Why I think Lebron James is delaying re-signing with Cavs

Mutinous Dog · by **Mutinous Dog** on Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:35 am

I think the NBA's Dark Overlords want Lebron to play in the Western Conference. 
 
The television networks, from whom billions of dollars of annual revenue flow, don't want Lebron and Dwayne Wade meeting every year in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket do they? Especially if they meet in the 1st or 2nd round? 
 
Nahhhh. The Powers that be want those two guys, the hip-hop future of NBA basketball, to meet in The Finals, ala Bird vs. Magic.

Blondie · by **Blondie** on Fri Jul 07, 2006 5:14 pm

then jsut move Cleveland to teh West..........LOL <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://sahoops.net/jackie/blondiebanner.jpg" style="border:0;"/></div>

Bigdizave · by **Bigdizave** on Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:47 pm

My predication is that LeBron moves the the NBA's largest market, New York City. He will play for the city's marquee team in Manhattan - the Knicks. 
 
I see that happening however I'd really like to see him resurrect the Celtics. Him signing with Boston would be a shot heard round the world. 
 
I think you're thinking a little too short sighted, Dog. Lebron's got about 15 more years of playing to develop intriguing superstar matchups in the East or West. Wade could be that guy, Carmello could be that guy. Greg Oden could be that guy. The list goes on and on.

Mutinous Dog · by **Mutinous Dog** on Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:45 pm

<img src=http://www.sahoops.net/smilies/thumbsup.gif ALT=":thumbsup"> Now there is some creative thinking. 
 
OK. You all know me. Usually, I go with the conspiracy theory first. Granted, I'm on the outside looking in. But based on some of our San Antonio experiences with superstar players, here is what I really think. 
 
I think LeBron James is either (1) questioning whether the Cavaliers ownership group and/or front office are capable of building a contender around him or (2) he isn't feeling enough love from Cleveland. 
 
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(1) Last season Lebron found himself working for a sophomore NBA owner, managed by a rookie General Manager, and being coached by a rookie NBA Head Coach. 
 
Being a young guy himself, I wonder who Lebron respects basketball-wise in that organization? Lebron might look at nearby teams like Detroit with Joe Dumars at GM, Memphis with Jerry West at GM, Indiana with Larry Bird at GM, and so on. Does Danny Ferry measure up to those other guys on any level? And would Mike Brown be an NBA Head Coach without Danny Ferry being his GM? 
 
If one of Danny Ferry's first moves as GM of the Cavaliers was to sign Zadrunis Ilguaskas, an old Center with bad feet, to a 5-year contract worth between $55-60,000,000, then one has to wonder about his GM instincts. And overpaying a role player like Larry Hughes for 6 years at a price of $65-70,000,000 doesn't look like the work of a future GM genius. 
 
If Lebron adds his maximum salary to those two long-term salary committments, any intelligent observer should be wondering if the Cavaliers will be able to retain their own players and/or add key players in the future to help Lebron win. 
 
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(2) Show Lebron some lovin'. 
 
I remember back when the Spurs drafted David Robinson and there was still the chance he could serve out his military commitment and then go play for the Lakers. We rolled out fans, mascots and mariachis to woo him and his wife. It worked, he became a pillar of our community, and the rest is history. 
 
Even more recently, when Tim Duncan played out his rookie contract, Orlando was wooing him and Grant Hill with lots of money. Following the theme of the Go-Spurs-Go chant, we San Antonioans started a Stay-Tim-Stay campaign complete with billboards, chanting fans, and nightly news reports on where Tim ate, slept and went to the bathroom that day. That San Antonio Spurs campaign also worked, allowing the city to breathe a collective sigh of relief. 
 
Three Championships later, we tend to take Tim for granted that he likes it here enough to finish his career here. But it wasn't that way the first time around and the city would have been devasted emotionally and basketball-wise if Tim had left. 
 
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So is Lebron getting that kind of love in Cleveland? Being a Cleveland homeboy, does the city take it for granted that he wants to play there many years from now? Or has he seen enough of his competition and what other big cities have to offer to at least consider making a move? 
 
I don't envy Clevelanders sweating out these questions waiting for Lebron to make a decision. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p220.ezboard.com/bsanantoniospurs62937.showUserPublicProfile?gid=mutinousdog>Mutinous Dog</A> at: 7/7/06 6:57 pm

GrandeDavid · by **GrandeDavid** on Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:03 pm

Lebron is arguably the league's prime asset right now, so if its for the good of the league, revenue and so forth, its hard not seeing him in New York. New York would bleed to have Lebron James. But, Lebron is from Akron, Ohio, so it may best suit him to play in his home state. I have a feeling he'll stay in Cleveland, but...who really knows! <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://www.sahoops.net/banners/gd06.jpg"/></div>

by **lonny23** on Sat Jul 08, 2006 5:26 am

After watching the farce we call the NBA Finals, there is no doubt the League wants to push Wade and LeBron for a long time. I can see LeBron in the West. 
 
