LeBron had this planned.

Alex Trevelyan · Post #1 » by **Alex Trevelyan** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:53 am

I didn't think he'd jump, not because he was loyal or he loved Miami so, but because I assumed he was the dispassionate, highly logical basketball/business savant he's been portrayed as his entire career. To embrace the uncertainty of returning to Cleveland would be a risk not worth taking, the track record of the Cavs organization, the lack of success during his absence, the presence of an owner of dubious ethics, a coaching staff and front office without any experience, etc all mitigated against his return. It makes no sense on any rational level, but yet he did it anyway. This whole off-season drama appears to be little more than a contrivance manufactured by LeBron and his cronies. I doubt there was any indecision in his mind at any time.

He knew he was returning to Cleveland a long time ago and it doesn't appear to be a decision rooted in anything more than emotion. People throw the words "its just business" around like that makes any sense here, since he's not going to make any more money in Cleveland then he would have in Miami. If you prefer the family angle, from what we know now, it apparently wasn't his wife or mother pushing him back to Cleveland, since we've now been informed that his wife was especially appalled at the idea of him going back to Dan Gilbert and the people who lashed out at him.

You can look at the competitive angle and say he looked at the Cavs' roster and thought it was better than the Heat's roster going forward, and while that is a defensible rationale, it's also questionable, since there is nothing on that Cavs roster but potential that may never manifest itself and won't do so anytime soon, a fact LeBron seems to acknowledge in his letter. And it also assumes that Riley and the Heat would remain static and not evolve or improve over time and LeBron had to know that was a ridiculous assumption. So what gives? I think he just wanted to go home. Home exerts a powerful gravity on most of us. Look at Udonis Haslem, he's proof of that.

If SAS is correct, LeBron was looking homeward bound not long after arriving in Miami, once it was clear to him his cronies wouldn't have the run of the place and he was operating in a highly professional environment that differed a great deal from the lax environment he and his lackeys found in Cleveland then he soured. If SAS is correct, then I doubt LeBron would have stayed under any circumstances. He would have used a three-peat as a pretext to leave, he'd go home in a magnanimous gesture claiming to be seeking an even greater professional challenge, winning multiple chips with more than one team. Ultimately his reasoning seems to boil down to he'd be happier in Cleveland, which I can respect. The proximate cause of his leaving is irrelevant, it might just be multi-causal. Maybe he wasn't having a good time with the expectation of a Finals appearance every year. It doesn't really matter.

But what I don't like in all of this is how he appears to have strung this organization along. That essay he published in SI was not composed overnight. Thought went into its conception and execution. When you're staying, you don't keep your teammates in the dark, you don't need weeks to make a commitment. You don't demand improvements, then contribute to an atmosphere that doesn't allow for it. You don't leak to sources that you're irritated by Pat Riley's rhetoric, while agreeing to go back and work for a man who publicly addressed you as if you were chattel. It reeks of an attempt to create a plausible rationale to bolt, no matter how weak the tea. You don't give Pat Riley an hour in a meeting and Dan Gilbert four, unless you're just patronizing Riley.

If reports of the Heat being blindsided by this are true, then LeBron went out of his way to string this organization on and that I do not respect. He's gone, if it makes him happy to be back in Cleveland, then good for him, he did what was best for him, however, that cuts both ways. Fans have no obligation to be gracious to him. If the Heat were merely a short-term strategem to further his career, then fans have every right to view him as nothing more than a mercenary. The guy didn't so much as give a cursory thanks to the organization, the city or the fans, that tells you a lot. Gratitude is a two-way street. I wish him nothing but bad luck at this point.

RexBoyWonder · Post #2 » by **RexBoyWonder** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:59 am

I kinda agree, but also think timing and luck played into it.

If Cavs get the # 9 pick in the draft, don't get Wiggins, and then can't trade for K. Love, does he still go there? I don't know.

Also If Wade's health was better, would he split town? I don't know.

It's just a good time to jump ship, if you're the kind of person that always looking for the next thing.

