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The season begins tonight on TNT at 8:00 EST. On paper, this is by far the best team we have trotted out to begin a season since the Price teams of the 80s and early 90s. I am extremely jacked up for it. So is Pat:

This opener is awkward for Cavaliers

Cavaliers won't watch Celtics' celebration

By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist

Published on Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008

BOSTON: Some trips become hauntingly familiar.

On Monday, I took the same steps, same subway, same path as the last trip to Boston, which, of course, was Game 7 in the NBA playoffs. That's the game that ended the Cavs' season and sent LeBron James walking directly off the court when it was over. No handshake, no greetings to the other team, nothing. Just a direct stroll to the locker room, fueled by the intense hatred of losing.

For the 2008-09 season opener, the NBA, in its desire for TV ratings and to capitalize on the best player in the league being in the building (no, it's not Paul Pierce), brought the Cavs right back to the spot where their season ended in May.

Call it a gift the league office dropped on the Cavs.

Or more correctly, hung over their heads.

Because an hour before tonight's tipoff, while the Cavs are in the locker room, the crowd will be roaring as the Celtics receive their championship rings and raise another championship banner in the Boston Gaahden.

Apparently F Troop reruns on cable sounded more appealing to the Cavs.

''We don't need to be out there watching that,'' James said. ''We need to get ready for the game. Congratulations to them, but we're not the fans. That's for
Boston. We don't need to be out there clapping on them getting rings.''

A few years back, the Washington Capitals played for the Stanley Cup in hockey and lost to the Detroit Red Wings. Then-Washington coach Ron Wilson sat on the bench and watched as Detroit skated around the ice with the cup.

''It's what you dream of your whole life,'' Wilson said at the time. ''Why hide from it?''

Perhaps because it sticks in your craw?

James admitted the atmosphere in the Gaahden will be ''electrifying.'' None of the Cavs begrudges the Celtics their rings. ''They deserve the rings,'' Zydrunas Ilgauskas said.

The Cavs just have no desire to see the celebration.

Asked whether seeing the Celtics receive their rings could be motivating, James answered simply. ''No.''



Not much wiggle room there.

In truth, James needs nothing artificial to motivate him. His internal drive is set too high.

He also has a memory. His basketball sense and knowledge and storehouse sift through information like a computer. No doubt what happened last season in Boston is lodged in his mind.

How can it not be? If the same steps come back to a dorky sportswriter, they have to come back to the team and its best player.

Tonight's opener could qualify as a rub-it-in-your-face moment.

But unlike that last moment, tonight is a beginning, not an end. After this come 80-some more games, then the playoffs.

If James is going to use the rings and the banner and the memory of last season as motivation, that will happen when the games really count, when a loss in a series means so much more than a loss in Game 1 or 31 or 81.

When and if James returns to this court in the playoffs, he probably will remember that walk off the court every time he walks onto it.

Tonight, though, is just the first step on a long trek to get to that point.



http://www.ohio.com/sports/33428404.html

It's gotta be this year. I don't think the team will play at it's peak with the dark cloud of Lebron's future next year. So it HAS to be this year.

GO CAVS!

Bring a title to Cleveland!

I'm in the market for another tattoo....and I want it to honor a Cleveland championship. Make it happen folks!

Here is a video Buckdawg made, hooray

Hooray Cavaliers

if anyone is interested, the've got a lot of stuff on clearence at the cavs team shop,

http://www.cavaliersteamshop.com/fangear/search2.asp?&s_id=0&search_freetext=on%20sale

i got 2 car flags, laundry hamper, "14 pillow and a winter hat/gloves, for $27, including shipping

bill simmons picked the cavs to win it all, lolz.
58 wins, a 2 seed, and a finals win over new orleans.

less than an hour from tipoff though, here's to a good season.

i'm pumped...after the let down by the tribe and browns this year, barring injury to lebron, it's impossible to be let down by the cavs

lol @ Pierce.

we look good so far. i kinda figured we'd jump out because boston had that huge distraction before the game.

Gawd ... I'm stuck in a conference, away from home ... and I'm watching the opener via refreshed yahoo updates, while connected to a rogue Wi-Fi signal I found. I hope the wrap this thing up, and I can catch the game on the hotel bar or something.

lebron at the 4 right now...

Close your laptop. Clap your hands. Say "I'm Good." Walk out.

I havent felt this good about a cleveland teams chances to win it all since the 96 Indians...

