Coming from someone who grew up within walking distance from LeBron James’ home in Akron, Ohio, I enjoy saying this as much as I would if I ate a plateful of crickets. But there are very strong indicators that LeBron James is more than 50-50 chance to leave the city of Cleveland at season’s end for the Second City.
Before we get to why, you need to understand the fragile, fractured psychology of sports junkies who live in the city of Akron. Cleveland is just 30 miles north of Akron and Cleveland sports are all we have. Northeast Ohio has no championship, in any sport, in the modern era to speak of. We have only nightmarish memories of The Shot, The Drive, The Fumble and The Shot II, which we wear on our our psyche like warts. We even came within a single out of winning the World Series before we lost it, which is sort of like having all your toenails ripped off at once. If we lose LeBron James, and there’s a good chance we will, we will have what we had before LBJ went pro: Nothing. No prospects, no hope and no illusions of getting a title in anything anytime soon.
Nothing.
Current ESPN senior writer Chris Broussard, whom I worked with briefly at the Akron Beacon Journal back in the 1990s, believes that the much-regurgitated reports that LeBron will automatically bolt for New York because of the big lights, bigger paychecks and the Jay-Z friendship are way overblown.
He and multiple other sports pundits believe strongly that Chicago presents a much more alluring package for King James than New York or his hometown Cleveland Cavs on multiple fronts:
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Cap Space: The Bulls can shovel the thick stacks at LeBron until his chiseled, highly decorated arms get tired.
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Stars In-House: LeBron witnessed firsthand how the Bulls’ Derrick Rose carved up the Cavs backcourt like a medical school corpse in the first round. And Rose is universally considered a superstar in the making. Jakim Noah is a Anderson Verajo type who would undoubtedly excel as an on-court bodyguard for LBJ, improve as a rebounding and block-shot specialist and retain his well-earned reputation as an all-around nuisance for the opponent.
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The Jordan Legacy: that LBJ worships the very ground that Michael Jordan left his Nike imprints on is old news. He would love to be the one to resurrect the glory years for the franchise that Jordan built. Besides, it would blast open the marketing floodgates for LeBron. He would have to give up No. 23 jersey, in deference to Jordan, and don the No. 6 jersey (in honor of Dr. J). The amount of money he’d make in new jerseys makes me dizzy.
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Chicago is a world-class city without the world-class headaches and the nonstop intrusiveness of New York. And, being the third-largest media market in the country, Chi-Town will still be able to provide LeBron with the type of exposure that corresponds with his well-developed ego.
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Lack of Supporting Cast in Cleveland: As was laid out bare for the sports world to witness and wince, James’ massive shoulders are growing weary from carrying his team almost single-handedly. If he doesn’t play well, the Cavs have absolutely no shot to win in the playoffs. Like a colleague said many times: without LeBron, the Cavs are lottery-bound losers. Without Kobe Bryant, the Lakers can still make the playoffs. That’s why LeBron won his second consecutive MVP this year. But that’s also why LeBron cannot win a championship.
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No Cap Space: The Cavs owner and general manager are out of options, out of money and out of prayers. They spent their last dime importing the used parts you see breaking down on the court every game. They have no cap room to improve the team next year if LeBron did decide to stay. So why stay?
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No Rebuilding: James is not interested in going to the perennial doormat Knicks. He has spent the first seven years in various stages of rebuilding in Cleveland and is not the least bit interested in journeying into the sports black hole inside Madison Square Garden to try to bring that ancient artifact back to life. No thanks. –terry shropshire
