LeBron Quick Takes
2014-07-08Seems wasteful to exert much energy over the LeBron to CLE rumors until something more permanent starts to take shape. As a person with access to zero “sources” it makes even less sense. We’re analysts, fans, and supporters, not insiders. But, I’ve had plenty of thoughts and conversations about all the rumblings lately. I thought I’d share them.
On everyone’s emotions:
“How could LeBron get over the comic sans letter?!” is (intentionally) on everyone’s mind. Here’s how he gets over it. He recognizes that The Decision destroyed basketball in Cleveland for 4 years. It left a smoldering crater. It hurt (a lot). LeBron gets this now (I believe). The national pundits wondering how he could ever “get over” the letter don’t believe he did anything wrong leaving Cleveland in the first place. Oh sure, they might pay lip service to “The Decision” being in poor taste, but they don’t acknowledge what the lowercase decision did to a region of die-hard fans.
That includes the Cavs biggest fan, Dan Gilbert. He was hurt by the decision. So he vented in solidarity with the rest of us. I’ve heard people speculate on whether he could swallow his pride. Seriously? The guy that fired Mike Brown, rehired him, told a room full of cameras that the original firing was a mistake (his mistake), and then proceeded to fire him again? I have no idea what Gilbert might say about the letter when that time comes, but I’m pretty sure he’s not going to sabotage the future of the Cavs in order to double down on it. One year after LeBron left it felt pretty cathartic to let LeBron James know exactly how I felt. (DG liked it too). Ya know what? If he came back to the Cavs, I would not, in fact, wish for him to fail forever. I’d rather he redeem himself with a championship. And then all of us that had fightin’ words for LeBron after The Decision can eat crow while we party in the streets.
Anyone else seen comments like this?
It would be beyond cruel to toy with that city's emotions again.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 7, 2014
No disrespect to David Aldridge, and I appreciate him acknowledging the passion of Cleveland sports fans, but this is false equivalence. The Decision hurt so badly because it was the answer to the question: “Is Cleveland worthy of LeBron James.” This wasn’t paranoia or self-hatred. Rather, it was the question everyone outside of Cleveland had been posing since 2004. Remember how Nike wanted LeBron in a “big market”. Remember WorldWide Wes and CAC. Remember headlines like L.A. Bron. (These aren’t questions I’m demanding you recall these events.) From the moment the Cavs landed The Chosen One there was a constant question. It felt rhetorical. The implication: “Cleveland isn’t nice enough.” The Decision, and using “South Beach” to contrast his previous location stung because it vindicated the notion that Cleveland wasn’t nice enough, LeBron’s teammates weren’t good enough, the organization wasn’t competent enough.
The good news is we’ve moved on. Watching the Lakers, Knicks, Nets, Celtics, and Bulls depress their “big markets” while the booming metropolises of Oklahoma City and San Antonio represent two of the hottest basketball destinations has changed my outlook. Cleveland has the requisite passion welled up inside its citizens to experience the same basketball euphoria as San Antonio Texas.
So if LeBron decides to stay in Miami I think most Cavs fans will look forward to the Kyrie Irving/Dion Waiters/Tristan Thompson/Andrew Wiggins/Tyler Zeller/(don’t forget Andy! #NEVERTRADEANDY) era – which is just beginning. Oh yeah, we have Anthony Bennett too. Maybe he’ll surprise us this season. Cavs fans are gonna be just fine if LeBron decides he’s not ready to come home yet.
The Most Overrated Reason LeBron Would Stay in Miami:
Pat Riley – the guy that needed more than one ride on the Michael Beasley machine.
The Most Underrated Reason LeBron May Come Home:
http://instagram.com/p/pkbgUMAiAn/?modal=true
His Wife apparently loves Akron. When Savannah put out the instagram with “The Countdown is Real” you had two camps. You had those that lost their mind thinking this was leaked information about LeBron’s FA decision and you had those people rushing to explain it away to the freak out crowd. But here’s the simple truth we ignored. His wife…Loves Akron. If you’re not married, bear with me here. If Savannah DIDN’T love Akron, I don’t think there’s any chance LeBron would ever come back. Not to cement his legacy or take care of “unfinished business” or anything. But they have a growing family, and the more children you bring into the world, the more you weigh family into career decisions. Now Woj claims that Rich Paul is on a mission to get him back to NE Ohio. If his wife, family, friends, and agent are all longing for home, there’s a good chance it will factor in heavily to his decision. It short: it matters more than many will admit.
