The Lebron Factor

While on my little mini-getaway in New England, a lot of the focus on sports radio stations was not about the Red Sox that much but mostly about NBA free-agent Lebron James and that got me doing alot of thinking. Lebron is a well-known free-agent and the sport focuses on him as a high-powered player, only thing is that he has never won a title.

NBA Free Agency is in full-swing and teams and players are making their moves. The Knicks signed Amare Stoudemire to a 5-year $100 Million contract. Dwayne Wade has announced that he will stay in Miami and Chris Bosh has decided to join him on the Heat roster. Paul Pierce resigns with the Celtics for 4 years, $61 million while Dirk Nowitzki remains a Mav, signing a 4-year $80 Million deal. That leaves the one big question...Where will Lebron go?

Since the free-agency period started last Thursday, Lebron has met with several teams, including the Knicks, Nets, Bulls, Heat and Cavaliers. At 9:00pm tomorrow night, Lebron will make his decision where he will play next year, live on ESPN from the Boys & Girls Club in Greenwich, CT. Now, I will break down each candidate and what I think.

CLEVELAND
Since 2003, Lebron has been a big deal in Cleveland in which he led the team last year on an average of 30 points per game, and helped bring the Cavs to multiple playoff appearances. The only problem is that Lebron has never won a title with Cleveland. Even with the team bringing in Shaquille O'Neal didn't help much as the Cavs lost to the Celtics in the 2nd round of playoffs last year. With a team including Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, Shaq and Delonte West, without Lebron, the Cavs will not do well, even with new head coach Byron Scott.

CHICAGO
Originally, I thought the Bulls were a perfect fit for LBJ, but now Chicago signed free-agent Carlos Boozer to help out Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. If he signs with the Bulls, Lebron will not put up the big numbers that he would have in Cleveland.

MIAMI
The Heat are the favorite to claim Lebron, after signing Bosh and resigning Wade to make the new big-3. It will be a very tough team if King James decides to play for Miami and will make a run for a title. Only problem is that fans will forget that he plays for the Heat years down the road if they won a championship.

NEW JERSEY
With the worst record in the NBA last year, the Nets are team that is rebuilding, but they don't have the talent to be a playoff contender next year, maybe 3 years down the road. With newly hired coach Avery Johnson, this team will have a lot of work to do before the club moves to Brooklyn in 2012.

NEW YORK
The other team seems logical for Lebron to sign with is the Knicks. After signing Stoudemire, the Knicks are not done shopping. Lebron met with the Knicks last Thursday and an extended first meeting over the weekend. Also making the announcement in Connecticut also hints the fact that LBJ will join the Knicks. It is a team that continues to rebuild after Mike D'Antoli was hired to coach the team, bringing in David Lee, Darino Gallinari (drafted in 2008), and now Stoudemire, this could be a team with Lebron that is seriously contending for a playoff run and will get more national TV games on ESPN, TNT or ABC.


In my opinion, I think Lebron will go to New York because it will help make the sport in NYC a lot bigger and bring in sold-out crowds to Madison Square Garden. By 9:10pm tomorrow night, we'll know where he will end up. Stay tuned.