Lebron - The Time To Come!

jimmay

Lads this one was inevitable...
Lebron James 'the most coveted free agent in the history of the NBA' is going to play ball next year for what team?

Also what do you think of him changing his number next season? Apparently he's going to change it out of respect for Jordan He is planning to use number 6 his Olympic number.
What about his logo you know the one on all of his gear with the number 23 incorporated: see attatched. I'd imagine that would need to be changed too?

Vinnie K

Miami

Its a tricky one, the only thing that is bothering me is that if lbj was to change teams there would be no need to file the papperwork for a number change, once you change team you can change number, you only have to file for a change if your going to be playing for the same team the following season!
Then again its Lebron and he's keeping everyone double guessing about him moving.

kmart6

Could be seen as a forewarning so that Cleveland fans stop going out and buying his Browns 23 jersey!

Kinetic^

If he's changing number then it's not to have respect for Jordan, it's so he can have his own number and not live under the shadow of someone else.

No matter where he goes, the team better be working hard in the off season to build a squad around him.

kmart6

I think if he moves though it will only be for financial reasons! The Cavs have done a good job in getting a supporting cast around him, which will only be improved if they manage to re-sign Big Z! It will take any other team a few years to get close to having a decent enough supporting cast!

Lafortezza

Miami

If the Cavs win the championship this year, I think he might stay. He grew up in Ohio and if he wins one ring there, and the front office promise to keep the Cavs roster full of solid role players, then he might stay and try to win lots more rings.

The Knicks have a unholy amount of cap space to sign some quality players. It's conceivable that they could get both LeBron and either Bosh/Wade while having some reasonable players around them. With New York being a way bigger market than Cleveland, it would raise LeBron's profile, and make him a worldwide name like Jordan or Tiger or Beckham.
LeBron has said before that he wants to be a global icon and one of the first sports billionaires, which would only happen in NY or LA.

The problem is that if he goes to NY with say Bosh, there may not be enough extra $$ to sign good enough players to fill out the roster.

Another thing to think about is that the New Jersey Nets have been bought/are about to be bought by a billionaire Russian (like Roman Abramovich @ Chelsea). If he moves the Nets to Brooklyn, builds a sick stadium for LeBron, and has no problem breaking the salary cap and paying the luxury tax penalties, LeBron could see himself in a NY team with Wade and Bosh and a bunch of near All-Stars on the bench.

Whether David Stern and the other league owners would allow this is another question. Remember the league is losing money steadily in recent years, so while they would hate the league to be unbalanced like this, they need the cash.

padraig_f

New York

He's changing his number cos he's going to Chicago

jimmay

lafortezza wrote: »

Another thing to think about is that the New Jersey Nets have been bought/are about to be bought by a billionaire Russian (like Roman Abramovich @ Chelsea). If he moves the Nets to Brooklyn, builds a sick stadium for LeBron, and has no problem breaking the salary cap and paying the luxury tax penalties, LeBron could see himself in a NY team with Wade and Bosh and a bunch of near All-Stars on the bench.

Whether David Stern and the other league owners would allow this is another question. Remember the league is losing money steadily in recent years, so while they would hate the league to be unbalanced like this, they need the cash.

Whether David Stern and the other league owners would allow what? The takeover by the Russian bazillionaire? I know the owners need to get approval just like Jordan taking over the Bobcats but once he is in charge surely he can spend as much money as he wants.

scooby2791

New York

Cavs have done too much for him to just let him walk away. He'll stay and he already said he is changing his number out of respect of Jordan, he said the NBA should retire no.23 for all teams out of respect for Jordan.

Carcharodon

New York

It is a bit of a toss up between Cavs and NY, picked the Cavs in the naive thinking that he will show loyalty and try and build a legacy like Jordan did at the Bulls.
In saying that NY has everything a global marketing machine like LeBron needs, he will be on a bigger stage and we all know he loves the limelight. NY obviously have the capability of getting some good players in to support him but it is easier said than done to build a championship roster.

