ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

Ohio’s second-largest city has been left reeling by the news today that LeBron James has decided to pull up his Cleveland roots and replant them in California after the basketballer signed a landmark four-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Worth in excess of $200m Australian pesos, James’s departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers is set to have a ‘profound’ impact on the city’s local economy.

So much so that the lakeside city’s entire economy is now solely dependant on reruns of The Drew Carey Show.

Although set in Cleveland, the show was actually filmed at the Warner Bros. Television studios in Burbank, California.

“That doesn’t matter,” said Cleveland mayor, Frank G. Jackson.

Jackson spoke to The Advocate a short time ago despite it being quite late at night in Cleveland at the time of print.

“It’s true that LeBron and the Cavaliers made up the lion’s share of our city’s local economy and his departure from the area and the team will have a run-on effect that’ll last from now to eternity, I’m confident the hole that he’ll leave on our balance sheets can be plugged by the Drew Carey show,”

“Although it wasn’t filmed here, the city does benefit from royalties because it was set here. The city made a deal with Drew when it was filmed. Back when we literally had nothing except a flaming river and heroin.”

“The future is bright for Cleveland.”

The Advocate reached out to LeBron James’ management for comment but they just laughed and hung up on us.

More to come.