In light of the elimination of the Cleveland Cavaliers from the NBA Playoffs by the Boston Celtics, speculation has become even more rampant about where LeBron James will choose to call home this summer. That being said, let's take a look back at my take on where James will sign when he becomes a free agent on July 1st. Bear in mind that this article was published in December of 2009 and, although many factors have changed, the New Jersey Nets will remain my pick. Just remember that you heard it here first.
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And why not? Despite all the maneuvering by team president Donnie Walsh to place the New York Knicks in the best position to sign arguably the most coveted free agent-to-be in NBA history, inking a deal with the New Jersey Nets would be the most attractive option for LeBron James if making the tri-state area his basketball home is under serious consideration.
According to an ESPN.com report, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holdings, Forest City Ratner Cos., which is led by Nets majority owner Bruce Ratner, and Nets Sports and Entertainment announced last week they completed their agreement to create a partnership that would own the NBA team and develop the Atlantic Yards project in New York City. The NBA Board of Governors is expected to rule on the sale and relocation by early next year.
The agreement is a significant step toward Prokhorov becoming the majority owner of the Nets and subsequently moving the team to Brooklyn, New York by 2012.
Brooklyn native Shawn Corey Carter, better known as hip hop mogul and entrepreneur Jay-Z, is a minority owner of the New Jersey Nets and has been a staunch supporter of the project to relocate the team to Brooklyn. Coincidentally, LeBron James has been good friends with Jay-Z since his sophomore year in high school. In fact, during an interview, James referred to Jay-Z as "a big brother, a mentor, and a role model" and stated that he "would support Jay-Z in whatever he did throughout his career."
The plot thickens.
More compelling evidence for the increasing likelihood that James will sign with the Nets can be found in the make-up of the team itself.
Despite having the worst record in the league at 2-23, the Nets have a solid core of young talent that, with the addition of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and/or Amare Stoudemire, will only continue to flourish.
Center Brook Lopez is quietly having an All-Star season, averaging 19.5 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game. Point guard Devin Harris is averaging 16.9 points per game, 1.7 steals per game, and 5.2 assists per game, a total that will dramatically rise with the acquisition of finishers like Bosh, James, Stoudemire or Wade. Small forward Chris Douglas-Roberts is averaging 16.2 points per game and Courtney Lee is averaging 11.2 points per game and 1.9 steals per game. In addition, power forward Yi Jianlian, despite a season plagued by injuries, will form a formidable front court duo with Lopez upon his return to action.
Not one of the aforementioned core players will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2010.
Let’s also not forget the fact that, in all likelihood, the Nets are going to finish with the worst record in the league, giving them the best chance to win the NBA Draft Lottery and potentially ending up with the number one pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, which will undoubtedly be the freshman phenom point guard from the University of Kentucky, John Wall.
One more thing. The Nets will have at least $20 million to spend in the summer of 2010 so team president Rod Thorn has the team brilliantly poised to make a big splash in the free agent market this coming offseason.
The Knicks, on the other hand, don’t present a viable alternative for last year’s NBA Most Valuable Player. Don’t allow the fact that the team’s play has dramatically improved over the past couple of weeks fool you. Unless Donnie Walsh makes a trade, the Knicks won’t have a first round pick in next year’s draft, lost in the trade for Stephon Marbury, their core group of talent (Chris Duhon, Nate Robinson, Larry Hughes, Al Harrington, David Lee, and Eddy Curry) will all become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, they will have a little less money to spend than the Nets in the free agent market, and they don’t have someone as influential as Jay-Z to convince James to bring his services to Madison Square Garden.
Bottom line here, LeBron James is not signing with the New York Knicks. However, don’t be at all surprised to see LeBron James AND Dwayne Wade in Nets’ uniforms next season. As blasphemous as this may sound, check out some of the lyrics to Jay-Z’s ‘Empire State of Mind’:
“Eight million stories out there, and they’re naked
Cities is a pity, half of ya’ll won’t make it
Me, I gotta plug, Special Ed ‘I Got It Made’
If Jesus payin’ LeBron, I’m paying Dwayne Wade”
James and Wade have talked about the possibility of playing together on the same team. The 2010 offseason may present the perfect opportunity to do exactly that, which would represent a key step in the ‘Blueprint’ toward the resurgence of the New Jersey Nets.
Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes a link to video where LeBron James talks about his relationship with Jay-Z, additional revelant links and a special video.
The Summer of 2010 will see LeBron James sign with the New Jersey Nets
