Basketball or Benjamins: Will LeBron James Pick Cleveland, New York or New Jersey/Brooklyn in 2010?

July 11 08

Forgetting the Yankee hat incident is hard. Overlooking the Jay-Z connection is damn near impossible. Then there are his regular declarations of love for the NYC and all things Brooklyn.

You know the rumour I’m referring to. It’s common knowledge LeBron James could leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and sign with the New York Knicks or New Jersey Nets as an unrestricted free agent in summer of 2010.

Hold on. Put your Sinatra record of New York, New York on pause. Recently, two excellent sources have argued that King James could re-sign with Cleveland. And the NYC hype is just that-hype.

On Wednesday, I read a column by reporter Sam Amico, the man behind the amazing www.probasketballnews.com. Amico doesn’t make much of the James-to-New York rumours. He believes much can change in two years, the Knicks and Nets both stink with little chance of improving, and the Cavaliers will soon have enough cap room to add a legitimate superstar to complement James.

Two days ago, dimemag.com cited an article in the New York Daily News, where Nets owner Bruce Ratner said the club’s move to Brooklyn will be delayed by a minimum of a half season. Perhaps, as dimemag.com, pointed out this will force James to reconsider his migration to The Big Apple.

Amico and dimemag.com overlook one key factor: James’ decision to join either New York area team could be influenced by business, not basketball. Basically, scoring sponsorship cash and furthering his brand in the world’s largest market could take precedence over winning.

Remember, the All-Star has serious goals outside of pro hoops. He’s talked of wanting to be the world’s richest man. He dines with billionaire Warren Buffett and trademarked the King James logo as a teenager. If it’s about dollars and branding, then the New York spotlight makes the most sense.

Of course, 82 times a year, plus playoffs, James plays his heart out for the Cavaliers. So who knows if his passion for basketball or money takes precedence in 2010?

Will James sign with a winning team in Cleveland or take New York-New Jersey’s money in the summer of 2010? Get at us in the comment box below with your thoughts and come back to HoopsVibe The Blog for more NBA tidbits.

21 Comments: Basketball or Benjamins: Will LeBron James Pick Cleveland, New (...)

Posted by
j
on 06.12.2009

i think that kobe and lebron is an elite player and i think that kobe is now on he’s peak and lebron is still learning right now i will say that kobe has and edge to lebron because of the confidence to take shots in crunch time so i guess just give lebron five years of experience then we can say that he is the best as for now he need to work hard .

Posted by
jamel brown
on 08.4.2008

As dwight howard’s cousin , I think lebron needs to take his time and see , what deals cleveland my have in the works,As far , as new trades or new free agency deals, cleveland is still living , he just needs help in the middle chris bosh! .

Posted by
wert
on 07.20.2008

im pretty sure if the cavs where in the west they woudnt be in the playoffs!... so... Lebrick ur over rated! haha unlucky .

Posted by
dan gilbert
on 07.19.2008

swap lebron and kobe and the lakers win, and the cavs don’t even make the playoffs.not that that has anything to do with the original topic. lebron doesn’t have to move to new york to make more money - whereas if he does move - he cuts his potential future earnings by an average of about 5 mil a year by the end of his career - do the math - successive max contracts are based on the value of the previous contract - and lerbon would have to take signifcantly less money than the max CLE can offer. .

Posted by
str8rapenfools
on 07.18.2008

Anyway hate to say it but, the whole Kobe thing is wearing thin in my eyes yeah the guy is good he’s great but. You fools havent even seen LB at his Peak and we have already witnessed Kobe at his... check out the stats LB has more Points, Rebounds Assist and Blocked Shots.. Kobe wins in Assist to TO Ratio.... Big Deal 1 out of 5 stats he wins and is the by far the least of importance......Sorry He’s not the King and the Face of the NBA for no reason...Think a little Bit .