Wade and LeBron at Miami would be sweet, don't think it will happen though, I would put an outside hailmary bet on the Bulls to sign him, that would be the fitting end to a saga that this is and which will get so much worse.

Lafortezza

Miami

jimmay wrote: »

Whether David Stern and the other league owners would allow what? The takeover by the Russian bazillionaire? I know the owners need to get approval just like Jordan taking over the Bobcats but once he is in charge surely he can spend as much money as he wants.

Yeah, whether Stern + owners would allow the takeover. I think they have a veto on who can purchase a franchise. If they let him buy the Nets, he could totally mess up the league by signing every good player to big contracts and basically build himself a mini all star team. If he's a billionaire then going over the salary cap (and the penalties/taxes that incurs) is nothing to him.

In a free agent market like the one coming up this summer, an owner with no regard for money could sign all the best players. A team with:
PG: Devin Harris
SG: Dwyane Wade
SF: LeBron
PF: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Bosh
would win championships for years and years.

The reason this might actually happen is that the NBA is losing a crazy amount of money: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/basketball/nba-projects-400-million-loss/article1467718/

jimmay

It is a tough one to call. In fact I heard a commentator say perhaps even Lebron James doesn't know where he's going to play next season. Can you imagine what all the people in his ear will be saying trying to sign him. It must be good to be Lebron James

I was watching the game versus the Celts last week and TNT had this online player cam where you can see Lebron off the ball (i.e standing at the sidelines chatting to his teammates). It is well known, he has FUN playing the game and possibly significantly fun in CLEVELAND. His teammates adore him and look up to him and no doubt I'm sure he loves them too. He has been there all his NBA career.

At this stage I don't know (hafta wait for a couple more articles to pop up ) but I think I would be more surprised to see him leave the Cavs than stay.

scooby2791 wrote: »

He'll stay and he already said he is changing his number out of respect of Jordan

See I don't get that. The whole reason he chose 23 in the first place was because he idolized and respected Jordan. I think I agree with Kinetic above that it's so he has his own number and so perhaps he doesn't live under 'the shadow of someone else'.

It's also possible he is doing it out of respect for MJ as he doesn't want to risk taking that relation away from MJ. I don't know about anyone else but when I see the number 23 I think of Jordan.

scooby2791

New York

jimmay wrote: »

See I don't get that. The whole reason he chose 23 in the first place was because he idolized and respected Jordan. I think I agree with Kinetic above that it's so he has his own number and so perhaps he doesn't live under 'the shadow of someone else'.

It's also possible he is doing it out of respect for MJ as he doesn't want to risk taking that relation away from MJ. I don't know about anyone else but when I see the number 23 I think of Jordan.

Not much to get really, Lebron said it himself that he feels he should stop wearing 23 because its Jordans number - again he said the NBA should retire the number so no player could ever wear it. I also don't think having the same number really makes any difference either, Kobe has had the same stuff about Jordan through his career, its always going to happen to the next best thing tbh.

Bron is just trying to show respect to arguably the G.O.A.T but he is going about it in a strange way. Simple as. He said it himself.

Kulgan

New York

lafortezza wrote: »

In a free agent market like the one coming up this summer, an owner with no regard for money could sign all the best players. A team with:
PG: Devin Harris
SG: Dwyane Wade
SF: LeBron
PF: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Bosh
would win championships for years and years.

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I don't know the NBA salary cap rules inside out but I'm fairly certain the above couldn't happen, It's a soft cap but not that soft!!!

Lafortezza

Miami

Kulgan wrote: »

I don't know the NBA salary cap rules inside out but I'm fairly certain the above couldn't happen, It's a soft cap but not that soft!!!

You could be right!
I think the cap is around 70million per year or something, if you go over this amount then you pay $1 for every $1 over the cap.
So paying your team $80 million will cost you $90 million, paying them $120million will cost you $170million including taxes.

I'm pretty sure it's more complicated than that, but an Abramovich type owner will money to burn might not care!

frostie500

I cant see him staying with the Cavs, the pull of New York may be too large. I can see wherever he ends up being where Wade goes as well. The two of them have consistently said they want to play together and I wouldnt be suprised to see them both take a lower contract value than their real worth to make it happen. Both players know that if they win titles together the joint endorsement deals etc. would more than make up for any wage decrease.

jimmay

There's been tonnes of speculation articles already and no doubt there'll be a fair few more.

