In the end, I’m torn. I know it’s that SOB what done did all this hurt to us in the first place, but at the same time… It’s just sports. Why not just enjoy it?
In my mind, Lebron took the decision beyond the realm of simple sports bitterness when he made it The Decision.
I felt that way, too, but I realized he was getting terrible advice at the time. It was exceptionally stupid, arrogant, and insulting, and I was livid like everyone else.
But like I said, I do think he’s learned some humility and has changed in the past two years. I’m still pissed about the Decision, but I feel the guy deserves a chance to show he’s really changed.
Keep in mind I’m not justifying anything he did. He was just plain stupid. A stupid person who made a very stupid choice thanks in part to the advice of his stupid friends.
Don’t look now, but the Hawks have only 20…at halftime. Tom Thibodeau, take your bow.
Scarily, the logic makes some sense- why the Cavs passed up on Barnes….why they didn’t (seriously) address the SF position in free agency…why they are hoarding cash in general.
It’s incredibly disappointing. I don’t want him back. At all. He’s a whore. I don’t want a championship if we have to pimp to do it.
If you take emotion out of it, why shouldn’t the Cavs be just as mercenary as the rest of the NBA? LBJ is just another prime asset they can use to piece the championship puzzle together. If not him, then K Love or another major piece. Whatever it takes to keep KI from making his own painful decision in a few years.
Is 5 points a record for fewest points in a quarter?
Nevermind, it’s 2 points (most recently by Golden State vs. Toronto in 2004). They could still beat Chicago’s record for fewest points in a game (49 vs. Miami in 1999).
Man who ever on here talking about they won’t accept him back is a damn lie their gonna be the fist ones buying his jersey’s and shoes and shit again but I personally would like to see him as a cav again and it will be even sweeter than when he was here before because he would have a LEGIT point guard and i believe they would be a Legit contender immediately
We should definitely welcome Lebron back. We should also give Florida back to the Seminoles and start cheering for the Ravens. Let bygones be bygones.
Fuck that!
bumsquare, let’s be friends.
If the cavs got LBJ back I don’t think I would be able to express how much I would hate them. I hated the heat more than any team ever for the last 3 seasons. My level of scorn for the cavs would dwarf that if they signed LBJ. If Gilbert offered LBJ a contract ever again I’d probably cease to watch the NBA which has been my favorite sport since 95 when I was 5 years old. I’ve never understood rooting for a team just because they were good. I’ve never done that, not to say I haven’t rooted for good teams but their has to be more than that or it makes me feel dirty like a woman marrying a fat man for money. I’m not sure if I’d totally cease to watch the NBA or just have 31 favorite teams but I promise I’d never root for a Dan Gilbert owned sports team again. I would have a higher opinion of Rihanna, Michael Vick, Benedict Arnold, Robert Hanson, and France than I would of Gilbert
I like Rihanna. But I like you even more, Rodney Mac.
Sports is about emotion and overcoming adversary. This would fly in the have of that
You’ve gained so much respect from me. Thank god for Terry Pluto and you guys, I can’t stand any other writers in Cleveland, especially ESPN Cleveland and Waiting for Next Year (horrible fall from grace in the past year).
I appreciate it, Chris. It really shocks me that so many people are partial to the idea of Lebron in a Cavaliers jersey once more. I was branded as the crazy Cleveland fan along with everyone else the night of the Decision. I doused my Lebron Jersey in Lighter fluid and set it on fire. When I burned that jersey, I did so with the intentions of never seeing Lebron James in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform again.
I would rather see a championship in Cleveland than hold some petty grudge against Lebron.
I don’t really think it’s petty. And I also think a championship with Lebron could never be truly satisfying.
Any championship in Cleveland would be satisfying.
But Lebron is not coming anywhere near Cleveland. The only person with that kind of nerve is that one guy who played his free-agent signing in a 30 minute special on TV. Ha. THAT guy is someone to be hated.
Gilbert would welcome LeBron back if LeBron wanted to be back. It is a business, plain and simple, and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars of value are at stake. Don’t forget that drawing more people back downtown means more casino players too. I think they need to hash out what happened, but if LeBron wants to write his ticket here, Gilbert will print it.
LeBron destroyed the city psychologically on national TV, yes. But, he hadn’t even turned 25 yet and was being led by a bunch of other 20-somethings. None of us here has ever been perfect, and at the same time, none of us have ever been in the public’s eye on the stage he was given either. Forgive! That is, unless you never want to be forgiven for anything stupid you ever do in life.
