Going Home

As a huge LeBron James fan, my interest was piqued as to where he would land in this offseason and how much he would make. I do not deny my bias for Bron (I call him Bron cause we’re cool like that). I believe that he is the best player in the league and would even go as far as to argue that he is the smartest. He got a bad rep for “selling out” and going to Miami, but that was the smart play. You play to win and he was doing what would allow him the best opportunity to win. When he left Cleveland, I took for granted that it was the end of his saga with them. Largely due to the drunk texts of Dan Gilbert (“the letter” was the equivalent of the drunk blogging Zuckerberg did in “The Social Network”) and we all know how that worked out for him.

For that reason, I wholeheartedly believed that the Cleveland talks were just a play by the media to drum up some interest. Once he actually went back to Cleveland, it took me quite a while for it to digest. However, he surprised me (and possibly some others) by going home and putting his pride to the side. Had it been me, I would’ve made Gilbert publicly apologize and then I still wouldn’t have gone back, but maybe I’m just sensitive. As much as it scares me to say this, Cleveland may have been his best landing point. Young talent around him and the pieces in play to trade for a big fish (hopefully KLove), Cleveland is back in the running as a perennial power in the East, much like they used to be and the Heat have been in recent years.

Looking at the situation reminds me of how Bron is the smartest player in the league. He is smart enough to not allow his personal pride to influence such an important decision. Seeing the warm reception he is receiving in Cleveland also shows how it’s working out from a PR standpoint. I have seen plenty of people who hated Bron to turn their feelings to a near liking state of feeling. He has endeared himself to so many people by going back to his roots and playing the role of favorite son returning home. Monetarily, it makes sense too because he can have some really good players around him at less than max money, which allows more flexibility to get talented role players. I hated the decision (the second “decision”) at the time, but the longer I am able to think about it, the more it makes sense to me. So the question I raise is, would you be able to put your pride to the side and go play for someone who compared you to Marcus Brutus? I don’t think I could. I suppose that’s why he’s the King and I’m a mere peasant blogging about his decision.

Now it makes a bit more sense