Here's an interesting piece regarding Lebron's future team/coach/number

If anyone comes across any good ones please post up here cheers

jimmay

Another arty: this time - LBJ looking good to stay in Cleveland

ballsdotie

lebron and bosh both star in the top 10 plays from "st pattys day" - check out the raptors special green kit for the day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y08BesUb0pY

jimmay

Let the talk begin!

He said in the press conf the most important thing to him is he wants to win.
Considering Cavs can't sign another free agent that leaves NY or Miami. Would feel sorry for Cleveland but I can't wait to just find out one way or another!

eagle eye

Some other lucky b*stard

Ok imo he should stay with the Cavs.

I think Mike Brown has to go, I've never rated him as a head coach but he has held onto his job because of LeBron's brilliance.

I think I'm right in saying that Shaq is a free agent? Let him go I say.

If they can get a good deal in a trade with Mo Williams going I'd do that too.

Carcharodon

New York

I think he is definitely gone, NY or somewhere is where someone as big as him needs to be, not that I think that its the right thing or not but thats the reality of the situation.

Cavs could go into meltdown if he goes, might regret not trading him now, could of got a bunch of first round draft picks, easy to say that now I know.

Ial think Brown is a poor coach, never really uses his bench effectively, thought Hickson should of played a lot more, was surprised he didn't use Illgauskus more after they resigned him, makes little sense.

And, the Cavs plus LeBron just gave up tonight with two shot clocks remaining, looks bad on everyone involved with the team.

eagle eye

Some other lucky b*stard

Carcharodon wrote: »

I think he is definitely gone, NY or somewhere is where someone as big as him needs to be, not that I think that its the right thing or not but thats the reality of the situation.

I think he will go too but I'd prefer if he stayed there, its a much bigger thing to make a franchise than to go to a big franchise with huge money and win. I can't agree with the highlighted bit, look at Tim Duncan for instance and thats recent, Larry Bird was the greatest ever in his day and he was in Boston, the Bulls were never a big franchise until MJ arrived even though Chicago is a huge city.

A guy like LeBron transcends cities just like Bird did, like MJ did, like Kobe does and to a lesser extent like Tim Duncan, he is a household name in the US and always will be no matter what city he is in.

If he does move its him looking for a fresh start and it will take time to build a team around him there too, they might have the money to bring in a lot of talent but it takes time to get the right mix to win championships. You only have to look at the Rockets team, it took them a couple of years to get it right and even with a team that included the great Olajuwon, Horry, Thorpe, Rollins and really good depth they couldn't do it, then they brought in Mario Elie and things changed for them winning two titles during MJ's first retirement but when MJ came back they brought in even bigger names to try and beat him but it didn't work. I remember watching them in '96 or '97 and thinking this team could not be beaten with the amount of talent they had which included Olajuwon, Barkley, Elie and Kevin Willis in an all-star lineup and plenty of depth too but they never won another NBA title. It just shows that its hard to get it right.

Carcharodon

New York

eagle eye wrote: »

I think he will go too but I'd prefer if he stayed there, its a much bigger thing to make a franchise than to go to a big franchise with huge money and win. I can't agree with the highlighted bit, look at Tim Duncan for instance and thats recent, Larry Bird was the greatest ever in his day and he was in Boston, the Bulls were never a big franchise until MJ arrived even though Chicago is a huge city.

A guy like LeBron transcends cities just like Bird did, like MJ did, like Kobe does and to a lesser extent like Tim Duncan, he is a household name in the US and always will be no matter what city he is in.

