The OFFICIAL 2014 NBA Offseason Thread

[_Menace_]

Miami is going back to missing the playoffs and empty arenas. Lebron did help get em 2 rings.

But bosh is gonna bounce,wade is washed and Allen might sign somewhere else.

 

[damobb2deep]

N-ggas on Twitter and Facebook are getting ridiculous now...

Real shyt..

 

[GorillaWitAttitude]

FUCK Cleveland and LeBron. Heat can make it on dea on. The fuck is a Cleveland anyway. LeBron turned on the Heat. Mad as hell lol. Naw on second thought he proud where he come from. I ain't even mad...................

 

[greenwood1921]

Lebron's letter in Sports Illustrated

Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart. People there have seen me grow up. I sometimes feel like I’m their son. Their passion can be overwhelming. But it drives me. I want to give them hope when I can. I want to inspire them when I can. My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn’t realize that four years ago. I do now.

Remember when I was sitting up there at the Boys & Girls Club in 2010? I was thinking, This is really tough. I could feel it. I was leaving something I had spent a long time creating. If I had to do it all over again, I’d obviously do things differently, but I’d still have left. Miami, for me, has been almost like college for other kids. These past four years helped raise me into who I am. I became a better player and a better man. I learned from a franchise that had been where I wanted to go. I will always think of Miami as my second home. Without the experiences I had there, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing today.

I went to Miami because of D-Wade and CB. We made sacrifices to keep UD. I loved becoming a big bro to Rio. I believed we could do something magical if we came together. And that’s exactly what we did! The hardest thing to leave is what I built with those guys. I’ve talked to some of them and will talk to others. Nothing will ever change what we accomplished. We are brothers for life. I also want to thank Micky Arison and Pat Riley for giving me an amazing four years.

I’m doing this essay because I want an opportunity to explain myself uninterrupted. I don’t want anyone thinking: He and Erik Spoelstra didn’t get along. … He and Riles didn’t get along. … The Heat couldn’t put the right team together. That’s absolutely not true.

I’m not having a press conference or a party. After this, it’s time to get to work.

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 hasn’t had that feeling in a long, long, long time. My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question. But what’s most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio.

I always believed that I’d return to Cleveland and finish my career there. I just didn’t know when. After the season, free agency wasn’t 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 wasn’t 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 -- seeing all that was hard for them. My emotions were more mixed. It was easy to say, “OK, I don’t want to deal with these people ever again.” 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? I’ve met with Dan, face-to-face, man-to-man. We’ve talked it out. Everybody makes mistakes. I’ve made mistakes as well. Who am I to hold a grudge?

I’m not promising a championship. I know how hard that is to deliver. We’re not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but I’m realistic. It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010. My patience will get tested. I know that. I’m 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 didn’t know they could go. I see myself as a mentor now and I’m 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 can’t wait to reunite with Anderson Varejao, one of my favorite teammates.

But this is not about the roster or the organization. I feel my calling here goes above basketball. I have a responsibility to lead, in more ways than one, and I take that very seriously. My presence can make a difference in Miami, but I think it can mean more where I’m from. I want kids in Northeast Ohio, like the hundreds of Akron third-graders I sponsor through my foundation, to realize that there’s no better place to grow up. Maybe some of them will come home after college and start a family or open a business. That would make me smile. Our community, which has struggled so much, needs all the talent it can get.

In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned. You work for what you have.

I’m ready to accept the challenge. I’m coming home.

My respect level for Mr. James just shot up like the DOW Jones last week.

Bravo, brother. Now THAT'S how you create a legacy. Take pride and control of what you love, deal with the consequences, the hard work that will come, but stand tall because it's what you love and what you believe in.

One championship in Cleveland for him will be >>>> 5 championships in Miami as far as I'm concerned.

 

[peagle05]

real shit thats dope that he went back

 

[zerocool]

And where is Wade gonna go? Lakers maybe?

