The LeBron James Question

One of the biggest ongoing stories in sports right now is “what will LeBron James do at the end of the season?” Will he stay in Cleveland and sign a long-term deal with the Cavs or will he become a free agent and sign with a different team?

As of right now LeBron has yet to make any sort of concrete comment as to what he plans to do which only fuels the debate even more. One day someone will see him in a Yankee hat and assume he is going to become a Knick and the next he will be seen with Dwyane Wade and rumours fly that he will go to Miami to join the Heat.

I obviously have no ties to LBJ but if I had to bet I would bet that he isn’t going anywhere and here is why:

LeBron’s Relationship with the Fans and his Teammates

Since getting Bill Simmons Book of Basketball for Christmas I have been watching a lot more basketball than normal. Before I would only watch Raptors games or the odd Lakers/Celtics game but now I find myself watching any 2 random teams play (as I am writing this I am watching the Spurs play the Blazers).

Obviously LeBron is a huge star and so naturally the NBA would broadcast more Cavs games so in the past 3 weeks I have watched about 9-10 Cavs games and I have come to 2 conclusions: 1) is that Shaq must weigh at least 425lbs and 2) LeBron loves the fans in Cleveland and loves his teammates.

First the fans. Before the start of every game LeBron goes to the scorers table and does that baby powder explosion move that makes the fans go insane. Next time you watch a Cavs game watch the fans when this happens they all act as though Jesus himself just entered the building. Also watch LeBron though as the smile on his face when he does this is ear to ear. He loves it.

Now the teammates. While LeBron may not love having to trust that JJ Hickson will hit a 12-foot jumper he does seem to genuinely like Hickson in a brotherly sort of way. The relationship LeBron has with his teammates can only be compared to an older brother/younger brother relationship. LeBron is the 21 year old brother who all the younger brothers look up to and try and gain acceptance from. They all work hard to not disappoint him and act genuinely happy when LeBron gives them a pat on the back or a finger point as acknowledgement of a good pass.

If you don’t believe me then simply watch the YouTube clip of LeBron and 3 teammates tickling Daniel Gibson while he is laying on the ground after getting fouled. What other team would do that? The Cavs are a true “team” in every sense of the word and is all because of LeBron.

Clearly LeBron could form this kind of bond with anyone as he has a magnetic personality and comes off as a laid back guy who likes to have fun but would he really be able to walk away from these guys? I don’t see it happening.

LeBron’s Loyalty

The documentary on LeBron James entitled More Than a Game came out on DVD Monday and is a must see. The film starts 7 years ago when LeBron was in high school and was trying to win State Championships and shows his journey to the NBA. It isn’t your typical documentary as it doesn’t focus on LeBron’s basketball career as much as it does his life outside of basketball.

The craziest thing about the movie is that the same guys that LeBron was friends with in high school are still is good friends now. Dru Joyce, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee are all still in touch with LeBron and still part of his entourage. In fact he fired his original agent and is now being represented by one of his friends.

What other superstar athlete would do that?

The movie shows that loyalty is one of LeBron’s best traits and one of the things he admires most in other people. He still has the same crew now as he did when he was 16 years old and they will still be together when he retires if he has anything to say about it.

Now does this sound like the behaviour of a guy who would bail on a team that has done everything in its power to help him win a Championship? The Cavs have done their best to surround James with better players and more depth. They traded for Mo Williams and brought in Shaq all in the hopes of keeping LeBron with the Cavs. As far as trying to do right by your franchise player the Cavs have done an amazing job.

I think LeBron appreciates that and I think he knows what he means to the city of Cleveland and the Cavaliers themselves. He understands that if he leaves he will banish the Cavs to irrelevancy and will be the sole cause of the downfall of basketball in Cleveland. Who will watch the Cavs play if they don’t have LeBron James? How many primetime games will they get when their best player is Mo Williams?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have showed LeBron nothing but loyalty and I think he will repay them in the end by staying with them and bringing a Championship to Cleveland.

