Op-Ed Piece on LeBron James

Just shut up already. The recent talk about LeBron James’ upcoming free agency, or as the media has titled the “Summer of LeBron,” is making me sick. I can’t watch a game anymore without being berated by Marv Albert or Mike Fratello or Bill Walton or Austin Carr making some pointless comment about the slight chance that superstar LeBron James might abandon the Cleveland Cavaliers for another team in the NBA. Pure hogwash. I don’t understand why this is even such a big deal now. James’ contract expires in July of 2010, and last time I checked, he was still playing for the Cavs and will be for at least another year and a half. But that still hasn’t brought this chatter to a standstill. Yet as Donnie Walsh, general manager of the New York Knicks, makes frivolous trades to acquire players whose contracts run out when LeBron’s will, almost everyone from Brooklyn to Biloxi to Bangkok have determined that he is New York bound. It’s only funny that they are so convinced over this, because James himself doesn’t know what he will do when his contract expires. But I do. Let me tell you why, when it’s all said and done, LeBron James will still be a Cavalier.
Reason number one for the lack of change in scenery for arguably the greatest player in the National Basketball Association today is money. The Cleveland Cavaliers can offer James a new contract as early as July 1, 2009, a year before anyone else can. If he chooses to test the free agency waters, James could receive as large a contract as around $102 million over five years. His main suitors are the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets. As I said before, the Knicks have dumped off their players with long term contracts, in an effort to have the money to sign James and another superstar during the summer of 2010. The Nets are in the mix only because of the close friendship that James has with part owner of the Nets, recording star Sean “Jay-Z” Carter. Keep in mind, when I say part owner, I mean that he owns less than one percent of the team. However, if he remains loyal to the Cavs, he would receive around $133 million over six years. Advantage: Cavs.
Everyone keeps talking about “Oh, LeBron will get a bonus from Nike if he comes to New York, because it’s a better market.” Well, I hate to rain on your parade, but I am here to quash that deceitful rumor. While Nike did offer a $50 million bonus if LeBron James fled to New York or any other big market city (Chicago, Los Angeles, etc.), that deal expired the minute his rookie contract did with the Cavaliers. Plenty of players have won it all in small market cities. In 2004, Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups led the Detroit Pistons to a title. Tim Duncan led the San Antonio Spurs to four titles in the last decade (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007). Note: Who did the Spurs beat in the 2007 NBA Finals? None other than LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Factor number two in the James equation is winning. He has stated on many occasions that money isn’t the only issue, and that winning a championship is more important. Take a look at the supporting casts right now that LeBron James has on the Cleveland Cavaliers and the one that he’d have on the New York Knicks or the New Jersey Nets. On Cleveland, you have a trio of guys in Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, and recently acquired Mo Williams who can play the point and get the ball moving around the perimeter. Recently, LeBron has been sitting out for most of the second half, and letting the rest of the team do their part in destroying other teams (the Cavs right now are third in the league at 15-3). He has sat out for the fourth quarter in the last 5 games, and the Cavaliers have the number one offense in the league, not to mention the most improved offense. The Cavs now a veteran center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who has been with LeBron during his tenure in the league. Alongside center/power forward Ben Wallace; they are a force to be reckoned with. Wallace was on the Detroit Pistons championship team in 2004, and has been awarded the defensive player of the year four times. Who do the Knicks have? They have an injured, mediocre Nate Robinson, Chris Duhon, David Lee and a whole list of players that should be in the D-League. With the addition of coach Mike D’Antoni who they lured away from Phoenix, New York fans were expecting an excellent season. Not anymore. Both times they faced the Cavs, they were embarrassed, losing by 18 points in the first game. In the second game, the Cavs doubled that, defeating the Knicks by 36 points.
The New Jersey Nets are equally abysmal. They reached the finals a few years back, but have not seen the same success since trading away stars like Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson. They still have Vince Carter, but as his age and injuries increase, his performance on the court decreases. They have a promising young star in Devin Harris, but that won’t be enough to entice James away from Cleveland. The only reason that James would have considered the Nets, aside from Jay-Z, is that they were supposed to move to Brooklyn. However, that deal has been pushed back until 2011, at the earliest. Advantage: Cavs.
There’s one last factor that people don’t usually include: The Jordan Factor. Michael Jordan came into the league in the 80’s and started off a bit shaky. He played well, but the team couldn’t get it together. LeBron James had a similar start with the Cavs. People don’t consider that LeBron James idolizes Michael Jordan. From choosing the number 23 (Jordan’s number), to watching every Bulls’ game, he even stopped measuring his height once he reached 6”6, Jordan’s height (James is 6”8). Jordan started with nothing and built his team up, making better than average players look like superstars. He even has his own clothing line through Nike, like Jordan. James has started to do that with the Cavaliers and will continue to do so. Jordan played for one team (before his multiple retirements), and I am confident that so will James. Advantage: Come on. You know. Do I even need to say it?
People just don’t get it. LeBron James isn’t going anywhere. Why is that so hard to comprehend? It’s not rocket science. It’s not brain surgery. It’s common sense. LeBron James is an Ohio boy, the native son of the greater Cleveland area (James grew up in Akron, about 30 minutes away from Cleveland). Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cavaliers, would not let LeBron slip away from him, and is prepared to give up anything to retain him. James is a reasonable guy, and when he takes into account the money he’ll get, the players that’ll be around him, and the Jordan factor, it will be no surprise that on July 1, 2010, will have already played his first season under a new contract as member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.