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I love the city of Cleveland. I also feel bad for the city, since there isn't much to cheer for in this economically-depressed town. The one thing they have is LeBron James, and now even that's in jeopardy. Ending with an embarrassing loss to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs, the Cavs are finding themselves shuffling to keep "the chosen one" in the place he started his career.
LeBron has had a good run with the Cavs, and he's proven himself beyond any reasonable doubt. But the truth is that all good things must come to an end, and it's time for LeBron to have a different experience.
I believe that LeBron wants to be in the thick of it all. He wants to be in New York or New Jersey, where the lights are brighter, the media hype is hyper, and the action never stops. He wants to be in the mecca of entertainment, media and sports, where he can build a legacy that will be remembered for the next 100 years. He wants to play for a team with a bottomless pit of money that comes from a market where the fans will pay any amount to see a champion at his best. That place would be either LA or New York, and he's not going to play next to Kobe.
The NBA needs LeBron in a big city. Another east-coast/west-coast battle between the Knicks and the Lakers would be a remake of the Bird/Magic saga that brought the NBA back from the dead in the early 1980s. If anyone can make the sorry Knicks into champions, it's LeBron. He boosted the Cavs to championship status using a roster that couldn't win in most peewee leagues. Sure, they made some good additions toward the end, but I never felt good about the team they put on the court.
LeBron has always shown the ability to make his teammates better: I first noticed this capability when I saw his little Akron high school team take on the mighty Oak Hill Academy on ESPN. Oak Hill is the kind of school that really isn't a school as much as it's a breeding ground for future NBA super stars. The school's primary reason for being is basketball, unlike LeBron's high school, where they just got lucky enough to get one of the greatest players in history. In spite of the huge differential in talent, LeBron took his teammates to the top of the pile, defeating Oak Hill in one of the most stunning high school games I've ever seen. LeBron truly is the king of basketball and the king needs to be advertised. The NBA knows this, and I am willing to bet my last nickel that they want him out of Cleveland and into a bigger market.
Nike wants LeBron in a bigger city to sell more shoes. Jay-Z wants LeBron in either New York or New Jersey so they can smoke cigars together and pretend that they run the town (which they don't - neither of them has real wealth relative to the billionaires who truly control America). I want LeBron in New York, so I can see how he handles the pressure of the New York media, when the paparazzi take pictures of you at fancy restaurants and spread rumors about who you're dating. The spectacle would be Muhammad Ali-like in caliber, and we'll be discussing it for the next 50 years. LeBron is the Babe Ruth of his generation, and his larger-than-life persona needs room to breath.
Most importantly, LeBron needs to be a champion in order to fulfill his destiny. He won't be a champion in Cleveland. Only a city as big as his image can help him to fulfill his dream. Sorry to the fans in Cleveland, but you had a chance to own a piece of greatness for far longer than the rest of us. Now it's time to share this man with the world.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the new book, "Black American Money." To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
Comments: (16)
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By: james on 5/15/2010 12:27PM
As a NY 'er I will tell you the Knicks are not one superstar short of winning anything. Sure LBJ will improve them then he will be able to watch CC and the Yanks come April cuz the Knicks want be that good, perhaps in the playoffs but as an 8 seed and for sure a 1 and done. The Knicks dont have a bench, even with LBJ and say Chris Bosh ok then what else? Look at the Lakers, Magic or older teams like the Spurs of the late 90's early 2000's. They were teams. Had depth and layers. Even with LBJ the Knicks will be right back in "Patrick Ewing" mode. One star that the organization just cant seem to give him the right amount good complimentary players. And if you look at the current Cavs thats just their problem, when Lebron puts they play in doubt, he needs to step up yes but so does his supporting cast. On the Knicks he wont have one third of that current team he has in Cleveland (cap space for the knicks to sign role players).
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By: mzjanuary205 on 5/16/2010 10:12AM
I agree. I don't LeBron coming here for the simple reason that it seems to be a curse with the Knicks - a player can be great somewhere else, but once he comes here, he either stalls or it's like the Patrick Ewing situation all over again - phenomenal player surrounded by a bunch a scrubs and they never get anywhere. I don't want to see that happen to LeBron. He is too good to come here and fall into that kind of situation. I wish LeBron luck wherever he goes...as long as it's not HERE.