Wade is miami for ever

 

[huey]

i love this. its like a 2k association signing. great to see some unprecedented shit happen, i hope bosh dips to houston too. niggas are mad as shit down here, but if lebron can somehow get a ring with the cavs...homie is getting a statue out front of that arena

 

[Beta]

I just wanna say thanks Bron Bron for helping bringing 2 more rings to Miami. Cleveland has a great roster of young talent, it's home for LeBron, and they can offer him the contract he deserves w/o a paycut.

That being said, I hope he don't win another ring..shout out to D wade it'll be Iight I got faith in Riley. I'm kinda relieved there will finally be no more bandwagoners and I can finally use my team in 2k with no problem..this is the squad for life.

Shout out to emm holla's sources

 

[MarcusGarvey]

Guess the career story arc is complete if he wins a title in Cleveland. Wade shouldn't have opted out. If I'm Riley he's getting 12m a year max.

So wiggins still playing in the summer league tonight?

 

[zerocool]

Every nigga gonna be on 2k 15 with cleveland.....wow

 

[Ounceman]

But seriously tho, how do u unburn a Cleveland lebron jersey?

 

[Knock_Twice]

dayum, the odds in Vegas for Cleveland were like 25:1 or some shit now them shits done changed to like 11:1 or something Lol...fuck I could have put a rack on them niggas when they were like 25:1

 

[damobb2deep]

not a cleavland fan... but good on him I feel him going back is a good thing he promised a ring for them... I think they will get it with in the next 2-3 years..

 

[MarcusGarvey]

Cleveland needs to change jerseys, shits hideous, go back to mark price era white blues. Time to rebrand

 

[MR.CJ]

I'm crying

 

[Elzo69Renaissance]

This is what I posted 2 days ago...Lebron will be going back to bring a ship to the hell hole that is Ohio...

 

[Elzo69Renaissance]

Shout out to Lebron though....now Melo bring ur bitch ass to Chicago..

 

[S2J]

Me during the finals

What team could provide that blueprint?

Kyrie...Waiters...CJ Miles/a FA like Trevor Ariza...Embid with the #1 pick...Im startin to see it.

Of course he is. But no one thought he'd be better off going to Miami either. The fact the dude actually said out his mouth 'it'd be great to come back to Cleveland" shows he obvioulsy doesnt think like the rest of us.

So i'm no longer lookin at it as pie in the sky, i'm lookin at 'what if'

I disagree with the though that team would be "years" away

No Lebron team could ever be "years away"

.. ..I def see it.

Exactly...Nggas talkin age meanwhile the finals MVP is probably gonna be 22 yr old Kwahi Leonard.

Thats also how u avoid jumpin around and havin to reload and retool, etc. Cleveland is the perect age.

Plus people forget Lebron has a great relationship w/ these young guys due to his camp. Dude is an underrated leader. I guarantee now that Miami is turning into his old Cleveland squad w/ no help, the wheels in his head are turning 'damn, kyrie, #1 pick, less work i'd have to do'....

I just wanna...woo, this is tough... I just wanna thank all of you for participating in this journey with me no homo. I wanna thank each and every one of you who groupthink dick-rided on here. Without yall's opinions i woulda had no one to give this work to. So i thank all of you for accepting this. For accepting this work. I appreciate all of yall man.

 

[KamPushMe]

I just wanna say thanks Bron Bron for helping bringing 2 more rings to Miami. Cleveland has a great roster of young talent, it's home for LeBron, and they can offer him the contract he deserves w/o a paycut.

That being said, I hope he don't win another ring..shout out to D wade it'll be Iight I got faith in Riley. I'm kinda relieved there will finally be no more bandwagoners and I can finally use my team in 2k with no problem..this is the squad for life.

Shout out to emm holla's sources

This nigga is gonna cry for days

 

[MeTaL]

I think Melo stays in NY. I just don't see him taking a 54 million pay cut and leaving 30 mill on the table. I may sound like a blasphemer right here but if I was jesus and look yall in the eye and told yall I am going to leave 30 mill on the table and take 54 million paycut. Yall probably would slap the shit outta me.