LeBron James Is Going No Where Any Time Soon!

Posted by Jeff Sack under SDC COMMENTARY

Dependant on what day of the week, and what publication, either on-line or in print will determine where the “so called experts” have LeBron James ending up. Last week it was New Jersey/Brooklyn as the Nets dumped an aging Richard Jefferson, in order to “free up cap space so the Nets can go after LeBron“. Monday morning it was Miami, where Heat Team President Pat Riley was talking about freeing up salary cap space so that Miami would have room when James became available (Riley did not mention James or any player by name. Tampering rules you know!) The New York Knicks have also been prominently mentioned as a future home for LBJ. Some pundit speculates that New York is where NBA Commissioner David Stern wants the Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star to end up and it qualifies as news! It’s not news, it’s speculation, it’s opinion, pure and simple. Whether it comes from ESPN, or some guy from Iowa’s NBA blog, it’s the same thing!

And Cleveland fans are no better, filled with doom and gloom because they have not won a Championship in any pro sport outside of the MISL since 1964. It’s as if it is pre-ordained, that it is pre-destined, LeBron James will leave the Cavaliers and the city of Cleveland after the 2009-2010 campaign. If you say anything positive you are accused of being a homer, or going through life with blinders on.

STOP THE MADNESS!!!

LeBron James has addressed this matter, time and time again. And each time that he is asked he says he has no intentions of leaving the Cavaliers. The latest was on June 18, (LBJ Tells Radio Station ?Right Now, I Can?t See Myself Going Anywhere Else?) when he told a Cleveland All-Sports station that he has no intentions of leaving Cleveland. Yet these “so called experts” discount the remarks, as if they know better. Guess what, they don’t! Any member of the media tells you that they have an inside track with LeBron James, is a liar, pure and simple. I covered professional sports in Cleveland (the Cavaliers, the Indians, and the Browns) for 11 years. In all my years, dealing with hundreds of athletes, I have never met a more media savvy young man than LBJ. Each word he utters is thought out long before he says it. I covered him for his first three seasons in the Association, and last year in the NBA Finals. LeBron James says nothing by accident, it has been that way since his first press conference. He also lets nobody outside of his circle, into his thought process, he only tells you what he wants you to know. That is why his post game press conference after game seven against Boston was so important. He was sending Danny Ferry, and Dan Gilbert a message, I need more help.

What all these “so called experts” tend to forget is that after the 2009-2010 campaign Cleveland will have lots of room under the salary cap as well. So they can bring in a Chris Paul, or a Dwyane Wade, just as easily as LBJ can go to New Orleans or Miami. Now does that mean that Danny Ferry sits back and waits, until then and hope that James is patient? Of course not but we will address that later on. Lets just look at the reasons why the “so called experts” think LeBron is out the door and see if we can punch some holes in their balloons.

NBA Commissioner David Stern wants James to play in New York: Why? What makes you think that New York City, New Jersey, or Brooklyn, are meccas of the NBA?? The ratings for the Knicks vs the Spurs in 1999 were so bad the NHL almost had higher numbers. New Jersey has been no better! As was proven once again earlier this month, only two cities are guaranteed draws in the NBA, Boston and Los Angeles. With LeBron James in Cleveland, it makes Cleveland a viable NBA market. It was not before he got there, most residents of Northeast Ohio thought the Gund Arena was where the Cleveland Indians stored their equipment. Now it sells out quite often. That means a lot more to David Stern than LBJ playing in New York.

LeBron James will make more money playing in New York: How? The Cavaliers have his Bird rights, so they can pay him more money than any other NBA team. As far as endorsements, what more can he get that he does not have? He is omnipresent! He hosted the ESPY’s, Saturday Night Live, every day he is on a new commercial. He is paid more by Nike than MJ was!

Now let’s take a look at the positives of staying in Cleveland? for LBJ.

He is Cleveland’s Sacred Cow: Do you know what the worst thing that has been written about?LeBron James since he started playing for the Cavaliers? That he wears a Yankee’s cap! Do you think he could play in NYC for five years, and be controversy free? Please! Somehow, someway, he would end up on the back page of the Post, or the News in a negative light. That is the New York culture, in Cleveland it is exactly the opposite. LeBron can basically do no wrong.

He owns the City : The sports fans and even some non-sports fans love this young man as a matter of Civic Pride. He is a native of nearby Akron, and really represents all the good things in the world of Sports today.

If He wins a Championship in Cleveland they will build a statue of him in Public Square: Most likely out of gold! The only thing that approaches the city of Cleveland’s hunger for a pro?championship is Cubs fans desire to see their team win. And that pales in comparison. LeBron James will be a God in Cleveland if he wins the NBA Finals. No other city in America would react like that.

Now as I wrote earlier, this does not give Danny Ferry and Dan Gilbert license to sit back and watch the wheels go round and?round. A great first step would be in acquiring Michael Redd from the Milwaukee Bucks. According to reports out of Milwaukee, Redd?may have worn out his welcome with the new management team.?He has a three year deal, that the Bucks may find burdensome. The Cavaliers can offer Milwaukee Wally Szczerbiak in return who comes off the books after next season. This could be the first step in changing the perception that it is inevitable that LeBron James will be playing elsewhere starting in 2010.

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2 Responses to “LeBron James Is Going No Where Any Time Soon!”

Basketball Throwbacks on July 1st, 2008 1:47 am

Long Live King James!
J.R. Smith And King James? on August 4th, 2008 2:17 pm

[...] everything Darfur related, it looks like his NBA team is working on bringing him another sidekick, one that just might help keep him in Cleveland when he becomes a free agent after [...]

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