On the Wild Rumors:
I don’t believe for a second that LeBron has told anyone he’s coming back to Cleveland. I DO believe he or people close to him have been entertaining the idea for some time. Here’s how quickly this can spin out of control. LeBron and one of his buddies are playing Call of Duty. Buddy says “think you could take the Cavs to the promised land?” Bron says: “aw yeah. Me and Kyrie’d light up the league like I’m about to light yo ass up. Boom.” (Bron’s buddy gets naded). The buddy explains this to a person that wasn’t there and doesn’t understand the context or tone. He texts a simple message pretending to be LeBron. The guy that receives the texts wants lots of retweets so he pretends LeBron actually sent the text, since that’s way more meaningful. It’s also possible that people are just fabricating entire stories. I was fooled by a fake David Alridge account saying the Cavs had moved Jarrett Jack to Orlando. I retweeted it before quickly realizing my mistake. And I messed people up. So there are plenty of ways, both accidental and malicious, that half-truths and falsehoods are being spread. I’d bet my money on what Windhorst and Broussard have said. Basically, nothing is set in stone – nothing has been decided.
On Free Agency:
It’s disingenuous of me to overload my outrage meter when it comes to free agency since I loved (LOVED) the Jarrett Jack singing last season as well as the calculated risk of Andrew Bynum. But as far as this FA cycle goes, I’m pretty annoyed that the Cavs seem to have taken a step backward with the loss of C.J. Miles and no stretch bigs or rim protectors to speak of. Two of the guys I lobbied for were Josh McRoberts and Channing Frye. They’re both taken now, and while they weren’t flailing around the bottom of the bargain barrel the Cavs could have gone after either of those guys. Maybe they did and just lost out. I certainly hope that’s what happened with DeMarre Carroll last season (on my “not getting over it anytime soon” list right up there with cutting Danny Green).
I’m not upset about Spencer Hawes leaving. Well, I’m upset that Cleveland lost a true Patriot, I’m just not upset that the Cavs aren’t investing in Hawes. I’ll leave it to Evan Zamir to explain my feelings exactly.
Of all the guys ranked three hundred and fifty in RAPM I like Hawes the best.
— Evan Zamir (@thecity2) July 5, 2014
Gordon Hayward for 16 mil? Doesn’t seem like good value. Looks even worse after letting Danny Ferry snatch up Paul Millsap for under 10 million a season.
Kyrie and the Max? I understand why people are excited about it. I’m not upset by it, just…nervous. The laws of rational player assessment do not exist for Kyrie Irving. He exists on his own island, unburdened by those inconvenient truths like: his actual performance. It’s not unlike health care in America for the past 30 years or “college life”. It’s…distorted. In some cases, not real. Except for the expense! – as real as it gets. I feel the same way with Kyrie. Could his performance one day be worthy of investing 30% of the salary cap? Sure. Is it likely? Only if we ignore what has actually transpired and make a load of excuses for him. “BUT! BUT!! You HAVE to lock up a guy like that!” Really? You need that “star power”, huh? Gotta put butts in the seats, right? It’s “just so hard” to attract free agents to Cleveland, right?
Anyway, that’s my view, but I can’t disagree with that of our own Cory Hughey, writing for gotBuckets:
If Grant’s successor David Griffin can follow through on his mandate to field a roster fitting coach David Blatt’s screen heavy, off-ball movement offense proven to be very guard friendly, Irving could make a dramatic step forward this season. Finally, last season, Irving was a youthful 21 and definitely possesses time to resume an upward arc to his career.
The good thing about giving Kyrie the max is that it is a necessary first domino to fall before the real team-building starts. The Cavs have been in asset collection mode for so long and unfortunately, we haven’t learned enough about the young talent. But the Cavs are taking the plunge and committing to Kyrie, thus embarking on their journey towards relevancy. I was annoyed at the flippant way they treated acquisitions like Livingston, Ellington, and to a lesser extent, Miles. As if they were disposable, and not part of the future, even as they fit the needs of the team. The Kyrie commitment signals the end of that mindset.
