Don’t ever say it took LeBron James more than a decade to recruit for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
When he left Cleveland, it was in a haze of mystery. All of us know why he left: to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
To win.
But why couldn’t that exact superteam be forged in Cleveland? The Cavaliers had money to spend, and there’s no doubt they were willing to burn through it if that would have kept LeBron around. Why couldn’t he have brought the superstars to him? Were Miami’s beaches just that appealing? Pat Riley’s championship rings that shiny?
Or was LeBron just unsuccessful at bringing talent to Cleveland?
It’s apparently the latter to some degree.
Here’s what LeBron had to say on player recruiting, per ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin:
LeBron was also quite open on recruiting: "I recruited (before) I left here, but I just didn’t win nothing so nobody wanted to play with me"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 15, 2014
LeBron said during his first stint in CLE, he failed recruiting Michael Redd, Joe Johnson & Chris Bosh. Larry Hughes was the one guy he got
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 15, 2014
The mentions of Bosh and Joe Johnson suggest some of LeBron’s botched attempts came in 2010. Michael Redd seems more like a 2005 endeavor. But whatever. LeBron did try. He just wasn’t successful.
How hard he tried in 2010 is up for debate. The Cavaliers weren’t one of the teams who could promise him two superstar teammates borne out of free agency. If I remember correctly, they had enough scratch to sign one in addition to him.
NBAE via Getty Images
That’s what made the Heat so appealing. There wasn’t another team with their kind of cap room. Once again, if I remember correctly, the New York Knicks came closest, and they weren’t really close. Signing three superstars would have demanded each accept a significant pay cut, far more than the Big Three wound up stomaching. Miami was simply the right combination of talent, money, potential and beach bunnies.
Except that was then. LeBron isn’t shackled by naked fingers or raging immaturity anymore. He has championship swag. He’s the most respected athlete in the game—a deliberate and pensive individual barely recognizable from the kid who barreled into 2010 free agency, seemingly unsure how to handle himself. That’s enough to change Kevin Love’s tune on Cleveland (not) rocking. It’s enough to convince Shawn Marion, James Johnson and Mike Miller to follow his lead. Months from now, after a crunch-time corner three, we should be talking about it ended up being enough to end Ray Allen’s free-agent limbo.
What a difference four Finals appearances and two championship rings can make, right?
Though to be fair, I think we’re all missing the point.
This isn’t about LeBron’s recruiting candor or his evolution as a player and role model of men. Didn’t you notice he mentioned Bosh’s name here? Didn’t you? The weird tension between both players has made headlines in recent weeks, but here LeBron is, actually speaking his name, like he’s a former teammate that he doesn’t despise or anything.
Isn’t that straight CRAY-CRAY?
Let’s start reading in between lines that aren’t there on this.
LeBron actually mentioned Bosh’s name! In the same few breaths as Larry Hughes and everything! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
