So much has been made of this “LeBron to Elsewhere” situation that he better go elsewhere or I’m going to go postal.

Cleveland has a better shot at signing LeBron than any other team in the league.

A wise person once told me, “LeBron makes the team a contender, not the players around him.” He can go to the Knicks and the team will immediately win 45 games and reach the playoffs. So, it’s not an issue of him NEEDING to go somewhere where he has Wade or Bosh or whomever as a co-pilot. There’s this obsession with him joining some other elite player somewhere.

Think about it realistically. Where can he go?

Brooklyn is out of the question because who knows when that stadium will ever be built, if it’s even ever built. So much for “LeBrooklyn.”

Knicks because it’s New York City.

Miami because it’s like Hollywood East. Plenty of young celebrities there. Pat Riley is there. Wade might be there. Etc.

Atlanta for many of the same reasons. If you’re young, black, and rich, Atlanta is attractive.

Chicago because it’s the biggest market near his hometown. But I don’t see him going there given the history between the Bulls and Cavs. At the end of the day, LeBron is a bit of a homer.

Houston maybe.

Phoenix maybe.

And that’s about it.

I say Cleveland and Miami are the favorites.

http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/?p=2726

Will they just go in with like 6 players renouncing anyone not named LeBron? Will they not add anyone in that time period?

What sounds better to someone like Bosh or Amare? Go to NY and try to lure LeBron there as well or go to Cleveland? Best to start anew in the biggest market in the world where there is money for both than piggyback to Cleveland where LeBron already has it locked up.

What happens if they add more talent?

No, that’s not how it works with the CBA.

That’s not entirely accurate. The Miami Heat will have enough cap space to re-sign Dwyane Wade and another max-level free agent when Jermaine O’Neal’s contract expires. I’m fairly certain the Knicks are going to be in position to do something similar.

The Lakers aren’t going to lose Ariza.

I don’t know if the Cavaliers are in trouble. But I think Ford’s comparison of Presti and Ferry was spot on. You should listen to the podcast, it’s pretty entertaining.

Ford also says, “If Mo Williams is your second best young player, I don’t see a future in Cleveland.”

How can he say the Cavs are in trouble when they have more options than they did last year at this time, and they just won 66 games. Other than Big Z, who can’t guard a tree anymore, how are the Cavs getting old?

Ben Wallace was a non-factor to begin with. Other than a few quarters of solid man on man D against Kevin Garnett last year, he has been worthless. The rest of the Cavs are young.

Mo Williams is 26, and he’s the oldest rotation player not named Z on the team.

LeBron, Delonte, Mo, Gibson (who did absolutely nothing this year, and could very likely rebound from his toe injuries), Varejao (should they resign him), are all under 27. They drafted raw youth last year with their first round pick – Hickson.

Their core is young, and productive. They still have many holes to fill, as was evident in the playoffs, where LeBron was the only one who showed up all three rounds.

But they won 66 games last year – they will have another good season, and maybe they will match up better with Orlando this year, (and catch a few breaks along the way).

This is the key point that everyone (Ford including) love to ignore:

In 2010, LeBron has the option to join another team. That team will need to be about 20 million under the salary cap in order to sign LeBron. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, will have over 20 million to spend on OTHER STUDS, and THEN can sign LeBron. They are the only team that can do that – and you can bet your life they will – Gilbert has spent spent spent at every turn. So if the Cavs offer Yao Ming a max deal, they can sign him, and then LeBron AFTER that. Of the teams vying for LeBron, which of them can do that? Can New York? No. Can NJ? No. It’s time for Chad Ford to find another angle on LeBron’s departure.

The Cavs have needs to address – they had them last year and addressed them quite well – this year, they have to address athleticism, front court depth, and length on the wings. Adding a freak athlete wing player is probably the easiest hole to fill in the NBA (and I bet the Cavs make an offer to Ariza), and they have a lot of trade pieces and expiring contracts.

Don’t buy into what Ford says too much, Hoff – seriously, I’ve yet to read him write anything about the Cavs that has held any water.

You should stick to Windhorst – he’s a realist and definitely has his hand on the pulse of the Cavs, much more so than Ford or anyone at ESPN/Fox.