LeBron James Update

Hello, all and welcome to the LeBron James Update, where we look at all of the events going on in the world that could affect LeBron's decision, at a most likely futile attempt to figure out what team is the favorite in the LeBron James Sweepstakes, which will start two weeks from tomorrow.

I hope you all have been keeping up with a very exciting NBA Finals, which I will most likely have an article for following Game 7. But if you're not following it, you sadly won't find any information about it here. There have been some recent developments in the LeBron Free Agency however, and for that we turn to the wonderful city of Cleveland, Ohio.

On May 24, 2010, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown was fired after five years with the team, the most successful years any Cavaliers coach has ever had. But, it was obvious that most of that success was due to LeBron, who was starting to come into his own when Brown arrived. Not to say that Brown was a bad coach, but I wouldn't necessarily say he was a talented coach. During his tenure, the Cavs reached the NBA Finals once, but were swept by the Spurs, and have had the best record in the NBA twice (the past two years), but have failed to do anything in the playoffs, as Brown never could get the best of out his players, leaving that task to LeBron, who looked like he was the one coaching the team at times.

The next big story out of Cleveland was the departure of GM Danny Ferry on June 4, 2010. Ferry had been the Cavs GM since June 27, 2005. Looking back at Ferry's tenure, one can see that he didn't make too many great moves. Mo Williams, who was acquired in a three team deal, and has been LeBron's right hand man for the two years he has been with the team, is about one of the only solid moves during Ferry's tenure. The only other good move Ferry made was the acquisition of 34 year old Antawn Jamison from the Wizards, and that move might not even pay off anymore since the Cavs had to give up a first round pick for the veteran. Other than that, the only guys Ferry really brought to the team were scrubs or washed up, most notably 38 year old Shaquille O'Neal, who got in LeBron's way more than anything else; Anthony Parker and Leon Powe. With Ferry at the helm, it's no wonder why LeBron's supporting cast played more like a third grade team just learning to play the game of basketball rather than NBA players once the playoffs hit.

Then, the most recent story out of the state of Ohio, making this the most exciting month that the state has ever seen, was Cavaliers top head coaching candidate, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, turning down the Cavaliers' offer yesterday. If you've read all my articles, you'd remember my piece on Izzo, entitled "The Michigan Man," and how Izzo would never leave MSU. So, of course I wasn't at all scared when the Cavaliers offered Izzo the job. Well, maybe just a little. I mean, it is the NBA, the major leagues. But, the main reason Izzo was contemplating the Cavs' job was LeBron's presence in Cleveland, which of course even LeBron probably won't even be sure about until after July 1, 2010. Without a guarantee from LeBron about his decision, Izzo decided it was best just to stay at MSU, and was glad to announce that he was "gonna be a lifer," and stay right where he should stay, in East Lansing, Michigan.

But Cleveland isn't the only town making headlines these days. New York City has come up with a plan of their own to try to woo James, that involves forming a committee of celebrities to try and get James in a Knicks jersey. According to the NY Post, the committee includes Donald Trump, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Boomer Esiason, Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Charlie Rose, John McEnroe, Donny Deutsch, Whoopi Goldberg, Mark Messier, Willis Reed, Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe.

That list of names certainly puts to shame to the ones that Cleveland got for their parody of We Are The World, called "We Are LeBron," a video which I'm sad to say has apparently been taken down for some reason. The video included Cleveland "celebrities" including mostly radio personalities, furniture retailers, and some chick from the Real World.

What do all these events mean? Let me look into my crystal ball and tell you.

New York has wrangled together a pretty solid bunch of stars, but nevertheless, they probably won't influence LeBron's decision too much. The only way that this committee can affect James' decision is if he looks at the New York's stars compared to those in the "We Are LeBron" video, and that doesn't necessarily help the Knicks. It all depends on what LeBron's goals are, and whether he wants to be loyal and stay in Cleveland to try and give his hometown its first sports championship since 1964, or come to New York and become one of the biggest global icons there is, not just in sports, but in general.

Yet, whether James decides he likes the bright lights or the small town feel doesn't necessarily matter a ton in the big picture. If James leaves Cleveland, he's leaving $30 million on the table, but he could probably make up that money in endorsement deals in New York or another big city like Chicago or even Miami. The point is, there is money to be made everywhere, and therefore the only thing that matters is winning. That's all there is to it, just winning. I don't know why New Yorkers are convincing themselves that LeBron cares about the bright lights, and being in the biggest city in the world more than being a part of a championship-winning team.

Sure, LeBron is going to love being courted for a while, being shown everything that each of his suitors' cities has to offer, but in the end he's just going to go where he can win. Right now, I believe the team that's most ready to win out of his suitors is the Heat. So many people say the Cavaliers, but you have to look at the Cavaliers without LeBron, and a Cavaliers without LeBron would struggle to make it to .500. The Heat have Dwyane Wade, who looks like he'll be staying in Miami more and more every day, and is one of the best players in basketball. They also have a pretty strong supporting cast, and if Pat Riley decides to coach again, the Heat will have a Hall of Fame coach.

The Bulls would have the next strongest team. They're young with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah and have a ton of potential. After that, then it would probably be the Cavaliers, followed by the young Nets. But, my guess is still New York. I truly believe, that he's going to get another big man to come to New York with him, in either Chris Bosh or Amar'e Stoudemire, and I don't think any other team would allow him to bring that caliber of big man with him. I think LeBron would rather have one of those two on his team, who are great players, but would still concede most of the spotlight to LeBron and not get in his way, than Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose who both have pretty similar games compared to LeBron.

But, what about Cleveland? Will LeBron even leave and does Brown's firing, Ferry's departure and Izzo's rejection of the job mean anything? Firstly, Brown's firing may allow LeBron to have a big say in what coach the Cavs get, with one of the possibilities being Phil Jackson, whose contract will be up by season's end, and the Lakers looking to cut his salary in half from $12 million to $6 million. That could actually play a big factor in LeBron staying, as with Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau taking the Bulls job and Avery Johnson taking the Nets job, Cleveland would be the only place where LeBron could possibly pick his coach. Danny Ferry's departure doesn't mean a thing, unless the Cavs' new GM Chris Grant can bring something more to the table, which is yet to be seen. Izzo's rejection only shows us that LeBron hasn't decided on where he's going, not that he's decided that he'll leave Cleveland. Izzo didn't get a clear, definitive answer from LeBron, and therefore wasn't going to leave his home at MSU, for what would have possibly been a short tenure as an NBA coach, because let's face it, not many college coaches have succeeded at the NBA level.

There's just a little more than two weeks before NBA free agency starts, and probably at least a month before LeBron makes a final decision on where he wants to play. But one things for sure: Brown's firing, Ferry's departure, Izzo's rejection of the job, the hiring of Tom Thibodeau and Avery Johnson, New York's celeb committee, Cleveland's cheesy "We Are LeBron" video, Phil Jackson's possible own free agency, Pat Riley's possible return to coaching, Mikhail Prokhorov's big plans for the Nets, New York's bright lights, and Dwyane Wade's apparently deep desire to stay with the Heat are not making this LeBron free agency insanity any clearer or simpler.