John Muzzy, our resident Sports Curmudgeon weighs in

There it is ladies and gentlemen. After what seemed like months of speculation we finally know where LeBron James is playing next season, the Cleveland Cavaliers. What an amazing story not only the NBA, but sports in general. The prodigal son is returning to his home town and personally I’m psyched about it. I’ve been a major LeBron hater basically his entire career but this definitely increased my level of respect for him. Granted I think Cleveland was a better option than Miami, but LeBron did have to choose to be the bigger man in regards to his past relationship with Cav’s owner Dan Gilbert.

The rest of the free agent signings should now start falling like dominoes. I’d be shocked if Chris Bosh isn’t already on the phone with Houston so he can join James Harden and Dwight Howard. That deal would more than likely mean Chandler Parson will be joining the Dallas Mavericks. Miami will have to pay Dwayne Wade good money because suddenly he is the best player they’ll be able to get. (On a side note, how terrific is it to see the mighty empire that was the Miami Heat absolutely crumble in less than a month. Miami fans have shown they don’t deserve the greatest player in the game and now they’ve lost him to a fan base that bleeds for their teams, good for Cleveland.) Carmelo Anthony is apparently still deciding between Chicago and New York but knowing the Heat powerhouse is dismantled and that he can make WAY more money in New York makes me think he’ll be a Knick next season. This also brings the Kevin Love story back up because it’s rumored Cleveland will make a run at him if they got Lebron, using #1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins as the trade centerpiece. As for the second tier of free agents: Luo Deng, Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, and so on; they should be seeing offers before the day ends. Almost the entire league was waiting for Lebron’s choice and now that it’s made teams will be jumping at the bit to sign their Lebron back up plans.

Now Cleveland has to be the odds on favorite to with the East while a mere month ago they were picking first in the draft. Miami just lost in the NBA championship and now they could be a lottery team next year. If Carmelo chooses to join the Bulls suddenly the Midwest will dominate the NBA’s Eastern Conference. Houston is going to push the Western Conference to their limits with an incredible trio and a flood of quality free agents will be landing all over the place. This was a shakeup I don’t think any NBA actually thought was going to happen and because of it we’ve got one heck of a season in front of us.

The coolest thing about this deal is this. As a New England sports fan you probably spent plenty of time in the back yard shooting hoops and pretending you play for the Boston Celtics. It’s not often that children grow up to be sports stars and even less often that they get the chance to be one right in their own back yard. As much as “The Decision” hurt Cleveland four years ago, this heals all those wounds and then some because now they have their hometown kid returning to save their franchise. What an awesome day for LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the NBA, and fans everywhere.

 

And somewhere, you can just imagine Drew Carey is singing

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