DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum LeBron James tells The PD he'll consider signing extension this summer

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2008/12/lebron_james_tells_the_pds_bri.html

DENVER -- 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."

This is the first time James has publicly talked about signing this summer instead of waiting until 2010. It is an indication of how pleased James is with the progress the Cavaliers have made this season as they are off to a 22-4 start, the second-best record in the NBA.

In 2006, James signed a three-year, $43 million deal with the Cavs through 2010 and it included a player option for 2010-11 worth $17.4 million. There has been a general assumption that James will forgo his player option, but no one has been paying attention to the other choice, which is to extend his contract with the Cavs early.

There is still a good chance James will not sign early and let things play out in 2010. Waiting will give him a chance to evaluate the entire scene before making a decision.

But James has thought about this summer and so have the Cavs, who will most certainly offer him a maximum-level deal whenever he wants.

"I definitely want to keep an open mind, I will look at everything," James said. "[The extension] is a good point. I think me and my group have pretty much made good decisions so far and we'll look at the options and go from there."

Overall, there are all kinds of different choices James has and that even includes his Nike contract. There has been quite a bit of attention paid to the fact that his Nike deal also ends in 2010 and many have assumed he'll negotiate that new deal at about the same time.

However, James has a three-year extension clause in the Nike deal he can activate if he so chooses. His yearly salary with Nike could actually be higher now than what he could get with a new deal, especially considering the state of the economy and the general downturn in athlete endorsements.

In addition there is no clause in James' Nike contract that will pay him more if he plays in a major market like New York or Los Angeles, another fact that has been misreported at times. When James first signed with Nike, there were some incentives for being in New York, Chicago or L.A. but those have since expired.

There is still a good chance James will do a brand new deal with Nike.

Some of it may depend on what friends Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh do, they both will have the same chances to sign early. But he is pleased with the Cavs' franchise, off to its best-ever start at 22-4 heading into Sunday's game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

In the wake of setting the franchise steal record last week and already owning the scoring record, James was even joking this weekend with his teammates about his future. Especially Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who just took over the franchise rebounding mark. But maybe not long-term, James hinted.

"By the time I get done," James said. "I'm going to hold all the records."


Gibson practices: Daniel Gibson took part in the team's practice Saturday. It was a light workout with no contact, but is another step in his return from a sprained toe. He will likely not play against the Thunder but could be cleared for contact practice early next week.


Tape to rescue: Ilgauskas reported no lingering issues from his first game back from a sprained left ankle and also went through Saturday's drills. He tied a season-high with 23 points in the victory over the Nuggets on Friday night and was able to play 28 minutes. What seemed to help Ilgauskas was taping the ankle, which he has not done in years under doctor's orders following his foot reconstructive surgery.

"It really helped, it was OK," Ilgauskas said. "I got a little tired in altitude. I didn't go get offensive rebounds when the shot went up I just ran to the other end, I tried to cut the court in half."

This would be huge if this were to occur. If LeBron was already on board for the 2010 free agency period then that would put us in excellent position to pick up another star caliber player.

interesting, although, i'd like to see the true context of how he said that, and if it was just a political response...

i'm not sure of how an extension this summer would work, maybe one of you guys know? can he extend to what he could make in 2010, if not, then why would he even consider this?

espn will brush this aside and say he's just trying to say the right thing, but it raises an eyebrow, and i think it should genuinely make us all feel good that he'll stay...

Cleveland has forever waited for a super hero, and we have one, and we refuse to believe he loves us. He does love us. He'll stay.

I just know it. Not that what I know is worth anything lol.

I'll take any good news I can get at this point. Jordan made it big playing for Chicago, never did a NY team. LeBron can do the same here, and I think his "brain trust" is smart enough to know that. He's international. Europeans et al don't really care about NY vs. Ohio. The Cavs are in a good spot, better (in my opinion) than either NY/NJ team. If the Cavs win, this will be the place. The biggest competition would be the Lakers and the Celts, and I don't know if they will be in the bidding.

The Cavs, however, could conceivably be in the running for one of the other superstar free agants after next season.

Just throwing something out there.

Not saying this could happen but it is a intersting thing to think about.

What if Lebron signed a veteran minimum contract? With the agreement being that the Cavs will use that saved money to sign 2 all star players to go along with him and MO Williams(who deserves to be a all star). I thinkLebron would make that money back ten fold, he would become the ultimate sports super hero. A player giving up money for the sake of winning? People would eat that up and he would be elvevated to that spot as a global icon that he has said he wants to achieve.

