With Bosh and Wade in Miami, is LeBron considering joining Amar'e Stoudemire in New York?
NBA free agent LeBron James leaves James A. Rhodes Arena on the Univeristy of Akron campus on July 7, 2010.CLEVELAND -- There are still more than 24 hours to go, and rumors are flying that everybody but the Los Angeles Clippers still has a chance to land LeBron James. In this expanded version of The Rumor Mill, here are a few more comments, although my personal favorite observation is, "Everybody has an opinion, but nobody has a clue.''
From Ken Berger, CBSSports.com senior writer, who used to work for AP in Cleveland:
"Upon first hearing of LeBron James' plan to announce his free-agent decision in a live TV special _ minus the American flags and yellow drapes from the Oval Office _ my first thought, after lifting my face up off my desk, was: Does this mean he's staying or leaving?
"A logical way to examine the events of the past few days for LeBron is to consider the following: A re-launched web site, a new Twitter account that amassed more than 200,000 followers in a matter of hours and plans for an elaborate, one-hour TV announcement of his intentions can only mean one thing: James is saying good-bye. But I couldn't escape my gut feeling that there is no way James would put his hometown through such excruciating torture. The Curse of Rocky Colavito was born of no such cruelty. Not even Albert Belle, to my knowledge the most hated Cleveland sports figure to up and leave the Mistake by the Lake, would've done such a thing. And he was a far more loathsome public figure than anyone currently competing in the NBA.
"So here is what I can report, based on conversations early Wednesday with an executive within the NBA who is directly involved in the tangled free agency web involving James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh _ a three-headed monster that literally shut down the previously brisk and uninhibited spending spree throughout the NBA on Tuesday: Chances are good that my gut feeling is right.
"The executive, who has close ties to all three of the top free agents' inner circle of advisors, laid out the following as the most likely scenario heading into James' self-imposed 9 p.m. ET Thursday deadline to announce his plans: 1) James stays in Cleveland; 2) Wade stays in Miami; 3) Bosh joins Wade in Miami via a sign-and-trade.''
From Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.com:
"In the last twenty-four hours, there have been lot of rumblings indicating that James could be leaning toward New York and the chance to revive the Knicks with Amar'e Stoudemire.
"Several sources indicated that James' advisors Maverick Carter and Randy Mims could be traveling to New York on Wednesday and sources have hinted that James will be joining them for the trip. Sources also said that Carter and Mims have been picking the Knicks' brains for details and information on their salary cap and free agent plans over the past few days.
"There have also been rumblings that the Knicks could be planning a large press conference for later this week. While the team should be officially announcing Stoudemire's five-year, $97 million contract signing, likely on Thursday, the scale of the event and extensive planning going into the press conferences indicates that something bigger may be happening in the Big Apple.
"After being written off by the mainstream media throughout the free agency process, it appears that New York is still very alive in the LeBron sweepstakes. Many believe that the second meeting with New York and the addition of Amar'e Stoudemire to the Knicks' roster improved their pitch to the point that James could be leaning towards New York.
"One source pointed out that Donnie Walsh is not a massive risk taker and that signing Stoudemire all by himself seemed out of character. The idea that James and Stoudemire are coming as a package deal makes more sense and lines up more with Walsh's approach.''
Politicans still have time for James. President Barack Obama reiterated he'd love to see James in a Bulls jersey, while Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio started tweeting about James. His messages included, "King James brings $48 million to business in The Cleve and NEO; not only does he drive to the net, he drives the economy!'' and "Hoping King James will continue to serve as NEO Ambassador to US and world.''