Welcome to the insanity known as the LeBron James Free Agency Sweepstakes, Part III.
Because the first two times didn't play with our emotions enough, apparently.
We all could see this coming really since last summer's soap opera that featured a messy divorce between team owner Dan Gilbert and GM David Griffin, and Kyrie Irving's shocking request for a trade. We felt it on the day before the Cavs were swept by the Warriors, when LeBron said, "Obviously, from a talent perspective, if you're looking at Golden State from their top five best players to our top five players, you would say they're stacked better than us."
James is right, unfortunately. Yes, the Cavs can win the East, but that's not enough for a man who is obsessed with competing for championships. And losing two in a row to drop your career record to 3-6 in the NBA Finals won't cut it. Not for someone who values his legacy as much as LeBron does.
The Cavaliers apparently wanted James to commit long-term last summer and he refused, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst. As much as he loves being in Northeast Ohio, James loves to be wanted, too. So the door apparently will be open starting July 1st for teams to court the four-time MVP.
For the next few weeks, we are going to be inundated with bizarre reports, head-scratching rumors, and perhaps a few kernels of truth. I want to caution Cavaliers fans right from the start, 95% of what you are going to see and hear will be national media carnival barkers saying negative things about Cleveland, or the organization.
Like this:
Dr. Jason Johnson is a professor and political analyst, who once taught at Hiram College and did some work here at WKYC, before moving on to Morgan State University. Dr. Johnson also is an MSNBC contributor. He wrote the following after Friday's Game 4 loss on The Root.
"Let me tell you something: I lived in Cleveland off and on for almost 12 years, coinciding with LeBron’s first dribble to likely his last. I’ve listened to local sports radio from Akron-Canton Airport to Quicken Loans Arena; I’ve looked at the Facebook comments of many of my former (mostly white) college students from Ohio. There has always been a nasty strain of racialized hatred toward LeBron."
After having done 'local sports radio' for many years, I just shake my head when I read that. I guess I must have been asleep for 7 or more years.
Dr. Johnson adds:
"Some of this is encouraged by Dan “Calvin Candie” Gilbert, the team owner; some of it is just Northeast Ohio itself. He’s never been truly beloved in this city the way he should have been, even before “the Decision.” The moment he turned out to be a black man of insight and agency, there was a loud outcry, overwhelming all the decent fans out there. Still, for them, LeBron gave them a decade of meaningful basketball and a ring. For all the rest: Good luck finding something to do in the flats next November."
My jaw flew wide open when I saw this. The Cavaliers owner, who has apologized for his letter on the night of 'The Decision, is being compared to Leonardo DiCaprio's evil, slave-holding, plantation owner character in Django Unchained. Wow.
I would say that on the occasions when James has felt a need to not 'stick to basketball,' I've read tweets and Facebook posts from fans who are angry with LeBron's political views. Angry to the point where it does get 'racialized.' However, I can't subscribe to the take that LeBron hasn't been beloved enough here in his home area. I've been to too many games, too many rallies, too many LeBron James Family Foundation events, to think that there's not a bond that will last a lifetime between Northeast Ohio and 'the kid from Akron.'
You want to know what is just as crazy? Coming to the defense of you, the fans of Northeast Ohio, is former Cleveland Browns CEO Joe Banner! Take a look:
Crazy, right?
But wait, there's more.
Did you see this story on Monday? NBA Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton put it out there in an interview with Black Sports Online that LeBron James' son, LeBron Jr. (Bronny) has committed to attend Sierra Canyon High School near Los Angeles.
The only problem with this scoop from 'The Glove'? Well, the news that Bronny is coming to Sierra Canyon is apparently news to...Sierra Canyon.
Of course, there's the chance Payton could be proven correct in a few weeks if LeBron decides to play for the Lakers. For now, it's just another crazy story. By the by, it's not the first time (and I don't think it will be the last) that we've heard school enrollment/visitation rumors involving LeBron's children.
Also, no less than SIX NBA players have gone to social media to try to recruit LeBron James to Cleveland. Check this out:
A post shared by Justise Winslow (@iamjustise) on
The last one was liked by 'The Brow' so that's good enough for me.
It's going to continue folks. Everyone with a microphone put in front of them will have an opinion on LeBron's next home. From Dwyane Wade, who says it will a 'lifestyle decision' for his old buddy, to Chris Sheridan, who writes that odds on LBJ's return to the Cavs "should be 1,000,000-1."
There's a small part of me that wishes I could be like LeBron in April and go into 'Zero Dark Thirty-23' mode and turn off my social media so I wouldn't have to be exposed to some of this. But then I wouldn't be able to make fun of some of the more ridiculous ones.
All I can advise, Cavs fans, is for the next 30 days or so, just be proud of who you are, where you live, and the championship that LeBron and his 2016 teammates brought home. Don't let the trolls, dolts, and provacateurs ruin your day.