Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 9:00 am  |  129 responses

No Easy Answers for LeBron James, Cavs

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Prior to last night’s pivotal Game 6 in Boston, there was an overwhelming sense of inevitability for fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The shaken nerves were palpable, because what was at stake was so meaningful to the future of their team, to say nothing about the future of so many other NBA franchises.

Following the Celtics’ unceremonious elimination of the underachieving Cavs — Cleveland became just the third team in NBA history (including last year’s Cavs) to fail to reach the Finals after winning 60 games in the regular season — we are left with many more questions, and very few satisfying answers.

What does Cleveland and their owner Dan Gilbert do about Mike Brown, Shaquille O’Neal, and the remainder of the supporting cast (which came up short on the big stage, yet again)?

Oh, right. There’s the matter of the elephant in the room: LeBron James’ impending free agency. James, as is his custom (and given right), played it close to the vest during the postgame press conference — he gave no real hint as to what his future plans are.

Before the final buzzer sounded last night, media members were already trotting out rumors from their so-called sources about where LeBron James will end up after July 1st. Even Kevin Garnett couldn’t help himself from opining on LBJ’s dilemma.

The truth of the matter is that no one truly knows anything about his future, that of the Cavs, and that of many other franchises who are preparing their pitches to James.

The courtship of the most hyped free agent in NBA history officially begins in about 7 weeks. The only guarantee, is that you will already be sick and tired of hearing about it well before then.

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  • Silverselectjd

    Because of his demeanor, skill set, leadership, and lack of desire to be in the media spotlight, i got Kevin Durant getting a Championship before Lebron.

  • Silverselectjd

    You also gotta realize that Nike will want to have a big say in where he goes. They’ll want him to stay east coast so their dream Nike World Championship featuring Kobe and Lebron actually happens. They’re not investing this much into the MVPuppets for nothing.

  • Jackie Moon

    I used to rule the world
    Seas would rise when I gave the word
    Now in the morning I sleep alone
    Sweep the streets I used to own

    I used to roll the dice
    Feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes
    Listen as the crowd would sing
    “Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!”

    One minute I held the key
    Next the walls were closed on me
    And I discovered that my castles stand
    Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

  • blah

    as much as i hate lebron..delonte west sleeping with ur mom is a good excuse to play like sh*t

  • http://www.slamonline.com J

    Allenp: i agree, that Jamison is a disaster on D and not a “beast” on offense. but part of the problem is we can’t even exploit what can jamison do on offense. even if we did he might be shut down by KG, but we didn’t try that, not a single time even with Pierce manning him up. i think he could do wonders if we put him on the 3 spot AND/OR run actual plays for him. we can’t force another match-up problem at our favor aside from Lebron. i wouldn’t be surprised if brown is thinking that Jamison was brought in just to be a stretch four and that’s it.

  • Harlem_World

    The Delonte West/Gloria James thing is getting deeper and deeper…If it’s true? Cleveland is done.

  • Gody

    LeBron, go to Oklahoma if you wanna win!

  • BadBluue

    king james??? WHY IS HE THE KING??? i don’t understand…

  • BadBluue

    shaq at the bottom? whatch what you say, man! he played very well at this season…

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    Lebron choked, plain and simple, he is 6 8 250 gets every call barrelling over folks, instead he shoots jumpers. You can not blame the Coach, when Lebron makes all the major decisons on the court and is the suppose best player. ONLY three teams with 60 wins have not make FINALS in NBA HISTORY and LEBRON was on two of them in back to back years. I call that TO MUCH PRESSURE FOR THE DRAMA KING!!! I do not like his game and proably will never, but I think he is staying in Cleveland and his career would be over. If I was Dwade I would want my own since and get Bosh and leave Bron out to dry with Chicago. Like someone said Orland will domomiante with Howard for years to come and will interchange shooting guards after it is done with Vince. I called Celtics winning and got ripped for it, the way the Cavs played the Bulls told me they would lose, A scrub Bulls team got one win and almost another from them, with no outside shooting, you be the judge.To much is given, much is required and to be called KING have Chosen One pasted on your back, u have to come through. Not relax and let the game come to you or leave mo Williams out to dry. His will needs to be examine as the Alpha Dog. I saw Pippen last night looking for too much help, instead of creating help, by driving and dishing. He has immense talent, but a post game and ( he needs to hire Mark Price from ATL to work on his shoot-more form-less muscle. How many superstars have triple doubles and their 60 win team lose only Lebron. The SUN can only shine so long until the GLARE of the MOON pierces the human pride that fuels a RINGLESS King of NOTHINGHAM. Orlando in 5, Lakers in 5. Then LA in 6. BOOK IT!!!

