by Evan Debo
When Akron native LeBron James defected from Northeast Ohio in July of 2010 in a one-hour television special, he took with him the hopes and dreams of many fans from the Buckeye state looking for a NBA title in Cleveland.
While James has certainly done a lot over the past few years to mend his image after publicly ripping the hearts out of Clevelanders in the process, fans of his former team – the Cleveland Cavaliers – as well as fans of the NBA at-large are once again wondering where the King will play professional basketball after the 2013-14 season.
James and the Miami Heat are looking for a three-peat this season and with an aging roster and Dwyane Wade’s knees in question, a third, consecutive championship looks anything but certain for the Heat.
One thing we do know for sure is that Miami, Cleveland, New York, Chicago, and L.A. all have a claim in the ‘2014 LeBron Sweepstakes’ just as they did in 2010 when James met with each team before ultimately deciding to follow Chris Bosh to Miami.
So we ask, ‘Where will James end up?’
A lot depends on where the Heat and the rest of the pack end up at the end of the season. If Miami fails to win a championship this year, certainly James will entertain max-offers from interested franchises – of which there will be plenty.
As for the rest of the NBA, one sure-fire way to eliminate yourself from the LeBron lottery is to miss the playoffs. That means a lot for teams like Cleveland who has not made the Eastern Conference Playoffs since James left back in 2010 when they were knocked out by the Boston Celtics in the Easter Conference-Semi Finals.
With the Lakers losing Dwight Howard to free agency and the Knicks also bound for another first round exit in the playoffs, both teams may need to shake things up in order to entice James to leave the comfort of South Beach.
By season’s end, James will be 29-years-old and in the peak of his prime. The last thing he would want to do would be to leave one of the best teams in the league for an underperforming team.
In my own opinion, the race for the 9-time All-Star, 4-time MVP, and 2-time NBA Champion boils down to Cleveland and Miami.
While there is still some ill-will towards James, Cleveland – or any team for that matter – would easily put that hate aside if it meant James would suit up for their team come November 2014.
The Cavaliers this time around have assembled a very competitive roster around All-star point guard Kyrie Irving and a bevy of young talent. If their acquisition of former All-star and 2-time champion Andrew Bynum turns out to be worthwhile, James will have to look hard at a return to Cleveland – a city where all references of the ‘King’ started.
It will take a lot to persuade ‘King James’ to pass on another 5-year contract to stay in Miami, especially with Dwyane Wade’s inability to stay healthy and Ray Allen and Shane Battier getting older by the day.
Just as Michael did when he ran the league in the 80’s and 90’s, LeBron owns the game of basketball in the present and in the end there is still a lot of basketball to be played as the 2013-14 campaign is still in its infancy.
No one knows what destination LeBron will choose moving forward, but in the end we are all just pawns in the King’s Court.
