A Light at the End of the Tunnel
The waiting is the hardest part,
Every day you see one more card,
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart,
The waiting is the hardest part – Tom Petty
The waiting for a decision by LeBron James will reportedly come to an end Thursday at 9 p.m. when he announces that he is resigning with the Cavs – I mean where he plays next season.
While no one other than LeBron knows what he will do, the speculation continues, with ESPN leading the way by saying LeBron is going to Miami. Who told them that? Well, unnamed “sources” of course.
“Sources” have also told ESPN’s Chris Broussard that Chris Bosh is heading to Miami, a day after Broussard reported that Bosh could be headed to Cleveland. I think the whole free agency season has taken not only what was left of Broussard’s credibility – remember, he said James, Bosh and Dwyane Wade met in Miami last month and that turned out to be a complete fabrication – but has also caused him to lose his sanity.
Just this morning, he said on SportsCenter that it’s probable that LeBron could sign another 3-year contract in Cleveland, but then argued that point with himself by saying the new collective bargaining agreement will mean that LeBron’s next contract will be for 5 or 6 years.
Glad he cleared that up.
It does make things simpler when you can just essentially quote yourself as a source for a story.
So what will LeBron do?
I’ve always believed he will stay in Cleveland. The reasons the national media have always presented to convince him to leave – money, a better chance to win, a bigger stage, the NBA deserves him in a bigger market, LeBron needs to play in a bigger market – have never held water. The reasons for him to stay have always trumped the reasons to leave.
I think LeBron wants to win a championship and do it as the top dog on the team. Going to another team and winning a title doesn’t appeal to him. He’s the two-time league MVP, he shouldn’t be the one going to someone else’s team. That may have been the only way Kevin Garnett could win a title, but he’s not LeBron. Think about if Kobe Bryant had left LA because he couldn’t win a title without Shaq; his legacy would certainly be different.
James also has to know that no other fan base will support him the way we do here in Cleveland. Sports are an integral part of NE Ohio and to be the local guy who ended the region’s championship drought is huge. Sure, fans of whatever team he signs with will cheer him, but it won’t ever be the same.
I don’t know if he believes this or not; I don’t have any inside “sources” although I did ask at the barbershop and the bagel store this morning and they would neither confirm nor deny these reports. But they are as valid as anything the mainstream media has put out there.
I do know that this seems to have been going on forever. The Cavs won the draft lottery on May 22, 2003, and the first story saying LeBron would leave Cleveland as a free agent appeared on May 23. Not really, but it sure feels like it.
So what will happen tomorrow night? Will LeBron come out sporting a Knicks jersey, only to peel it off to reveal a Heat jersey, Nets jersey, Bulls jersey before finally revealing his No. 6 in the familiar wine and gold?
Will he have a board like the draft lottery and reveal team logos one by one, eliminating teams until the last one?
The waiting is almost over. We’ll soon find out.
Red Right 88 