On the Cavs Waiting for LeBron:
I’m with Cleveland Jackson:
If Lebron James does return, all I want is for them to treat him like a basketball player instead of the guy who runs the organization
— WayneEmbrysKids Official (@WayneEmbrysKids) July 7, 2014
Also, this: (how I found my way into this NBA sub-culture)
Jeez, remember the Kobe Bryant vs Lebron James ad nauseum discussions
— WayneEmbrysKids Official (@WayneEmbrysKids) July 8, 2014
And finally, this:
@WayneEmbrysKids This was the exact thing I hoped they wouldn't do. I.E. wait on lebron and let all the other free agents get away.
— Hot Dog-less 0-6 (@LUNI_TUNZ) July 7, 2014
The thing about waiting for LeBron: It’s not worth it if he doesn’t join your team. It’s TOTALLY worth it if he does. He’s worth more than 20 wins by himself. That’s the difference between a lottery team and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. I know it’s frustrating watching some good FAs get away because the Cavs are trying to make LeBron work. I think as long as they don’t sell the farm to bring in K Love for a one year rental they’ll still be alright. My real concern is this: if LeBron re-signs with Miami and gives himself an out for year 3, do the Cavs time their roster build around that? How wise would that be? Kyrie’s already locked up so the Cavs won’t have his impending FA to scare them into desperation mode.
I don’t know the answers, but I do know that it’s time to start enjoying basketball again in Cleveland, with or without LeBron.
McBob is a better value than Hawes.
Echoing some commenters above, Cavs should just go all-in and trade for Love. It can probably be done while keeping Zeller and either Dion or TT. Who gives a shit about draft picks? If they make that move, keeping Wiggins, there is no way LBJ chooses otherwise
I guess by this time tomorrow we’ll know where Lebron is playing next season. I predict he’ll re-sign with the Heat for a three year max deal with player options for years 2 and 3. realistically, he has a better chance of winning a championship next year with Wade and Bosh and company. It’s hard to argue otherwise. As much as I’d love to have Lebron back, his free agency is agonizing to Cavs fans. It burns me out. I’d like to be done with it and to focus on the Cavs young talent: I heard Bennett’s in much better… Read more »
Great article. Thanks for the shout out.
Lebron to Cleveland, I am so giddy. I can’t sleep. The one thing Miami has in their favor is DWade getting screwed out of 42 million if Lebron leaves. But everything else points to Cleveland IMO. The thing that is different about Lebron now, is that he is older and wiser. I think the Heat fans leaving early bothered him. He knows how people from Ohio are. I mean, he is an avid Buckeye fan, he is one of us. He understands the CAVS fan base. He always has understood it. Now that he has gotten out of Ohio, I… Read more »
Good to hear ya, Brandon!
I think part of the reason Cleveland has become so attractive a destination is that Miami cruising through the East is actually no longer a certainty. The Heat are/have been a great team. but every year the Big Three grow older and into their 30’s, and signings like Granger and McRoberts are merely plugs in the holes of a slowly sinking ship. That is not to say the Heat are no longer contenders, but that their leg up has shortened while every other Eastern power gains ground — the Pacers grow more mature, the Kicks hire Phil Jackson, the Bulls… Read more »
This is not true. The Heat are still the team to beat if they resign Bsoh, Wade, and Leb. We saw what happens when the Heat decide to stop screwing around with the Pacers, they just destroy them.
