This summer has certainly taken a 180 degree circle. Before, it seemed that Carmelo Anthony would leave New York and sign with a contender while LeBron James and the Heat would sign some help. Oh, how the wheels have turned.
A writer for The Akron Beacon Journal was told by Dru Joyce II that he reviewed a text from LeBron James shortly after the Finals and said he’s “coming back to Cleveland,” according to Josh Teplitz, of North East Ohio, who is close to The Akron Beacon Journal writer. Our source says the writer has confirmed that the text was not taken out of context due to the circumstances of the aftermath of the Finals. The source continued that he is “110% confident that LeBron is coming back” after hearing what the Akron Beacon Journal writer told him.
The big question is when will this become official? Lebron most likely won’t want this to linger on leading up to his Skills Academy in Las Vegas beginning July 9th, so expect a decision before then.
The Kyrie Irving extension came as a little bit of a surprise. It was reported that it took only two hours to finalize his deal. Perhaps he was in on the “LeBron James Text Message Frenzy!” Most think that the stories of Kyrie not being happy in Cleveland were smokescreens created by Miami media trying to lure LeBron back to the Miami Heat.
As for reasons for leaving the Heat, LeBron supposedly told Joyce that there is disconnect between Chris Bosh and James. Bosh is seeking max money, as is James. Four years ago, the Big 3 took pay cuts in order to team up. Their windows of cashing in on big paydays are closing and Bosh wants to cash in one last time. There have been reports that Bosh will be offered a max deal by the Houston Rockets and that the Lakers will be interested in his services, if he doesn’t resign with Miami. The Heat are already trying to find a replacement for James by bringing in Luol Deng, who has already met by Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley.
LeBron reportedly isn’t fond of Spoelstra as a head coach. All in all, our source says the Beacon Journal writer reported, “LeBron does not believe in the direction of the Miami Heat and that Cleveland can offer him the best value of money and team for the foreseeable future.” This plan has been in the works for over four years. Maverick Carter urged LeBron to leave Cleveland in order to build a winning image. LeBron didn’t want to leave the team, but there’s no way he could have passed up the opportunity to build his image of winning championships. Even after LeBron left, his marketing firm known as LRMR, never left Cleveland. Had he meant to leave forever, the firm would have moved their headquarters. The goal for LeBron and Carter was to make money. As for mending his relationship with Dan Gilbert, the relationship was patched up two years ago, thus that’s one of the reasons LeBron came back for Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ induction into the Cavaliers Hall of Fame. Gilbert has reportedly agreed to step aside and let his management do the basketball operations.
I think one of my diehard Cleveland fans said it best. “I don’t know whether to do this:
Or if I’m going to do this:
Enjoy it, Cleveland. We all deserve it. Follow @Legionreportnba on Twitter for ongoing updates on this situation.