What if the Denver Nuggets, picking first in the 2003 NBA draft lottery, selected LeBron James. The Cavs, picking minutes later, chose Carmelo Anthony. Seven years later ...
Who knew that during the 2008 Olympics that LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were beginning to plot their eventual union in Cleveland? Or that Anthony -- an adopted son of Cleveland -- would be so successful in convincing James to leave Denver for his familiar Northeast Ohio roots?CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Has it already been a little more than a month since "The Decision"?
How time flies when you're having fun!
You've probably still got your copy of The Plain Dealer that came out the next day. Hundreds of thousands of readers saved that edition, with its front page screaming "Homeward Bound!" Displaced Clevelanders around the country ordered copies. The paper's Internet site almost crashed under the strain of the worldwide audience reading the heart-warming story online.
Prodded by ESPN, a reluctant LeBron James agreed on July 8 to a 10-minute appearance on a special edition of "SportsCenter" called "The Decision." On it, he announced what everyone knew was a foregone conclusion -- that the NBA's most coveted free agent ever would leave Denver and return home to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, joining forces with close friend Carmelo Anthony.
James spent over half of the brief show thanking the Denver Nuggets' organization and the Nuggets' fans for "seven wonderful years."
"But Ohio is home to me," he said.
James had faxed notice of his decision to The Plain Dealer before the show began. "Me and Melo together! Oh, my God!" James said in a conference call to Plain Dealer reporters.
Ecstatic Cavs fans poured into downtown restaurants and bars in a foreshadowing of the booming business James will bring to the resurgent city, which is already known globally as a leading creator of "green" jobs. Across the street from The Q, crews worked all night under lights, erecting an enormous billboard that greeted commuters the next day. It pictured James and Anthony, arm in arm, beneath the team's slogan, "One for All, All for One."
"It's all about team," said James.
Nuggets officials, while disappointed, said James spoke with them in person before flying to northeast Ohio and making the announcement at the University of Akron's Rhodes Arena, where he played many of his games for Akron St. Vincent St. Mary High School.
"LeBron James gave us 100 percent every time he took the floor. Seven years is a long time. We reached the NBA Finals with him, and we wish him nothing but the best. I certainly know how great the fans are in Cleveland," said Denver coach George Karl, himself a former Cavs coach.
The Cavs also made one NBA Finals with Anthony. Like the Nuggets with James, they lost.
Neither Denver nor Cleveland was ever able to find the right sidekick for its resident superstar. The Cavs had spent the last two seasons doing little but clearing salary cap space to sign James, losing in the first round of the playoffs both seasons. But the gamble paid off because of the unquestioned maturity of the well-grounded James.
As for Anthony, the Cavs' resident superstar said, "I love Cleveland more than ever." He then revealed he would re-sign with the Cavs and spend the next five years, the duration of James' contract, with the team.
"I can't even complain about the winters here. I played in Syracuse," added the affable Anthony.
The bounce of a ping-pong ball in the 2003 NBA draft lottery led to James' seven-year exile in the Rocky Mountains. Denver and the Cavs tied for the worst record the previous season and shared the best chance of getting the top pick. The Nuggets won the lottery and selected James straight out of high school. It was a crushing blow to the Cavs and their fans to lose a nearly certain superstar who was born and bred in northeast Ohio.
Detroit, not Cleveland, had the second pick through a trade with the former Vancouver Grizzlies. With it, the Pistons chose Darko Milicic, a 7-foot Serbian teenager who was an international basketball sensation. Milicic, however, became one of the all-time draft busts.
With such premier players as Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade still on the board, Cleveland, picking third, made the safe choice in Anthony, who had led Syracuse to that year's NCAA championship as a freshman.
Seven years later, at a huge, impromptu party on Public Square, jubilant Cavs fans said they never gave up hope that James, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, would come home to play. They regarded it as an omen that James was often photographed wearing the baseball cap of his beloved Indians.
An avid sports fan, James also made several surprise appearances on the Browns' sideline during the team's Monday night games, never missing a game against the hated Dallas Cowboys.
"Who would have thought it would turn out better to lose the lottery than to win it?" said Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry.
"Pinch me," said Cavs owner Dan Gilbert. "I must be dreaming."