Fandom has to hurt for the joy to be most fulfilling — you have to care, you have to risk suffering — and LeBron James has now pushed all of South Florida and Northeast Ohio right to the edge of that cliff.
Exactly four years after The Decision, the basketball world still awaits The Decision II.
And with LeBron James finally set to meet face-to-face with Pat Riley and the Miami Heat on Wednesday in Las Vegas, we finally may be close to getting an answer.
But even still, it’s likely, on the eve of July 8th, that nobody — not even LeBron — knows what LeBron is going to do.
If James was going to return to Miami, why would this still be dragging out? The Heat have lost out on several free agents that could have helped bolster their team, and were forced to settle for Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger on Monday, both moves that scream desperation.
And now Riley is operating in financial handcuffs. He can try to sell LeBron, Wade and Bosh on returning, but with little to no flexibility left to improve the roster. This is what they would be going to war with in 2014-15. Is that enough for LeBron to re-up?
Familiarity, continuity and knowing how to win together definitely count for something, especially if accumulating championships is the ultimate goal. But the excitement and potential of playing with Kyrie Irving, Andrew Wiggins and his close friend Anderson Varejao is clearly weighing on LeBron.
Oh, and there’s that whole fairytale story of redemption and returning home to Northeast Ohio as the savior thing.
Chris Sheridan — yes, his name is on the door — has been informed by a plugged-in source that there is a 90% chance that LeBron returns to Cleveland. Take it for what it’s worth, but the man has been reporting on this league for over 25 years. He knows a good source from a bad one:
A plugged-in source tells me there is a 90 percent chance that LeBron James will return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it will be announced on www.lebronjames.com if it happens.
That is my latest intelligence, and it comes from the same league source who told me Monday that he felt there was a 75 percent chance James returns to his original NBA team.
Sheridan makes three excellent points in his assessment of LeBron’s potential decision to go back to Cleveland:
1 . There is nothing left for him to accomplish in Miami. He went there for four years, he went to the NBA Finals all four years, and he won two titles while learning what it takes to be a champion. Nobody can ever take that away from him.
2. A chance to return home as a successful, seasoned adult with a chance to deliver the city of Cleveland its first championship in any sport since 1964 is too much of a legacy opportunity for James to pass up.
3. And another thing: The best player he has a chance to team up with is named Kyrie Irving.
If LeBron can accept the tremendous hurdle of winning a championship in year one with such an inexperienced team, then the situation of Cleveland should seem far more appealing than the one he’d be returning to in Miami.
The chance for any player to play with Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins, let alone lead and mentor them is exhilarating. Add in other talent/assets Cleveland has in its back pocket such as a dynamic and improving two-guard in Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, Anthony Bennett and a bevy of picks and flexibility, and LeBron could be walking into the strongest foundation in the league with the opportunity to shape the team around him with young talent and veteran stewardship for the next 5-10 years.
It’s a risk, there is no doubt about it, but does the potential outweigh what he already knows and has accomplished in Miami?
Dwyane Wade is on a 50-game schedule and continues to physically deteriorate. In four years Chris Bosh has not figured out how to maximize his effectiveness with LeBron and Wade. And they are locked into the rest of their old, aging roster.
Miami’s biggest need was finding a young, athletic wing to come in and take pressure off of LeBron. Instead they went with McRoberts and Granger.
Unless Bosh leaves for Houston, there is no flexibility to change that. They’re locked in.
The other elephant in the room: what about the whole playing for Dan Gilbert issue?
It seems a bit overblown to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if James and Gilbert squashed that beef years ago. And if they haven’t, if LeBron truly believes it is the best basketball situation for him, then they will work it out.
After all, if Cleveland can forgive LeBron for The Decision and welcome him back with open arms, LeBron can surely figure out a way to play for Gilbert again.
More from around the NBA
LaMarcus Aldridge plans to sign a contract extension with Portland next summer: “Aldridge on Tuesday told The Oregonian he has opted to postpone signing a contract extension with the Blazers until next summer, when he can sign for more years and significantly more money. The three-time All-Star made it clear his decision had nothing to do with his commitment to the franchise or his happiness in Portland. Quite simply, he said, it was a business move. “I’m happy to stay, happy to be here, happy with the direction the team has gone the last year or two,” Aldridge told The Oregonian in a phone interview. “This has no impact on my interest in staying in Portland. I just want to get a five-year deal. I feel like that’s the best decision on my part.””
Pau Gasol met with Thunder head coach Scott Brooks: “It was the latest in a series of pitches to Gasol by members of the Thunder organization. The courtship began last week with a phone conversation between general manager Sam Presti and the two-time NBA champion on Tuesday, followed up by a tag-team face-to-face appeal from Kevin Durantand Russell Westbrook on Wednesday. Despite the Thunder’s persistence in trying to persuade the 34-year old Spaniard to play alongside his Spanish national squad teammate in Serge Ibakaand the reigning MVP in Durant, a league source told ESPNLosAngeles.com on Tuesday that Oklahoma City considers acquiring Gasol a “long shot.””
Stan Van Gundy wants Greg Monroe in Detroit: ““We want Greg Monroe back, but obviously it’s got to be a mutual thing, too,” Van Gundy, the head coach and president, said today before the Pistons’ third summer-league game against the Miami
Heat. “There’s no hesitation there. From Day 1, and Greg can tell you, I went down and met with him. He was the first player I met with. I went down and met with him within a few days of getting the job and made it clear to him we want him back and we haven’t wavered on that at all.””
The Dallas Mavericks appear to have made Chandler Parsons their number one option: “Chandler Parsons is a restricted free agent, meaning any offer he receives from another team can be matched by the team with his rights. If the Mavericks offer Parsons, say, a four-year deal for $40 million, Houston can agree to those terms and Parsons has to return to the Rockets. Although the Mavericks may be preparing the offer sheet right now, it won’t become official until July 10, when the “business” portion of NBA free agency opens up league-wide. Whenever the offer sheet is officially filed to the NBA (since it’s being prepared now, probably at 12:01 a.m. on July 10), the Rockets will have 72 hours to agree to whatever deal the Mavericks submit or to let Parsons go.
The Boston Celtics may be quietly making a play for Kevin Love: “However, a league source said Monday that president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is attempting to gather assets to acquire Kevin Love, convinced he can devise a package that would entice Minnesota Timberwolves president Flip Saunders to move the three-time All-Star, who will be a free agent next season. Ainge admitted that things have been quiet so far, and of course was reluctant to discuss anything dealing with free agency. “You never know what to expect,” he said Monday as the Celtics dropped their summer league contest to the Pacers. “When you have conversations, I have a great deal of respect in the league and what they’re all trying to accomplish. I don’t know what’s going to shake out when it’s all said and done.” When asked if he was pleased with the current state of the team, he said, “There’s a lot more to do. It’s a long summer.” According to two NBA sources, Ainge has been dogged in his pursuit of Love, and several agents believe he has the creativity to put together an attractive package.”
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
If Spurs get Pau Gasol, Spurs would be likely favorites for next 3 years.