Cleveland Is the Reason

BY ZACH TROMBLY

Brace yourselves folks, because for the next forty-four days all you will hear about on ESPN is the Lebron James moving saga. The summer of 2010 is without a doubt one of the biggest off-seasons in the history of any major professional sport with some of the biggest names in professional basketball possibly on the move including Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, and of course the main event of the entire summer, Lebron James. Due to the Cleveland Cavaliers early exit from this years NBA playoffs, the media has already began their buzz throwing out the possible rumors of where “The King” might land in 2010. No matter what, Lebron has a very tough decision to make and I am sure he will weigh his options thoroughly and meticulously.

Lebron has made it clear that he is all about winning and I am assuming he would like to be around a supporting cast that can help him win a Championship. With that said, Lebron is most defiantly thinking about joining another member of the 2010 free agent class. Wherever Lebron James goes will defiantly revolve on where the other big name free agents go. Here are the possible teams that in my opinion have a chance at getting Mr. James.

Teams that could possibly get Lebron James
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Miami Heat
- Chicago Bulls
- New Jersey Nets
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Dallas Mavericks
- New York Knicks

Lebron has made it clear that the most important thing for him is to win a Championship. Many sports analysts claim that Lebron may go to a big media market like New York or Los Angeles. If Lebron were to go to either the Knicks or the Clippers it would completely contradict his statement of wanting to win a NBA Championship. If the Knicks or Clippers want to acquire the “King” they are going to need much more then David Lee and Baron Davis to get him. Even if Lebron were on either of those teams they would be a very sub-par team and he would be in a worse situation then he would be in Cleveland. You also have to weigh the option of the possibility of either of these teams in the big media markets to get another big name free agent. If that is the case, then there is a small chance that Lebron could end up on one of these teams, most likely the Knicks. A lot of these experts are saying Lebron could end up in Los Angeles or New York because of the big endorsements and millions of dollars he would make. I am here to say that Lebron James is going to get millions of dollars in endorsements wherever he goes, even if he went overseas he would be the biggest superstar in the world. Despite the small chance, I am going to eliminate the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks from the list.

Teams left to possibly get Lebron James
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Miami Heat
- Chicago Bulls
- New Jersey Nets
- Dallas Mavericks

Never deny test or deny a big spending owner like Mark Cuban who is willing to spend millions and millions of dollars to get whatever he wants. Many experts say that the Dallas Mavericks have a chance at picking up Lebron James this summer. I can make a promise to all Texans that may be dreaming this, that there is a zero percent chance to Lebron James goes to the Mavericks next season. The Mavericks do have the supporting cast that could defiantly put Lebron in the running for a Championship, but the Mavericks already have their franchise player in Dirk Nowitzki, and if Lebron James were to come to “Big D”, then you also might have to deal with the possibility of Dirk Nowitzki opting out of his contract, where you would then have another sub-par Dallas team who probably could not complete a Championship run down the stretch. Eliminate the Dallas Mavericks for list.

Teams left to possibly get Lebron James
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Miami Heat
- Chicago Bulls
- New Jersey Nets

Many people also think that Lebron James could be part of the rebuilding process with a team like the New Jersey Nets. One of the owners of the New Jersey Nets is rapper and good friend of Lebron James, Sean “Jay-Z” Carter. Whenever the Cavaliers come to New Jersey you always see Lebron and Jay-Z chatting it up, which makes people wonder if there is a chance that Lebron James could team up with Jay-Z. The answer is simply, no. Why would Lebron James go to a team that finished with the worst record in the league and will notoriously be known as one of the worst teams in NBA history? Why would Lebron James go to a teams who’s second best player is Brook Lopez? He wouldn’t, which is why the Nets have no chance at getting Lebron.

Teams left to possibly get Lebron James
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Miami Heat
- Chicago Bulls

There is a strong possibility that Lebron James could end up wherever Dwyane Wade goes. If Lebron James were to go to a different team, the best chance of him leaving would be to the Chicago Bulls or the Miami Heat. As I have preached, Lebron has made it clear that he wants to win, and with a superstar like Dwyane Wade, they would create a dynasty. If Lebron were to end up in South Beach or the “Windy City”, he would be in a good media market, and he would be surrounded by a young team with good players. Wade has made it clear that he wants to either go to Miami or Chicago, I would give whatever team Wade goes to a 50% chance of getting Lebron James, and I would give the other 50% chance to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The bottom line for Lebron James is that he needs and will stay in Cleveland. He grew up their and he needs to stay close to his roots their. He already has built the Cavaliers up from mediocrity to one of the best teams in the NBA. What Cleveland needs to do is, they need to get rid of their coach Mike Brown, and they need to cut some of their “dead weight” like Shaquille O’Neal. I think Lebron James is going to go the Joe Mauer way and stay in his hometown, and just try his hardest to bring Cleveland a NBA Championship.