Altered_Beast · Post #3 » by **Altered_Beast** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:10 am

i couldnt have said it better myself

i think you put it in a way most heat fans really feel you just managed to word it a lot more eloquently

i do not wish bad luck on lebron but no way do i want to see cleveland rewarded with a trophy

they blatantly sucked for 4 years just to have a chance at getting lebron back because Gilbert knew he had lebrons snake pit in his pockets

i think we can all agree that even though we will not question lebrons merits as a ball player his 4 years in miami, he did us dirt when he left

if these really were your brothers you let them know. you dont disrespect riley by having him fly to vegas, you dont have wade opt out of big cash and not tell him you arent coming back.

imo he went about this just as bad as 2010

again, im not mad

im disappointed and that is the feeling of heat nation tonight

we are disappointed but we still have a future

jaseda510 · Post #4 » by **jaseda510** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:14 am

I appreciate LeBron and everything he did for the heat, but the secret 4 hour meeting with Dan Gilbert just rubbed me the wrong way.

Throughout the free agency period, LeBron and his camp gave every impression that only his agent and not himself was meeting with teams, especially after the Riley meeting Wednesday night when he announced he was not going to meet with any other teams. Finding out that he did indeed with Gilbert face to face just does not sit right with me as a Heat fan. What's the big deal about it that he had to keep it a secret? If his mantra was all about "going home" etc, why didn't he or his agent just say that he was meeting with the Cavs?

Post #5 » by **DefenseWins** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:18 am

Good point about UD

But yes I don't like how he played the Heat. You don't do that to Pat Riley, not after what he tried to do since he got here. They tried to paint Pat worse than Gilbert, just cause Pat was giving him tough love?

He knew he was going to Cleveland but does all this behind the back stuff and PROLONGS everyone's free agency progress. I don't get that part. Oh well.

Also 4 years ago he says he wants to win multiple titles, and I get the impression it was more than 2. Now his whole thing was about going home (we are gonna see that a lot now by his marketing) and win for Cleveland? It's a very good story and he is no longer a villain. He might not even get Jordan comparisons anymore and be his own person. His friends really really influenced this and he went to Cleveland for reasons that were "bigger than basketball". It seems his priorities changed when he finally got a taste of winning.

RexBoyWonder · Post #6 » by **RexBoyWonder** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:18 am

Yea the guy is just strange like that. It's almost like he's partly socially autistic. I guess that what you become when you're getting hyped since you're 13 YO. He could've gone back to the Cavs in a classy way, but he didn't. He acted douchey all over again. For no real reason. Just wired.

Mugiwara · Post #7 » by **Mugiwara** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:35 am

I lost all respect for him after this.

Thank you for the championships.

He had this letter well planned in advance and I wish he would've just be honest with us.
Nope. Demanded upgrades at every position and bolts.

These dude is a great player, but the biggest diva also.

Don't even think about retiring his jersey.

I won't boo him when he returns, but I won't applaud him neither.

The Penguin · Post #8 » by **The Penguin** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:02 am

Lebron is a new school athlete who "loves winning" more than "hates losing". He's wired different than Jordan and Kobe. He wants to be loved, Jordan and Kobe didn't care if you even tolerated them.

I thought for sure he would stay with you guys because I couldn't imagine him telling Riley "Gilbert-Griffin-Blatt give me my best chance to keep winning championships". Turns out I gave him more credit than he deserves. He would prefer to win, but being "The King", having his run of the organization and having a legion of fans who will bear witness is his top priority. If he can't get that and a championship organization he'd rather have the adoration and hang out with a young group who'll pose for fake pictures before conference finals games.

I give your organization all the respect in the world for bringing him up to a championship level. I wish you guys the best luck and I'd love to see Riley work his magic to turn you into a gritty team that will dispatch the soft Cavs Lebron will be building.

Post #9 » by **kyphi** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:12 am

conference finals games with that team? luck...........

twix2500 · Post #10 » by **twix2500** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:23 am

Lebron actually been planning this for the past 3 years. I didnt think he would actually go through with it. But its okay, I did not expect him to be here in the first place back in 2010. Thanks Lebron for helping turn my city up a notch even more. Downtown Miami absolutely flourished because of Lebron.

dshearn · Post #11 » by **dshearn** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:26 am

I work in a major corporate office(I take part in announcements kinda like this) ... I think that statement was prob written pre-nba draft and not revised post nba draft

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JLop · Post #12 » by **JLop** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:41 am

Alex Trevelyan wrote:I didn't think he'd jump, not because he was loyal or he loved Miami so, but because I assumed he was the dispassionate, highly logical basketball/business savant he's been portrayed as his entire career. To embrace the uncertainty of returning to Cleveland would be a risk not worth taking, the track record of the Cavs organization, the lack of success during his absence, the presence of an owner of dubious ethics, a coaching staff and front office without any experience, etc all mitigated against his return. It makes no sense on any rational level, but yet he did it anyway. This whole off-season drama appears to be little more than a contrivance manufactured by LeBron and his cronies. I doubt there was any indecision in his mind at any time.

