In the fallout of the Mike Brown dismissal, the suggestions, guesses and general speculation never fades.
(Chasing down rumors about LeBron James' basketball future could be a full-time job. Now it's my full-time job. Just call me The Rumor Monger. Every day we'll compile a list of the rumors we're hearing about James and his next contract. Just remember these are just rumors, not necessarily facts.
It's going to be a long and rough ride, Cavs fans. Buckle up. -- Mary Schmitt Boyer)
For NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, the Cavaliers' current roster and $30 million are two big reasons why he believes LeBron will stay in Northeast Ohio.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Another day, another business reporter with an opinion on LeBron James.
Last week it was Forbes.com suggesting -- wrongly -- that James could buy Madison Square Garden stock and then drive up its price with his performance for the New York Knicks.
Today, it's Bloomberg Business Week reporter Scott Soshnick, who writes that James should give the Cavs one more chance and sign a one-year deal with the team.
"Make it clear that, absent a National Basketball Association championship, there won't be another reprieve," Soshnick writes. "Fans, local celebrities and elected officials shouldn't bother asking, pleading or singing hokey songs. It won't work. Nothing will."
Meanwhile, former Knicks star Patrick Ewing, now an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic, tells our friend Frank Isola of the New York Daily News he thinks James will remain with Cleveland because of the collective bargaining agreement rules that let the Cavs pay James more than any other team can.
"The league designed it that way," said Ewing, a former Players Association executive. "If you stay you can make $30 million more. And if you already have a good team, why leave?"
Bulls center Joakim Noah, spotted at the iS8 Nike Spring Classic in Queens, tells the New York Post he's looking forward to playing with James, almost as if it's already decided.
"I'm excited to have a chance to play with the best player in the world," said Noah, who criticized James for dancing on the sidelines during a Cavs blowout victory earlier this season and ripped the city of Cleveland during the playoffs. "That's always your goal, to play at the highest level with the best players in a place like Chicago. It'd be a great opportunity to one day win a championship."
Tweet on Monday from Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, who skewered James in a story before the Cavs lost to the Celtics, "LeBron James didn't need to call for Mike Brown's firing in private meetings with owner. His public second-guessing in playoffs did the job."
In a video on ESPN, Chris Broussard says it's a two-team race for James -- Chicago and Cleveland. Broussard, a former Plain Dealer reporter who was a Cavs beat writer for the Akron Beacon-Journal, says he's on record as saying he thinks James will end up in Chicago. He also thinks if the Cavs agree to a sign-and-trade, that Dallas will be a major player.
Keep in mind that James' business partner Maverick Carter said James has not met with his advisers yet. A spokesman said James was on vacation on Monday.
James can't officially become a free agent until July 1, which is still five weeks away. But some fans are sick of hearing about it already, according to a new rendition of the Phil Collins song, "Don't Care Anymore".