The more this situation drags out, the more apparent the whole trade is becoming a tasty PR ploy to take heat off LeBron (no pun intended). Look at the facts:
There wasn't much heat on LBJ to begin with though. He was getting more praise than anything.
**It took LeBron almost over a week to meet face-to-face with Pat Riley. His agent fielded offers and pitches from a variety of teams and never once did the media try to fabricate a "favorite" in the LeBron sweepstakes.
They actually did have a favorite.... The Heat. The media kept repeating that LBJ was most likely going to return to the Heat and that he's just waiting for Riley to put a team together. It wasn't until about 3-4 days prior to LBJ announcing that he was going to the Cavs that some people started saying that the Cavs could be in the mix.
**There was zero fanfare to LeBron's announcement. Nobody hyped up a date to when he would make a concrete decision then boom: he posted a Twitter link to a Sports Illustrated article. People can point to a "maturation" for LeBron, and I'm sure there is a bit of credibility to that angle, but LeBron understands how big a hit his brand took in 2010 and wanted to avoid having to work to reestablish it.
I feel like there was quite a bit of fanfare. 2 days before the article came out he was
expected to announce what he's doing. Then he was expected to announce in a day before, after 3 P.M. Then later than night as fans were flooding the streets of his hometown. And for a few days before he announced it, it kept being repeated that he'd announce it before he leaves for Brazil.
**During Game 5 of the Finals, you could sense a dramatic change in LeBron's body language. He understood that Wade needed to make a shift to a Manu-type role and even though the Heat reduced his playing time and didn't play him in back-to-backs, it still seemed like he needed a push into that role. With Wade's ego, that doesn't seem possible. His pride gets in the way. And I also think LeBron always knew Bosh could command a max offer and figured a team like Houston or Dallas would offer that. And it didn't seem possible for the Heat to actually improve unless he and Wade took less money.
I think this is a bit of a reach. This is kind of going back to the "LBJ looked like he quit on the cavs. Just look at his body language against Boston." I simply think it was the look of defeat. He knew they weren't good enough to beat the Spurs.
All of that probably went through his head after the finals as he was trying to make his decision.
**As soon as the idea was floated out that the Cavs could be a prime candidate for a Love trade due to their assets and (at the time) cap space, Love magically made it public that he would be "intrigued" to play in Cleveland. Coincidence?
It was reported that Love was intrigued by the Cavs after they got LBJ. Not before.
**LeBron conveniently left out Wiggins and Bennett of his letter. And guess what two pieces have been the main cogs in all the Love-to-Cleveland gossip? Again, coincidence? You don't think LeBron made it abundantly clear to Dan Gilbert that he wasn't going anywhere unless he could guarantee another elite guy to slide in next to him and Irving? Hmmm...
The Cavs told LBJ they'd try working on a trade for Love if he agreed to come back. They probably told him the pieces involved would include Wiggins and Bennett.
**The Cavs have dragged out signing Wiggins, and now that the idea has been floated out that Wiggins would sign "this week", but Bulls are suddenly interested in revamping Love talks. Not only that, but several other teams are being thrown in as potential third-wheels in a deal in order for Minnesota to dump more salary and take on more assets.
**Why on Earth would two of three suggested pieces in a Love-to-Chicago trade (Mirotic, McDermott) make sense now whenever they can't be dealt for 30 days? Wouldn't this suggest that if Minnesota was even considering it, they also consider to wait it out and try and deal Love closer to the deadline in hopes that a team gets desperate/gets a huge injury/a surprise team wants to make a push?
Just too many things seem to be falling perfectly in place.... Not buying any of this Love-to-Chicago shit.
The last two things make me believe MIN isn't serious about trading him here. The Cavs may have said they're going to sign Wiggins this week to speed Minny up. Because if they don't accept what CLE offers now, then they'll have to wait at least 30 days, and CLE may not be interested anymore. And MIN probably caught their bluff and said, "Oh, we're interested in the Bulls offer despite them having two guys we can't get for 30 days.... What makes you think we can't wait for your offer? Give up more pieces or say goodbye to Love."
Everything else before that is either irrelevant to this situation, or not really true. Before LBJ went back to the Cavs, there was no talk of Love going to CLE [unless it involved going there with LBJ]. It seemed he was on the brink of being traded to the Warriors, but they wouldn't give up Thompson. Those talks cooled and the Bulls and Celtics were involved. Then LBJ said he's coming home, and everything changed.