The LeBron James Return to Cleveland Essay

It is official.  LeBron James is returning to Cleveland.  The essay that LeBron James submitted to announce his decision this time around was as impressive as "The Decision" was unimpressive.  It is clear that LeBron James has grown up in the past few years.  He carries himself as an ambassador for the NBA.  He is the epitome of what is right with the league.  He is a team player, knows the history of the game, and has become very likable despite the amount of vitriole generated by "The Decision."

I think the thing I liked most about the essay was that he was able to address a number of factors in his decision, and able to really explain his reasons in an eloquent and concise fashion.  Least surprising was his desire to go home.  He maintains a home in Ohio, and has not been shy about stating that Ohio is home. While most athletes avoid Cleveland like the plague, LeBron James has always seemed to gravitate to home, and relish the opportunity to play in his own backyard.

The most interesting part of the essay was when he addressed Dan Gilbert and Cleveland fans who burned jerseys when he left.  The phrase "who am I to judge" was extremely interesting especially when he placed it in the context of how he would have felt if his sports hero left in his prime.  This was a pretty serene and sage view of the previous situation, and again illustrates how much this man has grown up in the past few years.

The only thing I really wish he would have done was to address "The Decision" as less of a bullet point on a timeline, but as the debacle it really was.  Something along the lines of it raising a lot of money, but was really handled inappopriately and was probably not the best decision.  Instead, he alludes to having made mistakes. Regardless, I wouldn't really want to talk about it if I had done something that ridiculous either.  And shame on ESPN for their role as well (I'm guessing it wasn't LeBron's idea in the first place, but who knows).

Wishing there was a little more on "The Decision" is nitpicking, especially considering that the overall tone was one of coming home because it is home.  The essay was very direct and sincere in this regard.

Since I'm so warm, fuzzy, and happy, I'll do another post on why this Cavs team is going to be significantly better immediately than the teams James was on in Miami, so as not to suggest that winning was the only reason for leaving Miami.