Sports brings out emotions, but rationality should be the end all and be all when there is a conflict between the two. Think about our lineup:
PG Irving
SG Waiters
SF LeBron
PF/C Zeller/TT/Andy
And, we have another high draft pick this year and almost 2 years of maturity for the young team that we have been playing. I would be lying if I said that I wouldn’t watch that 100x more often than the product they are putting out there now. Does anyone remember how fun it was back when the Cavs were legitimate contenders? LeBron can do for the franchise what no other player could, if added.
I have also said since last year (and especially after our draft), is there really any question why we are hoarding cap space, picks and incredibly horrible SF’s? Get ready, the Cavs are the favorites to land him when he can opt out and Wade breaks down.
If Lebron came back, it would prove my collusion theory correct. I once theorized that Gilbert and Lebron formulated a scheme to get high lottery picks, which could never have been acquired with him on the team. The theory goes as follows…. They decided that no significant free agent talent would sign in Cleveland, and there were no real trade chips on the team as it was constructed, and as long as James was in Cleveland they could never get a high lottery pick to pair with him. After coming to this conclusion they decided on “the decision”. Knowing how Cleveland/Ohio fans would rally support behind the Cavs even though they were going to face years of bad basketball, just to spite Lebron, ESPN, the world, etc. Enabling Gilbert to sustain his investment/team while rebuilding it in preparation for “the return”. Now this is a highly unlikely, and unscrupulous, but we are talking about a man who makes his money in mortgages and casinos, and another who left his city/region/state so its not impossible.
Would be the worst decision ever to bring LeBron back. Just look at how he has impacted Bosh and Wade down in Miami. Both are seeing drops in their stats over the years and had to take back seats. Here in Cleveland you’ll have 6 first round picks learning to share and distribute the ball, and you want to add the biggest ball hog since AI to that equation? LeBron would take Irving off the point in the fourth quarter (which is a terrible idea considering how good Irving is when he controls the game). Not only that, LeBron doesn’t DESERVE to join in the future success of this team. The Cavs are building a new contender because LeBron ditched them, why does he suddenly get to come back and get credit for a playoff team that he was never really a part of?
Furthermore, I don’t believe that LeBron coming back would get Cleveland a championship. I think our current plan of adding two more 1st rounders and signing a max player in 2014 (not LeBron) would elevate us to the top. LeBron would be more a gimmick than the final piece, and that championship would be all the sweeter knowing LeBron wasn’t involved.
I think pelliot nailed it. It was a really bad move to execute his FA choice the way he did. However, I believe “The Decision” was more a business move as opposed to personal. He didn’t start out by trying to come up with the worst possible way to leave Cleveland, it just turned out that way.
Not much would change for me if he does or doesn’t come back. I’ve always been a Cavs fan (30+ years now), and always will be. I guess I’m willing to take him back because I’m a Cavs fan, and not necessarily a fan of an individual player, even though I may like them.
I understand why people don’t want him back. But if it happens, then what? Will you stop rooting for the Cavs? Will you boo him when he’s putting up 27/8/9, or getting a chase-down block? I think the cliche “Winning cures everything” would never be more true then in this case. Some people may never love or embrace him the way they once did. But accept him? I think so.
Honestly I don’t want Lebron Back. At the same time, it would immediately make the Cavs serious serious contenders in the immediate, and he is the only marquee, absolutely worth a max deal, type player that might come to Cleveland. Obviously I would hope there were serious apologies and reperations made, but if the man played his cards right and acted humble about it, I could welcome him back. Lets face it, the decision was incredibly stupid. Lebron has admitted as much. But the guy was staring at a locked in roster of low-end Varejoa, Antawn “aweful” jamison, ramon sessions, mo williams, jj hickson, no cap space, and no good draft picks for the foreseeable prime of his career.
It would have been awesome if he decided to stick it out and try and win for the hometown team, and it was immaturity that allowed him to blame his teammates even before he made the necessary move to the post to maximize his talents, but at the same time the man knows one guy can’t do everything. He’s seen Nash in pheonix, he’s seen Barkley and Iverson and Ewing and Malone. Throw in the fact that he was a young 20′s millionare and the lure of Miami alone is almost unfathomable. I honestly can’t be mad at the guy deciding to go there to play with a future Hall of Famer and a bonefide all star. The way he did it obviously was crass. And his lack off maturity and accountability were easy to fault him for. But the decision itself was wholly justifiable, and if you don’t like it then why should we ever sign any high end free agents as they’ll be leaving some team for greener pastures?
The man has apologized without any need, he has matured to do whatever it takes to give his team the best chance, he has evolved into indisputably the best basketball player on the planet, and he is the only marquee player with real ties and (possibly) a desire to play in Cleveland. If you want to let the grudge against a 25 year old who made a huge PR mistake and who had/has a large ego be more important to you than increasing the Cavs chances at a championship from 5% to >50%, feel free, that’s your right. But realize that’s what it is. And realize that it is quite justifiable to value a championship over holding such a grudge as well.
