As LeBron James announces where he'll play, this may be the biggest day in the 40-year history of the Cavaliers.
LeBron James will announce "The Decision" on ESPN Thursday night at 9.AKRON, Ohio -- What LeBron James announces on Thursday will change everything for the Cavaliers, and their fans.
If James stays in Cleveland, the Cavs remain a legitimate contender. The last five years have been the best in the 40-year history of the Cavaliers. Having a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player under contract for several more seasons means the Cavs will be at least good enough to dream about winning a championship.
If he leaves, there is nothing owner Dan Gilbert and all of his millions can do to change the fact that Cavs are headed back to the middle of the NBA pack. They become a team battling for a playoff spot, lucky to advance to the second round.
With James, the Cavs sell out every home game and Cleveland is one of the biggest planets in the basketball universe.
Without James, the casual sports fan starts talking about when Browns’ training camp starts.
Former Cavalier Eric Snow once told me, "Everyone in the NBA either has The Guy, or is trying to get The Guy. In Cleveland, we have The Guy in LeBron."
That’s because one player makes a far more dramatic impact in basketball than nearly any other team sport. Only five play at a time, compared to nine in baseball, 22 (offense and defense) in football. No one has to wait their turn to bat, or for the ball to be hit in their direction in basketball.
James can take more shots and handle the ball more often than any of his teammates. He can play offense, defense and anything else he wants on the court.
The NBA is a star-driven league.
Every team with a star doesn’t win a title, but nearly every championship team has a superstar. Michael Jordan has six championship rings, Kobe Bryant is now chasing him with five. San Antonio’s Tim Duncan has four.
James has none ... for now.
But at the age of 25, you have to like his chances to win at least one with the Cavs or anywhere else in the next five years.
Jordan left the Bulls in 1998 with the last of his six titles. In the last 12 seasons, the Bulls have made the playoffs five times — only once have they survived the first round.
You either have The Guy or you don’t.
So the stakes are enormous for Gilbert and the Cavs. You can’t create another LeBron James.
But this is also critical to James.
While he can pledge his loyalty to his hometown of Akron and insist he’ll always help the place where he grew up, signing elsewhere will be viewed as a rejection by the fans in Northeast Ohio.
Nothing will compare with Art Modell moving the Browns to Baltimore in terms of sheer sports betrayal.
But James leaving at this point in his career would be No. 2 on the Cleveland broken hearts list.
This is not like the Indians players who left or forced trades because ownership here could not pay them what they could make elsewhere. NBA rules dictate that the Cavs can give him an extra year on his contract and at least $30 million in his pocket. It seems the Cavs have done everything reasonably possible to build a winner around him.
The recent assumption is James will join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. That still seems doubtful because of the Heat not having that much salary cap room to pay all three players the maximum. Also, who controls the ball — Wade or James? Both have very similar styles of play.
The other hot team for James is supposed to be the Knicks, because New York recently signed Amare Stoudemire. One NBA executive (not with the Cavs) told me, "LeBron should be smarter than that. The Knicks are a team of smoke and mirrors with poor ownership and a style of play that doesn’t win in the playoffs. The Nets have a better basketball situation than the Knicks."
Chicago makes the most sense for James, in terms of talent. He’d play with Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng. The Bulls do have a rookie coach in Tom Thibodeau and a history of splits between the coaches and the front office.
James knows the Cavs better than any other team. Over and over, the case has been made for him to stay home. If James actually stays, if he appears on national television and announces that he’s picking Cleveland and Northeast Ohio over Miami, New York, Chicago and anywhere else — it truly will cement his legacy as a local legend.
Is that a reality, or fantasy? Only James knows, but what he decides will say a lot about his priorities, and the future of the Cavs.