ESPN’s NBA Research Falls a Little Short
December 20, 2008A Note to Wally Szczerbiak
December 21, 2008
Huge news, which you may have saw scroll across the bottom of ESPN last night, out of Brian Windhorst:
The summer of 2010 is indeed shaping up to be a wild one on the NBA free-agent scene.
But there’s a chance LeBron James may just skip the party.
James said Saturday that he is going to consider signing an extension with the Cavaliers this summer, well before he can become an unrestricted free agent.
“You play out this season of course; I will consider it,” James said Saturday before the Cavs practiced at the Pepsi Center.
“The direction we are headed is everything I expected and more.”
Now, while this obviously does not set anything in stone, it does bring along the fact that LeBron has publically mentioned his current team. Many pundits have been slamming James for not being a Cavalier first and foremost, and this shows that he does recognize what the front office has done for him during the last few seasons. Now I have no doubt in my mind that the New York media will try and twist this into some sort of showmanship, so let the countdown begin. I won’t allow this to alter my hopes or expectations at this point, but it is definitely a huge step in the right direction. Can you imagine what this would do to the 2010 free agency landscape?
More to come, I’m sure.
LeBron James tells The PD’s Brian Windhorst he’ll consider signing extension with Cavs this summer [Plain Dealer]
15 Comments
Oh, that LeBron. He sure does know how to keep his name in the headlines, doesn’t he? I will be shocked beyond words if he signs an extension early. It sure seems to me that he desperately wants to be a part of that historic 2010 free agent class. Plus, if he signs this summer, what will he have to talk to the NY media about next year when the Cavs play the Nets and Knicks?
If the Cavs win the chmpionship this year, I would say then there’s a bit of a chance LeBron might sign early. Otherwise, I just don’t see it. Boy would it sure make my life less stressful if he did sign, though.
While it’s nice to see James throw Cleveland a bone over his upcoming free agency, I can’t help feeling that he’s just doing what he likes to do–that, being play all sides .
Of course, if James is already on board come 2010 it would help lure some other bigger name to Cleveland. Maybe James could apply his ego to that task.
Maybe Danny Ferry has been in his ear saying, “Ya know, LeBron, if we get you locked up this summer long term, and your boys’ teams continue to suck, then you could help us recruit Dwyane Wade or more likely, Chris Bosh to come join you in Cleveland in 2010. You know, we have loads of cap space even after we extend your deal. Plus, you will be able to practice and play pretty close to your 40,000 square foot home in Akron.”
Of course, I’ll consider signing a contract with the Cavs this offseason too…
Smart PR move on his part to put it out there, but a careful reading of his words doesn’t tell us anything.
There is a good chance that the money will never be higher than it is summer. The economy is going to effect some clubs and while Stern says that there are no teams in trouble all you have to do is look at the stands. Locking in early would give him more money before the cap starts to get adjusted down.
Nice thought but not going to happen for a couple reasons. First there is no advantage (at least i cant see one) for him to do this. Second, do we really think LBJ is going to pass up the chance to be the center of attention in the largest story to surround the NBA for the next year and a half. He signs he’s out of the news. It becomes a non story. He’s way to smart to let that happen.
He is only out of the news if the Cavs are out of the news. If the Cavs are in the running for one of those coveted free agents in 2010 and already have LeBron lined up, he won’t be out of the news.
This is another thought that people brought up in the past, but I only laughed. What if LeBron purposely kept his name in the news so that teams would start to blow up their rosters in hopes of having cap space in 2010? Automatically, he reduces “the field” by X number of teams that are going to play for two years from now.
Now, I don’t actually believe the theory, but wouldn’t LeBron be the second coming of Dr. Evil if he somehow intended to do that all along? (1 MILLION dollars.)
HOW IS HE GOING TO SIGN WITH JAY-Z THIS SUMMER?!?! I MEAN DOESN’T HE TOTALLY HAVE TO PLAY IN CLEVELAND NEXT YEAR?!
There are advantages to doing this: by signing a year earlier, he would be making more money b/c he has been in the league longer, and he would also be 1 year closer to signing an even bigger deal later in his career. The way max contracts work in the NBA, the longer you have been in the league the more you are able to make, so him signing early brings the money in faster. It also would end all the speculation, which right now isn’t a problem b/c it is so far away, but next year you have to think it will only be worse, it could hurt the team.
The most important thing this story tells us is really something that we already know but Stephen A. Smith and Jalen Rose do not – and that is that Lebron certainly isn’t sure if he leaving or not in 2010. If he is even thinking about signing an extension, doesn’t that prove that he is leaning toward staying instead of trying to get to NYC as fast as possible? And if he cares about championships, this Cavs team looks like it is pretty decent. This should be a huge story on ESPN.com, like it was when the Cavs were in NYC, but it won’t be
Craig,
I’ve often thought the same thing myself. Regardless, 2010 is a huge year for a lot of players outside of LeBron, so teams are going to clear space for guys like Bosh, Wade and Amare too. Obviously LeBron is the biggest jackpot and teams have acted accordingly. But wouldn’t it be so satisfying for us Clevelanders if LeBron were just toying with NYC the whole time? I think that would more than make up for CC going to the Yankees.
I love LeBron, and I hope he retires with the Cavs, but dude’s the biggest c-tease I’ve ever seen.
Ben makes a solid point. It’s possible salaries could start decreasing because of the economy.
Craig, your theory is awesome, but I’m not sure it would work. If teams are blowing up their rosters the players have to go somewhere right? Wouldn’t that imply that 3-4 REALLY good teams would fall out of the mix?
http://njmg.typepad.com/knickknacks/2008/12/reading-the-lebron-tea-leaves.html
check out this article about lebron’s recent statement. and new yorkers say they arent arrogant and self-centered! the gist of this article is basically “relax – lebron is just saying nice things to keep those poor little clevelander hicks happy.”
Here’s the thing that none of these discussions about LBJ seem to remember:
The number-one reason he signed the “shorter” extension back when he did is that the league’s CBA ends that same summer that all of those contracts do… that’s why all of those guys signed the same-length deals and are FAs that summer… it’s not a coincidence that the biggest FA class ever is happening at the same time that the CBA ends.
LeBron isn’t signing a minute before then, because the new CBA might mean a LARGER MAX CONTRACT STRUCTURE. It’s why everyone is doing it.
LBJ also has an option in his current deal, I believe, so that if the new CBA doesn’t work out well he can play out his current deal at the current rates before having to resign.
This is me regurgitating what I remember reading about it back when he signed, so some of it is fuzzy.
DP – your theory is right for the most part. the way i understood it, the new CBA could be more “team friendly” which would mean max contracts under the new CBA could actually be less money than they would be now. i think so many guys are free agents that year to try and take advantage of the current CBA rather than be “victimized” by the new one. at least thats how i understood it.