LeBron James chooses the Cleveland Cavaliers

With James being the biggest star in the NBA, it’s a near lock he and the Cavs would be part of the Christmas schedule. A return to Miami would only add some intrigue. The game won’t necessarily be James’ first against the Heat, but it will likely be the first meeting in Miami.

Nevertheless, here’s the perspective of one doubter proven wrong.

Back in 2010, LeBron’s camp made a point to explain that Akron kids really did not like Cleveland. On the national stage, we have such a broad concept of “home” and assumed that LeBron was abandoning his “home” when he bailed out for Miami. But James’ camp insisted that Cleveland was never home, Akron was. And Akron is not Cleveland.

Jon: So I’m looking at this week’s Sports Illustrated cover, which, of course, is dedicated to LeBron James’ return to Cleveland. I’m counting a lot of sports items in this cover: a ball, a jersey, and a pair of shoes. It’s a sports magazine with lots of sports things on the cover. By that measure, is this the best magazine cover possible? Or could they have shot even higher, and tried to include a fourth sports-related item?

Ramla Mahmood, Vox Media designer (@ramoved): Let’s not forget the chair. Perhaps that is what makes the cover. Not the off-centered jerseys hanging on wire hangers with a disproportionately small basketball to the side, but the black office chair you probably have at your very desk. Could this foreshadow a possible injury in LeBron’s career? Could this mean a more serious and professional outlook for the 29-year-old? What other hints can we gather from the cover?

However, there were some “bread crumbs” going back several years that hinted a return to Cleveland was in the works. And now that James is back home, he’s hoping he can have a “fairy tale” ending with a parade down East 9th Street.

Jenkins’ profile on James tells the story of how this all played out, complete with some fun factoids about the decision and its aftermath.

Yeah, go read this.

James is structuring the deal this way to give him maximum flexibility for a number of different scenarios. Most notably, the new television deal in 2016 is expected to kick the salary cap up to $80 million, $17 million higher than it was this year. A max contract is a portion of the cap, so James can sign a bigger deal than he’d lock himself into now if he signed for multiple years. James also can become a free agent before the league’s labor contract expires in 2017. And, of course, James also keeps his options open should the situation with Cleveland go haywire.

It’s rare to see a star do this because of the risk of injury, but James can do so because of his earnings off the court.

LeBron James made front-page news with his sudden decision to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. Here’s how America’s newspapers framed James’ announcement:

New York Post

Pull up a chair, youngster. When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey, before websites and blogs and tweets, sports trades big and small were rounded up for me in the New York Times “Transactions” sidebar in the middle of the sports section, below the standings. So I find it pretty cool to see the Times devote the entire front page of their Saturday sports section to a tiny, understated bit of text like that. Nostalgic.

It’s also a tremendous waste of space and kind of impossible to see on the computer, but I get it, and I like it. Cheeky move for one of the biggest sports stories of the year (John Salmons getting waived).

I’m a Knicks fan, so Skylar Grey’s “Coming Home” still gives me chills from when Carmelo Anthony made his New York debut, and Melo was only returning to a different borough of a city he lived in for the first few years of his life. LeBron James returning to Cleveland is a far more considerable homecoming, so he gets a tailor-made tune:

Wikipedia says Grey is from Wisconsin, so I guess this has more to do with LeBron’s majesty and choice of headline than it does any personal connection. Anyway, pretty cool. Not a lot of people get hit songs rewritten for them hours after they get a job.

Andersen has been a big part of the Heat’s playoff runs to the NBA Finals, providing a big body off the bench on a roster that hasn’t had many true centers to protect the paint. Andersen averaged 6.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for Miami through the 2013-2014 season.

A lot of Cavaliers fans shredded, burned, or otherwise destroyed their LeBron James jerseys when he left for Miami in 2010. Now he’s back and WHAT NOTHING I JUST WEAR IT A LOT THAT’S NOT A HUGE HOLE I RIPPED IN IT:

Yeah, that’s at a Cubs game. Hey, at least this fan had the foresight not to reduce his jersey to ash.

