Marc Stein To The Rescue

with ample cap room can offer no more than five years and roughly $110 million. Do the freaking math. LeBron would be leaving $42 million on the table.

If there's a Nike kicker coming, that's still a lot of money to make up. Still, it makes sense if he left that money on the table to go to New York (but as discussed earlier, it's way too early to channel your inner Chris Sheridan just yet). But Detroit? The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Bud Shaw put it best:

I can think of three reasons James would be interested in leaving Cleveland for Detroit.

1) He thinks it's too tropical here.

2) He likes the shape of their potholes better.

3) He'd like to see Canada from his porch.

Think about the massive illogic behind a move for LeBron from Cleveland to Detroit: Less money, crappier city, boring basketball team, and fans who think they can take Ron Artest. There's no place like Detroit. Especially in Game Five of the '07 Eastern Conference Finals.

The Nets?

The Nets have been trying to move to Brooklyn for, like, five years now. We heard back in 2005 that they'd be there by 2008 when LeBron was supposed to become an unrestricted free agent (many haven't learned from their mistakes the first time around, but oh well). Now, this:

In the last month, three pieces of news have surfaced about the Nets and all of it may contribute to doom for their dreams of getting James' interest despite what you may read, listen to and see elsewhere.

First, a New York appellate court cleared a lawsuit to go forward that will further delay groundbreaking of the Nets' Brooklyn arena for at least six months. James, of course, piqued interest over the summer when he said his favorite New York borough was Brooklyn. Nary a mention of the Bronx, home of his supposed beloved Yankees, or any community in Jersey where the Nets currently play in perhaps the most dilapidated arena in the NBA.

The $1 billion Frank Gehry-designed Brooklyn project, which once promised to be opened by late 2009, now may not be ready until the 2012-13 season, a full two seasons after James' free agency. But, in reality, there's a chance it may never open at all.

Second, the New York Times reported the Nets' $400 million arena naming rights deal with Barclays Capital has a clause requiring financing to be settled by the end of this month. The team owner and Cleveland native, Bruce C. Ratner, has been tussling trying to get bonds for the arena, part of his $4 billion Atlantic Yards development. Barclays recently said it is still supporting the project, but here's two things you don't want to be doing these days if you are a real estate developer: attempting to get new financing or re-negotiating terms with an investment bank.

Third, the New York Daily News broke a story this week that Ratner met with investors earlier this year in an attempt to sell controlling interest in the Nets to cash out some equity. No word on whether Jay-Z wanted to dump his minor investment in the team. The Nets denied it but the Daily News stood behind their source, an investor who said he listened to Ratner's pitch.

When I talk about "doing your homework" and "thinking for yourself" before you let the mass media stuff B.S. down your throat, this is what I'm talking about.

Since Dan Gilbert took over the Cavaliers as owner, the bar has been raised infinitely for the entire organization. The arena, the technology, the scoreboard, and even the locker room have taken a step up, including a brand new state-of-the-art practice facility in suburban Cleveland.

So believe you me when I say that LeBron is not going to leave Ohio to play in that dump or an arena they have in New Jersey. Again, Jesus Christ could be their owner and it still wouldn't make a difference.

And if you're a fan of an NBA team that is pinning its hopes on 2010, I seriously pity for you. All you have to look forward to is betting that a guy is going to leave the state where he grew up while his current team is doing everything in its power to re-sign him.

You're betting on a hypothetical. You're going for broke. And if nobody comes your way in '10, let alone LeBron, then you're screwed. Maybe for a long, long time, too.

The Cavs, meanwhile, have a championship run to worry about. At least—at least—for the next two years.

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