Cleveland fans were hurt and dismayed when Akron native LeBron James jilted them to join Dwyane Wade in Miami. At the time, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert famously released an "open letter " to fans in which he called James "cowardly" for having the audacity to exercise his right as a free agent and sign with the team of his choice. After all, James did nothing for Gilbert other than make his sad-sack franchise relevant and make him millions and millions in profit.
Now James can opt to become a free agent this summer or next and many of those same Cleveland fans are ready to forgive and forget if The King returns. Among them is Grandpa M and his grandsons J. Money and Young Scoob, who make their case in the video below. (H/T BroBible)
That case seems to consist entirely of: "We want you back." The video is bad in the good way and charming in its earnestness. Grandpa M caps it with a cheerfully sincere message: "Come back, LeBron. We'd be happy to see you!"
http://youtu.be/Bqwk3Kz6svE
Their hurt feelings from The Decision notwithstanding, it's easy to see why Cleveland fans want the best player in the world, and an Ohio native no less, to return to play for their Cavs. But why would James want to ever play for Gilbert's team again?
The owner reacted like a petulant child when James opted to sign with the Heat which, again, was well within his rights as collectively bargained between the owners and players. The Cavaliers could have traded James once he declined to sign a contract extension but instead took the chance they could sway him to re-sign as a free agent.
That risk didn't work out and Gilbert wasted no time making a clown of himself. Gilbert's rant epitomizes the disrespect for labor that's increasingly prevalent this country--even when the labor has a rare, specialized skill that generates tremendous amounts of revenue and business value for owners.
That certainly describes James, who would be earning multiples more in salary if the league didn't cap salaries. Whichever team signs James gets a relative bargain and will see its cash flow increase dramatically (or if it's the Heat, see that flow continue).
Even now, Gilbert can't bring himself to at least pretend to make nice with James if only from the pragmatic business standpoint of giving the Cavs a better chance of signing him.
Gilbert said in 2012 that he regrets making a "personal guarantee" in the infamous letter that the Cavs would win an NBA championship before James (score that James 2 and counting, Cavs 0 and stuck in the draft lottery). But in February Gilbert said he doesn't regret writing the letter, allowing only that he would have "reworded several parts of it." It might have also helped to not use comic sans font, a choice that made Gilbert's unhinged diatribe seem even more batty.
Chances are James is going to re-sign with the Heat, anyway. Even with Dwyane Wade in decline, James still can continue to compete for championships with a decent supporting cast. More importantly, he's got legendary winner Pat Riley replenishing the roster instead of someone who decided Anthony Bennett should be the No.1 overall draft pick. Also, as a bonus, the Heat's owner does not appear to be visibly unstable.
All of that, plus Miami's ability to offer James more salary, explains why James most likely keeps his talents in South Beach for the foreseeable future. Sorry, Grandpa M.
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