What Will LeBron Do?

Today is the day we find out what the King really thinks. King James that is. It has been an interesting time being a Cleveland fan. As many other small-market sports town fans experience, it’s tough keeping our stars in town let alone a megastar. In recent years the Cleveland Indians have lost back-to-back CY Young winners in CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee. Also in recent memory we lost the likes of future Hall of Famers Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, and Albert Bell.

Small-market towns have difficulty luring high quality free agents too. Obviously money is probably the number one reason since TV and Cable revenues are much lower. Look at the New York Yankees. The main reason they can outspend everyone is because their cable network subscription values in New York dwarf all others. Professional sports have evolved from pastime hobbies for their rich and famous owners to true businesses.

With loyalties on both sides generally lacking, and small towns unable to financially compete or offer the glitz and glamour star athletes have come to expect, when we do experience the great fortune of having a homegrown player become a star we try to hold on to them for dear life. And when we are spurned, it hurts not only the fan base but the emotional feeling the city has about itself, not to mention the economic impact.

I have been asked frequently by friends outside of Northeast Ohio how I feel. First, it does take a team to win not just one player. LeBron and all this publicity have put the “I” back in Team. However, almost every team that has won a championship, especially basketball, has had at least two perennial All-Stars on the team.

Dealing with a megastar is different than dealing with an All-Star. There is so much more baggage that comes with managing such a player. To Lebron’s credit he has done a solid job in managing his high profile. However the handling of his free agency has been frustrating because as a fan, and I imagine the Cleveland Cavalier’s management would agree, that we have been held hostage. It’s been difficult hiring a coach. It’s also difficult planning for free-agent acquisitions because a lot revolves around what LeBron will ultimately do. While it is his right to explore free agency I have to admit it’s puzzling that this decision has not come out of the blue. One would think that with all his talks with his entourage, his other friends in basketball and what he intimately knows about the NBA, there is little the free-agent process is going to really tell him that he doesn’t already know.  Maybe wants the attention and maybe he wants to create a spectacle to elevate his status even more internationally on his quest to become a billionaire athlete.

LeBron knows that he will receive the maximum money in Cleveland and no one else can match this. I don’t buy into these organizations outside Cleveland saying that he will earn more money in other cities than he could in Cleveland. He is already an international figure. He could base himself up Peoria, Illinois and still generate the kind of endorsements and revenue he wants. Look at all the tennis players and golf stars. They don’t all reside in New York, Miami or LA.

If he wants to win he has just as good a chance of winning here in Cleveland as he does in Chicago or Miami. New York and New Jersey are years away. Miami will always be Wade’s team.  Now it would help Cleveland if LeBron gave them a feeling that he is coming here because I think they could pull off some major moves to bring in one other perennial All-Star to get us over the hump. Let’s face it, the last two years we have won more games than any other NBA team. We understand that going into the playoffs is a whole new season. Coaching, injuries and hitting stride all impact how a team plays through the second season. In losing to the Celtics this year the Cavaliers coach and the players including LeBron James were outplayed. LeBron has an owner who will outspend most too. Lastly, no other city will revere him as much as Cleveland.

What hurt us in winning the championship was LeBron’s signing a short term contract a few years ago. That greatly changed the approach in acquiring the players we needed to create a dynasty. The motto was more to win today at all costs to keep LeBron. It did not work. There is no short cut to building and sustaining any successful organization.

As a Cleveland fan I do hope LeBron James stays. It will keep our city in the spotlight but more importantly his name and presence here will have a huge economic impact, keeping many people who make pennies in comparison to LeBron employed.

It still amazes me how much emphasis we as fans place on our athletes. The podium we place them on and the amount of money they make in comparison to other professionals such as attorneys, CPAs, doctors, teachers and even our President can be mind-boggling. When Babe Ruth was asked how it felt to be paid more than the President, he responded by saying “I had a better year.” Despite Cleveland’s loss in the playoffs, it’s highly likely the King would echo the Babe’s sentiments.