He knew he was returning to Cleveland a long time ago and it doesn't appear to be a decision rooted in anything more than emotion. People throw the words "its just business" around like that makes any sense here, since he's not going to make any more money in Cleveland then he would have in Miami. If you prefer the family angle, from what we know now, it apparently wasn't his wife or mother pushing him back to Cleveland, since we've now been informed that his wife was especially appalled at the idea of him going back to Dan Gilbert and the people who lashed out at him.

You can look at the competitive angle and say he looked at the Cavs' roster and thought it was better than the Heat's roster going forward, and while that is a defensible rationale, it's also questionable, since there is nothing on that Cavs roster but potential that may never manifest itself and won't do so anytime soon, a fact LeBron seems to acknowledge in his letter. And it also assumes that Riley and the Heat would remain static and not evolve or improve over time and LeBron had to know that was a ridiculous assumption. So what gives? I think he just wanted to go home. Home exerts a powerful gravity on most of us. Look at Udonis Haslem, he's proof of that.

If SAS is correct, LeBron was looking homeward bound not long after arriving in Miami, once it was clear to him his cronies wouldn't have the run of the place and he was operating in a highly professional environment that differed a great deal from the lax environment he and his lackeys found in Cleveland then he soured. If SAS is correct, then I doubt LeBron would have stayed under any circumstances. He would have used a three-peat as a pretext to leave, he'd go home in a magnanimous gesture claiming to be seeking an even greater professional challenge, winning multiple chips with more than one team. Ultimately his reasoning seems to boil down to he'd be happier in Cleveland, which I can respect. The proximate cause of his leaving is irrelevant, it might just be multi-causal. Maybe he wasn't having a good time with the expectation of a Finals appearance every year. It doesn't really matter.

But what I don't like in all of this is how he appears to have strung this organization along. That essay he published in SI was not composed overnight. Thought went into its conception and execution. When you're staying, you don't keep your teammates in the dark, you don't need weeks to make a commitment. You don't demand improvements, then contribute to an atmosphere that doesn't allow for it. You don't leak to sources that you're irritated by Pat Riley's rhetoric, while agreeing to go back and work for a man who publicly addressed you as if you were chattel. It reeks of an attempt to create a plausible rationale to bolt, no matter how weak the tea. You don't give Pat Riley an hour in a meeting and Dan Gilbert four, unless you're just patronizing Riley.

If reports of the Heat being blindsided by this are true, then LeBron went out of his way to string this organization on and that I do not respect. He's gone, if it makes him happy to be back in Cleveland, then good for him, he did what was best for him, however, that cuts both ways. Fans have no obligation to be gracious to him. If the Heat were merely a short-term strategem to further his career, then fans have every right to view him as nothing more than a mercenary. The guy didn't so much as give a cursory thanks to the organization, the city or the fans, that tells you a lot. Gratitude is a two-way street. I wish him nothing but bad luck at this point.

LeBron says: It's not you, it's me.

InkBasketball · Post #13 » by **InkBasketball** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:41 am

That was one of the best post I have read in this forum, good job. I agree with everything that you said, specially how he went out without thanking the fans, or the city. I honestly don't mind that much that he's gone, I am not loyal to a player and never will be, I am loyal to my team. Our Miami Heat will rise again in the future.

andrewww · Post #14 » by **andrewww** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 3:02 am

I normally don't comment on the Heat board as I am a proud and rational heater (hater) of Miami, as I've never been a fan of any of the big 3, Ray Allen, Pat Riley, etc...but I do recognize their talent and merits as ball players.

Decision 2.0 was handled very much like the original decision albeit with a much better PR spin and here's why. The OP made a lot of great points that I agree with, the only difference this time around is that Miami is no longer the beneficiary of a drawn out saga, but the 'victim' if you will.

Lebron's motive for everything he does is related to building up his brand, even if it means tough decisions must be made and feelings getting hurt. Even when he was with Cleveland before he left them, the general idea I got from him was that he'd stay if he legitimately felt he could win a title there. However, the failings he experienced in 2009 and 2010 drove home the point that in a best of 7 series against legit championship level competition, his 60 win Cavs were honestly more of a 1 man team than their RS record would suggest. After losing to Boston in 2010 and watching his main 'rival' in Kobe win his 5th ring against those same Celtics, he saw how he could truly leverage himself into the ladder of the true all-time greats by not only winning, but winning multiple rings.

