Power Forwards Are Power Brokers in LeBron James Sweepstakes

In an effort to catch the biggest fish in the 2010 NBA free agent pond, teams are using All-Star power forwards as bait to lure LeBron James and hook a championship banner on their respective rafters.

Marketing opportunities and a championship coach are certainly high on The Chosen One’s checklist but the key to obtaining—retaining?—legendary status will be the relative abilities of his teammates.

Facing a dearth of superstar centers in today’s NBA, the top teams in the LeBron James Sweepstakes—Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, New York, and New Jersey—have worked overtime to get the best power forwards to dangle in front of the back-to-back Most Valuable Player.

Along the Power Forward Trail

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have won the last three NBA championships after acquiring an All-Star power forward.

The Celtics welcomed Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves before the 2007-08 season and the Lakers acquired the Memphis Grizzlies’ Pau Gasol at the trade deadline in February 2008.

The Celtics went on to win a NBA title in 2008 while the Lakers claimed back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010.

The wheel of fortune has been spinning all year long as the teams courting the King did their best to provide him with a star power forward and a championship roster.

The Cleveland Cavaliers struck first.

After finishing with the league’s best record in 2009 and on the way to leading the NBA in wins in 2010, the Cavs sought out their own All-Star power forward and acquired Antwan Jamison from the Washington Wizards in February.

The move didn’t pan out for Cleveland as the Cavs fell to the Celtics 4-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Subsequently, Cavs head coach Mike Brown and general manager Danny Ferry were jettisoned and the competition for the NBA’s best player became fiercer.

Next, the New Jersey Nets—a dark horse in the race for LeBron—drafted power forward Derrick Favors with the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA Draft on June 24th. The Nets also signed head coach Avery Johnson, the 2006 NBA Coach of the Year and the starting point guard on the San Antonio Spurs’ 1999 championship team.

Although New Jersey finished a league-worst 12-70 in ’09-10, the Nets have a young, solid group of players in Favors, All-Star point guard Devin Harris, and center Brook Lopez (18.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg in ’09-‘10) and James could be the perfect centerpiece for the team as it makes plans to move to Brooklyn.

Things became more interesting on July 4, when the New York Knicks agreed to sign five-time All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire. The former Suns power forward played for Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni in Phoenix and suddenly New York’s two-year plan began to make some sense in the Big Apple.

D’Antoni is an offensive mastermind who would give James the freedom to operate in a variety of capacities in the country’s largest market.

The good times continued to roll for power forwards when former Utah Jazz All-Star Carlos Boozer agreed to sign with the Bulls yesterday and further bolster Chicago’s strong frontcourt.

The move may have been conciliatory after the Bulls failed to obtain Toronto Raptors power forward Chris Bosh or Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade, a Chicago native. Chicago offers James a young, playoff roster and the Akron, Ohio native would stay in the Midwest.

The Miami Heat made the biggest splash of the summer yesterday, retaining free agent superstar Wade and acquiring Bosh—a five-time All-Star—to join him.

Bosh is coming off his best NBA season, notching career-highs in points (24.0/game) and rebounds (10.8/game) and Wade is a perennial All-Star, a champion, and was the Finals MVP in 2006.

In a New York Yankees-like coup, the Heat could acquire three of the NBA’s top 10 scorers and form one of the NBA’s all-time greatest teams. Although James could win a title in any city, joining Bosh and Wade would give him his best chance to win a championship thus far.

But James has been the star of his team his entire career and he might be hesitant to come to Miami-Wade County and live in Dwyane Wade’s shadow.

Finding a Coach for King James

When head coach Phil Jackson decided to return to Los Angeles and make his second run at a three-peat with the Lakers, the dominoes began to fall.

James has made clear his intentions to play for a winning head coach who has experience as an NBA player. His former head coach, Mike Brown, didn’t meet those requirements while Jackson and the Celtics Doc Rivers—the past two head coaches to win a NBA championship—do meet them.

After New Jersey hired Johnson, the Cavaliers hired Byron Scott, who won three NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s and made back-to-back NBA Finals appearances with the New Jersey Nets in 2002 and 2003. Scott may have been in line to take the Lakers job if Jackson hadn’t returned.

Much like D’Antoni was able to help bring Stoudemire to New York, Scott may try to persuade Chris Paul—LeBron’s pal—to come to Cleveland.

Pat Riley, president of the Miami Heat, won five NBA titles as a coach with the Lakers and Heat and another as a player with the Lakers. Although he stepped down as Heat head coach when the team finished 15-67 in 2007-08, Riley has left the door open concerning his return as head coach, certainly good news for James and other free agents.

James needs a top-notch roster and an excellent coach if he wants to win a championship and finally, all the coaches and players are in position awaiting his next move.

After months—years for New Yorkers—of waiting, James is prepared to announce his decision to a live national television audience in a special one-hour program dedicated especially to him.

Talk about power.