If he does move its him looking for a fresh start and it will take time to build a team around him there too, they might have the money to bring in a lot of talent but it takes time to get the right mix to win championships. You only have to look at the Rockets team, it took them a couple of years to get it right and even with a team that included the great Olajuwon, Horry, Thorpe, Rollins and really good depth they couldn't do it, then they brought in Mario Elie and things changed for them winning two titles during MJ's first retirement but when MJ came back they brought in even bigger names to try and beat him but it didn't work. I remember watching them in '96 or '97 and thinking this team could not be beaten with the amount of talent they had which included Olajuwon, Barkley, Elie and Kevin Willis in an all-star lineup and plenty of depth too but they never won another NBA title. It just shows that its hard to get it right.

I agree with you, I think it would be a bigger thing to build a franchise and it will not be easy to build a winning team straight away.
I kind of have to disagree with the Tim Duncan part, obviously one of the greatest and so on but when it comes to his worldwide marketing and such,LeBron is in a different league.
Its just the way is now I think, he is a celebrity above a basketball player nearly and there will be a big pull towards NY maybe.

jimmay

Hmmm just listening to NBA Fastbreak, never really seriously considered the Nets or the Bulls

Nets could be a nice situation:

1. couple of draft picks
2. harris & lopez young all star/potential all star
3. money to spend on 2 max players
4. JZ

Bulls:

1. players like Rose, Noah to trade for another big free agent
2. big city
3. idol MJ played there

Knicks:

1. Money to get 2 free agents

I don't think he'll be as predictable and go to NY as many will expect

scooby2791

New York

He'll probably stay in Cleveland, there isn't really any reason for him to leave, they have purpose built a very very solid team around him, they just need a real coach who can get the best out of the supporting cast and not just rely on Bron. Mike Brown sucked as a coach and kept his job purely because of Lebron, I'd love the Cavs to pick up Avery Johnson or Lawrence Frank.

If he does decide to leave I'd imagine New Jerski Nyets might be up there as they seem to have the biggest attraction IMO - Lopez,Harris,Williams,Lee etc/ Jay-Z/ Billionaire owner in Phokorov. NY would be a horrible idea, they have next to no players under contract next season and are just a general all round terribly run club. Pretty much any other Eastern Conference team have to give up or take big risks if they want to procure Bron's services, just seems to much of an inconvenience for him to move and there isn't much any team can offer compared to what the Cavaliers already have.

Its just a big media hype frenzy at the moment, we should be more focused on Wade,Bosh,Johnson who are actually more likely to be switching uniforms some next season.

eagle eye

Some other lucky b*stard

What a lot of people forget is that all the greats had that player who added so much and they had that special chemistry with on the floor.

MJ had Scottie Pippen.
Larry Bird had Robert Parish.
Kobe had Shaq and now has Pau Gasol.
Magic had Kareem Abdul Jabar.

And thats not even mentioning the coaches. MJ and Kobe had Phil Jackson. Larry had Red Auerbach as general manager and really the kingpin of Boston and Magic had Pat Riley.

conno16

Some other lucky b*stard

i'm pretty sure he'll move to NJ
they seem to have a good project being advanced that will dominate the NBA within 2 years
lebron will prob win 3 rings at least there
and his bank balance will multiply
he doesn't owe the cavs anything now - transformed the team and the city to a certain extent
how does he get rewarded - they bring in some washed up hasbeens like shaq!
that for me put the final nail in the lebron/cav coffin
a disaster from day 1

Emelio

lebron must leave soon
he need rewards of NBA titles
if not, his legacy is limited
he is ultimate basketball player of all time i think

padraig_f

New York

eagle eye wrote: »

What a lot of people forget is that all the greats had that player who added so much and they had that special chemistry with on the floor.

You can't separate the player from the team as simply as that, Jordan drove his team-mates relentlessly, he made Pippen a better player. Whoever his teammates were, it's impossible to imagine a Jordan team going out of the playoffs as tamely as Lebron and his Cavs did against the Celtics this year.

Emelio wrote:

he is ultimate basketball player of all time i think

Eh, no. He hasn't won anything. Jordan averaged 37 points a game in his first season and got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. No-one talks about that season now, they talk about the 6 championships when he curbed his offense for the benefit of the team. Basketball is a team game and team achievements need to be considered when judging a player. The reason this thread exists is that Lebron, after 7 years, has failed to win a championship with his current team.

