New-Look Cavaliers

"I'm ready to accept the challenge. I'm coming home."

This is the last sentence from LeBron's letter to Sports Illustrated. It actually happened: LBJ is coming back to Cleveland.

People are probably sick of this story, unless you're a Buckeye. This could turn into the best sports story of the year. The guy from Akron (Cleveland), Ohio, who once played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, has come home to play for them once again. As a Cavs fan, this was unexpected and thrilling all at the same time.

For those of you not familiar with Ohio, it's a very loyal state. We love our sports teams, and our teams haven't won anything since the mid-60's. Fifty years. It's a blue-collar city that sticks with our teams through good times and bad, but mostly bad. Not only have our teams been mostly bad, but even the good ones find ways to lose. We have a plethora of two-liners to describe our pain: the drive, the fumble, the decision, the shot. We came up short against the Marlins in '97 and the Red Sox in 2007. It's not a premier site for free agents. The Cavaliers are the only team to make it to an NBA Finals and not win a game. We've had owners who care more about their European soccer teams than their NFL teams. And don't even mention the late Art Modell who sold the Browns to Baltimore, who right after that won the Super Bowl.

There's a bitterness to the city of Cleveland. It shows in the fan base. When LeBron left Cleveland, the city burned jerseys. Who does that?! Cleveland. It hurt so much to have one of our own, who went through those same pains of the drive, the fumble, etc. and added his own two-word phrase to the pains of Cleveland. Other cities may have gone through similar pains, but they haven't done it without the consolation of having a championship in the last 50 years. And San Diego...please. You're in California, you don't have many complaints.

My wife doesn't understand how I could have gone through the pain I went through to see LBJ leave and then come back and feel good about it. First of all, I've had mixed feelings about it. We're talking about the guy who ripped our hearts out, but at the same time, who isn't glad to have the best NBA player join your team? After reading the letter he wrote, I am really impressed at how mature he is. Usually athletes come off as unintelligent, but this letter really shows not only his feelings towards Northeast Ohio, but the fact that he is a Northeast Ohioan. His relationship with this area is more important than money, than championships, than anything. That's the main reason he came back. It sounds very repentant to me, so if he doesn't hold a grudge, especially against Dan Gilbert (which I think he's entitled to continue holding), why should I continue to hold a grudge against him?

Everyone has matured. LeBron, Dan Gilbert, Cavalier fans...everyone is better off because of this decision. And if LeBron is really able to bring a championship to Cleveland, he will be forever enshrined in greatness. If the Browns are able to bring a super bowl to Cleveland, its first ever, they will be like Gods to this city. Same with the Indians. Cleveland is STARVING for some kind of championship, anything! And the team/players that do so will be handsomely rewarded by its fans.

If you're one of those fans who burned your #23 jerseys (or, like me, threw them away) because LeBron took his talent to south beach, don't be ashamed. Like Dan Gilbert's letter, you showed emotion. You showed you cared. When the Browns left, people were outraged. Art Modell never stepped in Cleveland again. He may have been killed, that's how crazy some fans were for getting rid of their football team. It's healthy to show emotion, even if it was masked in anger. As Cleveland fans, we were saddened. We couldn't even hold on to the best player we've ever had in any sport at any point in history. And the worst part? He was a native Northeast Ohioan. He grew up with us, and then he left us. What could we have done more? How could we have let something great leave AGAIN?!

Dan Gilbert's letter, while stupid, actually helped him keep the fans on his side. A lot of people have bad opinions on Gilbert...I think his letter actually helped Cleveland cope. Yes, it's absurd that we put so much into sports, but this isn't New York or L.A, what else do we have? In that letter, he showed some immaturity, some childishness, some stupidity. But it was what Cleveland needed. It may not have worked in any other city, but it did in the championship-starve city who had to add 'the decision' to the list of failures in our city's sports history. There still may be some harsh feelings that LeBron and Gilbert have for one another, but I truly believe that both have matured enough to at least bury them for the good of the city.

So if you're one of those fans who did something crazy and hated LeBron after he left but wants to like him now, don't feel bad. Things have changed, new information has been released, things have progressed. It may be a little sad looking at it from the outside, but if you haven't lived that history, then you don't know how it feels. The Jazz lost to Jordan twice in the finals, and that hurt. It especially hurt because Jordan may have had a little push-off on Russell. But imagine playing in the same conference AND the same division as Jordan for thirteen years. It seems like he hit a quarter of his clutch, buzzer-beating shots against Craig Ehlo. That sad letter is what Cleveland needed to patch the wound left from yet another hole left in its heart.

That being said, LeBron is now a Cavalier. Cavs fans can now rejoice that we have the best player in the world rather than having to play him several times a year. Here is the rest of the roster as it currently stands:

• Anderson Varejao (C)
• Kyrie Irving (PG)
• Dion Waiters (SG)
• Andrew Wiggins (SG/SF)
• Anthony Bennett (PF/SF)
• Tristan Thompson (PF)
• Carrick Felix (SG)
• Joe Harris (SG)
• Dwight Powell (PF)
• Brendan Haywood (C)
• Matthew Dellavedova (SG)

There are some interesting possibilities still out there to change the roster before the season starts. Kevin Love is interested in signing a long-term deal now that LeBron is here. Ray Allen has stated that he'll either retire or follow LeBron wherever he goes. Mike Miller is being pursued by the Cavs. Add in Love and I think Allen follows. In order to get Love, the T'Wolves really want Andrew Wiggins. There's already a backlog at SG with Waiters, Wiggins, Felix, Harris, and Dellavedova. I'm all in favor of sending Wiggins and either Bennett or Thompson (all of them are Canadian and would be right on the border) to Minnesota for Kevin Love. Then the starting lineup is Varejao, Love, James, Waiters, and Irving. There are three legit all-stars with two very good players. Thompson/Bennett, Dellavedova, Allen, and Miller (if they came) would provide a deep roster.

I love having either Thompson or Bennett because they're athletic enough and big enough to play the five and allow the Cavs to go small. Thomspon/Bennett, James, Dellavedova/Allen, Waiters, and Irving. I don't mind keeping Wiggins, but I've never been a huge fan. He would provide some relief for James, who I think won't have to play 40 minutes a night like he did in Miami. Irving and Waiters can provide a lot of scoring, and if Love is added, so could he. If the Cavs don't make a trade for Love this year, he'll be a free agent next year and could possibly join for free. What a team that would be.

The best news out of all this is that James seems to want to stay put in Cleveland. He signed a two-year deal mostly for flexibility. Actually, it's a one year deal. The new television contract will probably raise the maximum salary for James in two years. He mentioned in the letter that he's in this for the long run. I believe the Cavs are two years away from a championship. Things need to gel...new coach, new superstar, new roster, young talent, new GM. But there's a new hope in the air, and it's being led by the best player in basketball in the world. As a native Clevelander, I am excited at the possibility of an upcoming championship

There's some hope we can hang our hats on, Cleveland. Welcome home, LeBron.