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scottmcgrady
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Do you guys think that he can bring a championship to Cleveland soon. With some moves on the off season i think they have the capability to do it, and it would help if Donyell and Damon Jones start knocking down their three's and Larry Hughes gets back into shape. Their biggest problem for me is that they don't have a dominant center, and i think thats what they need to win a championship.CLEVELAND -- Less than a day after losing a Game 7 that he has no plans to ever watch on tape, LeBron James stated without a moment's hesitation his goal for next season:
"Win the championship," James said Monday. "Simple as that."
As James learned, he can't win one by himself.
Posting incredible statistics nearly every time he took the floor, James pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers deeper into the NBA playoffs than they had been since 1992, when he was 7 years old.
But a merry month of May in Cleveland ended in ugliness on Sunday, when a 79-61 loss to the Detroit Pistons exposed the Cavs for what they still are: a one-man team.
With a date with Miami in the Eastern Conference finals dangling in front of him, James was abandoned in the final game of his first postseason as a pro when he made more field goals (11) than his teammates (9).
Still, James came away feeling good about the future.
"We did a great job this year of making the playoffs, but our goal is higher now," James said. "We've got to mentally focus on getting better this offseason and come back and win the championship."
Cleveland's first order of offseason business -- and arguably the biggest transaction in franchise history -- is to sign James to a contract extension.
On July 1, the Cavaliers can offer him a five-year, $75 million deal that would lock him up through the 2011-12 season. James will play next year under his four-year rookie contract before any new deal would kick in.
If he signs the extension, and all signs point to him doing so, James would spend at least his first nine seasons with Cleveland. And, even at the end of that stretch, he would be only 27.
"Of course I want to stay," James said. "This season has really put me in a good frame of mind as far as me being a part of this organization for a long time. The great teammates that I have and a coaching staff that I really enjoy being around."
"Of course I want to stay. This season has really put me in a good frame of mind as far as me being a part of this organization for a long time. The great teammates that I have and a coaching staff that I really enjoy being around."
LeBron James
James, who will play for the United States in the world championships in Japan, doesn't expect any contract talks to drag on.
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2006 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
79 31.4 7.0 6.6 .480 .738
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