I just finished watching NBC's "The Marriage Ref" tonight… on the same night LeBron James and the Cavaliers had another case of playoff interruptus. If you're not familiar with the format of the show (not the Cavs… their format is pretty simple: get a #1 seed, lose in the Eastern semis), it goes something like this: one person in a married couple has a gripe about the other one. It could be anything… the wife texts too much, the husband leaves the toilet seat up, whatever. But a panel of celebrities gets to have the final say, deciding who's right and who's wrong.
That brings me back to the case of LeBron and the Cavs. This, to me, is a situation perfect for the Marriage Ref. In one corner, you have LeBron. He's happily married, but he right out of high school. So he can't help but wonder what life would be like with someone else. He'll be a free agent this offseason, so he's going to play the field. Now in the other corner, there are the Cavs. They know LeBron's out of their league… they really have no business being with him in the first place. They have done everything LeBron has asked. (We're going to break away from the marriage parallels here, otherwise it's going to sound very risqué) LeBron wanted a big man… they got him Shaq. He wanted a complementary scorer… them got him Antawn Jamison. When he didn't like his last head coach, they got him a new one.
And maybe that's Cleveland's problem. They almost seem too eager to keep this relationship with LeBron going, don't they? You can't blame them. He's the 2-time NBA MVP. He's the best sports pitchman this side of Peyton Manning. The Cavs went from worst to first when they drafted him, and they'll go from first to worst if they let him go. I get that they want him and need him. If he wanted the deed to the arena and the key to the owner's mansion, don't think for a moment they wouldn't give them to him.
So I'm making the call here. LeBron, I'm giving you permission to shop around, but you'd be crazy to leave the Cavs. They love you. Almost too much. And Cleveland, give LeBron a little space. He'll come back. Trust him.
