LeBron James on the Fast Track to Being Art Modell?

(Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)

LeBron James recently told a reporter that he is loyal to the city of Akron, but added that he was also looking forward to what may happen in 2010, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

For all of the praise James gets for his business acumen, I can't help but wonder why he would risk hurting himself financially next summer. The Cavs can offer him the most money, but it looks like the NBA's salary cap will shrink, meaning the time for James to maximize his deal with the Cavs was this off season.

Naysayers will scream that James will take less money and leave Cleveland because the potential for larger endorsement deals await him in New York. I don't buy it. James is so big now that he could be considered a global brand.

For example, take the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. People around the globe depend on this firm for its products. It doesn't matter where the company is headquartered. The same goes for James. He is such a titan that he'll get the big endorsements no matter where he plays. And for those who don't know, Goodyear is based out of Akron. 

James continued to say in the interview that no matter what happens come 2010, he will always be in Akron. "I've got a nice big house here that I'm always coming back to. You know, I love this city and I'll always give back to this city no matter what my profession; if it takes me somewhere else."

Somebody really needs to go over Cleveland sports history with LeBron covering 1995-1998. Art Modell left Cleveland for a better business deal and he's never been back. Modell was not an absentee owner either. He had a house in Cleveland. He was a part of the community. He even donated money to local hospitals.

It doesn't matter, though. He betrayed Cleveland and all of northeast Ohio. He will never be forgiven.

LeBron could face the same fate.

I went to Cavs games before LeBron. It was a joke. The atmosphere and the play were miserable. I might as well have been watching men's open-gym play at the local rec center.

If James leaves, I fear the Cavs won't last much longer, even with Dan Gilbert as owner. The downtown Cleveland economy profits so much from those big crowds at The Q. A move back to the pre-LeBron days could be a death sentence for many surrounding businesses and James will be the one who is blamed.

If LeBron leaves the Cavs, there is no doubt in my mind that he will join Modell as the most hated public figure in Cleveland history.

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