Still, this was, and always was, a marriage of convenience as much as anything else. Once the ancillary pieces started to break down, there was little else that Riley could do. And once the financial realities came into play, the clock started ticking.

Riley was still offering Riley, however, and that meant a stable organization. As one GM said a few days before the landscape of the league changed, “I just don’t think LeBron will be able to say no to Pat.”

James is headed back to Cleveland now, and how the two came to an understanding after their public fallout has come to light. Gilbert sat down with James on Sunday and apologized for the letter while the two met face-to-face to discuss their possible future together, reports Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski:

Gilbert denied he was meeting with James on Sunday, despite his private jet being tracked to South Florida. Now, it seems the Internet detective work proved correct and Gilbert was on the plane preparing for his meeting with James and his inner circle.

Irving will get his share of ball-handling duties off pick-and-rolls, especially.

James might have the luxury of standing in the corners or on the wings, taking advantage of penetration from Irving, Wiggins and Waiters. This means two things: 1) James will have opens looks and 2) he will create a lot more havoc with the second pass, allowing Cleveland’s other scorers to break loose. Imagine Irving kicking it to James hanging on the weakside, then James swinging the ball against the grain of a shifting defense, or driving past a scrambling defender to find another shooter.

This could be an accident or a strategic snub of the rookie who hasn’t proven anything yet. It could be a case of finding significance in a place it doesn’t belong. But it could also be a sign that Cleveland is not yet done shaking things up.

Should Cleveland deal Wiggins for Love if such a trade is indeed on the table, or is a future with Wiggins worth sitting tight? Love represents a significant upgrade in contention-ready talent for the Cavaliers, and would give James a running mate who could help the team win immediately.

LeBron James returning to Cleveland is one of those magical sports moments that makes the situation perfect for memes. So buckle up, here we go.

h/t @BulletsForever

The first Truly Social LeBron James Decision! Truly!

Local media might be trying to tell us the city isn’t on fire, but that sure does look a lot like smoke. You know how the old saying goes: “Where there’s smoke ... there’s a basketball team about to become very bad.”

Update: Now there’s video courtesy of @cjzero and yep, something’s burning.

In 2010 Cleveland burned jerseys and penned strongly-worded comic sans letters. Most fans in Miami mocked those in Ohio for their reaction to the departure of LeBron James. Now the shoe is on the other foot, well, it’s basically the same thing.

Sorry Miami, if this is the first domino then it’s probably time to erase three quarters of that thing.

One wouldn’t blame Wade for being upset, but he doesn’t appear to be. Instead, he reportedly is at peace with James’ decision.

This contradicts previous reports that Wade was unaware of James’ decision at the time, but the idea that Wade knew is more plausible. He probably didn’t want to spoil James’ announcement.

Joel Embiid gave it the old college try, but now he’s learned that this isn’t college anymore. The 76ers rookie tried his best to convince LeBron James that Philadelphia was the answer, but it didn’t work.

Now the poor kid is just questioning everything.

News moves at the speed of light, so do advertisers in Cleveland apparently. Either this building-sized tribute to LeBron James is a banner that escaped the fires and was kept in storage or they uploaded a file to a video board. Either way it’s impressive.

Calling Cleveland excited doesn’t even begin to describe this.

And, most importantly...

A future first-round pick that’s top-10 protected in 2015 and 2016 and unprotected in 2017 if it doesn’t convey by then.

Interest in Parsons is widespread, but if the Rockets can hang on to him it’ll clarify where a decent crop of small forwards can land.

Bledsoe’s future has been even less-chronicled, though it’s expected the Phoenix Suns will match any offers for their restricted free agent. Bledsoe’s agent, Rich Paul, has been deep into the negotiations involving James, and now he’ll have more time to talk about his other client’s future.