SH Blog: LeBron James Plans to Retire in Cleveland, Rudy Gay Replaces Kevin Durant

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, LeBron James has returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. After a four-year hiatus in which he won two titles and made two other NBA Finals appearances with the Miami Heat, James signed with the squad that drafted him in 2003.

Despite the unceremonious exit in 2010, James has been welcomed back to Cleveland with open arms. As a four-time MVP, it’s not too hard to see why Cavaliers fans are so eager to welcome a player of that caliber to their roster.

According to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal, James told a crowd at the InfoCision Stadium in his hometown of Akron, Ohio that he plans to retire with the Cavaliers.

“I don’t plan on going anywhere,” LeBron James said Friday night during the Welcome Home LeBron event at InfoCision Stadium. “I don’t have the energy to do it again.”

James structured his contract with the Cavs to allow him to again enter free agency after each of the next two seasons, but implied Friday that was a maneuver to take advantage of the league’s next television contract, when max salaries could increase dramatically.

“At the end of the day I’m a businessman as well,” James said, “and I know what’s going on in our league.”

James doesn’t have the energy to do it again and the state of Ohio doesn’t have it in them to watch it happen again. It’ll all work out if things go according to plan.

As stated by the man himself, James knows that the salary cap is rising and the opportunity for players to make money is improving. Thus, his two-year contract with a second season player option has garnered some skepticism.

Rather than returning home for a one or two-year rental, however, James insists that he’s there to stay. There isn’t much reason to doubt him.

If it’s not the allure of playing just 45 minutes away from his hometown, it’s likely the arrival of Kevin Love that has him speaking with such certainty.

Cavaliers fans can place blame wherever they’d like, but James was given an unfairly small supply of help between 2003 and 2010. There were quality players such as Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mo Williams, but James never truly had a reliable No. 2 option to take over when he struggled.

Love and Kyrie Irving give him two young players with star-caliber production. Whether or not it all pans out has yet to be seen, but having a pair of All-Stars who haven’t even reached their respective primes is always a good thing.

During his speech in Akron, James touched on Love’s arrival. He had nothing but high praise for the three-time All-Star.

James echoed the sentiments of millions when he told the crowd at the InfoCision Stadium that he’s excited to play with Love.

He even offered high praise for the success that the former Team USA members experienced at the 2012 London Olympics, per Lloyd.

James said he “wasn’t getting his hopes up” until the deal can become official on Aug. 23, but then he raved about Love. The two spent a month together during the 2012 Olympics and James came to appreciate Love’s high basketball IQ.

“I always told him he was going to be the reason we won the gold medal,” James said “He played a huge role for us. “I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully it happens and everything is done right from the league rules. It’s a great piece.”

When James says, “Done right from the league rules,” he’s touching on the fact that Love cannot join the Cavaliers until August 23. Cleveland signed No. 1 overall selection Andrew Wiggins 30 days beforehand, which makes him unavailable for a trade until that period runs its course.

Whether intentionally or not, James is also alluding to the NBA’s questionable history with the infamous Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers veto.

Assuming the trade goes through, this could be the most talented roster James has ever played with. It’s easy to forget that Dwyane Wade was a Top 3 player when James joined him and the Miami Heat, but Cleveland has a more complete paper roster beyond its Big Three.

With contributors such as Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao and Dion Waiters, the Cavaliers have productive depth. That’s a promising sign for the short and long-term future.

Regardless of how things look in a few years, James has publicly stated that he plans to be there until the day he retires.

Rudy Gay Replaces Kevin Durant

In some of the most shocking news of the summer, reigning MVP Kevin Durant pulled out of the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Expected to serve as the leader of Team USA, the Oklahoma City Thunder star removed himself mere days after the tragic Paul George injury.

It didn’t take long for Jerry Colangelo to find a replacement.

Hearing Part II: Team USA has secured the services of Sacramento’s Rudy Gay to join roster and compete for FIBA World Cup spot

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) August 8, 2014

Gay isn’t exactly the most obvious choice, but he isn’t a bad one, either.

For all that’s been said about the 27-year-old, he’s coming into his prime and shining while doing it. He’s averaged 18.2 points on 45.2 percent shooting from the field for his career, and seems to have bounced back from an underwhelming year-and-a-half with the Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors.

Gay averaged 20.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals on 48.2 percent shooting from the floor in 55 games for the Sacramento Kings in 2013-14.

Gay has his detractors, but he was a member of the 2010 team that won gold at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. He wasn’t a top scoring option, but he played well when he saw the court and has become a respected individual throughout the association.

With a perimeter that can only benefit from more scoring depth, Gay will be a welcome addition as the nation’s basketball club prepares to compete in Spain.

Gay’s competition will be tough. DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors, Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz, Kyle Korver of the Atlanta Hawks, Chandler Parsons of the Dallas Mavericks and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors are all competing for the same spots.

As the roster gets trimmed from 16 players to 12, all five and Gay will be in play to be removed. There’s a very strong chance that only two survive as Team USA keeps its interior options and stars at the guard spots on the roster.

Gay can’t fill Durant’s void, but his experience and scoring prowess may be enough to make a difference.

Around The League

• In 2012, the New York Knicks selected promising Greek forward Kostas Papanikolaou. Since then, Papanikolaou’s draft rights have been traded twice; once to the Portland Trail Blazers and another time to the Houston Rockets. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Rockets have finally managed to bring Papanikolaou over to the NBA. “Papanikolaou gets $4.8m guarantee for ’14-15 season and team option for 2nd year at $4.6m. He’s been in Europe since 2012 draft. 48th pick.” Papanikolaou is a 6’9″ small forward who has played for powerhouses Olympiacos and FC Barcelona Basquet.
• Once upon a time, the Orlando Magic employed Otis Smith as its general manager and Stan Van Gundy as its head coach. Van Gundy is now the head coach and president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons. According to Marc Stein of ESPN, Van Gundy is looking to bring Smith in for a position under his watch: D-League head coach. “Sources told ESPN.com that Pistons president and coach Stan Van Gundy has targeted Smith — his former boss and close associate in Orlando — to move to the coaching side of the business by taking charge of Detroit’s new D-League expansion team, which will begin play this season in nearby Grand Rapids, Mich. One source said Friday that a deal is not done but that the sides are closing in on an agreement.” Both men lost their jobs during the Dwight Howard saga.