
As the Cavaliers choked badly against the Celtics and with coach Mike Brown most likely out the door, it seems more and more likely than LeBron James will leave Cleveland and sign a max deal somewhere else. But where will he land? Or will he leave?
Staying with Cleveland
LeBron will make the most money re-signing with Cleveland, earning at most $126 million over a six year deal while other teams can offer up to $96.2 million over a five year deal (and the supposed contract with Nike that would pay him more elsewhere is not true, that was on the previous contract). Plus he is from the Cleveland area, only 40 miles away. And here is what I think. If he wins a title in Cleveland, he will be beloved there forever, the futility of Cleveland sports being the main reason. Plus another thing, I do not believe that just moving to New York or another big market city will spike merchandise sales, winning will do that regardless of city. Plus here is another thing. My thing is that I think some people will view LeBron as quitter when he did not win a title in Cleveland, and he is not that far off. So in my opinion, I think he will stay but the likelihood of him staying is much less than say at midseason.
Signs with New York Knicks
LeBron has stated his love for Madison Square Garden and has played awesome there. And Donnie Walsh has been doing wonders in clearing cap room for LeBron and it will most likely be seen as a failure if the Knicks do not sign LeBron as the Knicks are under the salary cap in the first time in around 15 years. But there is no way that LeBron can ignore the dysfunction that has plagued the Kmicks as of late and even with LeBron, the Knicks still do not have a dominant big man (although Chris Bosh is certainly an option) nor do they have many other pieces to work with so they would be at least a couple years away to be on the level with say Orlando.
Signs with the Nets
This is not as unlikely as some people say it could be. Yes the Nets were pitiful last year, we all know that. LeBron has shown his love for Jay-Z, who is a minority owner of the Nets. Mikhail Prokhorov has boatloads of cash on the way over from Russia. The Nets have an elite center (who is actually mobile, unlike the guy who has been playing with LeBron of late) plus a pretty good guard in Devin Harris and a top 3 or better draft pick plus another first round choice. And they are moving to Brooklyn within the next couple of years.
Signs with the Bulls
The dark horse in the group, in my opinion. While LeBron will never be Michael Jordan and be the greatest player in franchise history, which is what I think he wants to be for whatever teams he plays for, there is a pretty good nucleus around him. There is a great young point guard in Derrick Rose, a pretty good center in Joakim Noah, a really good wing player in Luol Deng and a solid guard in Captain Kirk Hinrich. If he signs there I think he could and will win a title within a couple of years, which you can't say about some of the other favorites to sign him.
