LeBron: ""I'm dedicated to bringing a championship to this city"

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SatelliteGuys Master
Original poster
Nov 2, 2006
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Believeland, Ohio
During an interview yesterday with ESPN 850AM WKNR, LeBron made a pretty bold statement........

Although eligible to become a free agent after the 2009-10 season, James says all he's concerned about right now is winning a championship here.

"I'm dedicated to bringing a championship to this city," James told Mark "Munch" Bishop during an appearance Wednesday on ESPN 850 WKNR to promote the upcoming King for Kids Bike-A-Thon. "I'm bringing a parade to this city. I love this city. I love Northeast Ohio. ... Right now I can't see myself going anywhere else."

Also, LBJ had the time to sit down with the local paper (The Plain Dealer), to do an interesting Q&A session.........

Q: What was your reaction to Boston winning the championship?

A: I didn't watch much. I watched a little bit, not much, off and on.

Q: Are you surprised Boston won?
A: Am I surprised? No, I'm not surprised. They had a very good team. They're probably one of the best defensive teams I've ever seen in my lifetime. They had all the tools that you need. They've got a guy who can shoot the ball and make plays in Ray Allen. They've got a go-to guy in Paul Pierce. And you've got the defensive player of the year and another guy who can make things happen in Kevin Garnett. They surrounded those three guys with complementary guys. James Posey was a big part of their team. Rajon Rondo was very big for their team. P.J. Brown was definitely a big pick up for them. Am I surprised? No. They're a very good team.

Q: Paul Pierce was The Finals MVP. He had quite a playoff run. He had to defend you. He had to defend Kobe Bryant. Most people think of his offense. Is he underrated as a defender?
A: I think so. He's very underrated. You'll be underrated when you have a few losing seasons. He's definitely showed why he has been an All-Star every year, no matter how bad their team was in the past. He's one of the best players we have in our league.

Q: Did it take you a while to recover from that Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference semifinals in Boston?
A: I hate to lose. In that situation, we had an opportunity to win, so it was even harder. It took a few weeks to get over it.

Q: Was it harder than you thought it was going to be?

A: It was hard right after the game. I showed a lot of emotion after the game. I was able to calm down a little bit, but as I continued to think about the season being over ... especially after how hard I worked ... I work to play into June every year. I don't set myself to play into May or April. I want to play into June every year.

Q: Let's look ahead. What do you see in the draft?

A: We're at 19. You look for the best available player, I guess. I haven't really been up on it like I should be. I think our front office will do a good job of trying to pick the best player to fit our team.

Q: What do you think they should be looking for there?

A: I don't know what we need. We're just going to have to continue to get better. At 19, you want to try and find the best player who can help us win.

Q: How about free agency? Do you think there will be move movement or trades by the Cavs?
A: I haven't got a good grasp on what's going on with free agents. I think the front office knows. I just know as an individual we have to get better. That means guys have to come back better as individuals. That helps our team automatically. If it means personnel change, so be it. We have to get better because Boston is a very good team and Detroit is going to reload, we feel like. There are other teams we feel like are going to get better.

Q: Will you make any suggestions to the front office?

A: I think they know. If my opinion is asked for, I'll offer my opinion, because I am the guy out there playing, and I know talent, I guess you could say. But I think they know.

Q: Well, I'm asking your opinion.

A: We will get better. I believe in our front office. I think they're going to do a good job this summer.

Q: Are you looking forward to the Olympics?

A: Absolutely. We go June 26 for a couple days of training camp to get reacquainted with each other. Then we go back July 19 to get ready for the big Games.

Q: Can the U.S. get the gold medal back in basketball?

A: Yes.

Q: Is the U.S. going to get the gold medal back?

A: Absolutely.

Q: Did you watch Tiger Woods' playoff in the U.S. Open?

A: Yes.

Q: I know you're not a golfer, but as an athlete and a competitor, what did you think?

A: Amazing. Me and my friends talked about the fact that we never thought we would see another athlete get to the level that Michael Jordan did. Tiger is a couple steps behind Michael Jordan, but he's going to be the greatest athlete to ever achieve anything. The guy he was going against [Rocco Mediate], once he knew it was going to a [sudden-death] playoff, he knew he was done.

Q: Tiger was hurt, and you've had some injuries. Watching him play through his knee injury, did it give you an appreciation for how fleeting your career can be?
A: You have to appreciate it. The guy is out there working as hard as he does. He loves the sport like no other. He goes out there and wins a major golf tournament with a messed-up knee. I'm not a golfer but I know how important the knee is in that sport. Teeing off, you could see the pain on his face.

Q: The University of Akron's men's basketball team is going to wear Nike/LeBron James LJ23 gear next season while the rest of the school's teams wear adidas. How'd you pull that off?
A: Coach [Keith] Dambrot is a very, very, very close friend of mine. He definitely helped me get to the level I'm at right now. So I'm showing my appreciation.

Q: Got any vacation plans?

A: Nope.
 
I don't think LeBron's leaving the Cavs.

He's too smart to fall for a big-money contract from those big-market teams that stink on ice.
 
According to every knick fan i know he is destined to go here. they have to do something to get to a payroll that is five times over the salary "cap." Personally I think that he would indeed make more 4 in NY but that he has so many ties to Cleveland that he may stay there anyway----and his current salary is not exactly poverty level. Not to mention that the Knicks would ahve to totally remake themselves to be able to wina title even with lebron.
 
What LeBron said sounds good - right now.

He might be whistling a different tune 2 years from now.

I predict he will be a Brooklyn Net playing for his buddy Jay Z.
 
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