7/12/2014 LeBron James to Return to Cleveland - WSJ

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NBA LeBron James to Return to Cleveland Superstar Announces He Will Rejoin Cavaliers Four Years After Bolting

By BEN COHEN Updated July 11, 2014 7:18 p.m. ET

LeBron James throws up powder moments before game four of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. Associated Press

LeBron James, the singular talent in his generation of newly powerful professional players, has decided to return to the hometown team he once spurned, a move that will rearrange the NBA's competitive furniture for years to come.

James ended weeks of speculation about his basketball future Friday by announcing he will sign with the , the team he played for in the first seven years of his career. James left in 2010 for Miami, where he won two NBA titles with the Heat.

That decision four years ago, which was broadcast in a television special called "The Decision," resulted in a backlash against James in a city that had once revered him. He was cast as a villain as soon as he said he would "take my talents to South Beach" to join fellow superstars and .

http://online.wsj.com/articles/lebron-james-to-return-to-cleveland-1405096366#printMode 1/4 7/12/2014 LeBron James to Return to Cleveland - WSJ Friday's decision was more understated and felt far less engineered. With the basketball world effectively frozen as he deliberated, James announced his choice in a 952­word essay for Sports Illustrated. In the article, the 29­year­old James said he wouldn't be holding a news conference or hosting a party as he had the last time, but instead wanted the opportunity to explain himself without interruption. He

LeBron James announced he will return to the also said the decision reflected a relationship with Ohio that Cleveland Cavaliers. But plenty of Cavs fans are still was "bigger than basketball." upset with him since he left town in 2010. WSJ's Lee Hawkins cites five things about Lebron that should make them reconsider. "I didn't realize that four years ago," he said. "I do now."

It is the unlikeliest of homecomings for James, who grew up in nearby Akron, Ohio, and was drafted by the Cavaliers with the No. 1 pick in 2003. On the July night in 2010 when James left Cleveland, Cavaliers fans reacted by burning his jersey outside the team's arena. The team's owner denigrated James as "our former hero" and called his act a "cowardly betrayal."

After a famously awkward departure, LeBron James "At no in the last four years did I ever think this was announced he's returning to Cleveland. The news caused a spike in social media but does that mean all going to happen," said John Krolik, founder of Cavs: The is forgiven? NYU sports management chair Wayne McDonnell discusses on the News Hub with Sara Blog. In that time, James reached a new level of success in Murray. Miami, while establishing himself as the NBA's best player since . The Heat reached the NBA Finals in Related Articles all four of his seasons there, winning twice. This season, How Sports Illustrated Landed LeBron they lost decisively in the Finals to the . Scoop Jason Gay: A Revised and Irresistible But it was Miami's basketball culture that affected James in Decision the most meaningful way. "He learned how to win," said Social Media Reaction to Return of LeBron James Turner Sports analyst and former NBA star Grant Hill.

It turns out that may have paved his road back to Cleveland. James is such a transcendent talent that he could play for almost any NBA team and win enough to make the playoffs. But his experience in championship settings seemed to change his approach to the game—and his priorities while playing. "He's going to win, but winning is not enough," said Akron coach Keith Dambrot, who coached James in high school. "He has to win the whole thing."

Meanwhile, Cleveland bottomed out when James left—and LeBron James with Cleveland in 2010. Getty Images that lack of success scored the Cavaliers the top picks necessary to surround James with talent now. They took More LeBron James Kyrie Irving, for example, with the No. 1 pick in 2011, and Meetings Are Boring, Unless LeBron Is signed him to a contract extension this week. Cavaliers fans Involved are also holding out hope that Cleveland adds another What Is LeBron's Go­To Move? After a Loss, LeBron Is Best player, perhaps through a trade, to round out a of http://online.wsj.com/articles/lebron-james-to-return-to-cleveland-1405096366#printMode 2/4 7/12/2014 LeBron James to Return to Cleveland - WSJ its own.

James's new deal makes the Cavaliers an immediate title contender in a league that is suddenly wide open. The online sports book Bovada pegged the Cavaliers as the 7­to­2 favorite to win next year's championship, even though they haven't made the playoffs since James last played for them.

They are still far from a sure thing. The team has a first­year general manager, David Griffin, and a rookie coach, David Blatt. James himself refused to promise a championship right away. "We're not ready right now. No way," he wrote. "It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010."

Miami may be one of the teams standing in Cleveland's way. James's former team can still sign Wade and Bosh to make a run in the weaker Eastern Conference, and Heat president said in a news release that Miami was "committed to doing whatever it takes to win and compete for championships for many years to come. We've proven that we can do it, and we'll do it again." Bosh reportedly agreed to re­ sign with Miami on Friday.

Still, James's latest decision, and the incredible amount of interest in it, may have even wider implications off the court, as it reflects the increasing value of superstardom in the NBA's new era.

NBA teams have never been worth more than they are now that financial titans have targeted them as toys. In the last three months, former Microsoft CEO struck a deal to buy the for $2 billion, and hedge­fund billionaires Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens purchased the for $550 million.

Players are becoming more conscious of their personal brands, which is evident everywhere from their off­ season contract negotiations to their pregame fashion choices. NBA players are the most public stars in sports. One player moving teams causes a ripple effect around the league, unlike Major League Baseball. The NBA offers more personal exposure than even the NFL, since there are only 10 players on the court at a time, and their facial expressions aren't stuck behind masks.

In 1994, when Hill was a rookie in the NBA, "I don't even think I knew what the word 'brand' meant," he said. Today, though, "they're more aware of their power, and they're willing in a subtle—and sometimes not so subtle—way to use to that to their advantage," he said.

James had a power struggle of his own to navigate before returning to Cleveland. His agent, Rich Paul, kept an office in Cleveland, while James still had a home in the area. But there was still the issue of Cavaliers owner , the founder of Quicken Loans, who wrote a letter after James left in 2010 that assailed his character and wrongly guaranteed the Cavaliers would win an NBA title before James did. This week, at long last, the letter was removed from Cleveland's website.

"Everybody makes mistakes," James wrote in his article. "I've made mistakes as well. Who am I to hold a grudge?"

On Friday, minutes after James went public with the decision that overturned "The Decision," Gilbert wrote on : "Welcome home."

Write to Ben Cohen at [email protected]

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