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Years ago

Where will LeBron go?

So we all know that LeBron's contract is up in 2010, and that quite a few teams in the NBA are drooling over the prospect of signing him on.

With the Pistons just trading Chauncey and co. for AI and some serious salary cap space at the end of the season (something like 30ish million a year?!), it looks to me like they are putting their hands up as a viable candidate to fill LeBrons wallet come 2010.
Other teams that are already showing signs of interest include the Knicks and New Jersey.

Where does everybody think that he'll go? Will he stay put in Cleveland? Will he go to Europe and make 100mil in like 2 years or something? Will he join a championship franchise or aspire to create his own?

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LA Boy  
Years ago

I heard from my sources it's either NJ or NY...I asked the guy about Detroit and it seems out of picture.

We have a feeling for NJ because it'll provide better team for competition and where they play games at is actually better situated for marketing comparing to NY. You think about potential line up and it's pretty awesome...

Harris, Carter, Lebron, Yi

but maybe Carter will need to be dropped sometime soon for that

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shin splints  
Years ago

I would have thought that with the Economic crisis in the US, and as a result the now uncertainty with the multi-billion dollar development of the future home of the Nets will have an impact on their ability to sign Lebron.


And what about the rumoured $50 million payout by Nike to LBJ if he signs with New York?

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cLaRkY  
Years ago

In my opinion I think he should now be looking at Detroit as his first option.
If he is looking to cement his place amongst basketball greats, he needs to win at least one championship, and with Joe Dumars in charge of the Pistons LeBron would be in one of best postions of his career to contend for a title.

Rip Hamilton has been signed to 3 year extension, Jason Maxiell has been signed to an extension, Rodney Stuckey & Tayshaun Prince will be around for a while.
That could be the best roster that LeBron will ever play with, giving him a HUGE chance at taking home at least one title.

And with Dumars as the GM, the signing of LeBron would not be a wasted one because he would be surrounded by solid players and coaching staff.

Thats just my opinion though...

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SKUX101  
Years ago

What about Memphis. I can certainly see him playing in the Grizzlies lineup, and I can certainly see them having a solid roster.

Lebron,Mayo,R.Gay,Gasol and Conley.

Boy, I think that if Memphis can resign those players and get them back year after year, The Grizzlies will be a very good team in a few years. Look at how young their squad is:
Conley=21 years of age
Mayo=21 years of age(Bday is today funny that)
Gay=22 years of age
Gasol=23 years of age.

That has to be one of the youngest rosters in the NBA. Especially when u add guys like Hamed Haddadi who is 23 and Kyle Lowry who is 22. Javaris Crittenton is also 20.
That is one hell of a young squad-Championship calibre team in a few years. You can't argue with that!

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Anonymous  
Years ago

I'll bet my house on Lebron not going to Memphis. Seriously...Memphis?

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LA Boy  
Years ago

My guy got it off LBJ first hand on that one...

Yes probably better money with NY but NJ a better team, no chance on Memphis just because where it's at. With NJ he gets both a decent team to contend for championship and still the marketing really

Whereas NY will be money without championship

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Anonymous  
Years ago

how is a declining carter with an average point guard in harris and an unproven forward in yi any better than the current cavs team?

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David  
Years ago

If Lebron goes he goes to a big market etc,etc but I can actually see him staying in Cleveland because of the financial crisis. NJ appears to be going under with everything so NJ isnt attractive to him NY is in such a mess, unless it cleans up its act it wont lure him. Detroit wont take Lebron they will go for Bosh when everyone else is focused on Lebron they will move on bosh and have the best team in the East if stuckey becomes their great point gaurd, and LBJ stays in cleveland and with a good player wins a championship????

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LA Boy  
Years ago

A declining all star is still better than most for your reference and yi is underated as hell man, have you even watched his game? a lot still to work on but a better player than what Cavs got on LBJ. Devin Harris definitely an upgrade from Gibson.

Caveliers ain't no big market, they really had no sport before the King got in town. Unless there's a significant roster upgrade within the next 2 years, I can say 90% chance he'll leave is what I'm told; we'll wait and see

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Ricey  
Years ago

if he doesn't go to europe he will sign with NY if he doesn't stick with the cavs... don't waste time thinking anything else

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Quagmire  
Years ago

More and more i'm leaning towards him staying in cleveland....

To 'abandon' them after so many years would greatly effect his PR potential. Lets be honest, he is a great player but if guys like Rose and Oden, CP3, Wade etc continue to have success and begin winning championships, LeBo could come down the pecking order in terms of being the face of the L. Add Bosh to that list too...

I don't think he has any more excuses for not going all the way this year. They have a decent team. I would be real surprised to see him leave a team he wins a championship with...

That said, he still needs an all-star teamate...
(Mo aint it.)

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Isaac  
Years ago

NJ is owned by his pal Jay-Z, right?

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DB5  
Years ago

Correct Isaac, and they are looking to relocate the team to Brooklyn. Therefore Lebron can keep his buddy happy, and also be in the big market city he wants, in a brand new stadium.

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Panther  
Years ago

On the money Isaac, was just about to say the same thing. It's got to be NY for the worldwide exposure or NJ because he buddy Jay-Z is part owner. I still think he will go to NY, purely because of his aspirations to build his worldwide diminance and become the first Afro-American Bill Gates!

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Big Marty  
Years ago

Lebron has openly admitted he will play for whomever puts down the dollars.

NY and NJ will be need to cough up big bucks to cement his contract. Being buddies with the club owner is one thing; being friends with the guy who signs your cheques is another.