Here's to a great season!

halftime thoughts:

mo williams has not been good defensively, a liability right now, although anyone would be crazy to think he fits in immediately on defense. offensively he is fine, still seems like he doesn't have a hold on this team, but again you'd be crazy to think it will all click right away.

delonte west looks good, at both ends, handling the ball, shooting the mid range jumper (i love it)

sasha looks like the 2007 sasha. i can see him maybe becoming deserving of that starting 2 guard spot.

lebron looks a step off, hm. although we were able to get him some rest.

if we're gonna score like this against a good defensive team, i am licking my chops to see what we do against the other 75% of the league that doesn't play defense. you aren't going to run a whole lot on boston, so 50 points at the half is stellar.

i like the way we look right now, all except Z...god he looks old...we are going to struggle against teams with above average centers..boobie looks alot better this year...

z will be fine... he's always been slow, he's a center.

the celts are great in the frontcourt on defense, garnett is as good as it gets, and perkins is very solid. most centers will struggle with them.

the cavs are still horrible at the line. that is simply unacceptable, there is 6+ left and we're in the bonus, lebron clanks 2 free ones, and luckily wild thing wipes it out with a rebound and a quick bucket.

i understand every team is going to have a few guys who are below average at the line, but how the hell do you have a collection of mostly bad free throw shooters? mike brown has to be held accountable.

i honestly believe mike brown won't be the HC to take us to the championship..he still hasn't figured out offense and we still lack fundamentals...this is a very talented team but his rotations leave me scratching my head

other then a small handful of times that he shot the ball when he shouldn't have, andy has played a hell of a ballgame.

3 point game with 27 seconds left, boston ball, we need a stop.

great game though. the cavs look good.

lebron's awful free throw shooting cost us a shot at stealing one.

i know the guy does everything, but seriously, come on.

yeah free throws and turnovers cost us this game...they weren't very focused..that last inbound by boston summs it up..how do you let them cherry pick in that situation...you need to LET them inboud in the backcourt so you can foul..if they outlet it like that we didn't have a chance...bad call by brown..seriously i see no growth in the offensive sets and i see no growth in fundamentals..i mean lebron had to have that drilled in his head by coach K

you have to give mike brown a little bit of leeway, in the last 9 months the team has gone through major changes.

not to mention your offense is going to look like dog poo when you go up against a great defensive team, playing at home. boston has a good offense and i wouldn't say they looked very good tonight either, they just made a few more plays, and got a few calls (there were a few bad calls in the 4th, but you have to expect that)

but wow, is it nice to see someone other then lebron push the ball up the court, mo williams has great speed.

when he gets more comfortable, i can see him attacking the basket more. but he had an ok first game, gotta work on defense.

our outside shooting was not good, we have perimter guys and they didn't play as well as they could have. plays were set up and they simply missed shots.

i put this loss on the players more then mike brown.

i'm not really going to judge by 1 game., but if we don't see some growith by february..

yeah mo had a tough game on D tonight..he looked horrible and he didn't look to distribute enough. but the talent is there..we are very deep i think and i hope brown goes a little deeper in his bench this year so we can see jackon, kinsey, and hickson play some..82 games is a long season, no excuse not to play them and see if they can do anything..especially as thin as we are up front

pretty much.

outside of blowout mode, hickson will not see the floor unless he proves he can defend his position. when you play in the frontcourt, not only are you responsible for your guy (who usually takes the highest percentage shots) but you are also responsible for guards and forwards who attack the basket.

mo didn't play good defense at all, it is going to take time for him to learn brown's system. but like i have said before, mike brown's system doesn't demand that you be as good as bruce bowen, it is a team oriented defense where as long as you are willing to put the effort in, you will be fine. he did that with wally, the whole world knew wally couldn't defend, but when he came to the cavs, mike brown was able to make him hold his end up, sure, he wasn't great, but he was not a liability. it will be a few months before mo learns switches, double-teams, when to run, when not to run, etc... but i have no doubt that he will adjust.

we lost the game and it sucks, but we went toe to toe with the defending champs in their house.

as far as february goes. unless we are getting back a very good player with a reasonable contract, i hope danny ferry plays it smart. there is absolutely nothing wrong with holding onto that deal, and letting it expire. only time will tell if the right guy is made available, you just have to keep your eye on other teams that maybe fall out of it early.

i've pointed out gerald wallace, who in my opinion, would fit the cavaliers perfectly. he's big he's strong, and with mike brown coaching, he could probably turn him into a very, very good defender. he's averaged well over 15 points a game the last few years, has a decent inside/outside game, and he's only 26 years old.

it wouldn't be a huge sexy move, it's not michael redd or carmelo anthony, but it would make the cavs really good. you're bench becomes lethal when you have delonte, boobie, sasha, and wally, and wild thing coming off. and rumors out of the league say that charlotte could be blown up if they fall out of it early. they'll simply want expirings back. it could be just like pao gasol.

february will be a crucial time in the history of the cavs, that is for sure.