KING

i dunno if i see him taking less then what the max will offer, but it's a nice thought...

i think he realizes that you don't need an all star team around him, just good solid players like we have... but we could sure use another guy, that is for sure...

i think a perfect situation would be to have lebron re-sign, and then have z and either/or wallace and wally sign at smaller rates...

I hope it happens - who knows if it will...

But can you imagine some NY people reading this the first time? lol - mouths open, heart rate picking up, bead of sweat on the forehead - lol.

Be nice for Cleveland to land and keep a superstar for his entire career.

j/c

Please, free hype from ESPN is something he cannot pass up.

He'll be a Cavalier, but he wants to move merch as well. I'd say it's about 25-75 that he signs an extension this summer.

Well wait though ... if he signs an extention, would we still have the cap space to get someone like Bosh in??

Here's how we would of pulled in two superstars .... You get someone like Bosh to sign first ... the $20 million contract would fit under the cap and we'd be fine ... THEN lebron signs his deal. Since the "Bird Rule" applies to him, he gets' his max contract, and we are allowed to go $20 million over the cap to keep him.

If he signs the extention ... then his salary would already be applied to the cap. Does that mean, we'd be ruled out of singing another big name? Unless of course he keeps his current contract, which would actually be around a $6-$10million dollar paycut ... and we keep some cap space to sign another big name.

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In addition there is no clause in James' Nike contract that will pay him more if he plays in a major market like New York or Los Angeles, another fact that has been misreported at times. When James first signed with Nike, there were some incentives for being in New York, Chicago or L.A. but those have since expired.

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Hopefully that shuts the pie hole of everyone spouting about the Big Market thang...

Bron...U have an opportunity to do for Cleveland (Your HOMETOWN) what Jordan has done for Chicago...U have the owner who has obviously proven he doesn't care about Luxury Taxes...He'll bring what we need at any cost...SIGN HERE...........

Excl...Good question...And it's the burning question...I'm emailin' Windhorst about that one...When Gilbert made the comment a few weeks ago about The NBA should be worrying about the Cavaliers taking a Bosh or Wade away...That told me right there that we have every intention to land one of the STUDS...And BOSH is the one...

All I know is RIGHT NOW...Stop the season and let's see a 7 Game Series with Boston...Both teams at 100% health...

Glad to see this. Hopefully he signs. After some of the stuff I've read about the Knicks organization, I don't know why anybody would sign with them. Apparently, their owner is a real jerk, and they have no direction.

-Give him whatever he wants this summer. - He is worth every penny.

Interesting take King, but 2119 is probably right. LB has already been asked this question and given a firm answer.. Never know with LB, though. Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside just thinkin about it

Only way that would happen is if him, Bosh and Wade had decided prior that they want to unite in Cleveland (EXTREMELY unlikely). Then, they would have to get their financial guys together and split things 3 ways under the table..

Nice thought, but LB would not be elevated to Jordan status if he were to do this. Still have to go out and win the rings (6 or more) to get to MJ status. Then, and only then would the discussion arise...

Of course LeBron is leaving. He doesn't care anything about Cleveland. Probably if any of you had his money you would be out of there too. If any body wants to bet, please feel free to PM me.

the only reason i could see lebron signing an extension now is to prove stability within the cavs organization... he signs and it shows other big time free agents that he is here for the long haul, and with how good his team is, rings will be won in cleveland, and that could attract someone like chris bosh or wade, or whomever.

we could get yao, and then get a tv contract with the entire country of china...

lolz, that would dwarf new york.

I don't want to bet, but I do want to say your attitude sucks.

lolz, based on what?

and i'll ask you the question that all the detractors on here can't seem to answer...

if he's so hellbent on bolting cleveland, why did he sign the extenstion in 2006?

and keep in mind, since 2006, the cavs have done nothing but good, acquiring mo, delonte, ben wallace, and ridding themselves of bad contracts like damon jones, donyell marshall, and larry "legend" hughes.

if he truly wanted to be in new york or some other big market city, he could have been there by now

answer it.

who knows, maybe he wants to win a championship for c-town before he leaves. we wern't a serious threat 3 years ago.I think he'll stay if we continue to improve, and contend for championships year in and year out

He has a better chance of winning one here than he does in New York. - That team is a mess.

I agree with you 100%

Fact is, the media doesn't care about Lebron, nor do they care about the Knicks winning, all they see is $. - They want him in NY because it will make them more $. Hopefully, Lebron understands what is going on and stays put.