A Possible LeBron Encore In Cleveland

Miami Heat forward LeBron James expressed in an interview given at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Thursday that he would not shoot down the possibility of playing in a Cavaliers uniform in the future according to Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer.

James and the Heat practiced at The Q on Thursday and play the Cavaliers for the first and only time during the regular season in Cleveland. He was quoted saying, “It would be fun to play in front of these fans again. I had a lot fun times in my seven years here.”

But would the same fans and owner who had to sit through an ESPN special just to see our beloved superstar stab them in the back except James back? That seems to be the question of debate here.

Some fans are still embarrassed and angry at the way LeBron left in the summer of 2010. We know for a fact that Dan Gilbert wants nothing to do with James coming back and it’s very unlikely he would come back with the Cavs under Gilbert’s power. Gilbert hasn’t talked with James since a free agency conversation back on July 3, 2010.

“I don’t have any hard feelings. He said what he said and I’ve moved on,” James said, “But there’s been no attempt to patch things up.”

What does Pat Riley think of this? What does Dwyane Wade think of this? James made comments a couple weeks earlier saying that Pat Riley runs too tough of practices. Wade also commented on the possible LeBron return saying, “Anything is possible. Hopefully, I’m retired.

If there was any way that this could work out, would Cleveland fans accept back a man whose jersey they burned two summers ago? If so, Cleveland would definitely jump to the top of the “most hated sports fans” lists.  The media would tear a hole into Cleveland for welcoming back James.

Why would James want to come back first of all? Is it a nostalgia thing?

I’m almost certain in my judgment that LeBron misses Cleveland and he misses his home. The fans aren’t as loving in Miami as they are here (except when you betray them). Heck, there are a million better things to do in Miami, who can’t even fill the seats every night.

Cleveland loved being a basketball city for the seven years that LeBron was here. He was great for the economy and transformed the Euclid Avenue area into a small-scale mecca.

What I’m trying to say to Cavaliers fans is that they might have to suck up LeBron’s return. He hates feeling hated and knows he made the bad decision, so he wants to come home to try to right his name.

Would fans welcome him home? For the most part, no. Cleveland fans are very sensitive, as am I, and would not want LeBron back because how he made us look on national television. Clevelander’s lives surrounded around LeBron and the Cavs. The city was getting games on ESPN, ABC and TNT almost nightly.

LeBron turned Cleveland into a media outlet again and brought in so much money, but he never could deliver the city the championship it has been waiting so long for. With the improvements the Cavs have made this season, I could really see him working with the young stars.

Kyrie Irving is just a younger, possibly better, point guard than Wade, who is older than James. Tristan Thompson could develop into a Chris Bosh-type player. So why wouldn’t LeBron want to team up with these guys?

The Heat (23-7) face off against the Cavaliers (11-16) at The Q Friday night in LeBron’s third appearance in Cleveland since leaving the team in 2010.