LeBron James is a Cleveland Cavalier.
7/11 12:20 pm Sports Illustrated reports Lebron James is returning to Cleveland.
Four years ago, LeBron James uttered ten words that broke the hearts of fans in Cleveland: “This fall, I’ll be taking my talents to South Beach.”
The city of Cleveland had not been the same since. A city that has not won a championship in professional sports since the Cleveland Browns, in 1964, James was that city’s hope.
Cleveland’s hopes vanished when James bolted for Miami and formed a super team with fellow 2003 draftees, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Led by Head Coach Erik Spoelstra, the Heat made four NBA Finals appearances—winning two NBA Finals.
After James’ announcement in 2010, Clevelanders were upset. They burned James’ jersey in protest and Cavaliers team owner, Dan Gilbert, vented his own frustration writing a scathing letter where he compared James to Benedict Arnold.
Time does healed old wounds, but Mother Nature also takes its course, too. The Miami Heat, are not the team that they once were when James showboated and vowed to bring eight championships to South Beach.
The Heat lost to the Spurs in this year’s NBA Finals and many questioned the durability of that team. James was the most consistent on the team and Chris Bosh was effective. But Dwyane Wade sat out for much of the Heat’s back-to-back games during the 2013-14 season.
Meanwhile in Cleveland, the Cavaliers have been building through the NBA Draft and via free agency. The Cavs drafted Kyrie Irving out of Duke in the 2011 NBA Draft. Last week, Irving signed a five year, $95 million contract extension with the Cavs. Cleveland also drafted Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, while continuing to monitor their salary cap space. Cleveland punctuated that commitment to bring The King back on Wednesday, when they shipped Jarrett Jack to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team-trade with the Boston Celtics. That trade cleared enough space in Cleveland’s salary cap for James to sign a maximum contract of over $20 million.
James left Cleveland on his own terms to bolt for Miami. He now returns to the hometown team on his own terms. All in all, experts and lay fans speculated for years that James would one day return. A native of nearby Akron, Ohio, James understands the pain of the Greater Cleveland area not winning a championship. Perhaps, now is his chance to win one.
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