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By: black capitali$t on 5/15/2010 12:07PM
Le Bron, Spike Lee`s waiting for you Baby!!!
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By: Corey Washington on 5/15/2010 12:07PM
Lebron quit on everyone. Those who have watched him and were thoroughly convinced that he was the greatest player in the NBA, know that something was wrong. Those of us who play competitive basketball, know that Lebron was not giving 100 percent. With that being said, I don't see how he could go out like that and pick up and move on. He would be a villain in the league, which would cut into his endorsements. If he wants to rightfully take his place among the elite, then he can't be a paid mercenary. The only time People should leave the team that made them is when they are forced out or deemed unworthy by ownership. (i.e. Brett Farve, Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, etc.)
www.plaintalk2010.com
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By: Tommy on 5/15/2010 12:31PM
This has already been talk about over and over again.He will make 30 million more to stay in Cleveland.New york Chicago and the Nets all suck.Why leave a 60 plus winning team and go to a team that don't make the playoffs?Even with the cap space the other teams have,it will be years before they build the team around him to even be in content to win a ring.Better to stay in Cleveland where the team is good but need another scorer.It would be stupid to go anywhere else.
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By: Tommy on 5/15/2010 12:34PM
p.s scoring a triple double in game 6 is hardly quitting.The rest of the team besides Mo,did not step up.The word quit an Lebron,does not even sound right in the same sentence.What happened is he realized his team was not stepping up and helping.That is reality.
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By: Seanan Kelly on 5/15/2010 4:06PM
I agree with the commentary both at large, and among those basketball fans in New York who know basketball - not even the mighty Lebron can lift the hapless Knicks out of the hole they are in.
With respect to the conversation around loyalty and what Lebron means to Cleveland: I am of the opinion that Lebron should take his talent to another city. Where that is I don't really know. What I do know is this: LOOK AT HOW MINNESOTA REWARDED GARNETT'S LOYALTY. Bubkas.
Kevin Garnett's words this wweek were a humble reminder of the business of the NBA and other leagues. Loyalty will garner an athlete a ton of support (and dollars) from fan's and pundits alike, but at the end of the day, if the organization can lock up a bona-fide superstar, "the Big Ticket" can be sold in any way shape or form and the organization and the NBA is going to win every time REGARDLESS of whether the team wins the championship.
The fact is Lebron James is THE MOST BANKABLE superstar in ANY sport in America today. I'm not going to touch football (soccer) fandomanium around the world and what it means to be Ronaldinho or any of those guys. There's a reason Nike paid Lebron $90 million dollars before he ever played a game: THEY KNEW HE WAS WORTH HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS, and they were right!! so the $90 mil they shelled is but a drop in the bucket!
The fact is, Tiger's name and likeness are in the tank. A-Rod is A-Fraud, the NFL has a collection of stars, but none that transcend the game in the same way Lebron does basketball. (Favre's shenanigan's with retirement and the media don't count).
In the end, Lebron is right - he is 25 years old and has yet to write his legacy. So let him write it in a different city.
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By: O-Neg on 5/15/2010 9:36PM
More importantly...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljIO-0bca2I
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By: Sturg on 5/16/2010 10:33AM
Labrons' not going anywhere. What would his legacy be then.."I couldn't win with a sqaud that I helped put together, giving me exactly what I asked for, (Shaq, Antwan, Z and Moe), so now I'm gonna quit on the city that I love, was born and raised in, just built a new home from the ground up in, leave my Momma and go to NY and start all over with some more bums?" If he stays in Cleveland, do you think that his shoe sales are gonna drop? He can sell shoes from anywhere on the planet. Give me a break!
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By: meanvee on 5/16/2010 11:19AM
Lebron might stay in cleveland out of loyalty, but his heart is saying New York. His heart wants the grand stage, if the nets or knicks show lebron that they are willing to go out and get the right surrounding pieces, he is gone, he wants to perform on the grand stage, the headliner, he's tired of being the opening act, he wants to close the show.
http://www.GamingConsoleStore.com
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