Kobe Bryant's Journey Should Be a Lesson To LeBron James in Free Agency

Most of the speculation concerning LeBron James' impending free agency decision has centered around which teams will be able to afford his services, rather than the roster that will surround him.

If James is truly serious about cementing his legacy by competing for an NBA championship, it may benefit him to take a peek at Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, and how they arrived at this point.

The past two seasons the Cleveland Cavailiers existed under the myth that they could be competitive by surrounding James with various players who were long on athleticism, but short on talent.

Even after the Cavaliers lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals of 2009, an emphasis was placed on size and depth, rather than a true NBA superstar to pair alongside James.

Cleveland added an aging Shaquille O'Neal to compete with the Magic's Dwight Howard, and they added the athleticism of Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker for good measure.

The Cavaliers' facade came crashing down when they were matched against a Boston Celtics' team in this year's postseason, who were simply more talented at every position besides the one James played.

It was the second straight year the Cavaliers had entered the postseason as the NBA's best regular season team, and the second straight year they were unceremoniously ushered out of the postseason.

It became apparent the biggest flaw facing the Cavaliers was their talent level, and it's a situation Bryant is all to familiar with following the departure of O'Neal from Los Angeles.

The Lakers missed the postseason in 2005, Bryant's first year as the face of the franchise, and even though Los Angeles qualified for the postseason the next two years, Bryant's frustrations began to boil over.

Bryant threatened to force a trade if the Lakers failed to surround him with talent that was capable of competing for a championship, and even though he later backed away from his statements, the message was received.

In a master stroke, Lakers' general manager Mitch Kupchak was able to spirit Pau Gasol away from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2007 for virtually nothing, and Los Angeles has been to the NBA Finals each season since he arrived.

During that span the Lakers have won three consecutive Western Conference regular season titles, one NBA championship, and are in a position to challenge for another.

Bryant recognized the need to be paired with a player who had superstar qualities, in order to attain his goal of regularly competing for championships, and James may have an even better opportunity than Bryant had.

Kupchak's deal for Gasol was dictated by an injury to Andrew Bynum, who had just began to show promise, and was a ploy to keep the Lakers relevant after Bynum's devastating injury.

Gasol happened to be a perfect fit for the Lakers, but it was no guarantee he would, but instead of being forced into a situation, James is lucky enough to literally have an option of who he wants to play with.

James should consider this carefully while making his decision, and where he decides to go may offer a glimpse into his priorities, as far as his legacy as a NBA player is concerned.

Would James be willing to accept less money for the opportunity to play with talents such as Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, or Joe Johnson, or will the dollar sign dictate where he lands?

I'm sure this is on the mind of Cavaliers' general manager Danny Ferry, and he must understand any hopes of retaining James would center around a commitment to surrounding him with real talent.

Each of the four teams still competing for an NBA title has at least two superstars on their roster, and some even have more, but the Cavaliers could only count James among the league's elite.

James will have his choice of teams when the free agency signing period commences on July 1st, but if he truly cares about winning, he will eschew the bigger paycheck in favor of the franchise which gives him the best opportunity to do so.