[urdun]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

No doubt Clevelanders want to keep LeBron, but I think a lot of people around here would find it hilariously funny, if still bittersweet, if LeBron ended up with a team other than the Knicks, Nets or Bulls. Rumors of LeBron going to NY have been around ever since he entered the NBA, to the degree where some people I know seem to believe that this whole thing has been a conspiracy between Daniel Stern, Nike and the Knicks to let him start out in Cleveland to see if he could live up to his potential, then move him to NY once he finished his Cleveland deal to turn the Knicks back into a marquee NBA franchise. So if he does leave, but not to the Knicks or Nets, they would at least be able to laugh at those two teams for spending all that time and effort to make cap space for LeBron only to get stiffed. Besides, Cleveland already sees most of its best baseball players leave for NY or Boston. The Bulls not getting him would be icing on the cake (too many bad Jordan memories in Cleveland).

Personally, I think if he's really set on winning, he has to stay with the Cavs. They have a good foundation and could make a few moves to bolster the team, provided they dump Mike Brown and maybe Danny Ferry. On the other hand, leaving for NY or NJ means he will go from playing for a regular playoff contender to a rebuilding project in the prime of his career. Even with LeBron, the Knicks have a whole lot of bad to clear out before they get good. They might make the playoffs in a year or so, but I don't see them getting further than Cleveland has with him. The Nets? Same deal and, well, they aren't going to magically have that new arena in Brooklyn next season, if it ever gets built at all.

Something tells me Portland is a sneaky wildcard.