Waxing Hypothetic

I feel for the fans of Cleveland. I really do. As a Philadelphia sports fan, I appreciate the emptiness created by losing seasons and heartbreaking losses. No city in America has endured the pain that Cleveland has as a sports town. The Indians have traded away, in subsequent years no less, two Cy Young winning pitchers. The Browns have had more coaches (5) than winning seasons (2), since returning to the city. And before 2003, this is what people thought of when you mentioned the Cavs.

Now the Browns still suck, and the Indians are out of Cy Youngs to trade, but the Cavs have something special: LeBron. The question is, for how long? Ever since he signed his extension back in 2006, fans and media anointed this summer as the "Summer of LeBron." His impending free agency in 2010 has received more attention than the world's potential end in 2012. The Cavaliers, to their credit, have done everything possible to put a championship-caliber team around LeBron. The city has embraced him. And if the Cavaliers win the whole thing this year? You can kiss him goodbye.

Think about it: If LeBron brings this tormented city a trophy this summer, what does he owe them? I say nothing. He can walk (or run) away to the bright lights of New York or the warm sands of Miami with no guilt whatsoever. For he would have brought "The Mistake by the Lake" the one thing its been missing: a championship. Now, there's no guarantee that he wouldn't leave if he didn't win it all this year, but I get the idea that The King senses his importance and relevance to not just the Cavs, but the city of Cleveland and the NBA as a whole. If a mid-market team still can't keep their best player in a salary cap system, what chance do teams like Oklahoma City have when a guy like Kevin Durant becomes free? Let's not forget that LeBron doesn't even turn twenty-five until December 30Th. He could sign another 3-year extension and still only be 28 years old when he becomes a free agent again. I don't think the city would ever recover from LeBron leaving Cleveland after this year (without a ring) and winning one somewhere else. A guy doesn't lay a masterpiece in the same place he plans to take a dump, and I just can't see him leaving Ohio high and dry like that.

So assuming LeBron is definitely gone if they win the championship and definitely staying for at least three more years if they don't, I ask you Cleveland, which would you prefer? The guaranteed championship with a decade of cellar-dwelling to follow (without LeBron) or three more years of high level excitement and a chance for a title each season (with LeBron)? I think this question is unique to Cleveland because for most sports fans, the answer is simple - guaranteed championship. But most of us don't have iconic, global superstars on our favorite teams that transcend beyond sports. Does the immediate return outweigh the long-term implications? Unfortunately, no one made a movie called "2010" or we'd know how this one turns out.