Redemption.
That should be the number one thing on the mind of LeBron James right now. As you have definitely heard by now, The King is returning to Cleveland, his kingdom.
For LeBron, this will be the homecoming that he has wanted since his poorly planned and executed “Decision” in the summer of 2010, when he decided that he was “going to take his talents to South Beach” and join up with fellow stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to form the Big Three with the Miami Heat. After four years of triumph (four straight NBA Finals Appearances and two championships) and much-maligned criticism and scorn (from the fans of Cleveland as well as LeBron haters), King James opted out of his max contract with the Heat along with Wade and Bosh.
Despite Rich Paul’s meetings with multiple suitors, such as the Suns, Rockets, Mavericks, Lakers and the Cavs, it was widely assumed by much of the sports world that LeBron would resign with the Heat. However, by the time the news broke around noon today, the buildup to whether James would return to Miami or take back his northeastern Ohio kingdom was all but set in stone: The King was going to come home.
In a way, this was almost the only option for LeBron. Sure, he could returned to South Beach, re-teamed with Bosh and Wade and some solid role players, and won maybe another title or two. But in order for James to solidify an even brighter future for not only himself, but his growing family, the prodigal son had to return home.
Will the King win a title in his first year back home? According to Vegas, he has the best chance to do so. They set the Cavs’ title odds at 3-1. With an elite point guard in Kyrie Irving by his side, along with a legitimate center in long time friend Anderson Varejao, and the last two top overall picks in Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, LeBron has a young supporting cast that will follow his lead and has a ceiling of being even better than James’ superteam that he has had in Miami the past four seasons. Furthermore, the lure of playing with the world’s best player will call to many title hungry veterans, particularly ones that have bonded with James over the past four years in South Beach. Seasoned players such as Ray Allen, Mike Miller and James Jones could join the King in Cleveland, giving the Cavs and first year head coach David Blatt an experienced supporting cast that can both mentor the young talent that the team has in Irving, Wiggins, Bennett, guard Dion Waiters and forward Tristan Thompson and provide the team with the title hungry drive needed to bring Cleveland its first title in over half a century.
At the end of the day, its the story that we all wanted to hear when it came to LeBron. His return to Cleveland is the one the sports world needed to hear. As sports journalists, we are trained to be skeptical of those whose intentions seem too good to be true. When I first that James was planning to return home, I had to run into the backroom at work to confirm it. And you know what? I was truly excited. Some of our writers here at the paper thought it was a bad idea. Some didn’t care. But I think I was the only one who was truly pumped over the prospect. We always hear the stories of the prodigal son returning home. But in this case, it truly feels genuine. In his open letter to SI.com, the King said, “In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned. You work for what you have. I’m ready to accept the challenge. I’m coming home.”
That sounds like a player who has definitely matured from the foolish 25 year old phenom that left northeast Ohio for the sunny beaches of South Beach in 2010. Yet the age old adage “Talk is cheap” rings here. For LeBron to truly validate his homecoming, he must capture a title for his city. “My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question. But what’s most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio,” he said in the letter.
Now that James has the taste of another bitter defeat in the Finals in his mouth, as well as a younger and probably hungrier team at his back, the rest of the NBA is now on notice. Personally, I would love to see a Cavs-Spurs Finals rematch next June. That would be a championship series that would destroy any other TV ratings record in history. But in order to see that happen, LeBron must suit up for his hometown once more.
Welcome home, King James. Now it’s time to go and get that title that your city has waited long enough for. The whole world is watching.
Jordan Llanes can be reached at jordan.llanes@theminaretonline.com.