Mario Chalmers was often the on-court whipping boy of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh over the past few years, but the Miami Heat’s Big Three were always quick to dismiss those many disagreements as nothing more than typical familial strife. They frequently called Chalmers their little brother, James even doing so in his letter for Sports Illustrated that announced his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. That very public bit of lasting goodwill between the former teammates not withstanding, though, Chalmers says he still can’t understand why anyone would want to leave Miami for Cleveland.
Chalmers on LeBron: "I never thought anybody would want to leave Miami for Cleveland but you grow up and you move on."
— Shandel Richardson (@ShandelRich) July 19, 2014
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The obvious answer – it’s home. LeBron hardly hid his undying allegiance to Northeast Ohio even after he left it four years ago, and made clear that his reason for spurning the Heat had more to do with love and a sense of servitude for the region in which he grew up than anything else. Still, those that assumed James would stay with the Heat agreed with Chalmers’ sentiment as one of the many justifications behind that reasoning: Cleveland just isn’t Miami.
Adding insult to injury to is that Chalmers was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. If anyone could understand the merit of severe winter climate, you’d think it’d be him. But some people like beaches and some people like snow – Chalmers is clearly the former.
What do you think?
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