2010: A LeBron James Odyssey

John LorgeAug 11, 2009

"Welcome to the Empire State.
Home of the World Trade.
Birthplace of Michael Jordan.
Home of Biggie Smalls.
Roc-A-Fella headquarters."

And Hova forgot, the future home of LeBron James.

In less than one year—regardless of who wins the 2010 NBA Finals or MVP Award—King James will be headed to New York City.

While the Knicks have enough money to bring James on board, his heart is not set on donning the orange and blue, and eventually hanging a jersey next to Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, and Patrick Ewing.

LeBron James is his own man. A trend setter. An icon. A Net.

In the summer of 2010 James will join his friend, and co-owner of the Nets, Shawn Carter—known to the world as Jay-Z—on a mission to change the world.

"Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" - Gotta Move Carefully

Whoever intends on signing LeBron James better have a fistful of cash, and enough for a high profile friend, too. James knows it takes more than one to win a title and he will expect his team of choice to make another marquee signing if they don't already house a star.

The Nets have the best financial prospectus for the summer of 2010, being an estimated $25 million under the cap, potentially even more.

This would give the Nets enough financial flexibility to potentially sign James and a high-profile post like Chris Bosh or Amar'e Stoudemire. There is a good chance Stoudemire will reunite with Mike D'Antoni on the Knicks, making Bosh the top target.

After the 2008 Olympics and several All-Star appearances James is a familiar teammate of Bosh and in a February 2009 interview said, "I would definitely love to play with Chris Bosh."

Both James and Bosh have player options on their contracts, so they could wait for the summer for 2011, but why? And who knows, maybe there will be enough cash left over to rent Shaq for a year.

The Roc Boys In The Building Tonight

That building is the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and it should be open sometime in 2011.

We know that LeBron loves playing in Madison Square Garden, and he always entertains fans in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena, but Barclays will truly be “The House That Bron Built.”

The new venue will give the Nets a New York address and whether they go by the Brooklyn Nets or New York Nets, they will have shed the stigma associated with New Jersey—although Cleveland didn't exactly hold James down.

The ultra-luxurious 850,000-square-foot Barclays Center will undoubtedly be sold-out from the day doors open and James will be dusting a new crop of fans for a decade.

The only question is will James request that the Nets bring John Williamson’s No. 23 jersey down from the rafters? Other sports franchises have done such for players of James’ magnitude, it’s not out of the question.

Roc Family First, We Never Change Mayne

What’s a new arena? It seems like every team's got one.

If Bosh and Bron really want to play together there are 26 teams willing to make that happen ASAP.

The main reason LeBron James is destined for the Nets is his bond with Jay-Z.

Bron and Jay-Z have hosted numerous events and parties. Jay sits courtside at James' games. James stands backstage at Jay's shows.

When DeShawn Stevenson called LeBron James “overrated” in spring of 2008, James' only statement was that returning fire would be like Jay-Z responding to Soulja Boy.

Bron took the high road but his buddy Hova, who never shies away from a battle, recorded a remix to "Blow the Whistle" using his elite rhyme skills to explain the difference between he, James, and the rest of the world—including the line, "If anything they underpaid him."

In 2005 LeBron posed as a member of Jay-Z's cabinet along with Kanye West and Foxy Brown on the cover of XXL.

At the 2009 NBA All-Star game LeBron James threw up a solitary diamond for his intro. The sign of Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Family.

Maybe the biggest common bond between the two are their billion dollar dreams. Both men want to be worth a billion; LeBron needs the New York marketing machine and Jay-Z needs the Nets to become tremendously successful in Brooklyn.

Or as the greatest rapper alive says, "Takes a nation of millions to hold us back, but when ya boy reaches a billion it's a wrap."