Competitive Spirit

One conspiracy theory that has been tossed around lately is that all of the Redeem Team guys who are becoming free agents this summer are going to try and play on the same team together. That means Wade, Bosh and LeBron will end up on the same team. Some believe it will be the Knicks while others say it will never happen.

Here is my take.

LeBron doesn’t want to win a Championship with Dwyane Wade, at least not his first. I think LeBron wants to win but wants to do so on his terms. If he goes to Miami and wins a championship with the Heat then people will always be able to say, “he couldn’t win without Wade.”

Now he would still be the best player on a championship team but only by a small fraction. It would completely discount the accomplishment. Did Jordan need a bunch of All-Stars around him to win NBA Championships? Did Kobe? That last one stings the most. Kobe just won an NBA title and did it as the undisputed best player on the team and was the true alpha dog. I think LeBron wants that so he can silence critics who say Kobe is better than LeBron.

If LeBron ever wants to be considered the best basketball player of all-time then he needs to win a championship by himself. He needs to take a team like the one he has now and force them to win by his sheer will and determination. He can’t simply join forces with another superstar, or 2, and win. It cheapens the accomplishment and is a major blemish on his resume.

A Shift in Priorities

One of the main reasons people think LeBron will leave Cleveland is because he has made it known that he wants to be an “international brand.” He wants to be bigger than basketball and obviously Cleveland isn’t the best place for that. My counterpoint to this is simple, he is 25 years old.

People forget, because he has been in the league so long, that LeBron James is only 25 years old. He is still a young man. Right now he may want one thing but in 6 months he may change his mind and want something else. He may think that he wants to become this global icon right now but in a year or 2 he may just want to play basketball.

Now if the Cavs don’t win the championship this year then I think LeBron’s priorities will shift. I think he will focus more on basketball and trying to become better so he can win it all instead of settling for 2^nd place again. Will his desire to become something more than just a basketball player take a spot on the back burner for awhile? I think so.

As LeBron gets older I think he will realize that in order to be the best basketball player he can be he needs to devote himself to the game fully. He can’t be distracted by outside forces if he wants to become greater than Jordan, which make no mistake is his ultimate goal.

Can he become great if his attention is always divided? Maybe but he will never reach his full potential if he doesn’t commit to basketball 100%.

Imagine he doesn’t win this year. Then he goes to New York to become this global brand and he never wins a championship. I think that will haunt him more than if he never gets to become a landmark person outside of sports.

The Cavs Have Room to Improve

Right now the Cavs have a lot of expiring contracts. In the NBA an expiring contract is like gold and when you have Zydrunas Ilgauskas at $11.5 million and Shaq at $21 million then you are sitting on a gold mine. Those contracts are valuable pieces that could land the Cavs another piece that would help their chances of winning a championship and keeping LeBron.

Current rumours have the Cavs bringing in Wizards power forward Antawn Jamison or 76ers shooting guard Andre Igoudala. Both would add some much needed scoring depth to a team that is missing Delonte West and Mo Williams right now due to injury.

The Cavs are currently 40-11 and on a 10 game winning streak. The addition of either of these two players would make them an even greater powerhouse. That alone might be enough to keep LeBron as what better situation could he go to? Why leave a stacked Cavs team for the Knicks who have no talent and no 1^st round pick? It makes no sense.

LeBron James is in a position where he is in the driver’s seat. At the end of the season he can either stay with his current team, that has done everything for him and bended to his every whim, or choose to go to a new team and instantly make them a contender.

He has 2 paths. Fame and fortune all the while being a great basketball player or becoming the best player ever and being one of the rare athletes to sticks with one team and shows that loyalty in sports is not dead. He could be like Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning or be just another athlete who sells his services to the highest bidder.

For some reason when I watch LeBron James I get the feeling he is content. Maybe it’s because in the past 3 weeks I have seen him lip-sync the words to ”Forever” by Drake (the Eminem verse though), tickle a teammate, and win 10 straight games while winning NBA Player of the Month for the 3^rd time in a row.

What I don’t see is a guy who is itching to leave. I just don’t see it.

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