Just a tad over four years ago, LeBron James made his breathtaking decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat live on ESPN – a move that would be scrutinized for years to come.
At least back then, though, everyone knew when the announcement would be made because there was a set time, date and place for it.
This year, all we know is that James is supposed to post the decision to return to Cleveland on his website lebronjames.com. Unfortunately, no timetable has been set for when this would happen. The delay in announcing his decision has left organizations, players, media and fans alike holding their breath while repeatedly pressing the F5 button in the process on that darned site of his.
As we await “The Decision: Part II”, some updates were provided over Thursday night into Friday morning about what has been going on with James, from Chris Broussard of ESPN and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
LeBron is currently on a flight back to Miami. Then he’s off to Brazil.
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 11, 2014
Dwyane Wade expected to be on a flight back to Miami with LeBron James tonight, league sources told Yahoo. They had been together in Vegas. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 11, 2014
James has plans to fly to World Cup over the weekend. Heat and Cavs expect his decision before he leaves for Brazil, sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 11, 2014
I’m told James’s plan – to fly from Vegas to Miami to Brazil – has been planned for more than a month, and that nothing should b read n2 it — Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 11, 2014
This is getting very interesting. Definitely not at 85 pct for Cavs anymore 🙂
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 11, 2014
Cavs talked w/ agents Thursday on players designed to surround LeBron James. Had hopes he’d commit to Cleveland before day’s end. Nothing. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 11, 2014
So here is what we know: James himself has yet to give the official word to anyone, and Dwyane Wade may be doing everything he can to try to convince his partner to stick around a bit longer in Miami, which is not something to take lightly. In Wojnarowski’s latest piece, it is stated that Wade may be the Heat’s final hope to undo whatever was done to convince James to leave town by playing the role of a recruiter once again:
If James had left the free-agent process to his agent in the days after July 1, leaving him to meetings described as “a tremendous waste of time,” by one executive pitching the Cavaliers, James had returned and taken over the process himself. For all Paul’s leveraging and positioning with teams, James was back and he was running things again. Suddenly, there was no commitment on Thursday.
James played in games in his skills camp in Las Vegas and found himself photographed throughout the day with Wade. Twenty-four hours earlier on Wednesday, Heat president Pat Riley and assistant general manager Andy Elisburg met with Wade and Paul for an hour, discussing the possibilities of a Heat extension and roster overhaul. James left unconvinced, and Riley stayed with the franchise’s cool, nonplussed disposition over the James’ free agency. Riley hasn’t been bombarding James with text messages and calls, but ultimately left Wade as a most intriguing, last-gasp suitor in the desert. As much as anything, Wade’s bad knees could be chasing him out of Miami, and suddenly he had been cast back into the recruiter’s role.
For Cleveland, this whole process has to be nerve-wracking. They’ve been through this process before, and all they can do now is sit and wait like everyone else. For what it’s worth, our Chris Sheridan is still holding firm about what decision will come out of James when all is said and done:
Sources confirm @KingJames en route to World Cup final in Brazil, but will stop in Miami first. Decision II is unfolding.
— Chris Sheridan (@sheridanhoops) July 11, 2014
LeBron’s legacy will unfold in Cleveland, because it must. His Miami legacy is 4-for-4 with 2 titles. Nobody can ever take that away.
— Chris Sheridan (@sheridanhoops) July 11, 2014
Stay tuned.
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James Park is the chief blogger and deputy editor of Sheridan Hoops. Find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.
i thought this was a done deal?? You remind me of Scott Templeton from the Wire
I’m a SPURS fan, so I really do not care where Lebron plays next year, but my belief is that he will go back to Cleveland to mend things and to try to get a Championship there, which I think if it happens will take a few years.