The Lebron Safari 2014

[KB]

If the team with Chris Paul has cap room that is where he's most likely to go

[PATRICK EWING]

Yeah Cleveland pride can suck it... This team is almost unbearable to watch.. If LeBron was to come back and save this franchise, God Bless him... He is not obligated to do it (as he has already fulfilled his contract duties to this team) and it's the owner, coach and GM's job to have this team competing at a high level-- but if LeBron came back and made this franchise relevant again, I would not hate it... Cause this alternative without him is a disaster...

[warriorsz32]

It's like your hot girlfriend broke up with you... and you eventually want her back...
1)Denial- We couldn't believe what happened when he punished us on ESPN
2)Anger- Everyone was cussing Lebron out on RCF and people instantly hated him.
3)Bargaining- We accepted he was gone and acted like we would be okay.
4)Depression- We all see him destroying teams on national TV and we think "we used to have" that.
5)Acceptance- We accept everything that has happened and want him back in CLE.

[Richard Dawkins]

5)Acceptance- We accept everything that has happened and want him in our butts.

?

Sorry human society and emotion can't be explained by a 5-point metaphor. But perhaps this is your Freudian slip? Do you wish your relationship with Lebron was more like your relationship with your girlfriend?

[Tlyons]

He'll fuck us again and not in the way some of you clearly want.

[theSTEREO.]

You know, i dont have a strong opinion either way but the whole "oh you wouldn't mind Lebron coming back? You totally want his dong in your butt a-huh-hwah-huh" is a bunch of 3rd grade garbage.

Grow up and argue like an adult.

[jay_em]

You know, i dont have a strong opinion either way but the whole "oh you wouldn't mind Lebron coming back? You totally want his dong in your butt a-huh-hwah-huh" is a bunch of 3rd grade garbage.

Grow up and argue like an adult.

Exactly. Lebron is not anyone in here's girlfriend. He was an player on the local professional basketball team. His contract ran out and he chose to pursue his craft in another city. Did he chose the best way to exit? Not at all. But it wasn't a big f you to the city or the fans. To his owner and teammates? Definitely a vote of no confidence. He played it to close to a college recruitment without recognizing that even they leave hurt fanbases and coaches in their wake.

Bad judgement not sinister evil intent. *shrug*

[Jack Brickman]

Exactly. Lebron is not anyone in here's girlfriend. He was an player on the local professional basketball team. His contract ran out and he chose to pursue his craft in another city. Did he chose the best way to exit? Not at all. But it wasn't a big f you to the city or the fans. To his owner and teammates? Definitely a vote of no confidence. He played it to close to a college recruitment without recognizing that even they leave hurt fanbases and coaches in their wake.

Bad judgement not sinister evil intent. *shrug*

In my opinion the main thing that made The Decision so terrible was just LeBron's obliviousness to what he had done to Cleveland. How can someone from Ohio, let alone from the Cleveland area, be so goddamn oblivious to Cleveland's pained sports history that he would give us another terrible (and named) sports moment? It's one thing to leave. It's another to rip everyone's hearts out on the way out the door. The worst part was that so few people believe that LeBron would be so cruel as to go on national television and shit all over Cleveland. That's why so many people thought he was staying with the Cavs. I don't think it was an act of evil, just an example of how removed LeBron was from reality and how clearly stupid all the people he hangs around with were.

Anyway, if LeBron decides he wants to come back, I maintain that we take him up on it. I want to win a championship more than I want to hate LeBron, and signing him obviously gives us a better shot at doing so unless his body completely breaks down over the next two years.

[Richard Dawkins]

You know, i dont have a strong opinion either way but the whole "oh you wouldn't mind Lebron coming back? You totally want his dong in your butt a-huh-hwah-huh" is a bunch of 3rd grade garbage.

Grow up and argue like an adult.

I prefer not to be told countless times in this thread that not wanting Lebron back means I have a lot in common with a jilted lover.

I wish you would've quoted me directly.

I also wish you would use punctuation and capitalization like an adult. "You know, i dont have a strong opinion either way but the whole" That's cringe-worthy. It almost made your condescension illegible.

[Zone]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba...and/index.html

This has been the year of LeBron James, who earned the NBA championship, the Olympic gold medal and Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. And as his outstanding 2012 ends, one persistent rumor has taken hold.

A lot of people believe that James will be returning to Cleveland.

"It's the worst-kept secret in the league,'' one general manager said.

There are reasons to believe it, starting with Miami's untenable position as a luxury-tax payer. After next season, the Heat will be among the first teams faced with the new "repeater'' penalty that threatens them with close to $50 million in luxury taxes, in addition to their expensive payroll.

It just so happens that James can opt out of his contract and become a free agent after next season, which will serve him and his team with three options: (1) Miami can absorb major financial losses to re-sign James and hold on to his teammates for an extended -- and incredibly expensive -- run at championships; (2) Miami can duck under the tax threshold by unloading salaries that will enable the Heat to keep James and fellow potential 2014 free agents Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, even though the minimal roster around the three stars will reduce the team's chances of winning; or (3) Miami can watch James move in free agency to a franchise that can afford to contend for championships as he plays out the peak years of his career.