One foot out the door for LeBron

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports 2 hours, 21 minutes ago

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BOSTON – They gave Paul Pierce the microphone at center court to do the brief, obligatory opening night welcome to the fans and the Celtics captain turned it into an Academy Award acceptance speech. There wasn’t much about Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, about the Celtics repeating as champions, yet rather a personal walk down memory lane, a self-indulging tribute to friends and family and business associates responsible for his championship journey.

It was oddly out of place, and out of context for a night that wasn’t about Pierce, but a 17th championship banner rising to the rafters. Yes, LeBron James had to wish he stayed in the locker room a little longer. For him, this was dreadful vision. He has rapidly become tired of Celtics history and Celtics pride and, maybe most of all, the Celtics standing in the way of his championship ambitions.

James left Pierce in the Garden five months ago, left on the losing end of a Game 7 when LeBron’s 45 points couldn’t beat Pierce’s 41 and the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. They had a Larry Bird-Dominique Wilkins duel, and rest assured that James loathes playing the part of the foil. ‘Bron’s no ‘Nique.

“I let it go quickly,” James said Tuesday night.

James wants to challenge Kobe Bryant as the best player on the planet, but he can’t do it until he meets him in the NBA Finals. Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen will make it hard for LeBron to get there as a Cavalier. There’s no Big 3 in Cleveland. Just a restless LeBron and solid, if unspectacular, cast of co-stars. He returns with an upgraded point guard, Mo Williams, and an urgency that is palpable for the Cavs.

The months passed, but nothing has changed on opening night. James missed a driving layup in the final minute and two free throws in the final 10.6 seconds of a 90-85 loss to the Celtics. Pierce had his way with 27 points, and James 22 points on 21 shots, with a start of a new season for the Cavs that felt too much like the end of the old one.

With James, the Cavaliers are running out of time. It’s two seasons and counting until he can become a free agent. To listen to Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert dismiss the possibility of James leaving in the summer of 2010 for a bigger market as a product of “bored sportswriters” is beyond laughable. These aren’t bored sportswriters, but a restless superstar and a stable of handlers seemingly sold on his exit.

Gilbert knows better, and so does everyone else inside and outside the Cavaliers. James has one foot out the door in Cleveland. From NBA executives, to Team USA staff and players, to sneak reps: They all believe James has one foot out of the hometown.

Privately, James’ circle had been telling people that they don’t just expect him to leave in the summer of 2010, but in the words of one James associate to a high-ranking league official: He’s gone.

This isn’t an indictment of Cavaliers GM Danny Ferry and the roster he’s constructed around his superstar. He’s done a good, creative job without chips to trade, without high draft picks. This won’t be a basketball decision as much as it will be James believing he needs the platform of a major market to transport himself into a bigger global entity.

Here’s the good news for Cavaliers fans: Things can change in two years, and James’ preferred destination, the Nets, is a franchise falling apart. Over the summer, James publicly declared Brooklyn his favorite borough in New York, but the prospects of joining his kindred spirit, rapping mogul Jay-Z, is fading fast.

For James, two things had to happen for him to make the move to the Nets. First, they had to have a nucleus of players minimally comparable to the cast he’d be leaving in Cleveland. Between now and 2010, the Nets desperately need Yi Jianlian and Brook Lopez to develop into frontline players.

But the biggest issue is this: James is never going to play for the New Jersey Nets. Brooklyn, yes. New Jersey? He doesn’t love Jay-Z that much. James needs to be walking into the Brooklyn palace that owner Bruce Ratner has been desperately trying to get financed and constructed for the 2011-2012 season.

Yet now, the Nets are such a vulnerable franchise, the $3.5 billion Atlantic Yards arena project in such doubt, ownership groups from Russia and Dubai have expressed interest in buying out Ratner and taking over the team, Yahoo! Sports has learned. So far, he has resisted, but he’s losing an estimated $30 million a year as court cases and a decaying economy have pushed the project to the brink of collapse.