I agree that any team with LeBron is the frontronner my point is just that at least both the bulls and pacers stand to get better next year whereas the heat aren’t going to improve so much as maintain. And thats getting harder the older they get. The heat peaked the 1st year they won with the 26 gastreak, now time is against them as the younger teams improve naturally year by year. The margin of how good some of these teams are grows smaller and LeBron is the ultimate scale tipper, so the aesthetic reasons for coming back to… Read more »
Eh. I think you’re putting too much weight on the Pacers vs Heat series. The Pacers killed any chemistry they had by picking up Bynum and Tuner, finished the regular season 10-12, hell- the Cavs beat them by nearly 20, and the Pacers were pushed to the brink by the hobbled Hawks. I would have liked our chances in a series against them…
And then get HISTORICALLY blown out in the Finals. Generally, older players do not get better and younger players do. The Heat were the oldest team last year. You think with their main pieces all a year older, they will improve? Highly unlikely. Plus, their signings are all inexperienced in playoff/championship basketball. That also figures into them being no lock for another Finals appearance…
Agree! One quibble about the NYK. I am not so sure that Phil Jackson has any rabbits in his hat. If Carmelo comes back, they won’t be much better than last year, and he is starting to look a little old. The following year, they have cap space, but no young talent or draft picks, and Carmelo is older still. Maybe a bunch of good players will think, “Man, I can’t wait to play for Phil for half what team X will give me”, but I doubt it. The best bet for the NYK is for Carmelo to leave, go… Read more »
Win – Win situation:
For about 3.9 years I have been hoping that LeBron would come back. That will be great if he does.
But suppose he does not. The current gang is easily a top four Eastern Conference team. There is a decent chance that Blatt works some magic and/or Wiggins and Bennett play great. This could easily lead to a Cavs/Heat Eastern finals. That would be too awesome! Imagine Wade trying to cover Dion. HaHa!
And I am ready to bet $0.50 that the Cavs win.
(cont) so, if LeBron goes back to Miami, I will not be bummed. I will say “Too bad, you will be sorry. And it might be real soon”.
Except if he goes back to Miami they will again be in the Finals. No team in the East can beat the Heat with LeBron, Bosh, and Wade.
Not even a Melo infused Bulls team?
I think that would depend on Derrick Rose, and how well he’ll be able to play.
If Rose is healthy, then that will be the Eastern Conference Finals. But the Heat will still win. People are forgetting how good Miami can be just because the Spurs were awesome last year.
Cols714: One thing about getting old, no one ever recovers.
Bosh and Wade are not factors. Lebron carried that team and he knows it. He may not have the energy to do so next year. I can’t believe people still mention Wade’s name. He is dust in the bin of history. Bosh would have to average 20/10 to pick up the slack (he was 18/7 last season, which is weak). They are the favorites for the Finals, but not to win. No way they win against the West.
“The current gang is easily a top four Eastern Conference team”
Lolwut.
If Bosh turns down that gigantic offer from Houston, I think that seals the deal that LeBron is staying in Miami.
agreed.
EXACTLY. I keep hoping to read that Bosh has signed with Houston. The Internet will explode if that happens before a LeBron’s destination is clear.
I don’t think Bosh will say or do anything like that until LeBron decides. Then all the dominoes fall within 24 hours. My 2 cents
Agreed. Bosh on that Houston team is scary good.
I disagree. I think Skip Bayless had a decent thought. I think they want Bosh to leave so they can grab Melo. Although, I don’t see how that really improves the Heat’s situation.
Anyone being even slightly upset that we are “missing out” on the Channing Fryes of the world needs to wake up. The dude is an average player at best. No thanks.
Sign LeBron!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
agree with john ( and other bloggers — would I be excited if LeBron comes back—-HELL YES ——if LeBron doesn’t come back will I still be excited about this young team/ coach and potential —-HELL YES — I think the cavs fans are in for some exciting / competitive different style of basketball which will be fun/ refreshing to watch and very easy to support them —
Nice piece, Tom. I’m not too worried about missing out on all these mediocre free agents. I did like Frye, but the Cavs can still sign Chandler Parsons to a max offer sheet, and there are still trades for existing guys that can get the Cavs the players they need. I’d actually rather not see Cleveland trading Jack from a position of bad leverage. Feel like he has more value in this market than a Ben Gordon who just got $4.5 million, so I’m not sweating that too much, either. Everyone other team is kind of losing their minds, and… Read more »
I completely agree with this from the standpoint you take in that the Cavs do have cap room and a very good amount of cap room at that without signing Lebron. Their roster can easily be filled out with very good young talent (Parsons/Hayward or maybe even a Monroe to help the front court) without putting a strain on flexibility moving forward. Other than Jack (who actually seems to have a decent contract in this summer’s market for his potential value), the Cavs do not have any ugly contracts on their roster as well. With the Blatt hiring, struggling/over paying… Read more »
With the loss of CJ . . . I’m not that eager to give Jack away unless his salary needs to be jettisoned to sign Lebron.