When Oklahoma City appeared to weaken its championship hopes in November by trading James Harden, it wasn't a matter of choice -- it was because the team could not afford to pay the oppressive new taxes that his max contract would trigger. The same dilemma appears before Miami and LeBron. If he stays, then the Heat probably won't be able to afford the teammates who can help him win championships.

A lot of teams can have cap space after next season, including the Cavaliers. While he will have the opportunity to return home, will he have motive? The reason for believing that James will return to Cleveland is built on the lingering idea that he needs to go home to make things right. But I disagree with that. James doesn't need to return anymore.

The crucial word here is "need." James' accomplishments this year show that he is far past having to worry about making things right for The Decision of 2010. He brought a lot of pain upon himself for the way he chose to leave Cleveland. It was still haunting him throughout 2011, and maybe at that time it made sense to predict his ultimate return to Cleveland. It made sense because at that time LeBron was incapable of redeeming himself.

But the equation has changed entirely after 2012. Now James can say not only that he made the right move by signing with Miami, but also that he might not have won the championship if he had stayed in Cleveland. Winning the title in Miami wasn't easy. He made it hard on himself, but maybe he needed to go through that pain to remodel his approach and his game. Would he have been forced to make the necessary transformations if he had remained in Cleveland?

The bottom line is that he has no need to revisit his relationship with Cleveland anymore. If you were to bring this issue to people associated with the Cavaliers, I'm guessing they would admit that James doesn't need to come back to make things right. The only reason he would come back is if the team offers him the best chance to win, and/or if he wants to live year-round in the Cleveland area.

LeBron will turn 28 on Sunday, and the years ahead are too precious to be spent worrying about his living arrangements. He is a highly intelligent player -- as revealed by Lee Jenkins' recent profile affirming him as SI's Sportsman -- and neither he nor the NBA can afford for him to surround himself with inexperienced teammates who can't liberate him to achieve the highest levels of play. Cleveland is a young team with one potential star in Kyrie Irving, who hasn't played long enough or with talented enough teammates to prove that he can excel without the ball.

If James were to go back to Cleveland, then he might find himself in the same position he faced in 2010. He'd be held accountable for his failure to carry an inadequate roster to the championship.

A recent story by Todd Jones on SI.com illuminated the relationship between James and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. "The aspect that bothered him most was the lack of personal communication, the basic courtesy not shown by not giving Dan a phone call or telling him the decision first in person before going on TV,'' Quicken Loans VP David Carroll said of his friend Gilbert. ``He was never able to build up a relationship with LeBron, and that bothered him."

If James didn't connect with Gilbert then, why would he be inclined to connect with him now?

LeBron himself has hinted at returning to Cleveland (although he did so before he won the championship that changed the way he is viewed), and maybe that's where he'll wind up. Or maybe Heat owner Micky Arison will find some way to accommodate James and maintain his title aspirations in Miami.

My guess is that Heat president Pat Riley and James will leave together. They'll win one or two more championships through next season, and then Riley will retire while James will go to a place that can afford to surround him with the talent to which he has grown accustomed, the talent that he deserves. The next decision should have nothing to do with the past. For his sake and the sake of the league, it should have everything to do with the future and finding out how well he can play, how much he can achieve and how great he can become.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba...#ixzz2GIDcrPhg

[randymoss1881]

Howard,Lebron,Love its that simple the lakers offer him to much off court and dont bring up cleveland is his home nba players choose LA 100 times out of 100

in other new Wade is a fucking bith. how he doesnt get fined let alone suspended for this is absurd

[Triumph36]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba...and/index.html

ahh.....gotta resist getting excited now. still like a year and a half away from it even being an option.

[theSTEREO.]

I prefer not to be told countless times in this thread that not wanting Lebron back means I have a lot in common with a jilted lover.

I wish you would've quoted me directly.

I also wish you would use punctuation and capitalization like an adult. "You know, i dont have a strong opinion either way but the whole" That's cringe-worthy. It almost made your condescension illegible.

*sigh*

1) I'd prefer that nobody, on either side, keep using butt-sex metaphors one way or the other. It's tired, childish and boring.

2) I wasn't even talking about you in particular. I was talking about Tlyons' post, so I deeply, deeply regret not quoting you. But the fact that more than two people responded to my post thinking it was about them shows you how much this whole debate is drowning in it.

3) Many sincere and deep apologies for missing a few 'Shift' keys and a rogue missing apostrophe. This iPad usually auto-corrects those for me. I better take this thing right back to the store and demand a replacement.

4) I'm sorry that my sentence was so "cringe-worthy". I re-read it a bunch of times, and you're right. It's hot garbage. It's like a kindergartener wrote it, amirite? I'll be sure to just stick with "LOLWUT!?"-type posts and whatnot for a few weeks.

[I-77 NORTH]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba...and/index.html

Stopped reading at 'Lebron being a highly intelligent person'.

[jay_em]

Stopped reading at 'Lebron being a highly intelligent person'.

That's really a more powerful statement when the place you stop at is higher up in the story. You read nearly 75% of the article. *shrug%