Where would this leave James? Well, it was no accident that William Wesley – the ubiquitous World Wide Wes – happened to travel to upstate New York to check on the Knicks’ training camp. Leon Rose is officially James’ agent, but everyone knows that his advisor, Wesley, is the powerbroker of that alliance.

Donnie Walsh, the Knicks GM, had heard for years about Wesley’s influence, but never met him. The two didn’t talk about James, sources say, but it was a chance for the Knicks president to be around one of the most influential people in James’ decision-making process. The Knicks are working hard to get under the salary cap in 2010.

With the Knicks, there are two teams a source familiar with James’ thinking says intrigue him: The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks.

For now, the Cavaliers are working furiously to make it hard for James to leave in 2010. They’ll have significant cap space that summer too, and sources say they’ve targeted the Toronto Raptors’ Chris Bosh to play with him.

Odds are long that the Cavaliers will ever see that duo, but things can change in two years. All they can do now is pray that it will be James holding the trophy in the next two years. If that happens, there will be no Cavaliers legends to bring back that night, no championship banners hanging besides the one that James raises there.

He is the history and the present of that franchise. The future? Whatever Cleveland’s indignant owner keeps saying, just understand: It’s two seasons and counting. Jay-Z and Brooklyn are fading fast, but that doesn’t change the truth that Cleveland is still holding onto LeBron James by a thread, still hanging by a prayer.
Adrian Wojnarowski is the NBA columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Send Adrian a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

Redd'er had 30 last night,...

Same 'ol Cavs,...let 'er go in the third quarter,...

They "look" like they'll be better this year though; none of the early holdout and injury trouble of last season.

Like baseball, you just gotta wait this stuff out.

lolz, one game, and we've already gotten a 'lebron is bolting cleveland" aritcle up from one of yahoo's worthless sportswriters.

i had the over/under set at 10 games.

I would have put my mortgage payment on the under had you presented me that option two days ago.

Until he signs, it will be a hot story. I just hope Cleveland has a ring before that day....so it won't really matter.

Many people think LBJ is gonna leave after his contract is up, and it makes sense that he does. Sorry but even though the Cav's can spend more money on him then other teams contract wise but he'll still throw away 50 to 75 million dollars in endorsements and sorry Cleveland isn't that important to me when those digits are involved. If he doesn't leave for a team in a major market when his contract is up he is a fool, but since I know he's no fool and is money hungry (can't blame him) we might as well pack his bags cause he's gonna take the money and run.

50-75 in endorsements?

um, no?

that's tiger woods territory dude, nobody in the nba can touch that. kobe doesn't even sniff that in LA.

lebron won't really even do local commercials in new york, considering he's doing commercials worldwide, why would he downgrade?

do your homework.

Take it up with ESPN if you don't like what I stated, or ask Stephen A Smith what he thinks since I am pretty sure he was the one who stated such, but I am sure you consider him a hack just like Yahoo sportswriters. LBJ is gonna take the most money he can get and it won't be in Cleveland, that is pretty much a fact and if you don't wanna believe that it's cool, but don't be shocked when he is gone, the writing is already on the wall for this to happen.

Do your homework, nike paid 90 million for LBJ to endorse them and Tiger got his contract bumped up to 100 million, they ARE in the same league so before you tell others to do their homework, you should do the same:

LeBron James Hits $90M Jackpot
High School Hoops Star Signs Deal With Nike

CLEVELAND, May 22, 2003
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LeBron James (AP)

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(AP) LeBron James always idolized Michael Jordan, right down to his shoes. Now the high school star will begin his NBA career just like Mike.

Only with a lot more money.

James will go into the league with a swoosh after signing a multiyear endorsement deal on Thursday with Nike, which outbid Reebok and Adidas for the 18-year-old star, who is expected to be the No. 1 pick in next month's draft.

"Nike is the right fit and has the right product for me at the right time," James said in a statement. "They are a good company that has committed to supporting me throughout my professional career, on and off the court."

Terms of the deal negotiated were not released, but a source close to James, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press the deal was worth more than $90 million.

The agreement came just hours after James signed an exclusive contract with Upper Deck trading cards. His contract with Nike is believed to be the richest initial shoe contract ever offered to an athlete.

When Jordan signed his first contract with Nike in 1984, it was for $2.5 million over five years. Nike signed Tiger Woods to a five-year, $40 million deal in 1996, but it was later replaced by a $100 million package from the sporting apparel giant.

Earlier this week, Nike signed Carmelo Anthony, the freshman who led Syracuse to the national championship in April to a shoe and apparel deal. Anthony, a close friend of James, is projected to be taken with the No. 2 pick next month.

