South Beach bound

LeBron James breaks the hearts of loyal Cavaliers fans with decision

By Brian Windhorst

The Cleveland Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND

The witnesses have been excused.

LeBron James crushed Cavaliers fans Thursday night when he announced live on national television that he was leaving Cleveland and will sign with the Miami Heat.

James said he made the decision Thursday morning after a phone call with his mother, Gloria, who James said supported his decision. He said his choice flip-flopped several times in the last week after holding meetings with six teams in Cleveland.

But multiple sources said that James has been in contact with new Miami Heat teammates Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade for several weeks — including a meeting the three of them had at James’ home in suburban Akron the last week of June to discuss the marriage.

James said he will sign a five-year deal, longer than any deal he signed with the Cavs. The amount is yet to be determined, and all three players are expected to accept less than the maximum salary.

“I didn’t want to make an emotional decision, I wanted to do what was best for LeBron James and what would make him happy,” James said. “This is a business and I had seven great years in Cleveland. I hope the fans understand; maybe they won’t.”

Shortly after James made his announcement, the Cavs issued a statement from general manager Chris Grant that did not even mention their former star’s name.

“We believe in this team, this organization, this community, and what we will do to compete at the highest level,” Grant said in the statement. “We believe in the new coach and leader we have in Byron Scott, and the world class basketball organization and positive and strong culture we’ve established. Dan Gilbert and our ownership group are firmly committed to reaching our goals and succeeding on the court and in the community, at the highest level.”

James said a lot of things in the lead-up to his free agency decision, including just a month ago that the Cavs had “the edge” in free agency. One of his priorities, he said many times, was to compete for multiple championships. The chance to play with Wade and Bosh seemed to appeal to James on that level.

“It is going to give me the best opportunity to win and win for multiple years,” James said. “I want to win championships and I feel like I can compete down there.”

James said he feels he can play with Wade and Bosh because they were successful on the Olympic team together.

“For me, it is not about sharing, it is about everybody sharing their own spotlight and doing what is best for the team,” James said.

James, the Cavs’ all-time leader in scoring among other categories, potentially could be leaving as much as $40 million on the table by not signing a maximum contract with the Cavs and instead going with the Heat. It is believed Miami officials attempted to get around this fact by pointing out the difference in state income tax rates.

Florida has none and Ohio’s is six percent. James would have to pay out-of-state income tax for most of his 41 road games per season, but none of his home games. That is a difference that could save James millions over the next five years when also including his endorsement earnings, which are believed to be about $15-20 million per year.

The Heat will be scheduled to play two games in Cleveland this season. James said he is prepared to face angry fans when he returns.

“Hopefully the fans will be respectful but at the same time I don’t expect them to be,” James said. “It is going to be a challenge to go in there. ... They can have mixed emotions of course. Akron is always home for me. I’m going to still live there.”

The Cavs were notified of James’ decision just a few minutes before he made the announcement at about 9:30 p.m. from a Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich, Conn. They had not been directly in contact with James since they left his downtown Cleveland offices last Saturday.

One of the other things that James said about his free agency in recent months was that he didn’t plan to leave until he brought a championship to the city. He said he felt bad about breaking that promise.

“I feel awful that I’m leaving, I feel even worse that I wasn’t able to bring an NBA championship to that city,” James said. “To my real fans out there, I hope you continue to support me.”