NBA Free Agency: Five Ways ESPN Can Make LeBron James' Decision a Hit

Now that we know when LeBron James will announce his decision, it's worth wondering how ESPN plans to fill a full hour on Thursday night.

Without any bells and whistles, ESPN will still draw in an astronomical number of viewers to watch LeBron choose his future team. Is it an exaggeration to say the one-hour decision special could end up being ESPN's most watched show in network history?

Still, there's no reason ESPN can't make the seminal show that much better.

What if they bring in every GM (or owner) and have LeBron "fire" them, Apprentice-style, throughout the hour? What if they have LeBron appear as a hologram to make his decision?

Let's check out five more sure-fire ways ESPN could make the LeBron decision special even better than it'll already be.

No. 5: Bring in Jimmy Kimmel to Roast LeBron

Let's be honest: We're all at least a little sick of the LeBronamania from the past week. We want to joke about it. We want to vent about it.

Why not bring in a hired gun to conduct a five minute roast of the King before he makes the most important decision of his career?

Kimmel may not be a roastmaster like Jeffrey Ross, but he's got a few things working in his advantage:

1. He works for ABC, and ESPN and ABC are both owned by Disney.

2. His clean brand of comedy still delivers laughs.

3. He co-hosted the ESPYs with LeBron in 2007.

Kimmel's ABC-ESPN connections should make him the perfect man for the job. Given how badly Kimmel burned Jay Leno over the late-night wars earlier this year, he's also proven himself as one of the funniest men working in late-night television.

Giving Kimmel the stage for five minutes to incessantly mock LeBron's media whoring over the past week would be a great venting exercise for everyone involved in this ridiculous process. You know we'd get some laughs out of it.

No. 4: Station Fan Cameras in Each City

One team's fanbase will look like this on Thursday night.

The others? Unless they can land Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh, they won't be waving many rally towels this summer.

One of the most enjoyable parts of this free agency madness has been the involvement of NBA fans—from rallying at a player's summer camp to a "Please Stay LeBron" song, fans have begged stars to join (or stay with) their teams.

Why not involve fans at the pivotal moment in free agency? If teams in contention for LeBron organize a fan-watch of the ESPN special in their cities on Thursday, ESPN should send cameras there to capture the fans' reaction.

How much do you want to see Madison Square Garden when LeBron spurns New York for the Cavs? Or Cleveland fans' reactions when LeBron goes to Chicago. My point exactly.

No. 3: Eliminate Teams Throughout the Hour (With Hats!)

One of the most enjoyable parts of signing day for college football is when the signees line up hats of all the schools they're considering, then choose their schools by picking a hat.

ESPN should expand that concept to Thursday night.

At the start of the hour, there should be a watch on all the teams in contention for LeBron. In the first half hour, they could eliminate the gimmes like the Mavericks and the Kings, leaving six teams (CLE, CHI, MIA, NYK, NJN, LAC) alive in the LeBron race.

At half past, they should receive an envelope with the name of one team who's been knocked out. They should repeat that process at 9:40 and 9:50, leaving three teams alive with 10 minutes left in the special.

You know you're not going to hear LeBron's decision before 9:55 on Thursday. Why not progressively add more suspense to the night as the hour goes on?

No. 2: Have Charles Barkley as the Host

The NBA unquestionably has the most brash, honest, opinionated former-player-turned-commentator of any sport in Charles Barkley. You know you're not getting jerked around with Chuck. He's going to tell you what he thinks, and he doesn't care if you agree.

There's no better host for Thursday's extravaganza than the Round Mound of Rebound.

He's one of the greatest power forwards in the history of the NBA, which gives him respect from players. It's why he can go out and say he wouldn't sign Amar'e Stoudemire to a max contract this summer and catch no flak for it.

Who better to host an hour-long extravaganza about LeBron? His 10 years on Inside the NBA has provided him with countless hours behind a camera; at this point, he's a guy that's just begging to become a host for a huge event like this.

Chuck can sit back, reflect on how there was never this type of free agency hysteria in his day, provide his typical running commentary, and be must-see TV for the whole hour.

No. 1: Have LeBron Parachute Onto the City of His Choosing

According to Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, LeBron won't announce his decision in one of the cities in consideration. ("[It] Will keep the guessing going," Windhorst adds.)

Well, what would be more epic than LeBron literally descending upon his chosen people?

At 9:55, Barkley could cut to the man of the hour, who's live in an airplane 15,000 feet above the ground in the city of his choosing. LeBron would make his decision, live on air, turn, and jump from the plane to parachute to the ground below.

For LeBron, it's a chance to literally escape everything for a few minutes before the madness starts again. If he thought he'd been facing media coverage this week...imagine when he actually picks a team.

And for the fans, can you imagine a better fitting ending to this media feeding frenzy than having LeBron cut off from all possible media access immediately following his announcement?

It'd be ridiculous. It'd be an absurd gesture. But it'd be fitting for this madhouse that's the summer of 2010.