"We are excited about our new partnership with LeBron James and look forward to a nurturing relationship with him," said Lynn Merritt, a Nike executive. "LeBron has great worth ethics on the court, tremendous basketball ability and a passion for the game."

Last weekend, James, his mother, Gloria, and agent Aaron Goodwin spent two days at Nike's corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., where the company made its final presentation.

Adidas appeared to drop out of the running earlier this week, just days after it put up billboards and placed messages on buses in Akron directed at James.

James also signed an exclusive multiyear contract with Upper Deck trading cards Wednesday.

The 6-foot-8 James' selection of Nike over Reebok and Adidas ends a nearly two-year battle among the shoe companies to land the dynamic player, whose game has been compared to that of Jordan and Magic Johnson.

James has received unprecedented media coverage the past two years. He has appeared on the cover of national sports magazines, and last season two of his games were televised nationally by ESPN.

The shoe deal came less than a day before James was to learn where he'll be wearing his Nikes as a pro.

The NBA will hold its draft lottery Thursday night, and the winner gets the right to select James, a three-time Mr. Ohio in Basketball and the consensus national player of the year the past two years.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets, who tied for the league's worst record this season, have the best chance at getting the top pick.

Terms of the deal with Upper Deck were not immediately available, but company spokesman Jake Gonzales said James' contract is on a level with previous agreements signed by Jordan, Woods and soccer star David Beckham.

Boone said the trading card deal included a $1 million signing bonus.

Gonzales said James is the youngest person ever signed by Upper Deck, whose other spokesmen include Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui.

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Heres another article for your homework assignment:


I made my way to the Rose Garden arena here in Portland last night to take in the Portland Trail Blazers (THE surprise team in the NBA this season) vs Cleveland Cavaliers (LeBron James is the NBA MVP to this point) game. I couldn't help notice that a sizable contingent of Nike executives were seated courtside to watch one of their marquee athletes in action.

Nike Chairman Phil Knight and Nike Basketball Senior Director Lynn Merritt (the man who recruited and ultimately convinced Knight and Nike to sign James out of high school) were leading the cheers for King James. LeBron didn't disappoint the people who are paying him a reported $90M. He poured in 37 points (including 17 in the 4th quarter) and grabbed 14 rebounds. He hit the game winning shot with 0.3 seconds left on the clock...........and then stared and smiled at the Nike contingent as if to say, "this is why you pay me the big bucks!"

LeBron will probably win multiple MVP awards. There's a terrific chance he will win an NBA Championship when its all said and done. But will he ever be the pitchperson Nike envisioned when they signed him to a 7-year contract back in 2003?

Nike is known for signing athletes with "bigger than life" personalities. Nike's commercials don't focus so much on specific product as much as they do building the legend of the athlete wearing the product. There's no arguing the fact that Nike gets a tremendous amount of exposure via their relationship with arguably th` best player in the NBA. I get all of that. The question I have is, will LeBron's product ever sell briskly enough to warrant Nike's huge investment?

LeBron is on TV nightly with amazing highlights on SportsCenter. Michael Jordan operates behind the scenes in retirement. Yet sales of the Air Jordan shoes and apparel outpace sales of LeBron James' shoes and apparel by a wide margin. (I've polled a number of people and they all tell me that they'd stand in line to buy the new Air Jordan shoes, but wouldn't be willing to do so for LBJ's new kicks. There just isn't the same buzz or demand for LeBron's product as there is for Jordan's). Is this because LeBron's product isn't as "cool" as Jordan's product or is it because LeBron isn't as popular as a product endorser as MJ?

LeBron's contract with Nike expires in 2010. If you are Nike, its almost a no-brainer that you have to re-sign LeBron after investing enormous amounts of time and money in him thus far. You also know LeBron's upside is the best of any player in the NBA. Here's my question though. LeBron's product hasn't sold nearly as briskly as many Nike executives originally hoped it would. So what kind of a contract do you offer LeBron, who will only be 25 years old? If you offer him less than $90M, he probably sees the offer as an insult. But if you offer him $90M or more, are you confident LeBron will establish himself as a pitchperson on par with Jordan and Tiger Woods?

Keep in mind that Jordan and Woods are "partners" with Nike. In other words, they are guaranteed a certain amount of money, but then they are also paid a percentage of the sales of Jordan brand and Nike Golf product respectively.

