LeBron's Future Is Holding The Cleveland Cavaliers at Gunpoint

If you’re the Cleveland Cavaliers, you know you missed out on a great opportunity to bring a championship home this past season, so what do you do?

Naturally, you start sniffing the free agent market like a starved dog trailing a bloody rib eye.

You already have a king, so now your goal is to find a couple rooks, a bishop or two, and a knight that can fit around him, then you are ready to start skipping to next June.

The problem is, the Cavaliers aren’t going to find a king’s ransom to run with LeBron until the future of the king himself is solidified. And as the thinning free agent pool validates, it is time for Cleveland to readjust its thinking.

In a perfect world, the Cavs would have added two big pieces to their current roster to make them the favorites to win next year’s NBA title, the final guaranteed year of LeBron in Cleveland. That’s the popular theory, but as it turns out, that was always backwards.

The Great Summer of 2010 is only one year away, and the free agent forecast is sparkling in a glut of riches. Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat are two other huge names that will join LeBron in looking for a future suitor, but the story has always been about James.

Should he opt for big city lights or stay home and enjoy some small town comfort? That question won’t die until James signs his next contract.

Dan Gilbert, if you’re listening, that contract should be signed now.

Gilbert, owner of the Cavs, teamed with general manager Danny Ferry and head coach Mike Brown this summer in an attempt to bring some more firepower to Cleveland and stay ahead in the arms race of the East.

But Cleveland has come up short, and the uncertainty of LeBron’s future in the city has been much more than a small stickler in the negotiations of other players.

Cleveland was very interested in luring Ron Artest, but when Artest couldn’t get a solid answer on the future of LeBron, he opted for the security of a three-year deal with the Lakers.

How do you blame him? He knows Kobe Bryant is going to be in Los Angeles for the next three seasons, Pau Gasol will be right there with him, and now Artest has a great chance to put a diamond rock on his finger.

The only rock Artest would have in Cleveland is the one he would be stuck under if LeBron decides to play elsewhere after this season. There are stilts more stable than that situation.

With Artest off the market, Cleveland turned their sights to Trevor Ariza. Soon after Artest agreed with the Lakers, Ariza agreed in principle to a five-year deal with the Houston Rockets.

But that didn’t stop a full court press from the Cavaliers brass to try to convince Ariza to follow the path of Hedo Turkoglu.

Turkoglu gave the Portland Trail Blazers a verbal commitment last week, only to back out of that and accept an offer from the Raptors when his wife fell in love with the city of Toronto.

Ferry and Brown both flew to Los Angeles on Sunday to meet with Ariza, and phone calls from James and the newly acquired Shaquille O’Neal followed.

Ariza was flattered by the attention and effort on the part of the hungry Cavs, but Ariza’s main concern was where LeBron will be after this season. No surprise there.

Initial reports stated that a source close to Ariza said that James had confirmed to Ariza that he would be staying in Cleveland long-term.

Apparently, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine, that is not true.

Broussard reported that the information trickling between the Ariza and James camps was nothing more than common he said-he said rumors.

"Trevor asked LeBron if he would be in Cleveland after next season," Ariza’s source said. "And LeBron said, 'I'll be there. Of course, I'll be there.' "

"He [Ariza] thought it was just a recruiting tool," the source said. "Until he signs the contract it doesn't mean much."

The Cavaliers made Ariza the same offer Houston did (a five-year, mid-level exception deal worth approximately $33 million) but it wasn’t enough to get Ariza to back out of his commitment to the Rockets.

Ariza is expected to officially sign his deal with Houston on Wednesday, and the Cavaliers have moved on and are looking to other players, such as Channing Frye.

Even Shaq was curious about James’ future in Cleveland when he was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Cavs this past June. Shaq couldn’t get a firm answer either, but it’s not an issue with him, as he only has one season left on his contract anyway.

O’Neal knows he is going to be playing alongside LeBron while in Cleveland – if LeBron leaves next season, Shaq can just ride off into retirement of another team as a free agent – but that’s a luxury that other talented free agents don’t have, and it is severely hampering the recruiting power of the Cavaliers.

The talent is all but gone in this year’s free agent class with Turkoglu, Artest, and Ariza already finding new homes, and Rasheed Wallace recently agreeing to a two-year deal with the Boston Celtics.

Cleveland made a noble effort, but couldn’t lure a big fish because LeBron has the franchise hooked to his wallet.

Presumably, the only big deals the Cavs would know make would be via trade, and I just don’t see any of those out there. Tyson Chandler was a hot topic until they got O’Neal.

What the Cavs ought to do is shift their focus to LeBron himself. LeBron is the franchise, the city, and the future of Cleveland. Cleveland needs to break the bank today to make sure he is there tomorrow.

If the Cavaliers can offer LeBron one of the richest deals, I don’t think he would want to leave. He is an Ohio guy, and as long as he is there, other players will want to come join him. The Cavaliers will always have a chance to win a title if LeBron is the centerpiece.

But in order to assure that, LeBron needs to be signed by the time next summer arrives, so he can tell the Chris Bosh’s of the free agent class that he is in Cleveland to stay.

If that is in writing, Cleveland will probably land one of the biggest names. If not, they most likely won’t land any, and it’s possible LeBron bolts, too.

This summer is already dead and gone. The Cavs can survive without Artest or Ariza, but they better ink King James so they can make some noise next summer.

If they whiff on this one, I’m not sure there will be a viable way to rebound for multiple seasons to come.

You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at [e-mail].