I can another overblown "Rashard Lewis" offer being thrown to Lebron in 2010.

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Bo Hamburger  
Years ago

FWIW, no-one appears to be betting the farm on whether the Nets' new stadium will even get built, thanks to the recent financial goings-on and the proponents relying heavily on bonds for funding.

There's a story about it here, it has lots of interesting key phrases like 'rare good news' and 'hobbled by delays, lawsuits and a weak economy'.

The Ratner guy in the middle of it all has that whiff of a fast-talking entrepreneurial type about him - and we know how good those sorts of guys can be for basketball.

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Ricey  
Years ago

if he went to NJ who would be going to Brooklyn, you can expect him to be signed over to Reebok eventually, not to mention with some sort of deal with Roc-a-Wear... Nike is screwed if he goes to NJ

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lockstock  
Years ago

A friend of a friend told me he was definitely probably going to go West. My friend's friend lives up the street from him and chatted to him while he was collecting his newspaper one morning.. straight from the horse's mouth.

Nike have said they will pay him $80M if he goes to Portland. They have a good nucleus there who they could surround him with. Apparently also Portland's director of player management is Lebron's girlfriend's mum's high school pal so that is a big factor, so I'm told.

I'm reliably told too that Lebron likes the climate in Portland. He's a big fan of zine-making too is Lebron. I once saw one of his publications and it was first-class.

So my guess is Portland.



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...  
Years ago

Disagree Ricenuts.
Nike wont let him go and Reebok wont have enough bankroll to buy him. I think he'll still go to NJ though, H-to-tha-Izzo will convince him.

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DERRICK CARTER  
Years ago

LEBRON SHOULD STAY WITH HIS TEAM. JUST GIVE HIM ANOTHER ALL-STAR PLAYER AND HE WILL BE GOOD. SOMEONE ELSE WITH SHUTT DOWN DEFENSE AND CAN PUT UP AT LEAST ANOTHER 20 PTS A GAME. BRANDON ROY, O.J MAYO, DEVON HARRIS, MONTE ELLIS.

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3  
Years ago

A few things...

Monta Ellis, lockdown defense? Don't make me laugh.

Memphis is one of the worst franchises in the NBA. Their owners are cheap and unwilling to spend money apparently, and it's not really a hotbed for anything besides country music. And Javaris Crittenden got traded to Washington.

"Rashard Lewis money" would be a bargain for LeBron, considering he is miles ahead of anywhere Lewis has reached and will ever reach in ability as a player.

I think if Cleveland were to add anything, their best bet would be a Ronnie Brewer / James Posey / Shane Battier type. I doubt they could get any of those without giving up something significant, and IMO it's not really worth it considering how well they're playing at the moment.

That brings me to my next point - Why do people still act like Cleveland isn't that good a team? Statements like "he still needs an all-star teamate" and "they need to significantly upgrade their roster or he'll leave" are ridiculous IMO. Newsflash - Any way you look at it, the Cavs are among the elite teams in the NBA right now. Their championship window is open. Their time is now. Here's some numbers to back up what I'm saying:

- Winning percentage: .800% (2nd behind Orlando and LA Lakers)

- SRS (Simple Rating System, which takes into account all sorts of factors involved in winning): 10.75 (1st, significantly ahead of Boston with 9.32)

- Offensive Rating: 112.6 points scored per 100 possessions (3rd, just behind the Lakers and Portland)

- Defensive Rating: 100.2 points allowed per 100 possessions (2nd, just behind Boston)

Those number might not mean much to some people, but they are obvious measures of the Cavs' ability as a team. It doesn't matter if LeBron has All-Star teammates (as it's mostly a fan popularity contest anyway). It doesn't matter if they put up flashy stats or play flashy basketball (the Cavs are actually 25th in pace of play, so they're one of the slowest paced teams in the league). LeBron has the right teammates around him that are producing wins for the Cavs, and at the end of the day that's all that should matter, to both him and the organisation.

People also seem to forget that the Cavs can go over the cap to re-sign LeBron, and I'm sure they're not going to let the best player in the game today just slip away because they're being cheap. I've heard numerous times that Nike is more than willing to make up any salary difference that LeBron feels he deserves via endorsement money. Nothing is stopping LeBron basing his empire out of New York anyway, even if he's not playing there. But why worry about exposure and a bigger market and all that, when you can create your own big market? LeBron can put Cleveland on the map (some might argue he already has). He's the biggest star in the league. He can't get much bigger than he already is, aside from winning a championship. Chicago was an NBA wasteland before Jordan arrived, and he put it on the map as an NBA hotspot for over a decade. Sure, Chicago is a bigger city, and they had the Bears doing well in the NFL in the '80s, but Jordan made Chicago relevant on an international level. LeBron can do the exact same thing for Cleveland. Why wouldn't you want to do that for your home state, if the opportunity is there?

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vanexel31  
Years ago

people dont think the cavs can win with there current roster because no team in recent memory has won a title with one all star callibre player.

bulls jordan/pippen
99 robinson/duncan
lakers shaq/kobe
03 duncan/parker/ginobili
04 wallace x2/billups/hamilton/prince
05 same as 03
06 shaq/wade
07 same as 03
08 garnett/pierce/allen

the cavs are very good, a great looking team but if history proves right again this year, lebron will fall just short. not saying it cant be done, think the cavs are a good chance to get to the finals just saying think its a long shot. history proves you need a better quality 2nd guy than an old wallace, wally z, mo williams or illgauskas.

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3  
Years ago

Yea I get that, but some people still make out like LeBron's spporting cast is as bad as 2003 or something.

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