NBA HOME TO PORTLAND

Home. It’s a warm word with sweet references.

Home is warm and sweet like a cup of hot chocolate on Hawthorne.

Sweet and warm like a pot of comfort tea in the Pearl.

Home in the NBA used to mean wherever you got drafted. That’s why it’s called the home court.

Then LeBron left Cleveland. And returned.

His action changed the notion of home for players who need the comfort of familiar surroundings to succeed.

These are grown men wearing themselves to the bone to win titles, not little babies, but they still like home best.

Who are the biggest homebodies in the NBA?

LBJ

No matter what you think of Cleveland, it got a lot better with LeBron’s return.

He’ll make the winters warmer and the summers cooler.

LeBron has the power to steal thunder from THE Ohio State and their homer coach Urban Meyer.

One NBA title in Cleveland will throw enough shade on Columbus to choke out a field of flowering buckeyes.

Larry Bird sings Back Home Again In Indiana.

Bird returned to his Indiana nest following his Boston Celtic glory days. More accurately, he went home after his bad back finally gave out.

All he did was lift the Pacers higher than they’d ever been until then.

First as head coach, then team president, he brought his bitter brand of round ball home to the midwest.

When you’re nicknamed The Hick From French Lick, where else would you want to go?

If the Pacers make it to the pot of gold at the end of the NBA Finals, expect Bird to gear up in a feathered flight suit and a GoPro.

His audio while soaring over Indy will be the loudest “WOO HOO” ever recorded.

Michael Jordan loves sweet home Chicago?

He’d had enough Windy City bull by the time he left.

Instead of sticking around his next team, the Washington Wizards, he headed home to Tobacco Road.

Now he owns the Charlotte Hornets. He’s a certified billionaire, dodging the stereotype of a busted superstar.

His NBA money didn’t evaporate the way $20 million floated away from Tim Duncan.

Nike’s Jordan Brand hasn’t hurt him, either. A Nike man recently explained the Jordan Brand like this:

“Phil Knight didn’t like the Jordan Brand at first. His business instinct was against it.

“One afternoon he’s standing outside with one of his top guys. A Mercedes Benz drove by. The top guy said he’d love to drive on of those.

“Mr. Knight said he had a few of them. He told his top guy he could buy one of he wanted.

“The executive told Phil Knight, “I suppose I could buy a Mercedes. We know how great they are by the name. By the way, the people it’s named for have been dead a hundred years, but the name still means quality.

“They watched the Mercedes drive away in silence. That’s when Phil Knight changed his mind on the Jordan Brand.”

Which Oregon NBA star comes home?

Danny Ainge played with the Blazers after his championship years in Boston. His home state team made the finals, but he left as a free agent.

After his playing days ended he went back to Boston instead of Portland and took them to a title as team president.

Is there another player with Oregon roots who comes home after their playing days?

Kevin Love? Kyle Singler? Terrence Ross? Terrence Jones? Mike Dunleavy, Jr? A.C. Green?

Will the Blazers come around and hire Damon Stoudamire to run the business?

Home is a big draw, but does Portland have enough pull to lure former stars?

(a version of this post appears on oregonsportsnews.com)