  • The Philosopher

    @The Promise: This is bigger than basketball with LeBron. As I’ve earlier stated, he has enough power to change the lives of several players and non – players with the stroke of the pen. We can keep it about basketball, but at the end of the day, it’s all about LeBron, and what he’s going to do or not going to do. They all are going to huddle together (Bosh, Wade, The King) and when The King decides what’s going to happen, then everyone else follows. Unprecedented clout in the history of the National Basketball Association. It’s just his time. It’s just his time….

  • t4inc

    “Following the Celtics’ unceremonious elimination of the underachieving Cavs — Cleveland became just the third team in NBA history (including last year’s Cavs) to fail to reach the Finals after winning 60 games in the regular season.”

    Something is wrong with that statement: Cleveland is not just the 3rd team to miss the Finals after winning 60 regular season games. Boston missed the finals last year too after it won 62 regular season games. Phoenix and Dallas missed the 2007 Finals after both winning more than 60 games in the regular season. The year before that, the Pistons won 64 games and missed the Finals. Dallas did the same thing again in 2003. In 2002, the Kings won 61 games but didn’t get to the Finals. Heck, in 1990, the Lakers had the best record in the League (63-19) but were eliminated in the 2nd round. There are more examples. Not sure where you got your “facts,” Marcel

  • http://wildcat4life@live.com The Promise

    @The Philosopher: Yes, LeBron has that kind of power, but so does Kobe, and so does Michael to this day. I just disagreed with him having more power than Jordan, because I don’t think any player has ever hade or ever will have more power and effect onm the game than Jordan did and still does. But I dop agree with you that he will probably lure one of those 2 guys you mentioned to go wherever he goes, and if he stayed in Cleveland, and they got rid of Shaq and Jamison’s contracts (Shaq is going into free agency this summer), they could land Bosh or maybe Stoud’mire to join him in Cleveland. Plus, I wil have agree with a lot of other posts, It is time to show Mike Brown the door. He made absolutely zero adjustments in that series, and even if he did, his players definately didn’t execute them. They need a guy with more fire, a guy that isn’t afraid to get a technical over a bad call, a guy that can rally the troops when things don’t go right, and a guy that can make adjustments during a playoff series that can change the outcome. I just don’t see Mike Brown doing that for his team. LeBron didn’t exactly take up for him when the reporter pretty much asked him if Brown was to blame. To get Bron to stay, they are gonna have to get rid of some of these guys that choke year after year, and get rid of Shaq and Jamison. I don’t see either of them being a consistent contributor anymore, and then land a bonafide superstar(Wade, Bosh, Boozer, Stoud’mire, etc.), instead of bringing in washed up superstars. If they fail to do that, I believe we will see LeBron in another city.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    @ The Promise: I’ll bet you more players would be willing to play with LeBron James, then Kobe OR Jordan.

  • Shem

    Co-sign t4inc, i was curious when i heard that one too.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    than*

  • The Philosopher

    And if the Delonte West quagmire is true, and it’s looking like it is, then the King is vindicated in every way.

  • http://www.youtube.com/ The Promise

    @Teddy-the-Bear: And what would your reasons for that be? It definately wouldn’t be because LeBron has all these rings or something. The other 2 guys you mentioned have 10 between them. I think I’d rather play for one of those guys.

  • http://www.youtube.com/ The Promise

    *play with* excuse the typo.

  • http://www.youtube.com/ The Promise

    @The Philosopher: Where can I read about these Delonte West/Gloria James rumors? I see nothing on ESPN.com

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    My reasoning? Well, maybe the fact that LeBron James in his sixth year of playing averaged 8.6 assists a game, and is a better passer with better court vision than Kobe, and MAYBE even Jordan? (though, Jordan averaged 8.0 apg his fifth year… which is f*cking nuts).
    Good players play the game of basketball to win, yes, but they also want to perform well INDIVIDUALLY, and with their own sense of “glory.” I’m not saying players didn’t play well alongside Kobe and Jordan (obviously Scottie and Shaq kicked @ss), but we’ve seen what happened when egos collided.
    We’ve seen how Kobe treats Gasol when they’re having a bad game, and we’ve seen how Scottie wanted to break out from the shadow of Michael.
    Simply put, I think LeBron a more “understanding”/less cantankerous teammate than either Michael or Kobe.
    Maybe that doesn’t translate to winning as it does playing alongside Money or Kobe–but it’s too early to decide now. Sort of.

  • http://psp2423@yahoo.com 323 356 9658

    all i have to say is Wade go to the suns that would be a killer team though im a laker fan so i think the lakers would win either way. I cant see the whole lebron and bosh working out. I think the Amere-Wade combo would be kick ass.If he really wants too win he will have to improve his shooting game everybody knows that he wantts to drive it in and he thrives when he does it but you have to learn how to be a better scorer and have more ways of scoring. It would be funny if he goes to the clippers though. I dont know what team he will end up n but i know for a fact and all of you could call me critizong me but he wont win a championship that year or the next sorry. Now everybody jump on the bandwaggon of Kobe being the best player in the league

  • The Philosopher

    The Promise: Word around the campfire is that Delonte West is supposedly having an affair with Gloria James, and by the time the King found out about it, it was the day of Game 4. That helps explain why Delonte West was playing like he was, if all of this is true. Now, to have to perform under those circumstances…one could imagine. Even further indication on how good this kid is.

