It’s the biggest issue this summer has to offer — bigger than the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s bigger than anything that happens with the government or the economy. It’s even bigger than the series
finale of “Lost.” I’m sure you already know what I’m talking about, but I’ll tell you anyway. The biggest issue of the summer of 2010 is what is going to go down with the NBA free agents, specifically LeBron James.
The 2010 NBA free agent crop is loaded with franchise player after franchise player. It’s definitely the best crop of free agents the NBA has seen in quite a while. Let’s just take a look at the headliners. You have James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki, Joe Johnson, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and even the overrated-at-this-point-in-his-career Tracy McGrady. Now, everyone and their mother are worried about where James is going to end up playing basketball next year. No one is more worried about this than the entire state of Ohio, considering James has played his entire career there up to this point. He is from Ohio, and he is practically responsible for the entire economy of the Cleveland area. In my opinion, James should ditch the NBA and come play wide receiver for the Jaguars. He would sell tickets because players, not winning, sell tickets; right, Vic Ketchman? Whoops, I’m getting off topic. James has said the Cavaliers do have the best chance to bring him back. But does anybody really believe him when he says that? On the one hand, the Cavs can offer James around $30 million more than any other team in the league. However, James has been rumored to be leaving for greener pastures come the 2010 off-season for years now. I don’t blame him for leaving after dealing with a C- supporting cast that has been masquerading as an A- supporting cast ever since he joined the Cavs. He really has not given the city of Cleveland any reason to believe him when he says he could stay with the Cavs. No one has overlooked his apparent love for New York. He always seems to step his game up a notch when he plays in Madison Square Garden. Also, there was the unforgivable incident when he wore a Yankees cap to a Cleveland Indian’s baseball game. What nerve that James has. All right, so most people that have commented on this issue feel that James will end up in New York, playing under the lights in Madison Square Garden and hanging out with Spike Lee. They feel that he is going to bring the Knicks back from the NBA cellar. Others feel that King James might end up with the Nets. They have a new stadium on the way in Brooklyn, N. Y. They also have a high draft pick and cap room. Plus, think of all the Jay-Z songs on which James could be featured. Hanging with Hova in the Big Apple would tend to be where I think James would end up if that stadium wasn’t two years away. Everyone has commented on this topic. NBA Team officials such as Steve Kerr or Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban have been fined for speaking about the issue before they are allowed. Even the aforementioned group of free agents are talking to each other about where they should go. Some people would love to see James switch to the Western Conference and go play for the Los Angeles Clippers. This could work except for some reason I get the feeling that there is already a big name guy playing for the other L.A. team, the Lakers. Oh, that’s right Kobe Bryant plays there. While LA might be where all the celebs live, I still don’t think that town is big enough for the egos of Bryant and King James. Granted it would be fun to watch those two battle it out four times a year in the same city. Imagine if James somehow resurrected the Clippers and got them to the playoffs. Then imagine if the Clippers and Lakers played each other in the playoffs. I think ESPN would explode. Here is the thing: James wants to win a championship. He has to win a championship if he wants to be considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. For this reason, I feel that James will choose to play
for the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have a good core of young players. Derrick Rose is a premier point guard and is only going to get better. They also have guys like Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and the young and talented Taj Gibson. The Bulls, in my opinion, have the best chance to land James because of the talent they have and the cap room they will have. Plus, Chicago is a big enough market to where James could still do his entrepreneur thing. If the Bulls could land James and a guy like Chris Bosh, they would become instant contenders. I guess come the first of July the wait will be over. Players will sign with their teams in the following days and with each signing, we will have less and less to talk about. At least I can count on talking about James well into free agency because let’s be honest, King James loves the attention and will wait a very long time to make a decision. It should be a good summer.