Plan B Forum

The Force of Nature known as Lebron James has elected to exercise a contractual option and become a "free agent," effective July first of this year.

There are some who see this as a ploy to force Miami's management into spending money to upgrade his supporting cast in Miami.

The more interesting speculation is where he would go otherwise. If the rules permitted it, one of the One Percenter's owning an NBA franchise would simply offer him an infinite amount of money and the deal might be settled. But Lebron has already shown that a mere Brazillion dollars is enough, when he signed four years ago with Miami for less than offered by his hometown Cavaliers.

Does the presence of a state income tax matter to him? Maybe. There is none in Florida. If that is the case, then he might go play for Houston or Mark Cuban in Dallas; Texas also has no state income tax. Does want a great stage for his talents? New York, New Jersey, Chicago, or Los Angeles (Lakers) might be attractive. I suspect that he would not want to subject himself to the Three Ring Circus of New York, where his every bowel movement would be Front Page News.

Is he homesick to get back to Cleveland?

Is he looking for the best basketball situation? A team that is one player away from a possible championship? Does he have a close basketball friend with whom he would like to play?

Does he see his next move as a "final" place to lace his sneakers - even though he is young enough to play for another decade, barring serious injury?

I personaly like a Nowitski/James tandem in Dallas. Great fun.

My bet is that he stays in Miami. Pat Riley (team president) will have to mess up in a serious way for Lebron to go elsewhere, which is unlikely since Riley is one of the best in the business.

I think mentioning LeBron in the same breath as le Babe is quite an insult to Babe.

Now, now--granted Babe was heavier and drank more, but Lebron still has time.