Calmer Than You Are: Chapter One

After the Cavs defeat to the Warriors in the third episode of the their annual June special, the offseason has been considered a bumpy ride in Cleveland according to the talking heads. While I normally think that the “sources say” crowd throw together stories with a combination of a Magic Eight Ball, Scrabble tiles, and a cocktail shaker, they are right that July has always been grass is greener season for LeBron.

A few nights ago marked seven years since “The Decision,” which seems like a lifetime ago with everything that’s happened to the Cavaliers since. On a better note for Cavs fans, we also just celebrated the three-year anniversary of LeBron’s return letter that he was coming back to NEO “for something bigger than basketball.” In retrospect he made the right decision both times. The Cavs roster was bloated with aging veterans who didn’t have the ability to battle Boston’s Big Three, or Stan Van Gundy’s steroid doctor. Four-years later James was right again when he felt that he needed to trade in Bosh and Wade for a younger combination. 

Summer is the time that the NBA balance structure recalibrates itself. While James is under contract for a second year in a row with the Cavs for the first time since his return, his future is always a relevant story and generates clicks. There have been a few teams bandied about for James to make his second exodus from Cleveland to. The team I primarily feared LeBron bolting to is fortunately out of the running, and its the same one he left to rejoin the Cavs.

I feared that Miami would preserve their cap room with one-year contracts ala Dallas to save dough, and dump enough of the their current contracts for a 2018 free agency bonanza. The appeal of no state income taxes, a punched ticket to The Finals, and enough gorgeous latinas to satisfy a Shawn Kemp bachelor party would lure the new bandmates to the LeBron and Wade Heatles reunion tour. In a surprising move, the Heat punted on the 2018 free agent crop by dropping a combined $37 million of next years cap room on Kelly Olynyk, James Johnson and our beloved former friend, Saint Weirdo. That spending spree combined with their 2018 commitments to Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, and Goran Dragic brings them to $99 million in payroll for what is likely to be the sixth seed or so in a rest stop restroom one-ply weak Eastern conference.

Last year I kicked around writing an article on the case for the curse, and how it defined us as fans. The curse wasn’t just a failure package that ran a few times a year to remind us that we suck, it became part of our psyche, and haunted our expectations at everything. Any time a Cleveland team was close to a championship round we started to feel imminent doom, but we kept going back for more. We were the faithful failures, or the lovable losers. Broadcasters have always had a thing for alliteration. The biggest question I had after “The Block,” “The Shot,” and “The Stop” was how we would handle the unfamiliarity of winning?

Just a year removed from the epic victory march down 9th street, many of us aren’t handling that success well. We’re buying into the narrative that the best three year run in Cavalier history is over a year before LeBron can leave. We’re listening to talking heads who have been wrong with all of their proclamations this summer. Chris Paul was destined for the Spurs, but he ended up a few hundred miles East in Houston. Jimmy Butler was going to be dealt to the Celtics for a godfather offer of draft picks, and Paul George was coming to Cleveland as a one-year rental for Kevin Love. Over the next few weeks I’m going to compile a series of why we should enjoy the present, and have no fear of the future.

LeBron is Leaving…Again

While we’ve been beyond blessed to witness 10 of LeBron James’ 14 seasons, we’ve been haunted by the anxiety of him leaving for the majority of them. The rumors of him bolting the Cavs for a second time has provided plenty of clicks for hack spam bait journalists, and a considerable chunk of rundowns on the angry guys yelling at one another four-hour afternoon block at the worldwide fluff machine.

No. 5: @maxkellerman says LeBron going to the Spurs could scare the Warriors. pic.twitter.com/tYEqA5mDMr

— First Take (@FirstTake) July 10, 2017

A few of those talking heads have determined that San Antonio is an ideal destination because it would be LeBron’s best opportunity to take down the Warriors juggernaut. I’ll treat that one as if it was a stale peanut shell at a trash steak roadhouse. Sure, LeBron and Kawhi would form the greatest wing combination since Jordan and Pippen, but while LeBron respects Popovich from a distance, I can’t imagine that he would ever be willing to concede enough control to completely buy into any system, yet alone a totalitarians.

