LeBron says he will consider extension with Cavs

What does he have to gain by signing now, unless he thinks the economy is going to tank even worse and offers will shrink later on?

Maybe he wants to see how this season and even next season play out and what kind of team Cleveland will have. Nothing wrong with keeping his options open. I'm just saying that, in the end, I believe he will stay in Cleveland.

 

I agree with you that I don't think he's leaving, but I just want to point one thing out: They're 23-4 right now with the group they have. This isn't exactly the rag-tag group that boots'd its way into the Finals two years ago.

And as of right now, they'll have a lot of cap space come 2010. I could be wrong, but I think the only people the Cavs have locked up heading into the summer of 2010 are Daniel Gibson (a very affordable contract), Delonte West and Mo Williams. That leaves them with enough cap space to give LeBron his max deal ... and add a guy like Chris Bosh.

 

I don't see them as LeBron and a bunch of stiffs. But I think LeBron wants to make sure that his option is open just in case the Cavs start holding back on the money.

I bolded the one section because I believe this is what LeBron would want. He needs that second fiddle to make it all come together.

 

If he does plan on staying in Cleveland, what possible reason would have have to announce it now? He still has to negotiate that deal with the Cavs, to make sure he gets every dollar possible, so why do anything that could possibly hurt his negotiating postion?

Is any team other than the Knicks "racing to get under the cap?" I don't follow the NBA closely enough to know. Even if they are, how much of that is making assumptions that he is going to be willing to leave the small market for a big one? Kobe Bryant was already in Los Angeles, so leaving a small market for a big one wasn't an issue with him.

 

There is no negotiaion, he will get the max contract allowed under the CBA and there are quite a few teams that will have cap space in 2010

 

But is anybody doing what the Knicks are doing, which seems to be focusing their entire long-term plan on getting James?

I just don't see the benefit for James of making that definitive statement until that deal is signed.

 

The Pistons' dealt Billups' long-term contract for Iverson's shorter one largely to get under the cap for the Summer of LeBron.

The benefit of making the statement is that he ends the constant questioning and speculation over what he's going to do, and his team doesn't have that distraction hanging over their heads. If he's made up his mind to stay in Cleveland, there's really no downside in saying so. Which indicates that he hasn't made up his mind, and that's not good news for Cleveland.

I don't know Cleveland's cap situation well enough to know if they could re-sign LeBron and still add another max contract player like Bosh. If they can, that's a huge point in their favor. Otherwise, the advantage of going someplace like NY is that the Knicks can offer him the one thing the Cavs have never been able to, which is the chance to play with another elite player, like Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudamire.

 

He already considered staying. That lasted about a nanosecond. He's going to be a Knick.

 

I get the impression that James either doesn't care or actually enjoys the speculation, so I doubt that is much of a motivation to make a clear statement now.

There are negotiations to be handled other than just with the team that signs James. I have heard of at least one sponsor that is willing to pay him more money if he plays in a larger market. I'm not sure if that is true, but I certainly wouldn't rule it out as a possibility. Perhaps he is waiting to see if any others will offer to do the same. Once he makes a definitive statement, those sponsors may not be so willing to give him a better deal.

He can then compare what he would be making combined between his NBA contract and endorsements in both situations and make a fully-informed decision. That sounds like the best course of action to me, certainly the one any prudent agent would suggest.

 

The bottom line is Cleveland is a known quantity -- the contract, the quality of the team, all of it. If he knows everything the Cavs have to offer and he's still leaving open the possibility of leaving, it's not for negotiating or leverage purposes. It's because he's legitimately interested in going elsewhere. And if the Cavs haven't convinced him yet, it's hard to see how they're going to sweeten the pot. Even if the Cavs got far enough under the cap to afford another star, what do you think Bosh or Stoudamire are going to want to do, go play in Cleveland or convince LeBron to join them in New York? I'm not saying LeBron will definitely leave, but the people who say they don't see what he has to gain by going to NY aren't seeing the whole picture.

 

I don't think he has nothing to gain by going to NY, but I do think some people have overestimated just how much he would gain given the level of fame he has already achieved very early in his career and without winning a championship while playing in Cleveland. The world keeps getting smaller as that happens, the importance of being in a major market declines.

Also, as I said, there is the possibility of companies that he already has endorsement deals with offering to give him more money if he accepts a deal in a major market. Keeping his options open is a good way to press those companies for more cash.

To me, the bottom line is James has more to gain from keeping his options open as long as possible.

 

On one hand you say that the importance of being in a major market is overestimated, and then you say that the amount of his endorsement deals may very well increase if he plays in a major market. Seems kind of contradictory. And if he is trying to squeeze another buck out of companies, do you think he's going to fool them into paying him more based on the possibility of his going to NY and then stay in Cleveland? Isn't it more likely that they'll do a deal that pays him X if he plays in Cleveland and X+Y if he plays in NY, like his original Nike contract?

There are very few variables for LeBron to consider here, certainly not on the Cleveland side of the equation, which is why his non-commital may be telling. I see no reason to say that he seems particularly likely to stay in Cleveland, not when there are at least as many reasons for him to go as there are to stay.