Emelio

but he is best player of all time no
on individual he surpass magic, barkley, jordan, kobe, bird, hakeem the dream

i understand your point with difficulty though
yes jordan tame his game for benefit of bulls
but too has lebron i beleve
he could score 60 points every week but cavs would lose 110 - 66 etc

Lafortezza

Miami

Depends how you define best players ever. If you're going by stats then it's probably Wilt, if you're going by numbers over a really long career at the highest level, it's probably Kareem.
It's got to be Jordan for championships, the way he won them, how (later in his career) he helped his team mates get better, all those ice cold clutch plays.

Personally I think LeBron has to win maybe 3 championships and keep his stats close to what they have been over the last few years before people will genuinely compare him to Jordan.

jimmay

padraig_f wrote: »

. The reason this thread exists is that Lebron, after 7 years, has failed to win a championship with his current team.

No the reason this thread exists is because it's for discussion of where Lebron should go and what will become of his future. Of course anything Lebron related will get flung here and that's fine. Jordan won in his 7th season so everyone had been comparing Lebron with that and it is seen as a failure he hasn't won...yet.
I actually think it's an immense amount of pressure on him no matter how great he is and I hope it doesn't weigh on his shoulders too much.

lafortezza wrote: »

Personally I think LeBron has to win maybe 3 championships and keep his stats close to what they have been over the last few years before people will genuinely compare him to Jordan.

You're probably right but as I heard him say in an interview post playoff game 5 v Celts he's not worried about his legacy, that's for other people to determine after his career is over.

The fact is he is the most wanted free agent especially at such a young age in the HISTORY of the NBA. Every single team would sign him if they could. I've read so many articles and heard so much speculation regarding his move it's really quite exciting. However there's a good chance he'll just stay with Cavs which would be a bit anti-climatic. I will root for him wherever he goes (bar Lakers). It's mad that Obama and the mayor of New York have been canvassing for him to their teams and all!

jimmay

Another one here
You'd imagine Lebron will stay in Cleveland, they ADORE him there, he couldn't really ask them to do anymore for him and I'm sure anything he asks for they'll do. That said he's got a team of people around him and who knows what other factors are being thrown about.

I think he'll stay, I mean at the end of the day he'd been having a great time in Cleveland...always joking and dancing with team-mates, leader of his team, won 2 back-to-back MVP awards

Lafortezza

Miami

The thing is though that the Cavs can't really add much more to their team to give LeBron help. The players that failed in this years playoffs Shaq/Mo Williams/Gibson/Jamison are all locked up contract wise, although Shaq might call it quits this summer and retire.

I'm not sure of the contract maths side of it but I do know that they have splashed the cash on role players and have very little wiggle room if they want to add a really good player in the off season. To be honest what team is going to give the Cavs a really good player for Mo Williams?

jimmay

lafortezza wrote: »

The thing is though that the Cavs can't really add much more to their team to give LeBron help. The players that failed in this years playoffs Shaq/Mo Williams/Gibson/Jamison are all locked up contract wise, although Shaq might call it quits this summer and retire.

I'm not sure of the contract maths side of it but I do know that they have splashed the cash on role players and have very little wiggle room if they want to add a really good player in the off season. To be honest what team is going to give the Cavs a really good player for Mo Williams?

Yep I'd agree the Cavs would need another top quality player to complement Lebron. Shaq has had it, I don't know how he made it work with Wade in 06 i guess he's just a bit longer in the tooth now.

But on the note of spending money I don't think Danny Gilbert will be too adverse to that as there's already chatter about paying top dollar to bring in Phil Jackson from L.A. The fact is Lebron can double an organisations net worth (forget the figures but he's done that with Cleveland.) Just found article here but found it a bit complicated other than the jist that Lebron should be printing his own money. This also relates to him signing with the Knicks as I understand they seem to be the only team that can offer him stock in the organisation as part of his salary meaning he will benefit more directly.

