Has Cleveland, Ohio made a Rosemary's Baby deal with the Devil in Lebron James? Anything for a title?
"He's going to have the biggest voice, he's the most important, accomplished player in the league and he's an absolute basketball savant. He has the most thorough understanding of X's and O's on the floor and best mind for the game off the floor of any human being I've ever known. Coach, front-office person, anything. It would be crazy for me not to consult with him on what we want to do."
That is the reason Cleveland has not sold its soul. Nothing James has said or done since is inconsistent with what he wrote in Sports Illustrated. Unprecedented power it is. There has never been a player in any sport who has combined talent with genius as Lebron James has. Unprecedented power for an unprecedented person.
His treatment of coach David Blatt last year was "unbecoming;" his Decision II to return to Cleveland was more about "power" than any of those other things he wrote about in Sports Illustrated; his Return was more about accruing unprecedented control over basketball matters, something he could never get from Pat Riley in Miami; he is player/coach/general manager in Cleveland; player power approaching this level has not worked out previously.
No. Cleveland has not sold its soul for success. The Prodigal Son wants to win a championship for northeast Ohio, not for himself, for them. That was what his bow to Jim Brown in a playoff game last Spring was about. Showing up Blatt last year was about he, James, having a better play, giving Cleveland a better chance to win. It was not James exercising power for the sake of power, it was not the doability doctrine in basketball. The Prodigal Son is a prodigy:
-Cleveland "Cavaliers" general manager David Griffin.
That is the reason Cleveland has not sold its soul. Nothing James has said or done since is inconsistent with what he wrote in Sports Illustrated. Unprecedented power it is. There has never been a player in any sport who has combined talent with genius as Lebron James has. Unprecedented power for an unprecedented person.