We are an injury away from being woefully thin at guard.
Agreed, no reason to jettison Jack just to make a transaction. Zeller will grow some this year, IMO. Let’s not forget Haywood is a big body.
I fear that if we don’t swing for the fence and get Love, it’s a wrap for “The Return”. No way Gilbert stands pat with cap. We’ll overpay a couple mediocre players and hope for the best.
Either way Go. F’ing. Cavs.
Maybe I’m over-thinking this, but I think LeBron is very conscious of today’s date. Despite leaving for Miami four years ago, I truly believes he has feelings for the area and the fans, since Akron is home to him. That said, announcing anything today other than a return to the Cavs would be exceedingly cruel, even if this time he isn’t the problem (the media hype and “sources” are). And others have said it and I’ll chime in to agree, if he doesn’t come back, I am still excited to see what we do this year on our own. If… Read more »
Agreed on the Love thing. In the least, don’t offer Dion, Tristan, Zeller, Bennett, 3 #1’s and future considerations for him. Be reasonable. He’s been injured enough for one to think we might be trading for another Andy. Andy got hurt a couple of times and everybody wanted to jettison him. The grass is always greener . . .
I forgot to give Tom props for an excellent post. Looks like this is coming down to Wife+Agent vs. Wade+Riley for LeBron. Hope LBJ sees that having some fun again with Kyrie and a young team could be good for him in the long run. Riles is promising another ultimate grind of a season as he carries the team. As great as he was, Jordan went and played baseball for a year at about this point in his career.
Summer league roster out! Looks super fun, if a bit guard-heavy. Can’t wait to see how Bennett and Karasev are looking.
Thanks, Charlie E!
Great point to whoever drummed it up.
I liked the last paragraph from Tom, are the Cavs really going to sit around waiting for Lebron until he retires? I hope like everyone that he does come over but if he doesn’t they’ll be repeating this vicious cycle a couple more times.
There is a narrative out there (push by Haberstroh and seconded by Lowe) that the signings of McRoberts and Granger will entice LeBron into resigning with the Heat. I just don’t see it. They don’t add rim protection not point guard abilities. And the drafting of Napier may turn out to be a good pick but when was the last time a rookie point guard won a title? We’re not going to compare Napier to Magic Johnson are we? The Heat’s real problems are Chalmers and a decaying Wade. If the Cavs are going to make a run at LeBron… Read more »
Also – I love your take on the letter. That friggin thing is so overblown. I am 100 percent sure LeBron and DG could hug it out and be done with it.
so overblown. it helps dramatize “The Return”, so I understand why it’s being overplayed.
In today’s climate? People say crazy things all the time. Everyone explodes and the fuels evaporates quickly.
Couldn’t agree more.
Not sure how anyone can be upset at the Cavs for not going after the likes of Josh McRoberts and Channing Frye while they currently have a shot at signing the best basketball player in the world. Even if Lebron goes back to MIA, that is a risk you take. Moreover, I don’t want Channing Frye at $8 million a year. I could be talked into McRoberts for the MLE (although think that is overpaying as well), but giving $32 million to Channing Frye through his age 36 season is the type of deal that hamstrings an organization’s ability to… Read more »
McRoberts at the MLE seems like a very good value, especially given the team’s need for more passing and shooting. He had a nice season and is a bit Boris Diaw-like.
But you raise a good point. The FA market is insane right now. Mediocre players are getting a lot of money. That didn’t seem to happen last year. Maybe this will work out for the Cavs and they can buy low when everyone else is out of money.
Except that several teams will have money to spend once LeBron and Carmelo sign. Parsons, Ariza, and others will be bid up at that time. You can bet that they are listening, but sitting it out until then.
Channing Frye at 4yr/$32M….? No Thanks! He reminds me a lot of Donyell Marshall except he’s probably a worse defender.