Just watched his movie 'More than a game', good flick and I got the feeling from his team 'The fab 5' who he's surrounded himself with, that they'll make a good decision regarding his next move. I mean people make decisions for all kinds of reasons, it could come down to his wife's preference for where to raise the children which is as good a reason as any but you know what I mean.

jimmay

Danny Ferry (GM) of Cleveland has "departed"

Hmmm interesting stuff, raises more questions than anything!

Also just came across this slightly old but very interesting article nonetheless concerning Mr. James and his 2010 offseason decisions!

padraig_f

New York

Looks like something could be happening in Chicago. Bulls agreed to trade starting shooting guard, Kirk Hinrich, and this year's first round draft pick to the Wizards, just to clear cap space.

NY Times quotes anonymous NBA executive saying Lebron to Chicago is a done deal

Sam Smith, writer on bulls.com, on twitter today:
"Catch this from Draft Night? http://bit.ly/aV7wdj Good stuff comin Monday"

conno16

Some other lucky b*stard

surely the bulls would be a step backwards
they dont have a team to support lebron
thats ridiculous in my book
dont do it man

padraig_f

New York

conno16 wrote: »

surely the bulls would be a step backwards
they dont have a team to support lebron
thats ridiculous in my book
dont do it man

huh? they made the playoffs the last 2 years. young team. all-star point-guard, near all-star centre, Gibson made the 2010 all-rookie team, Deng averages nearly 20 points a game, cap space to sign one more free agent. And they have the defensive coach of the Celtics taking over. I'd say it represents his best chance among the potential teams of winning a championship.

Sam Smith has another article today and looks like it's still very much up in the air whether he goes there, though Chicago are definitely going for it.

Sea Devils

Miami

Wade, Lebron and Bosh on the same team?:eek:

It is getting a little more possible now since the Heat cut James Jones, which I missed, meaning that they only have Mario Chalmers & Michael Beasley under contract. Jones' contract was only partially guaranteed, and they now have about $43.2M to split between LeBron/Wade/Bosh. This could get damn interesting.

Da GOAT

it definitly wont happen for all 3 to be on same team. all players want max contracts and not getting a max costs each guy like $15m. it wud be retarded to pass up so much money.

esp since like 60% of all nba players are bankrupt within 2-3 years of retirement. lol

Sea Devils

Miami

Well I did read a report on RealGM that said all three have discussed splitting the money up if they do sign in Miami. They don't quite have the room to do the max for each guy, but if Toronto did a sign-and-trade for Bosh involving Beasley, they would.

Da GOAT

yea they would have too, but if you consider that they can only sign other players to the team for 480k minimum contracts then they are doomed. u need a second unit since not all 3 can play 48 minutes. Id say if they joined together theres a decent chance they wont win a title.

Now if they can get old veterans to join for min. for a good shot at the title then cool. gettgin rookies wont do but maybe vets will take a salary hit.

padraig_f

New York

Sam Smith: Here's where all the free agents are going.

Speculation, but good article.

Sea Devils

Miami

Had to laugh when I saw that the Bucks got Drew Gooden on a 5 year 32 million contract. Between adding Correy Magette and now this it's like what on earth are they thinking.

Rented Mule

conno16 wrote: »

surely the bulls would be a step backwards
they dont have a team to support lebron
thats ridiculous in my book
dont do it man

The Bulls don't have a team to support him ??

Seriously ??

The Bulls are a solid young team with complimentary players that would be excellent around Lebron. They also have room for a second MAX contract to add another high profile player.

The one thing that the Bulls need to address is a solid outside shooter.

conno16

Some other lucky b*stard

Jay Z is meant to have delivered a real solid pitch for the nets
they have to be the front-runners now

Da GOAT

imo order he goes to;

Bulls
Heat (if any max goes there then he wont)
Mavs (sign and trade, Mavs will have enough pieces left)
Cavs
Nets
Knicks

The last 2 would be a joke to go too.

conno16

Some other lucky b*stard

the Jay Z factor should not be under-estimated..
big bucks too

Da GOAT

all bucks are the same!

imo JayZ is a none factor, James will not win anything with the nets for about 3years