Posted by
dc
on 07.17.2008

first of all... kobe won a game wen we went 2 the finals... second off all lebron couldnt win a game wen he made the finals... so wat if lebron got 44 in the last game... did he get a win?? no! so Lebrick... call me wen he can get a win and hit a jumpshot ohh and play sum D!... .

Posted by
bwill
on 07.15.2008

kobe is way better than lebron he makes all nba first team and all defensive team. Lebron has to play defense before he can be compared to kobe. .

Posted by
B Dub
on 07.14.2008

LeBron is better than Kobe bc he got heart. Kobe couldn’t even take lakers and celtics series to 7 games. LeBron dropped 44 in the last game and only lost by like 5. Kobe let rondo score as many points as him and let the lakers lose by 40. .

Posted by
hot pants
on 07.14.2008

lb is doin it so dnt hate hes the king not kobe fuk dat guy .

Posted by
KnickFan101
on 07.13.2008

i agree with sickhopz ..kobe is better than lebron and don’t deny it. lebron has a lot of potential still left in him but we still have to wait and see. but right now, kobe is top dog. even lebron knows it, kobe is the alpha male in team usa...... .

Posted by
dc
on 07.12.2008

thats all lebron is about is money and gettin the stats... not winning! lebron is tryin way 2 hard 2 be kobe or MJ!... give it up lebron you will never hit jumpshots! .

Posted by
str8trapenfools
on 07.12.2008

Who cares I’m from Cleveland and the last thing we want is for LB to take off....The Choice is his and if he wants to bolt...we have no say in the matter so the best things to do for now is focus on the now and get the poor guy a little help in Cleveland cause god already knows the kid cant do it on his own .

Posted by

on 07.12.2008

Stay in Brooklyn .

Posted by
B Deezy
on 07.12.2008

i know what bron should do in 2010...trade the rest of the lakers for himself and let the kb24 n king james dynasty take over like a khaled record(only it won’t be a khaled recod cuz he lame) .

Posted by
ronh
on 07.12.2008

Let me get you people straight. Kobe is the best player he does everything offense and defense and his team is a contender for years to come. LeBron just wants to win scoring titles and all star MVP’s it is not even close KB24 all day. .

Posted by
sickhopz
on 07.12.2008

kobe is better than lebron and don’t deny it. lebron has a lot of potential still left in him but we still have to wait and see. but right now, kobe is top dog. even lebron knows it, kobe is the alpha male in team usa...... .

Posted by
da boss
on 07.12.2008

shutup dumbass..lebron iz da best damn playa n da league jands down brotha .

Posted by

on 07.11.2008

dude ur dumb talk to much Kobe is way better den LeBron. Kobe is the best player in the world for years and no1 cnt beat him. LeBron is not even close to being better den Kobe. .

Posted by
Bob
on 07.11.2008

I seriously cant believe I wasted my time by clicking on the link to this article. This topic has been written so many times by so many lazy sports writers that I’m beginning to think that you all just copy off of one another. Do any of you think for yourselves? I have read 100 different versions on this same article. Where did you go to school — Plaigarism State? .

Posted by
O Sandor
on 07.11.2008

You are right too much talk, there is much discussion about this topic. But it is warranted. James is an elite player. Where he goes has been talked about by media and James has fueled the fire with comments. So I think it’s worth discussion. As for Kobe or James ... that’s a tough call ... I’ll let the HoopsVibe masses solve that .

1 2 Next >

Post your comment:

No profanity or inaproppriate remarks. All i.p. addresses will be saved and abuse/hate posts will be reported to providers and authorities as part of the anti-spam act of 2003, thank you for posting comments on the articles only.

	About Oly Sandor
Daily take on NBA Oly Sandor is an NBA analyst and sports journalist based out of Vancouver, Canada.After years of the free-lance game, Oly Sandor is bringing his unique brand of NBA analysis exclusively to (...) More

Basketball or Benjamins: Will LeBron James Pick Cleveland, New York or New Jersey/Brooklyn in 2010?

AboutOly Sandor

About
Oly Sandor