Originally Posted by Al3xis
Broussard said last night Chicago and Cleveland are neck and neck, still?
The Cavs who still dont have a coach with 2 days to go?
Makes me feel better about thinking this guy doesn't have a clue.
Originally Published: May 3, 2010
[h1]LeBron's ceremony all about loyalty[/h1]
AKRON, Ohio -- It will officially go down as a Most Valuable Playeraward ceremony. But in truth, it was a love-in, a community gathering,a chance for Akron to salute its favorite son and for its favorite sonto big up his hometown.
Thousands of fans, scores of them wearing
LeBron Jamesjerseys, chanted "M-V-P! M-V-P!'' every chance they got. Hundreds offriends, family members and sponsors turned out to show their supportfor the world's greatest basketball player. And the superstar himselfspoke of Akron as if it were some sort of utopia, declaring hiscommitment to the place nearly half a dozen times.
"I love Akronto death,'' James said. "Since I was a little kid, I always said I wasgoing to find a way to put this city on the map. And I'm going tocontinue to do that.''
As James spoke after receiving his secondstraight MVP award Sunday at the University of Akron, you couldn't helpbut think to yourself: He ain't leaving.
Of course, James didn'tgo that far. He kept his wiggle room as the greatest prize in thegreatest free-agent class in NBA history by saying, "No matter whatmight be ahead for me, this will always be my home.''
But everything else about the afternoon said he's staying with the
Cleveland Cavaliers.After all, the overriding theme of the event was loyalty -- to his mom,to his family, to his high school teammates, to his city and to histeam. Now in his seventh year with the Cavs, James even invited histeammates onto the stage, where they mugged and posed for pictureswhile sharing inside jokes.
"I don't have any special insightinto this,'' said Keith Dambrot, James' first high school coach and nowthe head coach at Akron. "But if I had to, I'd bet my house that hestays. Why else would you do things like this?''
Things like open up your MVP presentation to the public, for free.
Historically,these ceremonies have been small, fairly mundane affairs. Held in ahotel ballroom or maybe a team's practice facility, they typicallyinvolved the player, the media and some team employees. Kind ofimpersonal, kind of routine, they were never as majestic as theyappeared on TV.
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Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty ImagesSecond to none: It's back-to-back MVP trophies for King James.
But LeBron has turned them into a celebration, a party.
Lastyear, the students at James' alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary HighSchool, along with family and friends, jammed into the tiny gymnasiumwhere James became famous, honoring him in a way reminiscent of araucous school assembly.
This year, he went one better, holdingthe event at much larger Rhodes Arena, where he played most of his homegames as a high school junior and senior to accommodate the growingcrowds and media.
James, who will be honored officially as MVP by NBA commissioner David Stern before Monday's Game 2 against the
Boston Celtics, had a simple answer for why he made it a community event:
"Because I'm just a little kid from Akron.''
IfJames' desire is indeed to stay with the Cavs (even he might not knowfor sure), the one thing that could throw a monkey wrench into his planis a Cavaliers bust in these playoffs. He has always insisted thatwinning ultimately will determine his destination, so if he bringsCleveland its first major league sports title since 1964, one wouldthink he would re-sign and seek to build a dynasty.
But what if the Cavs, who lead Boston 1-0, bow out early, falling to the Celtics in the second round or to the
Orlando Magic again in the conference finals? Would that increase his chances of leaving?
Remember,in leaving Cleveland, James, who has said he wants to become abillionaire, would have to leave roughly $30 million on the table.Visions any fan has of a sign-and-trade to Dallas or wherever are morelike delusions because the Cavs aren't likely to aid James in adeparture.
That leaves only the following teams with the salary-cap space to sign a player to a max contract: the
New York Knicks, the
New Jersey Nets, the
Chicago Bulls, the
Miami Heat, the
Washington Wizards and the
Los Angeles Clippers. Of those, the Bulls are probably the Cavs' biggest threat, with their young nucleus of
Derrick Rose and
Joakim Noah.
NewYork? Forget the urban legend that Nike will pay James more money toplay in the Big Apple. His signature is already on his new Nike deal,and several sources tell me there's no clause in it that states he'llget paid more for playing with the Knicks.
The notion that Jamesneeds to relocate to a bigger market is also faulty. He's already theclear-cut face of the NBA, with plenty of endorsement contracts, eventhough he's playing in Cleveland and hasn't won a ring. In this global,Internet age, the size of the local market is virtually irrelevant. Andif his social needs need satisfying, James can hop in a private jet andfly anywhere he wants to at a moment's notice, so why not stay in hishotel-sized crib on the outskirts of Akron?
James, who wasn'twooed and recruited by colleges because everyone knew he was NBA-bound,probably will visit several teams come July. Big on drama, he might letthe suspense build to a crescendo. But in the end, Cavs fans should letthese words from James comfort them.
"The city of Akron means so much to me,'' he said. "Akron, Ohio, is my life. I love this city.''
Cavsowner Dan Gilbert, who sat on stage with James, is convinced, or at thevery least, feigning conviction, saying, "I'm sure we'll be here nextyear with MV3.''
There was no reason Sunday to believe that won't be the case.
that's when i realized boussard writes what he hopes will happen. pay him no mind
