LeBron's goal for next season: "Win the championship"

[scottmcgrady]

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.

2006 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
79 31.4 7.0 6.6 .480 .738

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.

Read the whole article here

 

[Babe_Ruth]

Oh he's going to practice even harder now that he knows he was so close to make the eastern conference finals, I am sure that's it going to come very soon, with the addition of few role players here and there. I know what you mean about the center position, because Big Z will not be very dominant in the years to come. But they have someone that can replace him in Varajao he just needs to learn how to score more in the post and he needs an outside shot to leave the other centers guessing.

 

[scottmcgrady]

Oh he's going to practice even harder now that he knows he was so close to make the eastern conference finals, I am sure that's it going to come very soon, with the addition of few role players here and there. I know what you mean about the center position, because Big Z will not be very dominant in the years to come. But they have someone that can replace him in Varajao he just needs to learn how to score more in the post and he needs an outside shot to leave the other centers guessing.

Definitely, Lebron is just going to get stronger every day now. I agree with Varajao but they also need one other person down low at least. Big Z will be gone soon, or he wont be playing as hard and Drew Gooden may be a free agent and he's just bad, extremely bad in my opinion just because some nights he can do very well and most of the nights he'll do very poorly. I think Cleveland can take a championship, they just need 1 or 2 other superstars or playmakers who can keep the game going when it gets tough because at the moment it's just Lebron doing that.

 

[Babe_Ruth]

Yes that's true but Drew Gooden is more of a power forward then a center so he would get murdered against other centers in the NBA. I don't know who's out there that they can get right now, there's not a lot of choices, so I think you work really hard to make Varajao develop into a solid center then you get someone to back him up or something. Also they don't really need another superstar because they have Hughes and James already, they need down low presence, that would be a good role player.

 

[oxyMORON]

Those are pretty high goals. I think the Cavs are gonna have to grow more as a team because they most difinitely cannot rely on James to do everyhting. And right now, there are plenty of teams out there with multiple stars and strong supporting players.

 

[Midnight]

Well I think thats the goal of pretty much every NBA player. Agreed? The only problem with the Cavs is their team, its not exactly a very young one either. Lebron has weapons on his team, Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall, Gooden, Snow (at times), Hughes. The one thing I really think the Cavaliers need is a consistant second scorer. In the playoffs all the games towards the all depended on Lebron. Most of the time he came through. Game 7 in Detroit was one where I think everyone would see my point. Lebron was doing his part in the first half and the Detroit defense swarmed him in the second. Nobody else really picked up the slack. That is a problem. Championship teams are not individual, they comprise of the TEAM.

 

[Babe_Ruth]

Yeah, but if Hughes stays healthy there's your consistant second scorer right there, you might say oh he was healthy during the postseason, and yes he was but you got to remember is brother was dying and it must of been hard for him to concentrate on the game. Also players like Marshall are reliable guys that will give you effort and points and rebounds when he comes off the bench, he's always there when you need a big three, same thing with Damon Jones, but he's just a scorer and nothing else. Now for Snow he's only there for leadership, and he's also a very intelligent point guard. But he's not getting any younger. I still believe that Drew Gooden if given time he can improve is game, I know he's been in the league for four years now, he played for three different teams now I believe, but still he has a lot of work to do to improve is game, but if given a fair chance, the man can be a double double kinda of guy.

 

[scottmcgrady]

Eric Snow isn't on the team to score, he's there for his defense and he can make opportunities and doesn't tend to throw the ball away causing turnovers. Larry Hughes has had a very tough season with injuries and the death in his family. I believe that he will work very hard in the off season to become a big scorer for Cleveland. They do need a second scorer and that's what Hughes should be doing. Varejeo is improving all the time and he will be a key presence next year.

 

[oxyMORON]

Yes, it is everyone's goal, but being somewhat inexperienced, I would think to maybe to take it steps at a time. They've already got making to the playoffs down. Then they got going past 1st round down. Then, they'll need to tackle the 2nd round and then the conference finals. You have to see what's in your way before you can win a championship.

 

[Babe_Ruth]

Yes and if you look at Jordans career in is early years he had to get passed the Celtics then the Pistons and when he finnaly got over the hump he had to beat the Lakers which he did, then he went on a roll. I totally agree with you. You've got to look one round at a time then you look at the big picture.