LeBronicles of Clevelandia – King James: The Return to Cleveland?
Many people are debating – will LeBron James be leaving Cleveland this offseason, and if so, where will he go? For LeBron, there are 5 different possibilities:
1) Staying with Cleveland. For this to happen, there needs to be some changes. Cleveland will need to bring in a new coach because current coach, Mike Brown, is likely to be fired. After two very strong regular seasons, Brown has been unable to get the Cavs to the finals again. The Cavs need a championship caliber coach – someone like Phil Jackson or Larry Brown. They may also need to make some changes to their roster because the supporting cast just did not get it done during the playoffs. Re-signing with Cleveland will also keep the King in good graces with his people of Ohio. Leaving without getting anything in rerturn would certainly devastate the city. But still, would LeBron really want to stay with Cleveland at the expense of being able to be paired with the likes of Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, or Dwayne Wade? That remains to be seen.
2) Packing for Chicago. A lot of people seem to think this is his most likely destination. If Chicago can pull off a sign and trade that includes Luol Deng for LeBron, they would likely have the cap to sign another big name free agent like Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh. This would allow Cleveland to get something in return for James (although not quite the same caliber of LeBron) and give him two other marquee players to play with – Derrick Rose and either Wade or Bosh. There are a couple things that I don’t agree with in this scenario. First, the Bulls recently fired their head coach, Vinny Del Negro. Some have said that the Bulls are trying to hire John Calipari to fill this vacancy. I don’t see LeBron playing for a coach that has not proven himself on the NBA level. Second, I have trouble seeing Wade and Rose co-existing to their fullest skill levels since both are on-the-ball players and need the ball in their hands to be at their best. Neither have the deadly shooting touch required to be great off-the-ball players. Don’t get me wrong, Rose and Wade together would be a great combination – but I think Bosh or Boozer would fit better in this scenario.
3) Moving his throne to the Big Apple. The Knicks have prepared two years for this, wheeling and dealing to clear enough cap space to sign two max contract players and still have some money left over to fill out their roster. If the Knicks can manage to sign Chris Bosh/Dwayne Wade and LeBron James, they would certainly return to prominence. Also, there is a possibility of Tracy McGrady re-signing for a heavy discount. Combine that with promising young stars in Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Toney Douglas, and Sergio Rodriguez, you would have a championship caliber team for years to come. Getting David Lee to re-sign would also be an added bonus. Also attracting LeBron is the coach – Mike D’Antoni. Many players would love to player for D’Antoni because they love his style. The biggest kicker is that LeBron would get to play in New York – the capitol of the world and basketball mecca. To win for New York would certainly magnify his greatness. And his bank account. Still, it is difficult to see LeBron coming to New York due to their past few years of futility and their lack of skill on their current roster.
4) Joining forces with Wade in South Beach. Pat Riley has done his best to try to attract Bosh and LeBron by clearing cap space. He has even brought up the idea that they sign in Miami for less than max contract so that the three could come together and win championships together. Playing in Miami has to be appealing – the beaches, the great weather, and the opportunity to possibly play with two other big name stars and win multiple championships together. Still, these stars would have to be convinced to accept less than max money when it is conceivable for them to take a max contract elsewhere and still win multiple championships.
5) Accepting a sign and trade with the Lakers. It is possible that the Lakers could build up a package to send to Cleveland to keep Kobe in LA and get LeBron in purple and gold as well. Such a dominating duo could quite possibly make the basketball universe implode. Still, this is a long shot. It is still an interesting scenario. Much more interesting than seeing LeBron in New Jersey for a couple years (and then finally Brooklyn).
