LeBron returns home: My take on a once in a lifetime story

Alright, Alright. I'll be the first to admit I was wrong. If you had asked me a week ago if I thought a return to Cleveland for LeBron James was possible, I would have told you it was a fantasy that not even Disney could turn into a movie. I truly believed after watching LeBron be so comfortable and dominant as a player in Miami over the last four seasons that despite being outmatched in the NBA Finals, he would return with a revamped team to South Beach. When he, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all opted out it seemed even more likely, figuring that the trio would take less money to free up the cap space to build a younger, more competitive team. When things took a turn though for me, was when the news came out that James wouldn't settle for another pay cut, and wanted a max deal with whomever it was he decided to sign with.

From there things started to shift...Bosh was offered a max deal from Houston of 4 Years $88 Million and when his response was that he wanted to wait to see if James was going back to Miami it raised a red flag. Bosh, who in 2010 collaborated with James to figure out how to team up with the Heat, had NO idea what his friend was doing this time around. That seemed very odd, especially after reports surfaced that him, James and Wade talked things out over lunch in Miami just days before. Then there was the coincidental signs like the Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert's, plan being tracked en route to Miami Florida last Sunday, something we later learned wasn't a coincidence at all. There were numbers of other stories blown out of proportion, from James moving his cars from his Miami home, an Instagram photo of Mike Miller shooting around with a James Cavaliers jersey in the background and even "La Familia" being in the twitter bios of James and his future teammates Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson. Although I didn't look too much into those things now that we know it is obviously interesting those small hints were there as well. Then there was obviously the Wednesday meeting in Vegas between James, Heat GM Pat Riley and James' agent Rich Paul, which left me more confused than I already was. On one side LeBron left that meeting without any commitment to Miami. One things for sure, Pat Riley doesn't leave meetings without finalizing deals. The fact that he didn't get the job done after meeting face-to-face made me feel that maybe Cleveland was favored. But then you hear that James was done meeting with people and had to talk it over with his family, and obviously at the time we didn't know he had already met with Gilbert, which felt like it favored Miami again because at least the Heat and Riley were able to get their pitch across in person. But Wednesday night is where I started to believe. At 7:24 PM Chris Sheridan tweeted that it was done, Lebron is headed back to the Cavs according to a source...See Below:

 

At first I was skeptical, as I think many of us were. But then came his tweet hours later...

I was nearly sold there. Sheridan has been covering the NBA for over 25 years. He is a credible journalist and he was putting his reputation on the line. As an aspiring journalist myself, that told me a lot. After sleeping on it I was convinced on Thursday morning when I woke up. LeBron was going back to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then it was just about when the new would be officially announced.

11:00 AM on Friday is where social media exploded. As Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated first tweeted the news we were all waiting to hear, as told by LeBron James himself. The essay was heartfelt. The essay was thoughtful. It told the story of a man who had grown and matured over four years since his regrettable Televised "Decision" of 2010. He had grown as a player as well but more so as a man. He talked spoke about his relationship with Northeast Ohio and the mark he's always wanted to make on the place that made him into the person he is today. He compared his time with the Heat to college and an opportunity to learn and that he truly did. Now he wants to finish the business he left unfinished so he is heading home. I loved the essay. Clevelanders saw all that he changed and swallowed their pride, accepting that if he can change so can they.

So as Lebron James returns home to play for the team he began his career with, he joins a youthful roster poised for a bright future. Kyrie Irving obviously an All-Star point guard who has already proven himself as one of the bestin the league. Tristan Thompson has progressed through his first few years in the league and will only be better by playing with the best player in the world in LeBron. James already addressed his relationship with Anderson Varejao. Varejao is already one of the better centers in the league believe it or not and his game is even better when he plays alongside LeBron as we saw when the two played together early in James' career. Andrew Wiggins has been told he will not be traded and as the number one overall pick in this years draft all pressure is off him with LeBron's return to Cleveland. Watching him develop and learn, playing with James is going to be fun. Then you have the potential of acquiring Kevin Love from Minnesota, which would make the Cavaliers in my opinion the favorite to win the Eastern Conference. Right now it is a little complicated because straight up the Timberwolves would only make a deal if Wiggins is involved so Cleveland must try to get a third team in the mix and may have to give up Dion Waiters or last years number one pick Anthony Bennett, but for Love it would be worth it. The Cavs also have flexibility with FOUR first round picks next year that they can throw into a trade as well. I'm not going to sit here and break down LeBron's game like ESPN has been doing the last few days, because we know how good he is. We've seen him over his 11 year career do things with the basketball both in and out of his hands that stunned us. The Cavaliers obviously benefit from adding him and in my mind even without Love they are a top 3 seed in the East, and will contend for a title for years to come, so don't let the 2 year $42.1 million contract confuse you. The two years has nothing to do with LeBron wanting to skip town again if the next two seasons don't end the way he wants, it's all about the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the NBA's TV deal set to take effect in 2016. The Television deal will increase the value of max contracts so recognizing that, James wants toe chance to resign with Cleveland for whatever the new max will be in 2016. It has been made clear though that he plans to resign at that time long term in order to finish his career with the Cavs. Cleveland hasn't seen a championship since the 1960's but I can assure you that is going to change.

The impact of LeBron James' return to Cleveland/Northeast Ohio goes far beyond basketball though. It is about hope for a community that struggles on a daily basis. It is about inspiring the youth of the area to, as James hit on is his essay, come back and make an impact on the community themselves. It's about being a role model and uniting a community alike around the cause of both winning a championship and making Northeast Ohio a better place. 

It's the kind of story Hollywood couldn't script and as it played out the nation collectively held their breath, waiting to see what would happen. In the history of sports we've never seen a story like this where the best player on the planet turns his back on his roots to pursue a legacy that he unfairly feels he has to build only to come back and make his legacy what he wants it to be and bring hope back to those who felt betrayed. It does tug at the heart strings a little bit. Winning a championship for Cleveland would be its own legacy. When it's all said and done LeBron may finish with three rings, but if one is in Cleveland it might as well be 10. The critics will always try to compare him to Jordan and expect him to win six or more but LeBron doesn't have to be Jordan and he isn't. A legacy that was once going to be defined as "LeQuit" and taking the easy way out to win, will now be about redemption. If he can win a championship there, or multiple, his career will be defined by him dedicating himself to a franchise to win, not giving up when the going got tough. He completely flipped the script, which is why it seemed like such a fantasy from the beginning. Star players don't go back to Cleveland after leaving especially in the prime of their career with a team that has zero playoff experience. LeBron has changed all that. In all professional sports we see the best players getting locked into long term deals because a franchise obviously finds value in them and doesn't want to lose them. But now that could all change because of James.

It's a once in a lifetime story, that sports fans will never forget. Cleveland has found hope again and championships are on the way. That fan base has suffered enough. They've earned this.