Donyell Marshall, great call there. We don’t need another Donyell.
one thought on your comment that you believe windy and broussard more than anyone else: i actually think there are a lot of people out there with much better info than windy and broussard and even Woj. big national media guys typically have sources WITHIN the very organizations that are involved in this process. those organizations have no incentive to tell them the truth about any of this. think about the cavs #1 pick the last two years. there were national media guys who were convinced they knew what was happening, and convinced they had sources INSIDE the Cavs, but… Read more »
One other thought: Windy in particular seems to have really bad sources as it relates to the Cavs. Just a couple weeks ago he was doing the radio circuit saying 1) Cavs no shot at Lebron, 2) Cavs organization was laughingstock of league. He also had his famous proclamation that Kyrie wanted to leave. Since then, Kyrie signed in about 10 minutes, we got Ty Lue to come to us from the Clippers, and its been revealed that Rich Paul is pushing James to Cleveland. All of these facts really make Windy lock unreliable when it comes to the Cavs.… Read more »
Make no mistake, Brian Windhorst is LBJ’s Wormtongue. Anything that comes out of his mouth has to be filtered through that lens. For example, if LeBron indeed planned a return to CLE, why would he let them get comfortable and risk the team standing pat? Better to use Windy to “encourage” Griff and co. to remain aggressive.
Also, all indications are that Kyrie was indeed restless until very recently. No one knows for sure, but there’s got to be some fire to go along with all the smoke.
If Lebron does indeed come back I sure as hell hope Windy doesn’t find a way to ride his jock back to Cleveland as well.
The best part of getting LBJ back would be denying Windhorst access to the facility.
the wait is worth it ( all the other teams with LEBRON / MELO ASPIRATIONS ARE DOING THE SAME ) —who have we missed out on CHANNING FRYE —— I can live with the cavs not signing him with the hope of LeBron returning—–let’s hope the cavs ( as many other teams will be ) are ready to make a move once THE DECISION(S ) IS MADE FROM LEBRON / MELO —–it will turn into a free agent scramble
Im sure this has been discussed but…If Bron comes back would that make him the first player in NBA history to team with 6 different #1 picks?
There are only 4 #1 picks, but it still might be a first.
He played with Shaq and Oden too.
It wouldn’t be. Lakers have done it before.
Interesting. Who on the Lakers played with six different #1 picks?
I misunderstood the statement earlier. I thought it was saying LeBron, Kyrie, Wiggins, and Bennett would become a team with 4 #1 picks and that was the first time in NBA history for that to happen. Lakers have had a roster with 4 #1 picks before. Now, I realize what was actually being said above. #ReadingComprehensionFail
Don’t forget he played with Joe Smith when he was on the Cavs…also a #1 pick.
Makes me wanna see what Kwame and Kenyon are up to.
Question about Irvings supposed regression last season. Team D, PnR D, and individually, he clawed his way from league worst to meh…below average defensively. Still an improvement. Assists went up, TO’s went down. Fouls, steals, blocks…all about the same. The only number that declined significantly was his shooting%. Looking at his charts from vorp’d, he went from 149 mid-to-long 2pt attempts to 332. He also took 55 more treys. Now, he did play 12 more games, and at just under 5 3pt attempts per game, the long range bombs were about the same. But his midrange attempts per game almost… Read more »
Yeah I agree. This team was woefully mis-coached last year an I’m just looking forward to what the new team can get out of this current roster. Kyrie, Dion and Wiggins have the chance to become the best back court trio in the league by some margin. Also agree that because Kyrie regressed shooting the ball people are too quick to claim his whole season was a regression which (as you’ve pointed out) it wasn’t. How can someone who’s one of the best pure shooters in the league continue to make major improvements in that area year after year. I… Read more »
Good thinking.
Kyrie made a lot of progress in avoiding dumb turnovers last year, playing more, and working on defense. He’s ready for a real offense now.
I can’t believe I forgot DELLY! We are actually embarking on the Delly Era.
Joe Tait under the pillow nights when your parents think you’re asleep. Those are the nights that I grew as a person. I’ll never forget listening to his call on Damon Jones’ OT game winning three against the Wizards.
Beautiful sounds. I miss Joe Tait.