Andrew, Adding Lebron, inarguably the best player right now, would not be a “gimmick”. Kyrie having one year of 4th quarter brilliance, and then falling hard on his face this year is not the equivalent of lebron’s resume. There is no other Max Player likely to come to Cleveland that is anywhere close to Lebron’s level. We have a gaping hole at SF. Kyrie hogs the ball as much/more than Lebron currently does. If you want to give a few of Zellers/Dions/TTs shots to Lebron, there is a no way that is a bad thing for the teams success.
We may be able to win without Lebron, and it would be righteous, but if we are talking about just basketball reasons, signing Lebron would easily be the best case scenario. The only reason it is frowned upon is a grudge. And to say lebron had nothing to do with this team is disingenuous. He exploded our roster and turned it into asset gathering, he got miami to give us multiple 1st round draft picks. Clearly I’m not stating he did it for our benefit, but his hands are all over our current roster/situation.
Don’t want. I like where this team is going with Kyrie and Dion as the primary playmakers, and Tristan and Andy (when he’s healthy) as double double machines. Draft a legitimate NBA SF this year and get a backup PG and one more big and you’ve got a decent rotation with CJ, Gee, Tyler, and Casspi. I think that’s a team that can develop into a contender.
The last thing this team needs is pressure from its superstar around the trade deadline to sacrifice the future stability and viability of the team to “win now” by acquiring the corpses of Ben Wallace, Shaq, or Jamison.
All that said, I’m turned off by Lebron enough, and obviously distrusting enough, to not want us to put all our eggs into the 2014 basket. If there is a possibility of adding high impact players between then and now to reasonable deals, then we should do it.
Come on people lets be realistic here getting LeBron back would be an incredible thing for this city 1st off. You all know you like the pieces we are collecting, the future picks we have, and the cap flexibility were building up.
If LeBron doesn’t leave we are the same team year to year with LeBron trying to beg/convince some other Star player here. I really like this team right now and am very confident that LeBron is coming back not only because this is his home and he likes Cleveland but he knows he has unfinished business here.
The stars are aligning for this team and city once again. Think about this: we have acquired a surefire superstar in Kyrie, Thompson showing strides from last season, IMO a mentally weaker D-Wade in Waiters, and more picks to still get lucky which is looking more hopeful with how Grant has been drafting. We have put all of this together and then at same time have put ourselves in the position to sign the best player in the world who needs no convincing to come here because he’s from here and he likes this city.
Everyone would hate until were holding the 1st trophy let alone the 2nd, 3rd, 4th.
I’d throw a party, you will all be invited.
I’m going to suggest a very good reason why LeBron needed to leave.
He was, by all accounts, surrounded by his high school buddies. His high school buddies were almost definitely steering him in directions that were best for them, not what was best for him. Part of the standard advice for newly rich people, including newly signed athletes, is to watch out because most everyone you ever knew will suddenly be acting like they’re your best friend (because they want your cash). By leaving town, he almost definitely shed at least some of his hangers-on, at least temporarily.
I don’t think he should come back, for that reason alone. Which is OK: There are other superstar players in the world – let’s chase Durant, Harden, etc instead.
I would almost rather have Andrew Wiggins then Lebron.
Alex, that’s one fo the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.
Lebron’s decision (as poorly executed as it was) was validated when the Cavs completely collapsed and the Heat made 2 straight Finals (winning 1). Say what you want about the man and his decision making, but Lebron made the correct choice if winning a title was most important.
Now, coming back to Cleveland could be the best choice for future championships. Not sure why any true Cavs fan would have a problem with re-signing the best basketball player in the NBA.
And really, what is the alternative? Overpaying non-elite talent like Paul Millsap to some huge deal that we will regret in 2 years? Seriously?
News flash: Free agents don’t want to come to Cleveland without being grossly overpaid. If Lebron is willing to come back, you sign him without asking questions.
@Vesus
I’m not sure his choice was validated by winning a championship. The reason he lost to Boston his last year in Cleveland, is the same reason he lost his first year in Miami. He collapsed in the playoffs. His disappearance when the pressure was on. Likewise, the reason he won last season is because of the way he took control. Especially, when facing a close out game in Boston. I think the difference between winning and losing had more to do with him than his team. Had he shown that same resolve in Cleveland, he most certainly could have won a championship his last season.
I totally agree with your second point. I’m on board with whatever is best for the team.
Yeah – I disagree Vesus. The last two LeBron-led Cavs teams had more than enough talent to win championships. This is reflected in their records (regular season and playoffs), their point differential, their depth, their size, and how they defended.