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    @Teddy Bear, who cares about Lebron assists totals, you play to win the game. I would rather lebron have 40 points 4 assits and 6 rebs in they win. Its sad when a player has triple doubles and their team still loses by nine points. He needs to get selfish, Jerry West said it best about lebron he is too passive trying to get teammates involved he has to learn how to take over and get some killer instinct.
    @The Philosoper, other players in the NBA have had to deal with personal issues and still plays games, no excuses for the suppose Ringless King, He should have took his anger out on the Celtics and beat West up. Trust me Kobe, MJ even Dwade would have killed a team with some personal stuff on their mind. Dwade has been going through stuff this whole year with his divorce and we know about the fake case with Kobe.

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    This morning on Mike and Mike: Avery Johnson made a great point. Lebron James will probably continue to win MVPs in the league through out the rest of his career assuming the voters dont get bored. But he said Kobe Bryant will continue to be the best player in basketball until he retires.”

    Last night only reinforced Avery claim, and Kobe did not have to do a thing. While Kobe cannot match Lebrons unparalleled athleticism (power, speed and ability) lebron will continue to fall short in terms of basketball skill and mental toughness. Numerous times lebron got the ball last night and waited and waited and dribbled and dribbled trying to figure out his plan. It was plain to me that lebron is either goes for the home run (three pointers) or lay ups (and ones). He has no mid range no post game no in between. Kobe on the other hand knows distinct spots all over the court he wants to get to where he will stop and rise up over the defense. Until lebron spends an off season developing his basketball game (post game, mid range, mental toughness, winning mentality, and fear invoking leadership) he will never be in the same class as the greats.

  • ai come back

    @The Seed i totally agree with you would you rather have a momentum shifting win in playoff moment with you leading the charge or a quadruple double i mean really you set a huge record but u lose the game thats called bullshT, also cmon man assist totals mean alot of sht im sick of hearing ppl say taht lebrons not a team player fuc u (ppl calling lebron a non teamplayer, not u lol)dumbasses 8.6 was the SIXTH in the dam league thats behind nash, cp3, dwill, rondo, and kidd……the top 20 list is comprised of all pgs cept dwayne wade so dont gimme bs about that kobes already proven taht Hes NOT the best player MVP as somebody on this great site put it means MOST VALUABLE TO THE TEAM as well as the league for that matter, if kobe left it would be obvious hes fucin old, but to the actual pt lebron is THE team, if u took out kobe the lakers would make the playoffs and bynum as well as odom would make the all star team no doubt- tahts 3 all stars, more than the cavs can claim (mo had a injury shoo in) and shaq big z, and antawn havent had a selection in years, kobes got a slightly better shot,freethrow shooting, a better killer instinct(not by much), and is more clutch, lebrons a better leader, slasher, 3 pt shooter, rebounder, team player, SCORER as proven by the past wat 4 years now?, stls, blocks(dont give lebron bs ab out traildown blocks It might be cheaper than facing som1 up but i wanna see dwight howard run past everyone to get right behind people and slam taht thing outta there,)and dunker, i could go on and probably missin somethin but w/e kobe ill admit knows how to win more in the end, but the best basketball player in the league has to do more than win he has to create an environment for his teammates thats helpful, and make sure that he has everyone with him, i mean if scottie lashed out at mike for somethin ppl would look at mike differently just as ppl find kobe more selfish after the gasol complaints….oh yeah one last thing if lebron had a post game wtf do u think would happen really………kobe would have no shot at lebron

  • The Philosopher

    @The Seed: Think about it for a minute… You are on basketball’s biggest stage, and everything is going according to plan, sort of, anyway. And then you find out on the day of the biggest game in franchise history that your comrade in battle is sleeping with your mother. D. Wade, as you said, has already been dealing with his issues. LeBron’s deal comes out of nowhere…In the middle of his defining moment. What do you do?

  • The Philosopher

    One can argue that the boy was playing in shock. Not anger, Seed, shock. And he STILL performed on a level that anyone else in the world can only dream. We are witness.

  • Harlem_World

    Wade or Kobes off court situations are not comparable to Lebron’s. If Kobe got arrested the day of the game and did what he did with the girl in colorado the night before the game – then its closer to the mark. If Wade’s stuff blew up on the day of the game, it’s much closer to the mark. Truth is, both had time to prepare to play and get their mind right before they had to go out and play. ALSO, this is his MOMS we talking about! And his TEAMMATE??? This is VERY different. Anyone who can’t see that is just unnecessarily hating. Your team mate and your Moms??? REALLY?? C’mon man…

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