LeBron gets an extra $100 million from Nike if he goes to LA, NY, or Chicago. The Bulls won't have cap room in 2008 and neither will the Knicks. The Lakers will have plenty of room if they trade Odom. I don't know if the Clippers or Nets count for the money. 
 
LeBron doesn't have to sign now and he jokes around, so it might not be a big deal, but he has people worried right now.

ryno · by **ryno** on Sat Jul 08, 2006 7:55 pm

James agrees to extension with Cavs 
Associated Press 
 
Cleveland — LeBron James won't be leaving home anytime soon. 
 
Cleveland's all-star forward agreed Saturday to sign a contract extension of up to five years and worth as much as $80 million US with the Cavaliers, a huge relief for the rising team and its fretting fans who worried he might be planning an escape. 
 
James, who in three seasons as a pro has turned the Cavaliers from doormats into NBA title contenders, will sign the deal after the league's moratorium ends on Wednesday, said his agent Leon Rose. 
 
"I am very excited and happy to be re-signing with the Cavaliers," James said in a statement released by his publicist. "Staying in Cleveland . . . provides me with the unique opportunity to continue to play in front of my family, friends and fans. 
 
"I look forward to working toward bringing a championship to our great fans and the city of Cleveland." 
 
Unlike fellow 2003 NBA draft classmate Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat, James waited one week after the team made the offer before announcing his intention to take the deal. The delay since July 1 had Cleveland fans, who have been burned by broken promises before, fearing the worst. 
 
But as he has always done, the 21-year-old from nearby Akron came through in the clutch. 
 
Ever the showman, James let the drama build before agreeing to a deal that will start after the 2007 season and run through 2012-13. 
 
James will make $5.8 million next season, the final year on his rookie contract. The exact amount of James' extension won't be known until later this summer when the league determines the salary cap for next season. 
 
James, who wasn't eligible for restricted free agency until after next season, has said for months that he loves playing in Cleveland and wants to help win the Cavaliers their first NBA championship. 
 
Almost from the moment the club selected him with the No. 1 overall pick three years ago, insecure Cleveland fans have worried about a day when James would bolt for a bigger paycheque and brighter spotlight in a booming market like New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. 
 
That fear was well founded since big-name athletes like Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Carlos Boozer all left Cleveland as free agents despite saying they would stay. It didn't help that James often wears a New York Yankees baseball cap, a fashion accessory looked upon as blasphemous in Northeast Ohio. 
 
James, though, kept his word. And at least for now, he plans to stay with Cleveland. He has said repeatedly that he wants to bring the city its first world championship since the Browns won an NFL title in 1964 — three years before there was even a Super Bowl and 20 years before James' birth. 
 
Following the Cavaliers' impressive run in this year's NBA playoffs, that title might not be far off. 
 
Rose said he hopes to have the deal signed before James reports July 19 to training camp for the U.S. team playing in this summer's world championship. 
 
With James' extension looming, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert did everything he could to keep the superstar happy. 
 
Last summer, the club spent millions on free agents Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones and re-signed centre Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a player James personally campaigned to keep. In addition, Gilbert renovated Quicken Loans Arena, upgrading the Cavs' locker room and remodelling a family area partly to accommodate the overflow of James supporters at every home game. 
 
The club also is building a high-tech, $20 million training facility in Independence, a short drive from James' suburban home. 
 
At 21, James has more scored more points, handed out more assists and grabbed more rebounds at a younger age than any player in history. 
 
Last season, the six-foot-eight standout became just the fourth player to average at least 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists, joining an elite group with Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Michael Jordan. He was named the youngest all-star game MVP in history, and he finished runner-up to Phoenix's Steve Nash of Victoria for league MVP honours. 
 
James led the Cavs to 50 regular-season wins and carried them back to the NBA playoffs for the first time since 1998. He recorded a triple-double in his first post-season game against Washington and averaged 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists as Cleveland advanced past the Wizards before losing in seven games to Detroit in the second round. 
 
Off the floor, James' No. 23 jersey is everywhere and he's easily Cleveland's most recognized athlete since Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown ran roughshod over NFL defences for the Browns. 
 
Last season, Nike hung a 10-story banner of a dunking James with the phrase "We Are All Witnesses" written across it on a building across the street from Quicken Loans Arena. 
 
<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060708.wlebron08/BNStory/Sports/home" target="top">Link</a> 
 
<div style="text-align:center"> 
<img src="http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/2170/sanantoniospursr22zr.jpg"/></div><div style="text-align:center">Go Spurs Go!</div>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p220.ezboard.com/bsanantoniospurs62937.showUserPublicProfile?gid=rynospursfan>rynospursfan</A> at: 7/8/06 7:08 pm

Zan the Fan · by **Zan the Fan** on Sun Jul 09, 2006 12:40 am

I love how all the Cavs fans feel relieved when he could easily just demand a trade. 
 
Not saying he would....just not saying he won't. 
 
<img src=http://www.sahoops.net/smilies/cheers.gif ALT=":cheers"> <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://img288.imageshack.us/img288/451/manuhulk7wr.jpg"/></div> 
 
 
When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before." 
-Jacob August Riis (1849-1914)

Why I think Lebron James is delaying re-signing with Cavs