In 09 they ran into a buzzsaw and Dwight Howard exploited them. It helped that pretty much everyone on that Magic team had the series of their lives. In 2010 the Cavs went into Boston and BLEW OUT the Celtics going up 2-1 with home court advantage. And then something happened (no one knows what) and LeBron just wilted like Charlie Brown’s christmas tree. They lost those last 3 games and were outscored by 51! To put that in perspective – if you tallied up all their losses for the ENTIRE SEASON up to that point, it was only 153 (3x as much). So, in 4 days, they accounted for 25% of their losing differential over a 93 game season. I’ve never ever heard of anything like that. Those teams had plenty of talent. Go reread what all the NBA writers/analysts were saying back in 2010.
they might have had enough talent to win a championship, but multiple teams do ever year. He wanted to have the best talent available to win a championship, and if you take Lebron off the heat there is no way they aren’t in the post season, much less going on a 26 game losing streak.
Lebron wasn’t the only guy on those teams to dissappear in the playoffs. Hustle guys find the hustling harder (Andy) and Mo Williams was a shell of himself.
To me, the more success Lebron has in Miami, the less I want him back. But say last year were to be his only title with the Heat, his run there would ultimately start to look disappointing and like a mistake. He did have the humility to say he handled The Decision wrong, and that he would want to play again in Cleveland, where we are happy as clams with Kyrie Irving. In a scenario like that, everyone could admit we loved each other all along like an old BF and GF and accept each other back, cuz it’s not like ‘bron doesn’t have a few bones to pick with Cleveland since leaving as well. On the other hand, if #6 has great success with the Heat then his decision is vindicated, so screw him we don’t want him back. So if he was welcomed back it would be a beautiful sports story where Lebron and Cleveland were meant to be, as the Cavs then rip off half a dozen titles or so, we all learned our lessons, etc. Who wouldn’t want that?
Maybe I’m the only one here who holds a grudge. But the Decision decimated the Cavaliers. And whether or not he likes it, Lebron will always be linked to the Decision. Don’t tell me you buy into that shit about how he didn’t create the spectacle. He took his friends’ advice, but it was his call.
The pain is duller now, but it’s still there. Seeing Lebron in a Cavs uniform would be just as weird as it was to see him playing on the HEAT for the first time; more so, perhaps.
Dani, He decimated the Cavs, but the Spectacle of the decision was besides the point. If he would have left as gracefully as possible we would be in no better position than we currently are. It was the fact he left, not how he did it, that caused the decimation. And if you take out your Cavs Are the Only Thing worldview, the choice itself to find better teammates, take less money, and enjoy his youth in a more vibrant city are entirely justifiable, and reasons you would find elating if another star free agent used them to justify coming to the Cavs. Yes, he was an ego-maniacal immature dick the way he did it. If he can swallow his pride and say that was a mistake, I can swallow my pride and root for him to make the cavs championship favorites.
And Lebron in a Cavs uniform would be just as wierd as his first heat game. The first time. It would be a lot less weird when he’s putting the team on his back in the finals and making jokes with Irving and TT, and doing old man lebron comercials with uncle drew.
I’m not saying we sell the farm, freeze assets, and wait until 2014 to come begging for him. Hell no. If we can sign a quality player to a market level deal or trade for one, and that hinders our max cap space in 2014, We should do it. It would be foolish to put our fate in his free agency hands again. But if no such deal presents itself and we have cap space in 2014 and Lebron wants to come back, it would be foolish not to sign the best basketball player alive because of the grudge against a 25 year old kid who made an arrogant mistake. I said this before and I’ll say it again, Hubris gets you no where.
The spectacle didn’t decimate the cavs, the fact he left did. And the fact he left was entirely his right and entirely justifiable, even if his immature way of doing it was not. If you continue to hate the man, you are hating him because of the spectacle, not the decimation of the cavs. If you hate him for the decimation alone, then you should hate every big name free agent who ever signed anywhere else, and not want the cavs to ever get a quality free agent in the future.
Sorry people, but if LeBron comes back and wins a title with the Cavs, it will in no way at all diminish winning a championship.
Not at all. Anyone who argues this is nuts.
Tom
I sort of agree on the talent, however Mike Brown proved to be a horrible coach in the playoffs. I’m really glad he’s gone.
I agree that the 60-win Cavs teams were legitimate contenders and Lebron failed to hold up his end against Boston. That being said, the move to Miami (and the resulting collapse against Dallas) apparently led Lebron to FINALLY realize that 1) He needs to embrace playing down low and 2) In the playoffs, you need to play like a superstar regardless of the talent (or lack thereof) surrounding you.
Basically what I’m saying is that Lebron ditched us, but he went to Miami and he figured it out. It would be silly to reject him now that he has finally learned what it takes to win championships. Embrace the (former) favorite son if he wants to return.