i nvr heard any reports of chris bosh having interest in chicago and wade will stay in miami and lebron will stay in cle
me too. i think the bulls and nets were in consideration but i read something today on realgm that said the bulls told james' entourage there won't be any special treatment for them in chicago. i'm sure these guys are going to try their best to keep lebron from going there. all they have in life is special treatment because they know lebron. they're not going to give that up.
It would be a total let down if he stays in Cleveland after all this anticipation and buildup. Why would he? Unless they get Bosh, how could that team get any better? Or how can that market get any bigger? This saga has to end the right way: he has to go to Chicago or New Jersey - no Knicks please, that would not be the twist ending it needs.
IMO, the Cavs must have some deal(s) in place to get better if LeBron stays, otherwise they wouldn't really be in the game. I don't see him going back to that same, stale roster minus Shaq & Big Z. I bet he can barely look Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison in the eye without growling.
Why would he stay in Cleveland? 1. Hometown (sort of). 2. Less pressure. Wherever he goes will be expecting a championship every year. If he stays in Cleveland, he can rationalize the lack of championships by the team he has around him. The Cleveland fans will just appreciate the fact that he stayed home. If he wins a championship... even just one... in Cleveland, he'll be an even bigger idol. Plus, everyone in Cleveland would hate him for eternity. 3. If he goes to Chicago or NY and fails to win multiple championships, he will be looked at as a failure and a poseur. If he leaves Cleveland, that's not like the Red Sox trading Babe Ruth... it would all be on him and regardless of how good he is, that's a lot of karma to overcome.
Just because you like your job now, doesn't mean you won't check out the lay of the land. Lebron knows he has Cleveland in the back of his pocket, and is just looking around to see if there's anything bigger and better out there. Basically, if he doesn't see another offer that absolutely blows him away, he'll stay in Cleveland. It's perfectly reasonable for any star FA to feel this way.
I no longer fully accept the argument that the pressure to win a championship would be less in Cleveland than elsewhere. Time is not on LeBron's side. Now that he's won a couple of MVPs and his teams have had the best record in the NBA a couple of times, history will judge him by championships. The "loyalty" argument won't cut it if he stays and continues to fall short.
Why stay? #1, it's home. #2, he can make the most $$ there. #3, he only needs to bring the Cavs a title to cement his legacy there. The only team that really gives him a better chance to win is Chicago, and even the team sent him 7 empty ring boxes as a part of it's marketing pitch. He can't go anywhere else and not win multiple championships. Look at how we praise Hakeem and he isn't even from Houston.
