LeBron Free Agency: Other than Cleveland?

In the second round of this year’s NBA Playoffs, many teams suddenly became fans of the Boston Celtics. They realized that a Celtics victory over the Cavaliers would open the doors to the greatest prize in the history of NBA free agency: LeBron James. The

2010-07-07

In the second round of this year’s NBA Playoffs, many teams suddenly became fans of the Boston Celtics. They realized that a Celtics victory over the Cavaliers would open the doors to the greatest prize in the history of NBA free agency: LeBron James. The understanding was that if a revamped Cleveland team couldn’t even advance to the Conference Finals, James might be more receptive to leaving his hometown team. Based on Boston’s victory and James’ apparent openness to these overtures, there is a chance James may give Cleveland sports fans their latest doomsday.

As of now, the current non-Cleveland leader of the pack in the James sweepstakes appears to be the Chicago Bulls. Out of all the teams with the cap space to add James, Chicago has the most championship-ready pieces. In contrast to Cleveland, their talent is young and primed to enter their most productive years. The Bulls’ best player is undoubtedly point guard Derrick Rose, who will be entering his third year and has quickly turned into one of the game’s greatest playmakers. They also have a do-it-all center in Joakim Noah, who adds pivotal components with his unselfishness and rebounding ability and is the perfect unassuming role player to complement James. The same is true for Taj Gibson, who made a big impact in his rookie season but doesn’t have the ego to demand shots in a James-led squad. Luol Deng is a very talented and versatile player as well but might be deemed expendable if James were to sign with the team.

In addition to their playing personnel, the Bulls have other assets. Their new coach, Tom Thibodeau, is a defensive mastermind who has a proven pedigree, helping to construct the elite Boston Celtics teams of the past three years. Also, the Bulls have enough cap space to add another maximum contract player in this free agent bonanza. James is not the only prized commodity out there and the further addition of a player like Chris Bosh would make Chicago even more enticing. All these factors make it clear that out of all James’ potential suitors, Chicago is the most ready to win a championship.

This is in contrast to the New Jersey Nets, who are trying to make a splash under their new multibillionaire Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov. The Nets are coming off the worst record in the NBA and although Prokhorov is trying to change the losing culture, their team is still very young. Devin Harris is a good player but not nearly of Rose’s caliber. Brook Lopez shows signs of great potential but is still developing at the NBA level. Fielding a title-contending team would take significantly longer in New Jersey and hurts their chances of getting James, who wants to win right away.

The New York Knicks are a wildcard of sorts in this sweepstakes. Up until this year, any talk about James leaving Cleveland seemed to be focused on the Knicks. Are you ready to get into the NBA betting action? Head over to www.sportsbook.com the home of NBA betting action.

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