Prodigal Son

 

LeBron is going home!!  No…not back to his lush estate in Miami but back to Cleveland!  This has been one of the most watched free agency seasons in recent NBA history.  With Carmelo weighing his options in New York on the heels of the new acquisition of Phil Jackson as President of Basketball operations, Chris Bosh entertaining the Lone Star state, Kevin Love deciding on his future with the numerous suitors seeking his services, as well as a few other smaller name commodities.  None however has been watched or are bigger than LeBron James.  After a disappointing title run that critics were salivating over to discredit him as a champion and as others were attempting to write his legacy, LeBron takes back control once more by deciding to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers and begun the next chapter of his storied career thus far. 

It was four years ago that the now infamous “The Decision” was aired at the Boys & Girls Club in Cleveland, where LeBron announced that he would be taking his talents to South Beach.  The announcement was followed by televised burnings of his jersey in effigy and other destruction of LeBron memorabilia in ritualistic fashion.  T-shirts went into mass production almost immediately with the printed quote “Quitness”, which was a play on the “Witness” campaign to document LeBron’s ascension in the NBA that we all bore witness to.  What followed next was a fiery letter from Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, in which he referred to LeBron as a “coward” and denounced his status as “King”, ensuring that not only would the Cavaliers win a title before he did, but that karma would see to it that he never won a title at all. 

While one could make the argument that he has the right to leave and play wherever he wants to, it was popular opinion that the way he did it was in poor taste.  While critics already were looking for a reason to hate him even more, casual fans were a bit turned off by his actions. Upon his arrival in Miami, LeBron was entering unfamiliar territory where he was the villain, and in a poor attempt he tried to embrace it. Retreating from his more gregarious nature to become this fabricated tough guy……a suit that never quite fit.  During visiting games back to

Cleveland, he was showered with boos, signs and taunts, and this practice wasn’t limited to whenever he played against the Cavaliers.  LeBron tried using the “hate” as fuel.  Scowling at onlookers and wearing the bad guy black hat, but often times fell short. Going to the NBA Finals that year to face the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat loss and LeBron had less than a great series. It seemed that karma was doing her job.  The following season LeBron made a point in getting back to his rightful personality, and finding joy in the game once more.  This would lead the Heat to a win for the 2012 NBA Championship, and then follow that up with another in 2013.  All the while the Cleveland Cavaliers wallowed in mediocrity and obscurity. 

Flash forward to 2014 and the Miami Heat are coming off a loss in the 2014 NBA Finals to the San Antonio Spurs, the team they beat in 2013.  The Heat, dependent on a tired LeBron James, injured Dwayne Wade and an invisible Chris Bosh, were manhandled by the Spurs and again critics began to siege upon LeBron.  As free agency approached there were whispers about where LBJ could wind up: Chicago, L.A., N.Y. or Miami….again.  But in the far distance you could hear the chatter about a possible return to Cleveland.  When asked by reporters LeBron usually deflected or just refused to answer the question.  When asked about his decision in free agency, Bosh replied that he would make his decision based on what LeBron decided…..and like Bosh, we waited.

July 11^th as I’m surfing Facebook and doing my usual browsing of the latest relationship rants, new babies & why hip hop sucks posts, I see it!......LEBRON IS GOING BACK TO THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS!!  Like anything on the internet, I gotta validate it before I believe it, so I head over to ESPN, then to The Bleacher Report & finally to NBA.com……and there it is on every one of them….LeBron is going home! It’s like the second coming had just been announced.  In what can only be described as a heartfelt, introspective and disarming exploration James forwarded a letter to Sports Illustrated’s website where he explains his decision to return to Cleveland.  A well written letter that I won’t make the poor attempt to summarize for sake of this blog.  It’s definitely something that should be read in its entirety.  In it LeBron acknowledges his mistakes, describes his motivations and most importantly not just what he means to Cleveland but also what Cleveland means to him.  (http://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers).  One can only respect his maturity and candor.  The maturity and willingness to re-enter a place that had all but disowned him as their champion, their hero……their son.   LeBron is often criticized for not being as mean or cutthroat as Jordan or Kobe, but in making this decision he is showing a courage and maturity to be forgiven and forgive that I doubt either of those guys would be able to exhibit.  A lot of people I have spoken with express how they can’t understand how LeBron could go back after how they burned his jersey or how bad the owner talked about him in the infamous letter.  First issue….the jersey burning.  Yes, there were fans that burned his jersey and hated him for The Decision, but there were also fans that still cheered him and didn’t blame him for leaving a team that was not ready to compete on a championship level.  So you can’t make a blanket assumption that all of Cleveland spat on his name. 

In regards to the letter, I think it’s one of those situations where the legend becomes the reality.  Based on the conversations I had, Dan Gilbert called LeBron everything but the N-word!!  It had been sometime since I read the letter, and honestly, while spiteful at best, it really wasn’t all that bad nor did Gilbert even come close to the realm of uttering the N-word.  Granted he was upset about not only LeBron leaving but HOW he left.  And while LeBron has every right to leave, most can agree that it was done in poor taste to an organization that for the most part treated him very well.  All in all…..there is nothing that I don’t think two grown men can’t come to terms about and move forward. 
 I personally think it’s a great decision on his part.  For him to go anywhere else, other than back to Miami or Cleveland, his image would’ve probably taken another hit, and he labeled just a gun for hire.  Granted in the world of sports that connotation is not completely alien, but it is one that is usually reserved for role players or journeyman players.  Not the face of the face of the league and all-encompassing superstar player.  And hardly the legacy for the “next great one”.   LeBron has opted to finish a journey he started all those years ago in Akron, and it will be a great story to watch unfold.  Here’s to you LeBron James…..Who says you can’t go home again?!