MANSFIELD — The color commentator for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ radio broadcasts, Jim Chones was in town Thursday along with play-by-play man John Michael and several members of the Cavaliers marketing staff for the Kiwanis Club of Mansfield luncheon at the Kobacker Room at Ed Pickens’ Cafe on Main.
The way Chones sees it, LeBron James is back where he belongs.
Not surprisingly, Akron’s prodigal son and his return to the Cavaliers after four years with the Miami Heat was a hot topic.
“This is home for him and I think that means something,” Chones said when asked about James’ return to the North Coast. “In the end, all things being equal, it’s always better to be home.”
After leading the Heat to four straight NBA Finals appearances and two championships, James opted out of his contract and announced his decision to return to Cleveland in a well received essay published in Sports Illustrated. The Cavaliers then traded Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall draft picks in 2014 and 2013, respectively, to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a three-team deal that brought power forward and three-time NBA All-Star Kevin Love to Cleveland.
“We have the best player in basketball in LeBron James, nobody is arguing that point,” Chones said, “and we have the No. 1 free agent in basketball in Kevin Love.”
James and Love will join forces with two-time NBA All-Star and 2014 All-Star Game MVP Kyrie Irving. The 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year, Irving is one of the NBA’s emerging stars and has helped the national team reach the FIBA World Cup semifinals (Team USA plays Lithuania on Thursday).
“In my estimation, Kyrie is the best young player in the world. There’s no question about that in my mind,” Chones said. “He’ll have to make some adjustments, but he knows that better than anyone and that’s what he wants to do. He has high expectations of himself and he wasn’t satisfied with the way the season ended last year.”
Cleveland’s new Big Three, along with veteran signees James Jones, Shawn Marion and Mike Miller, have caused expectations to soar. The Cavaliers are a popular pick among Las Vegas oddsmakers to win the NBA Championship.
“With Miller, Jones and Shawn Marion, that may be the most dynamic bench in our league,” Chones said. “There is no one that can match up with that bench.”
Chones can’t wait to see how it all comes together.
“We played awfully hard, but we still couldn’t win over the last four years. We just didn’t have the talent, the versatility or the depth,” Chones said. “Now, all that is going to change. You’ve got three people who no one in our league has proved they can match up with and some very good role players, who are veterans.”
Can the Cavaliers win an NBA Championship?
“After the first three months we’ll have a better idea as to how good we can be and how good we must be in order to win a championship,” Chones said. “Anything is possible.”
