Is LeBron James the Don Or the Puppet?

The biggest sports story of the week clearly came from Cleveland, as the LeBron James/Braylon Edwards fiasco ended with Braylon Edwards leaving town.

We don't need to recap in detail; if you know sports or online sports betting, you know Braylon Edwards (a) had a skirmish with one of LeBron's diminutive pals, (b) pissed off LeBron and (c) got shipped out of town within 48 hours, give or take.

It's easy to see the immediate connotations of the Edwards trade; LeBron is King in Cleveland and if he wants you out, you're out. Methinks he could get Drew Carey on a boat to Fiji at the snap of his finger (could you, LeBron? Please?).

Browns general manager George Kokinis has to act for his own team's best interests first, but he may have killed two birds with one stone. He shipped out a drop-prone receiver who may have  been poisoning the locker room but, more importantly, he saved face for his city. The Cavs rule Cleveland in the sports hierarchy and, since the Browns are so terrible, they may as well get good PR by trading the guy who wronged LeBron.

Conspiracy theory time. What if this deal is about more than appeasing LeBron at this exact moment? I'd bet at the sportsbook that it's no coincidence that Edwards went to New York of all cities. The last time I checked, a certain storied NBA franchise from America's biggest city planned to push hard to sign LeBron in 2010.

If LeBron hates Edwards enough that he possibly couldn't share a city with him, will Edwards' presence in the Big Apple deter LeBron from going there? You have to wonder if Cavs GM Danny Ferry pulled some strings here.

How hard would it be to woo the Cleveland Browns GM, of all people?

"Hey, George. Buy ya an ice-cream sundae if you trade Braylon Edwards to the Jets."

"With sprinkles?"

"Hmm. OK. You drive a hard bargain."

The greater question is: Did LeBron play Braylon Edwards or did Danny Ferry play LeBron?