When making his free agency decision this summer, could LeBron James channel his inner Dorothy?
That's what Akron relator Alison Baranek is hoping.
Baranek, whose Twitter account says has sold more than $110 million in Akron real estate in the last six years, erected a billboard at the White Pond exit on I-77 urging James to remain with the Cleveland Cavaliers when he can opt out of his current contract this summer. Featuring basketball sneakers-turned-ruby slippers, Baranek's billboard reads: "LeBron, there's no place like home" and "#ThisIsHome."
This, of course, isn't the first time a billboard has been built in an attempt to recruit LeBron.
Last month, 76ers fans posted billboards in Cleveland urging James to come to Philadelphia. Local businesses then bit back with signs retaliating against the Sixers in Lake County and Downtown Cleveland.
When the Cavs visited Los Angeles on a West Coast road trip earlier this week, James was met with billboards recruiting him to join the Lakers. James, for his part, has downplayed any potential distractions that could be associated with the very public recruitment surrounding his free agency.
“You could say it’s a distraction. It’s not. It’s actually very flattering that I’m sitting here at 33 and in my 15th year and teams, or guys, I don’t want to say teams because that becomes tampering, but people in their respective city want me to play for them," James said. "That’s cool, I think. That’s dope.”
Whether or not the Wizard of Oz analogy will hit home -- no pun intended -- with James remains to be seen. Just don't expect this to be the final public play from fans in the race for LeBron's services.
