The Return, The Streak, The Future.

Going to school in Cleveland there wasn't really a place I couldn't go on campus that didn't have the Cavaliers, Heat game on with crowds of people watching as their hometown team fell flat on their faces in the second half and watched a 27 point lead dissolve right in front of their eyes.  And when Miles last second shot attempt went up I honestly felt like the game and everything around me was moving in slow motion.  The shot was off the mark.  Just barely, and my peers quickly turned their backs to the TV and headed their separate ways knowing their team once again came up short to their one time friend, now full time foe of an entire city.

Foe though, might be a strong word.  See over the course of the last 3 years I have slowly watched Cavaliers' fans opinions of Lebron James transform from hatred to indifference, to forgiveness.  Sure some fans still hold their grudges and say they would lose respect for an organization that took back a man dubbed a traitor, but even those fans hold some hope deep down in their hearts that they one day see their king return to his rightful thrown in Cleveland, Ohio.  I think the fan who ran on the court late in the game with the shirt that read "We Miss You.  2014 Come Home," summed up Cleveland's true feelings pretty simply.

Cleveland has come a long way from this on 12/2/10...

To this...

Boos and rude signs and shirts in 2010 now cheers and supportive optimistic fans in 2013.
Its safe to say that Cleveland wants Lebron James back in 2014 and that they will make a run for him if he chooses to opt out of his contract at the end of the 2014 season.

Many analysts believe there may be some kind of change to the outlook of the Miami Heat following the 2014 season.  Although Lebron, Wade, and Bosh took pay cuts when signing with the team it is a common belief that Lebron, who will be entering his 30s after that year and well into his prime, will want more money.  With the new CBA set up last year, he is encouraged to either opt out and resign with a max contract or get a max contract elsewhere.  Of course he could keep with his current deal and get paid a not so ideal amount but and amount he agreed to as well.

The details of all possible options are laid out in this article from ESPN...


My thought process is this: No way Lebron leaves Miami after 2014 if the Heat win the championship both this year and next, or this year and prove they can compete for it in the year following.  I think as long as they show they can compete at a high level he will stay in Miami and continue championship run after championship run.  If not I think he could consider leaving with an aging Heat team that will struggle to sign surrounding role players as the big three contracts eat up cap room.  Nonetheless his unselfishness has shown in the past when he took a pay cut and whose to say he doesn't do it again to keep a competitive edge and continue to win rings.  His desire for championships far trumps the money.  My outlook on it is that its a 77% chance he returns to Miami after the 2014 season and 23% chance he tests the market.  And testing the market doesn't mean he will return to Cleveland necessarily either.  Part of me is convinced that if he opts out and becomes a free agent, it will be an easy decision to come back to Cleveland and finish out his career here winning the city the beloved championship they seek along side solid young talent, particularly Kyrie Irving a star point guard that Lebron never had in his 7 years in Cleveland, but the other part of me takes everything Lebron says about "seeing himself back in Cleveland" with a grain of salt, and I feel like he sees acts like fans coming on the court begging him to come back as forgiven in their eyes, reinstating that positive image they had of him.  We all know how much Lebron loves his image and if he feels he's respected again in Cleveland what does he have to prove to them now?

That being said...I don't think 2014 will be a return of Lebron to his home state, but I think as the Heat fizzle out several more years down the road, and the Cavaliers can prove to draft and develop young talent that can surround he will be back in Cleveland within the next 4 years.

So for now Cleveland you'll be burned by the recent memory of a 27 point lead that faded away to nothing in the second half, a loss to the "evil" Miami Heat that stole your star player and icon, and the continuation of their streak to 24 wins in a row that you nearly snapped. 

But the future looks bright, so keep the faith.