LeBron must decide if it's time to leave home

Basketball Betting Lines

06/29/2010 -

CLEVELAND (AP) -As he dressed in his spacious corner locker, LeBron James glanced over at the news scrolling across the flat-screen TV on the far wall. The ticker read: ``NBA: Kobe Bryant signs three-year contract extension with Los Angeles Lakers.''

Buttoning his shirt following the game in April, roughly one month before his quest for a championship would end awkwardly and two months before becoming The Free Agent Of All Free Agents, James wasn't a bit surprised.

``Did anyone really think he was leaving?'' he asked incredulously. ``Kobe's been there since he was like 17. That's his home. He wasn't going anywhere.''

Hmm. Sound like someone you know, 'Bron?

The league's MVP grinned and bit his top lip. Not saying.

Soon enough, we'll have his answer.

At the heart of James' impending free agency, a moment of controlled chaos hyped beyond anything in recent sports memory, is one underlying question: Can he move away from the only place he has ever known?

James hits the market at 12:01 a.m. Thursday as the valedictorian of this historic 2010 free-agent class. He might have already decided where he'll dribble, drive and dunk next. Even if he has, he's still going to listen to offers and can't sign with anyone until July 8.

Depending on whom you believe, the soon-to-be No. 6 is either headed to New York to resurrect the sorry Knicks; or to New Jersey to plot global domination with rap mogul pal Jay-Z and Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov; or to Chicago to follow Michael Jordan's magnificence; or to Miami to join Olympic teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in a terrifying trifecta; or to Dallas where he could play with buddy Jason Kidd and watch his beloved Cowboys all the time.

Or, he'll stay in Ohio, kick back in the 40,000-square-foot palace he built not far from the Akron streets where he was raised and continue to play for the Cavaliers.

Right now, nobody knows.

In a guessing game changing by the minute, one thing is certain: James' decision will be made by one person - LeBron Raymone James.

He has listened to his advisers, consulted with friends, former coaches, Nike bigwigs, gazillionaire Warren Buffett and others of influence. But James and only James will make the final choice before signing on the dotted line.

What's he going to do?

``What's best for him and his family,'' teammate Shaquille O' Neal said before the Cavs' postseason collapsed in a second-round loss to Boston. ``He's 25, but he's something I've really never seen before.''

There's never been anyone like him - or anything like this.

Never before has one player carried such clout into free agency. Despite never winning a championship - or even one game in the finals - James has the league bowing at his expensive sneakers. The anticipation of his league-tilting decision has caused an information feeding frenzy only rivaled by Tiger Woods' sex scandal.

Teams have revamped their rosters for him, with Chicago and Miami doing the most maneuvering.

Cities have spent big bucks campaigning for him, calculating the economic impact of his arrival, or in Cleveland's case, a possible departure.

Corporate jets will descend upon Northeast Ohio in the coming days, loaded with teams hoping to lure James away. The Nets' delegation led by Prokhorov, Jay-Z, new coach Avery Johnson and outgoing president Rod Thorn will make their sales pitch first, followed by the Knicks and at least four other teams.

Everyone wants him.

All that matters, though, is what James wants.

He has spent seven seasons in Cleveland, a marriage manufactured by the lucky bounce of a draft lottery ball that sent the local kid up Interstate 77 to play as a pro and transformed a forgotten franchise into one of the league's powerhouses.

Although the Cavs have enjoyed unparalleled success with James, events over the past month or so have threatened to drive them apart forever. Cleveland's postseason flop - losing three straight, including Game 5 at home by 32 points to the Celtics - was followed by coach Mike Brown's firing, the resignation of GM Danny Ferry and owner Dan Gilbert's failed pursuit of Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.

As of Tuesday, Cleveland still hadn't hired a coach but was zeroing in on Lakers assistant Brian Shaw.

If the Cavs were hoping to make an impression, this isn't the one James wanted to see.

James, who will pass on his $17.1 million option for next season to officially become a free agent, wants stability and structure, not an organization seemingly making changes on the fly.

Although other teams can't formally meet with James until Thursday, the Cavs have been in touch with him, agent Leon Rose and business manager Maverick Carter since Cleveland's season ended. Gilbert and new GM Chris Grant recently visited James at his Bath, Ohio, home, and the Cavs are expected to make a final run at the superstar after the other suitors make their presentations.

``Our goal is to re-sign LeBron,'' Grant said stating the obvious.

Cleveland, a city tortured by a pro sports title drought approaching a 47th birthday, is counting on loyalty to put a full-court press on James' heart and persuade him to stay. The Cavs can offer him more money (as much as $30 million on a six-year contract), and they have one asset no other team can offer - this is home.

Since his season ended, James, whose puzzling performance in the Game 5 loss to Boston will tarnish his legacy should he sign elsewhere, has given no hints at his plans. He has made two public appearances, most recently at a LeBron Appreciation Day in Akron, where he showed up as the event was winding down. He professed love for his hometown, saying ``everything I do is for this city.''

If that's true, he'll follow Bryant's lead and stay home.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.