Tuesdays with Smitty: Dear LeBron…

By Aaron M Smith

Dear LeBron,

Well it has been 3 days since you and the rest of the Cavaliers were eliminated by Superman and the Orlando Magic. Not sure what you are up to these days. Resting some place warm? Hanging out with friends, playing Playstation 3 ? I recommend the Tiger Woods golf, but play the game for awhile before taking on Tiger. You can’t make too many mistakes or he will beat you.  By the way, I don’t know what the big deal is about you blowing off the press after your loss on Saturday. After such a great season and honestly, I thought you were at least going to the Finals – I don’t blame you for being down! I mean, I was pretty down after getting knocked out of the playoffs for softball last summer. My team really didn’t play up to its potential in that game and we lost to a team we had beat twice already.  I know I didn’t want to talk after the game either and that was just softball. Even the beer didn’t have its usual dirt cleansing appeal. I was bummed man, so I know how you feel right now.

But I am mainly writing to you to appeal to a side of LeBron Jamses, I hope exists. I know you will be entering your final year of your contract next year – which is why I plead to you – re-sign with Cleveland!  Look, I know you can probably go somewhere where the stage burns a little brighter. It is pretty obvious that the Knicks are clearing room in their salary cap to try and sign you. I am sure there will be a few others as well. But I ask you to stay in Cleveland and become the King of the NBA there. Don’t worry about the stage being big enough. If and when you get there, David Stern will make sure the stage will be big enough. That is just what the Commish does. But the fact is – Cleveland needs you and in someways, I think you need Cleveland. Anyone can go to New York or L.A. to win a championship, but it takes someone special to win a championship outside of the big basketball cities. Yeah I know M.J. won with the Chicago Bulls, but let’s face it – what were the Bulls before Jordan? Were they even relevant before Jordan?

Also, I have to admit that it is refreshing to see different teams this late in the NBA playoffs.  The Lakers sure are there again, and really they have been playing just well enough to get by teams. But having Orlando, Cleveland and Denver in the Final Four was – well, refreshing to say the  least. To me, that adds to the appeal for the NFL, that gets lost on the NBA and Major League Baseball. I think  Major League Baseball is catching on and I hope the NBA is as well.  It is good for the league and for fans to know their team has a chance to win a championship every year. That is all fans really need – a chance.

Look, I know you want to be like M.J. and something tells me that you have a chance to surpass the accomplishments of M.J. . Trust me, I know that saying ALOT!  But I think you have the game and you are right on par with him, from a career standpoint. It wasn’t until Jordan’s 4th full season that he won his first MVP and it wasn’t until his 7th season that he won his second MVP and his first championship.  Well, in your 6th season in the NBA you finally won a MVP trophy and I am sure a championship isn’t far behind.

I know you caught a lot of criticism after Game 1 for passing the ball off to Delonte West. I defended you on that one and I still think you made the right play. Look you needed to take the shot in Game 2 and you hit it. Just imagine where the series would be right now if Delonte had hit that shot.  Sorry, you are right, let’s not think about it. But let’s face it – Ben Wallace, Anderson Varejo  and  Zydrunas Ilgauskas weren’t going to get you by Dwight Howard. Two of those guys weren’t fast enough to handle Superman and the other wasn’t strong enough. And Wally Szczerbiak and Sasha Pavlovic were the answer on the wing? Now that is funny.  If I am not mistaken, Wally’s $10 million dollar contract comes off the books and if Big Ben retires, well there is another  $14 million. That opens up quite a bit of space under the cap for Danny Ferry to work with and you know guys will want to come play with you.  Hey, who wouldn’t want a chance to play for a championship every year?

The fact is, you will make money wherever you go. But how much is enough? You are already making a ton in endorsements. Do you really think you will  make THAT much more? You also have to ask – which is more important. Is all the money in the world worth it?  Or can you put a price on winning a championship close to your hometown of Akron, OH?? To me, that’s priceless.

Sincerely,

A NBA Fan