At Lebron James’ Most Valuable Player award ceremony at the University of Akron’s James A. Rhodes Arena, in his acceptance speech he said,

“Akron, Ohio is my home. Akron, Ohio will always be remembered. Akron, Ohio is my life and I love this city. This is home for me. I love this place to death. Every day I wake up I understand that I’m not just carrying myself but I’m also carrying this city to bigger and better heights. No matter where life may head me, I’m never gone from here.”

Kind of ominous isn’t it?

After the Celtics handed the Cavs their worst home playoff loss in history, 120-88 in Game 5 of their Semifinal round series, Lebron was criticized more for his attitude during and after the game that for his poor performance (scoring only 15 points on 3 of 14 shooting).

With an air of arrogance and seemingly unapologetic he said,

“I spoil a lot of people with my play. When you have three bad games in seven years, it’s easy to point them out.”

It gave rise to more questions than answers.

Has Lebron already given up on his team? Has he played his last game for Cleveland? Is his impending free agency distracting him?

Given the chance for redemption at Game 6 at the TD Garden in Boston, Lebron rose to the challenge with a triple-double of 27 points, 10 assists and 19 rebounds. However, his 9 turnovers have devalued that otherwise superb performance.

In the 4th quarter, LeBron knocked down back-to-back threes to cut the Celtics lead to four but on their next possession, he had a turnover that Rajon Rondo turned into a layup and the Cavs never got any closer.

Blame is not to be put solely on James’ shoulders however as Mike Brown’s poor coaching and his team mates’ failure to help their King are also factors in their team’s demise losing the game, and ultimately the series to the Celtics, 94-85.

So, now that Lebron had another disappointing playoff exit and Shaq failed to win a ring for the king, talks about Lebron playing for the New York Knicks (or Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat) next season have become one of the day’s hottest items.

Even during the game, Boston fans were chanting “New York Knicks” everytime he was on the free-throw line.

In a press conference after a Cavs-Knicks game last November 25, 2008, Lebron James has proclaimed July 1, 2010, as the biggest day in the history of basketball. Yes, two years ago, he had already advertised the  2010 NBA free agency as the NBA’s version of the Powerball lottery jackpot!

It will be “The Summer of Lebron!”

If you think Cleveland will just give up and allow Lebron to go away, you’re wrong as several of the most famous personalities in the city gathered together to sing a song called “Please Stay LeBron” to the tune of “We Are the World”.

A fan has also dedicated a web site chronicling what he will do just to keep their guy.

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports wrote a column pointing out Lebron’s unfulfilled promise of a championship as one of the reasons why Lebron should stay.

With the days leading to July 1, we should expect more drama unfolding before our very own eyes. It might even surpass the Pacers-Pistons brawl, the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case and the 2007 NBA betting scandal in terms of media mileage generated.

The clock is ticking.

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UPDATE July 8, 2010: Finally! In ESPN’s “The Decision”, Lebron made the ultimate decision, he will be joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami Heat to form a power trio.

His announcement was criticized by many particularly Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert who made an open letter addressed to Cleveland citizens.

Please read my related posts:

1. 2010 NBA Free-Agent Signings | Lebron James to Miami Heat Lebron James has finally made the decision. In a one-hour TV special on ESPN titled “The Decision” last July 8 at 9:00 PM, Lebron has announced that he will be joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to play for the...
2. Lebron James Named the 2010 NBA Most Valuable Player For the second straight year, Lebron James was recognized as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. And for the second straight year, he chose to have the award ceremony in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. Last year, it was held at...
3. The Science Behind a Lebron James Chase-Down Block In yesterday’s 104-86 loss to the Boston Celtics on Game 2 of their Semifinal Round series, about the only thing that was exciting for the Cleveland Cavaliers was seeing Lebron James do his signature move, the chase-down block on Tony...
4. The Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh Trio! “This fall I am taking my talents to South Beach and play with the Miami Heat. The major factor was the best opportunity for me to win, to win now and for the future also. Winning is the most important...
5. LeBron James Joins Twitter Lebron James finally jumped on the band wagon: by joining the multitude of NBA players with Twitter accounts. With his impending free agency status still unknown, Lebron decided to create one identifying himself as the “King of Akron” in his...
6. 2010-11 NBA Season | Lebron James Does Chalk Toss Amidst Boos and Bird Flips from Cavs Fans In his first seven years in the NBA while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lebron James has a pregame ritual where he goes in front of the scorer’s table, faces the crowd and throws crushed chalk in the air to...
7. 2009 NBA Playoffs | Lebron James Hits the Game-Winning Buzzer Beater After Hedo Torkuglo of the Orlando Magic hit a leaning jumper with 1 second left in the shot-clock to put his team ahead 95-93, I thought “this is it, Cleveland Cavaliers will enter Game 3 down 0-2 in its Eastern...
8. The Lebron James Gets Dunked On Video After 2 weeks of clamor, our question “Where’s the video of Jordan Crawford dunking on Lebron?” has finally been answered. TMZ has released this video showing NBA superstar Lebron James getting dunked on by 6’4″ college kid Jordan Crawford during...
9. 2010-11 NBA Season | Lebron James Skips Player Introduction In Second Homecoming At Lebron James’ homecoming last December 2, 2010 in Cleveland, there was anticipation if has the guts to do his pregame throwing-up-chalk-in-the-air ritual. Apparently, he had. He even burned his former team in the 3rd quarter scoring 24 points on...
10. Lebron James’ New Nike “Rise” Commercial Before the Heat vs Celtics game on NBA Opening Night, Nike ran a new 90-second commercial titled “Rise” featuring Lebron James. In the commercial, Lebron was asking repeatedly, “What should I do?” The question seems to be a response to...

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Tags: 2010 nba free agency, 2010 NBA playoffs, 2010 NBA season, cleveland cavaliers, lebron james, new york knicks