THE Cavaliers invade the Sexual Harassment Hacienda tonight. Prior to the game, or perhaps during, LeBron James plans to advise Donnie Walsh what he wants when he opts for free agency two summers from now . . . other than the perfunctory $100 million maximum contract, of course.
Simple requests like . . .
* Bring back Edmund Sherrod.
* Complete accountings of how Anucha Browne Sanders is spending her settlement stash.
* Primo seats to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show alongside Qyntel Woods.
* Right of first refusal accorded to Mrs. Carlos Boozer.
* “Best of James Dolan” CD for those special people on his Christmas list.
* Mark Cuban gets a day’s heads-up on all transactions.
* Hiring of all LeBron’s 18-and-over cousins to important do-nothing jobs and their very own intern.
* All future Rockefeller Center tree lightings to be supervised by Bimbo Coles.
ESPN’s Jalen Rose already has broadcast that James and Chris Bosh have committed to the Knicks in their own minds. Quite a scoop! Or is it news to them?
I avidly suspect nobody has any idea what LeBron will do because I can’t imagine a foregone conclusion this far in advance while there are tightropes to tip-toe, games to win, conferences to conquer, holy grails to pursue and rosters to redecorate.
Knicks fans need to understand the Cavaliers, too, enjoy gobs ($30M) of cap space for the 2010-11 season. That’s roughly $18M below what the Knicks expect to wield in recruiting pitches. Still, the collective bargaining agreement bequeaths the Cavs to spend about $35M more for their franchise free agent than any raiding party is allowed.
It’s imperative to cut and paste, I submit, whereas the owners of the Spurs, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Sonics (Thunder) and other teams are so conscious about the bottom line, they gave away rich ores of talent, Cavs title-holder Dan Gilbert is Mark Cuban-like in his zeal to chase down a championship. Using the current salary-cap figure of $58.68 million – expected to rise to $63-65M for ’10-11 – the Knicks can lure LBJ with 30 percent of that number because his years of service will be between seven and nine. This year, that amount would be $17.6M to start with 8 percent annual increases over five seasons, whereas the Cavaliers can give 10.5 percent raises over six seasons
Incontrovertibly, LBJ’s muscle and blood will be worth 16 tons more as a Knick to existing advertisers than a Cavalier; he’d quadruple that $35M difference in endorsements and appearances in a New York minute.
So, where does that leave the NBA? Freakin’ out of focus. Instead of media floodlights concentrating on the 10-3 Cavs, or the 13-2 Celtics, or the 11-1 Lakers, much of the coverage, as well as fan attention, are being disproportionately directed on the deferred daydreams of the Knicks, with no end in sight.
In the intervening 19 months, we can count on speculation, devoid of restraint or furnished fact, regarding what path the chosen one (and the horde of other elite free agents) is leaning toward taking to swell to harebrained heights.
It’s all good; anything to keep the story alive.
“LeBron is incomparable, so it’s understandable his name is being spotlighted,” Cavs GM Danny Ferry said by phone yesterday. “Teams want great players. Despite all conjecture concerning his future, he has said he wants to win championships and values playing and living here close to his family and friends. We have a good team, a really good group of guys. Our sole absorption and motivation not only is to win an NBA title but to compete for it every year.”
Unlike the Knicks whose unshielded 2010 first-round pick (protected in ’09 through 22) is owned by the Jazz, the Cavs possess all their draft selections (albeit low-grade position) going forward, and, as mentioned, flaunt excessive cap flexibility.
Again, unlike the Knicks, they have numerous assets under contract – guards Mo Williams, Daniel Gibson, Delonte West and rookie forwards J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson should management choose to pick up team options this summer – when LeBron must finally decide.
What’s more, LeBron has a solid core of players around him through his free-agent year; meaning the Cavs are not compelled to sacrifice or mortgage the rest of their team. They can continue to surround him with an excellent nucleus.
In the process, Ferry and coach Mike Brown will do their best to minimize distractions so The King & his Court can deal solely with basketball.
Not to remotely suggest LeBron Is incapable of handling the red glare of bombs bursting in air around him. He’s been engulfed in chaos since his freshman year of high school, and it doesn’t seem to have stunted his development or subdued his personality.
I hardly know LeBron James, yet one thing I’ll go to sleep on. He may be encircled by friends, family and a well-paid posse, but after listening respectfully to their advice, every major decision is made exclusively by him.