Where Will LeBron End Up? (Part 1)

The LeBron 2010 sweepstakes have begun! And as biased as I am being a Cavs fan, I want to go over the best option James has this summer. Now, I don't believe that LeBron has even thought about where he wants to go this summer. Well, maybe this past week he has, but I doubt its been in-depth thought. These are not in any kind of order and I'll go through each one to see which ones are likely and which aren't:



1. New York
2. New Jersey
3. Chicago
4. Miami
5. L.A Clippers
6. Dallas
7. Cleveland


There are 4 categories in which I think would at least play some role of James making his decision. After each team, I will list the ranking 1-7 (1 being the best, 7 being the worst) for these 4 categories: Winning, Administration, Location, Off-Court Perks. Since all 7 of these teams can offer a max contract (although Cleveland can offer just a little bit more money), money isn't really a difference-maker.

1. New York - 5, 4, 4, 1... The talk of the town, New York is the place most people think James will land. Statistically, NY ranks second on the list totaling 14 which came as a surprise to me. However, the winning category would seem to hold the most weight from what LeBron has been saying in which NY ranks a low 5th. Right now, NY has unloaded their team in hopes to land LBJ. They currently have 4 people listed on their roster as of July 1st. They have 2 max contract spots and a lot of financial wiggle room (and are probably more than willing to go into the luxury tax). NY is a big stage, something LeBron loves. He could probably get some more endorsements there, which is why the off-court perks rank #1.

The downside with NY is exactly what makes it big: the risk. There's nothing like winning in NY but there's also nothing like losing in NY, which is exactly what he'd do. They are not ready to win right now, there's not even a team there right now. Even assuming they land a good #2 like Chris Bosh, re-sign Derek Lee (who also plays PF), they're nowhere deep enough to make a run in the playoffs. Boston is still a lot deeper as is Orlando, so if winning is atop LeBron's list, NY isn't the place to go right now.

2. New Jersey - 7, 1, 5, 2... New Jersey is an interesting team, and its odds of landing a great team were lowered after missing out on the John Wall draft. Not that Cousins or Johnson will be bad picks, and they may even end up with Evan Turner. But a team that barely wins 10 games in a year is in no position to make a playoff run, even with landing the best player in the world. It can be argued that New Jersey doesn't even make the playoffs with LeBron James much less win multiple championships.

While I think NJ has some talent, it's very undeveloped and will take time to turn into anything. So yes, it may be a talented team, but the team has 0 playoff experience and just a little bit more winning experience. Having a good relationship with owner Jay-Z and eventually moving into the Brooklyn area will help, but I don't think it's enough to draw a player who wants to win right now.


3. Chicago - 3, 7, 6, 4... Statistically, this is the worst team to go to. I think this may be one of the better options because they already have solid players. However, their administration and coaching leave a lot of room for doubt. After firing Del Negro, who did a great job with a team that wasn't expected to go anywhere, the Bulls' future is a little uncertain.