Â
âYou donât know him like we do. He only hit us that one time because he loves us. We ask that you respect our privacy at this time as we rebuild our lives together.â â Cleveland Cavalier fans
When I left Cleveland, I was on a mission. I was seeking championships, and we won two. But Miami already knew that feeling. Our city hasnât had that feeling in a long, long, long time. My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question. But whatâs most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio. I always believed that Iâd return to Cleveland and finish my career there. I just didnât know when. After the season, free agency wasnât even a thought. But I have two boys and my wife, Savannah, is pregnant with a girl. I started thinking about what it would be like to raise my family in my hometown. I looked at other teams, but I wasnât going to leave Miami for anywhere except Cleveland. The more time passed, the more it felt right. This is what makes me happy. To make the move I needed the support of my wife and my mom, who can be very tough. The letter from Dan Gilbert, the booing of the Cleveland fans, the jerseys being burned â seeing all that was hard for them. My emotions were more mixed. It was easy to say, âOK, I donât want to deal with these people ever again.â But then you think about the other side. What if I were a kid who looked up to an athlete, and that athlete made me want to do better in my own life, and then he left? How would I react? Iâve met with Dan, face-to-face, man-to-man. Weâve talked it out. Everybody makes mistakes. Iâve made mistakes as well. Who am I to hold a grudge? Iâm not promising a championship. I know how hard that is to deliver. Weâre not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but Iâm realistic. It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010. My patience will get tested. I know that. Iâm going into a situation with a young team and a new coach. I will be the old head. But I get a thrill out of bringing a group together and helping them reach a place they didnât know they could go. I see myself as a mentor now and Iâm excited to lead some of these talented young guys. I think I can help Kyrie Irving become one of the best point guards in our league. I think I can help elevate Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters. And I canât wait to reunite with Anderson Varejao, one of my favorite teammates.
Say what you want about Lebron James, but he doesnât owe Miami shit and he doesnât owe Cleveland shit. This is the greatest player in the NBA and heâs about to sign his FIRST NBA maximum contract. Let that sink in. The man who led the Miami Heat in basically every statistical category that mattered, went to four Finals in four years, won two NBA titles, but heâs blasted for doing enough. What exactly do you want him to do? Clone himself four times? Invest in a technology that will make Wade 23 again? If anything, the Heat owe him some money. I donât know how Mario Chalmers cashes his game checks in good conscious and Dwayne Wade looks like he just got shot in the knee cap every time they play, but heâs more than willing to let Lebron take the blame if they lose. And Chris Bosh still hasnât found vunerable spot in the raptor cage. Cavaliers will never win a championship with Lebron, because they have a shitty roster full of âathletesâ who canât play defense, but who cares? They seemed pretty happy to get the #1 pick in the draft three of the last four years, because they considered that lucky. No, you should consider that an abject failure. So winning 50 games a year will more than good enough for them since theyâre so easy to please. Iâm just happy for Miami Heat fans. They donât have to pretend to know anything about basketball now and they can show up 30 mins late to the game without somebody pointing it out on national television.