He dragged Cleveland along and went on a free agency tour but in reality by all accounts, it really came down to staying the course with the Cavs or form a super team that would allow him a window of opportunity with multiple titles while playing his his pals. He tried to use the TV broadcast and subsequent 'celebration' as a demonstration of charity and to express how he really felt about the chance to win rings.

Then came 2013 and 2014, with a miracle win in 2013 (Wade already on decline) and the beat down they suffered this year with Wade on an even more extended maintenance program during the RS. In other words, the core players for the Heat were getting old and on a general downward trajectory. Cleveland is on the upswing and the potential to form a new big 3 of himself/Love/Irving certainly appeals from a competitive standpoint which I understand.

Him stringing the Heat along this time around is similar to stringing the Cavs along in 2010 as this is all PR imo as he wants to be liked. What better way to do this then to 'go home' and go from being perceived as the villain to a local prodigy and hometown hero? Imho, this was a most convenient excuse to justify leaving Miami. If the Cavs didnt get Wiggins this draft to possbly bring in Love, I personally feel he'd still be in South Florida.

The narrative of bringing home a title to Cleveland and winning rings with 2 or more different teams builds his legacy in a way nothing else could besides 6+ titles to match Jordan. But Lebron knew that Wade's declining knees may have been his biggest obstacle in continuing to win titles in Miami. He also probably realize that even though the Heat would have had a great chance of making it to the Finals out of the east even with the status quo, that there was a good chance they could lose in the Finals yet again. Having a below .500 record in the championship round is generally perceived as a stain on his legacy and brand when compared to say Jordan or even Kobe who's 5-2. In other words, the expectations the big 3 created originally would become more and more difficult to live up to, and now by going 'home' he's eliminated the expectation of a championship right away which he would have in Miami every year.

This was all planned well in advance, as the OP stated by simply reading the SI article today. Also, it's worth noting that his article left out Wiggins and Bennett conveniently. Translation? Lebron is expecting the last 2 first overall picks to be trade bait for someone like Kevin Love to form a new and much younger big 3.

dr3am · Post #15 » by **dr3am** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 3:06 am

Like I said thanks for the 2 championships but don't come back here trying to ring chase

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LoveMyHeat · Post #16 » by **LoveMyHeat** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 3:07 am

I love posters who introduce themselves as a "proud hater of Miami/Heat." They know that none of the Heat fans care, so why do they waste their time?

andrewww · Post #17 » by **andrewww** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 3:31 am

DwyaneNotDwayne wrote:I love posters who introduce themselves as a "proud hater of Miami/Heat." They know that none of the Heat fans care, so why do they waste their time?

If you'll read my post I was just providing an outsider's perspective on the whole free agency process. Not at any point was my post meant to troll or derail the topic at hand. Cheers.

Axel · Post #18 » by **Axel** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 3:33 am

We drafted Napier because of LeBron. I wanted PJ! I won't miss the so-called King, and have no doubt that we will win a championship before the Cavs. I'm glad I never changed my signature.

OP, I agree completely. It's just a publicity stunt, carefully crafted by LeBron's PR team.

spacemonkey · Post #19 » by **spacemonkey** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:14 am

That was a well written post. Could have done without the implied threat "not a two way street" etc., but well written. Kudos. I think you're right, the letter was drafted up some time ago. It reads well, and not something that you throw together on a napkin at a bar the night before.

I also noticed there wasn't much thanks given toward Miami, the city, the fans, the team personnel. Isn't that a bit weird? Any PR guys know why they did that? (It's obviously on purpose. Nothing either in, or not in, that letter is an accident.)

HEAT111 · Post #20 » by **HEAT111** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:50 am

I wish him the best but I hope we kick his team's ass. And not just his team, every one elses!!!

I'm thankful that he gave us a run to remember. So many historical feat for our organization. Hell, we'd have been name with Russel's Celtics as the second team in history to make it more than four trips to the Finals. It's still a possibility. If he ever comes back, I'll welcome it. Concur every thing that Alex posted above. Definitely we were blindsided by this. And I'm going to say it but he's going to regret it.

We as an organization welcomed him with open arms after the backlash. Comfort him and evolved him. To only throw our city keys back at us. So many upcoming special moments only to end up as a derailment.