And so it begins.
LeBron James is now a free agent.
Cleveland waits.
Plenty of scenarios have been bandied about. A super trio in Miami. A renewed legacy in Chicago. A date with the rapper and the Russian in New Jersey.
Now we get to see what actually transpires.
News earlier today that the Hawks were preparing to offer Joe Johnson a full max deal, threw the teams with cap space into a tailspin, most notably the Knicks. But this, I assume, is only a preview of what’s to come. That is, players deciding to sign wherever they can get the most money.
Which means that if anybody’s moving to a different team, it’s almost undoubtedly through a sign and trade. If true, this is not a positive revelation for Miami, which I have a hard time believing will be very good, even if they get two max players (Dwyane Wade and Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, or Amar’e Stoudemire). As a result, Pat Riley really has all of his cards in one basket - getting LeBron, Bosh, and Wade.
The probability of that happening, in my opinion, is very small. And I also think it would be lousy for the players, the fans, and the league. Basketball is a competitive sport. Watching legitimate stars play together isn’t as enjoyable as watching them try to kill one another.
What I believe LeBron, Bosh, and Wade should be trying to do then, instead of joining the same team, is trying to figure out how to create as many fierce rivalries as possible.
This is why I wouldn’t even have been mad if LeBron had gone to a David Geffen-owned Los Angeles Clippers team, creating the ultimate in-city rivalry. I would have loved to watch LeBron and the Clippers try to take down Kobe and the Lakers, not only destroying their hopes for a 3-peat, but also destroying their dominance in one of the biggest bandwagon towns known to man.
It would’ve been interesting just to see how many people in LA immediately became Clippers fans.
LeBron to the Clips under Geffen was a fantastic idea by Maverick Carter, if we’re to believe the published reports. It’s the kind of big idea, big picture thinking the world needs more of.
And not just the world. Also, the cities of Cleveland and Akron.
Which is why, with the Clippers out of the running, LeBron needs to shift his focus. Forget Miami and the super trio. Forget the easy way out in Chicago. Forget New York City and the Knicks’ executives’ lies about marketing dollars making up for non-max contracts.
If Wade can try to recruit Bosh to Miami, why can’t LeBron try to recruit Bosh to Cleveland?
He can.
Especially if we’re willing to listen to what history tells us and acknowledge that no player - not LeBron, not Joe Johnson, not Bosh, not Wade, nobody - wants to take less money than a full, Bird Rights max contract will give them.
Not ever. Not now. Particularly when a new CBA is coming.
That means a sign and trade. That means all 30 teams - well, at least those who didn’t give up all of their assets trying to clear cap space - are in play.
That means the Cavaliers are in play.
It would take Anderson Varejao, JJ Hickson, Delonte West, Jamario Moon, and Danny Green to match salaries (unless Toronto wants Mo Williams or Antawn Jamison, in which case … thank you God). And losing Varejao would be a big time blow - he’d be the perfect complement to Bosh at the 5 - but in this case, with the immediate future of the franchise at stake, you do what you have to do.
Go get Bosh, Bron. Keep the power in your pocket. Bring the prestige to your hometown, where it may not be easy, but it does pay better than anywhere else.
Go light Akron up like Vegas, my man.
Just like you said you would.