As gorgeous and inspiring as LeBron’s letter to NEO was three years ago, there were reasons omitted from the prose that probably influenced his decision greatly. Pat Riley would never cater to him, and even challenged his manhood. While former general manager David Griffin expressed numerous times that LeBron wasn’t the GM of the Cavs, LBJ has obviously influenced the construction of the roster from the trade of Wiggins for Love, the signings of his thoroughly washed buddies JFJ, Mike Miller and Chris Anderson to the bloated above market contracts that Tristian Thompson and J.R. Smith received simply because they were represented by Klutch. From the outside looking in, the Cavaliers have given James everything he’s wanted over the past three years. The Spurs most certainly would not. There’s no chance he’s headed to San Antonio.

As predicted – the Lakers take care of Klutch (wink wink LBJ) https://t.co/CZ2bNAnbV5

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 12, 2017

Bilbo Simmons actually makes a good point about LeBron celebrating his Klutch brothers/clients landing huge pay days. He’s done it for years. James recently took in a summer league game with Klutcher Dejounte Murray, and he shouted out the Caldwell-Pope one-year deal from the Lakers on Twitter. Thus far the Lakers dropped $18 million on Klutch clients. Over the past three years Dan Gilbert has committed over $213 million to Klutch athletes. Appreciate the support Bill.

The most common bandied about destination for LeBron has been the the bright lights of Hollywood to save the Lakers from the failure pile offspring of Doc Buss. I don’t dismiss the Lakers rumors because they’ve been the second most poorly ran franchise in the league over the past four years after the Nets. The Cavs were garbage before LeBron returned too, rather I dismiss the Lakers for numerous other reasons.

While we don’t know know LeBron James on a personal level, we’ve followed his every move for 14 years. First off, he wants a surrounding cast who will compliment him, and at this point in his career he doesn’t have time for a youth movement. When Andrew Wiggins was drafted, and LeBron returned a few weeks later Wiggins seemed like the ideal freak wing who would learn the game from one of the best ever, and eventually be prepared to take over more and more of LeBron’s responsibilities on the court as he aged. That was nixed from the get go in LeBron’s letter, as the Canadian phenom was excluded. LeBron pushed for the Love deal. I also don’t buy that LeBron would walk away from Kyrie Irving’s prime, to be flanked by Screech and Drake’s love child and his cross face chicken wing of a jump shot. Looking good in summer league, and hitting the biggest shot in NBA Finals history are a Marco Polo adventure apart.

For the next two years at a minimum, the Cavs are LeBron’s best chance at winning another title. LeBron is no longer battling Kobe for the best player in the league. He’s in legacy mode, and his only adversary is history. He wants to sit at the best table in the hall of fame restaurant reserved for Jordan and himself, and LeBron wants the power seat that faces the door. He’s on that path, and he’s not leaving the oh so weakstern conference to deal with the deep water illuminated monsters out West.

I also don’t buy any of the LA predictions a year in advance, because James doesn’t know where he’ll be mentally a year from now. It’s not his style. Sure Wade, Bosh, Melo and James kicked around the super team idea at the Olympics. It didn’t become a reality until years later. Most had James heading to the Knicks or Nets over the Heat until a few days before The Decision. Pat Riley didn’t know James was heading back to Cleveland a week before it happened. Hell, LeBron’s banana boat BFF Wade took a cross county flight with James the day before The Letter and he didn’t know. No one has any concrete evidence outside of tossing a pickle slice against a window and hoping it sticks that James will defect to the Lakers.

The primary reason that James isn’t heading to LA are the organic passages from his SI bombshell. He sincerely wished for his boys and at that time, unborn daughter to be raised in the area that shaped him. LeBron James Jr. will enter junior high this upcoming fall. In two years, he’ll be due to attend James’ alma mater St. Vincent-St. Mary to chase his father’s legacy. A major part of why LeBron returned to Cleveland was that he didn’t want his children growing up in self-absorbed Miami, just as he wouldn’t want them to grow with the vanity of Los Angeles. In James’ own words, he wants children to realize that there’s no better place to grow up than Ohio.