LeBron Watch: Secret reason LeBron will stay in Cleveland
Friday, May 21
The latest news and rumors surrounding The King.
Secret reason why LeBron will stay
Esquire's Scott Raab is honest -- "I have absolutely no clue what happened to LeBron in the Celtics series or where he'll be playing next year" -- but he also may be on to something. After Buzz Bissinger wrote in The New York Times that LeBron may be afraid to leave Ohio, Raab, who has been around the Cavs since last June while working on a book, is convinced The King will stay in Cleveland if only to protect his family. More specifically, his mother. "His number-one goal in life is not an NBA championship," Raab said. "It's to protect her, and to protect himself. And I see no way for him to do that if he moves to New York City."
Cleveland coach Mike Brown has not been fired and, according to Cavs beat writer Brian Windhorst of The Cleveland Plain Dealer, LeBron has not called for Brown to be let go. According to Windhorst, James is leaving it up to the organization to decide Brown's future and "there are factions within the organization that continue to support Brown, in addition to those who believe it is time to find a new voice." It's been speculated that LeBron will have a say in his next coach, whether he stays in Cleveland or signs with another team via free agency this summer. After Cleveland's second-round loss to Boston, it was widely presumed that Brown would be terminated pretty quickly because there is a clause in his contract that changes his compensation if he's let go more than 10 days after the season ends.
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Jim Brown thinks the way the public has treated LeBron after his playoff meltdown is "an atrocity" and it will be the reason The King decides to Cleveland this summer. "You know, it's so unfortunate that a man that's got so much would feel so bad right now because of what he couldn't do. I think [LeBron's] being treated unfairly," the former Cleveland Browns star told a Baltimore radio station. "I think the expectations were too high, and I don't think he's gonna stay in Cleveland because of it. I think as one man, there's only so much you can do, and for people to analyze you and to basically say humiliating things about you, when you've given all those things through the years to that franchise, I think it's an atrocity."
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Knicks already cashing in on LeBron
Perhaps Knicks fans know something we don't. It's be less than a week since James' season officially ended, and though he has yet to give any indication of his plans, the Knicks have started to cash in on his possible move to New York. According to a Madison Square Garden official, the team has sold 500 new season-ticket plans for next season, bringing its total to 2,900. Nothing like a little speculation to get fans pumped for next season.
More LeBron Talk
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