Its well documented what Michael Jordan has meant to Nike. Tiger Woods has been worth every penny Nike Golf pays him. When Woods signed with Nike Golf in 1996, the company was a shoe and apparel company. Now Nike Golf sells equipment and golf balls in addition to shoes and apparel and is one of the fastest growing sports brands in the world, raking in an estimated $600M per year (So if you're Nike and you're paying Tiger $20M per year over a 10-year period, isn't that a terrific return on your investment?).

LeBron receives certain bonuses via his deal with Nike if the company hits certain sales marks with his product, but to date, its my understanding that Nike hasn't had to write any substantial bonus checks to James.

Its important to remember that very few athletes are also elite pitchpeople. Just because people like your game, doesn't guarantee they'll buy your product. MJ, Tiger, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Maria Sharapova have shown they have the power to move product. LeBron can't be placed in that elite group of athletes yet.

One way that LeBron can give an enormous boost to his Nike product is by exciting the fans at the 2008 Summer Olympics in August in Beijing.

LeBron has done a few Nike promotional tours through China and there had been talk a few years ago that LeBron was learning to speak Chinese so he could do his interviews with Chinese media in their language.

LeBron had better take a crash course in Chinese if he's not fluent already. The next 12 months will be very important in determining just how successful he can be as a pitchperson for Nike. If he makes tremendous inroads prior to and during the Olympics, he could increase the sales of his product dramatically (China has 1.3 billion people). But if sales of his product continue at the current levels, it could be very tough for Nike to justify paying LeBron another $90M come 2010. Especially if he remains in "small market" Cleveland.

Its worth noting that LeBron's contract with the Cleveland Cavs also expires in 2010. If he bolts for New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles or Chicago Nike my be willing to gamble that he will sell more product based on the fact that he'll be in a bigger media market.

Should be interesting to see how this unfolds. 2010 will be the "Year of LeBron" for sure.

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I have been telling them for some time a bigger market means more money....and they always say he is worldwide anyway.

Well...the world will get a whole lot bigger for James if he takes his act to NYC or some other large market.

Just the way it is.

I've been saying it myself as well. Money is money and LBJ wants it. It's a fact that he'll make more in a bigger market, and it doesn't matter even if he is worldwide or not, why people have a hard time understanding simple economic principles is somewhat beyond me. Well at least you and I won't be shocked when he leaves but can't wait to read the shocked reactions when he does, and then he'll be labeled a "traitor" because he can make more money outside of Cleveland, kind of absurd but I figure that reaction will be had by many.

yes, lebron makes 90 million from nike, a contract he signed in 2003.

so it's 90 million over the span of quite a few years

take a look at what tiger pulls in aside from his winnings. it dwarfs anything else anyone in sports does.

so if lebron playing in a bigger market means all this ridiculous "50 to 75 million", how come kobe doesn't pull in as much as he does, playing in los angeles and all?

and tell me this, fletch, ballpeen. if it's only about money and market size to lebron, why did he sign the extension? he could have been out of cleveland already.

i have been asking that question for years, and not one naysayer has given me a legitimate answer. i find that hiliarious.

again, i'm not saying lebron stays, i never have, i just point out reasons why he would, and i find it hilarious that you guys, as well as some of the bonehead professionals in the media, are saying his 'foot is already out the door'

please.

oh, but "sources" say? lolz.

again, please.

lolz, sources. just like when they reported that lebron was NOT going to sign an extension after the 2006 season.

wrong.

so come on, why did he sign the extenstion?

let's hear it.

What I don't understand is the people saying he is leaving on this board are saying he will do it for money. Do you really feel that is his motivation? Do you think that will help him reach the pinnacle of his profession, an NBA championship? LeBron has stated that is his goal over and over again. He has also stated he wants to become a global icon. Moving to a major market in 2010 will NOT help either of those goals.

Simple answer really, he is locked into his Nike endorsement contract till 2010, as his contract with Cleveland, that isn't just coincidence. I don't want the guy to leave but would be a fool to think otherwise since he is money hungry. You ask for proof it is there, he hasn't extended his contract with Cleveland and is leaving his options open. The guy wants to get paid and he will, right now he plays in a market that limits him, and he realizes that and will move on to greener pastures. He also didn't deny that playing overseas wasn't an option, he also left that door open. Not sure why you need proof that the option of leaving isn't there but it is, then again didn't you guarantee that we would get T Mac this year as well? I think you did, but that's another topic, but seriously LBJ is human and will go somewhere where he can make more money, just like the rest of us would.