One year ago Friday, LeBron James sat in a director's chair in Greenwich, Conn., and spoke of his talents, South Beach and championships. He gushed about teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, while insisting he never really wanted to leave Cleveland.
One year later, he is back in Akron this week, attending his same Skills Academy that last season became a media zoo.
Police set up barricades outside Rhodes Arena and we shouted questions from behind them, asking him daily if he had made his decision. If only we knew then what "The Decision" would later become.
Good buddy Chris Paul attended the camp last season, along with a number of James' old teammates. Jamario Moon stopped by to scrimmage, as did Jawad Williams, Daniel Gibson and Christian Eyenga. None of them knew where James was heading.
This year, Wade accompanied him to the camp instead of Paul. Of all his former Cavs teammates, only Eyenga bothered to show.
James is gone, likely never to return to the Cavaliers. But one year later, his decision has left a lasting impact on himself, his former franchise and even the rest of the NBA.
LeBron James
The Heat had the highest road attendance in the league last season, averaging 19,447 fans due in large part to James. It was the league's highest road total since 2002, when Shaq and Kobe's Los Angeles Lakers pulled in more than 20,000 a night on the road.
But for the first time in his life, James was the villain. Those fans were coming out to boo him. His path out of Cleveland set him up as the most despised athlete in the country.
It was Hulk Hogan turning heel, hitting wrestling fans with a steel chair, only in real life.
To his credit, James began rebuilding his image almost instantly. Locally, he had a few bridges to repair, too.
He did that first in October by donating $500,000 in computers to Akron Public Schools, then again this week by unveiling his new Wheels For Education initiative that targets underprivileged third-graders in the district.
Slowly but surely, his image is on the rebound. His trophy case, however, is still bare.
The NBA
Carmelo Anthony is with the New York Knicks, Deron Williams plays for the New Jersey Nets and the league is locked out today. James has played at least a small role in all three scenarios.
The lockout is centered mostly on money, but one of the issues is a team's ability to keep its stars. Some sort of franchise tag, similar to what the NFL uses, has been discussed and could ultimately be part of a future collective bargaining agreement.
Teams, particularly in small markets, are scared of being the next to lose a star and get nothing for him.
It's why the Denver Nuggets were proactive in shopping Anthony and the Utah Jazz were willing to deal Williams. Both had sticky contract issues in the near future and neither wanted to lose their star for nothing.
James wanted to make a lasting impact on the NBA. He has.
The Cavaliers
Although they'll never admit it publicly, various members of the organization felt James slipping away a couple of weeks before his announcement.
He had cut off all contact with the organization after the season ended. He wouldn't take Tom Izzo's calls when the Michigan State coach was contemplating coming to Cleveland. Then on the day of "The Decision," his mother, Gloria, stopped taking the Cavaliers' calls in the early afternoon. Until then, Gloria had always been accessible to the Cavs, but no longer. That's when it became clear what was happening.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert began working on a blistering statement that will forever live in infamy with Cavs fans. The final product wasn't his original. It had been edited down three or four times from an even more brazen version earlier in the night.
Of the 15 players who ended the 2009-10 season on the Cavs' roster, only three remain — Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao and Gibson. Jamison only played with James for a couple of months, leaving Varejao and Gibson as his only real meaningful teammates.
It didn't take long for General Manager Chris Grant to start peeling off the layers. First Delonte West, then Mo Williams and Jamario Moon and finally J.J. Hickson. All former teammates of James, all shipped out for players, picks or a combination of the two.
Where once the Cavs frantically dealt draft picks in an effort to win immediately, now they hoard their own picks and take from others whenever possible. A first-rounder from the Los Angeles Clippers became Kyrie Irving, a future No. 1 from the Sacramento Kings, a pair of future first-round picks from the Heat and a pair of second-round picks from the Orlando Magic are still coming.
Draft picks are assets, which can be used in a variety of ways down the road.
That's where the Cavs' focus now lies — down the road, on a day that never came when their King was here.
The team, like their former star, is still committed to winning. Both sides have just taken far different paths to get there.
James is gone, likely never to return.
Both the player and the city, changed forever.
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(c) 2011, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).
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LEBRON JAMES
