Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, and $4 million. Are you listening, LeBron?
If LeBron James decides where to play next year based solely on what the team pays him, he's definitely better off in Cleveland than elsewhere. As Brian Windhorst explained in today's Plain Dealer, declaring free agency and signing with another team would cost him $2 million to $4 million over the next three years. Something to do with the shrinking salary cap.Maybe that kind of money isn't a lot for someone like LeBron, who can pick up millions more in endorsement deals pretty much anytime he wants it. But it's nothing to be scoffed at, either.
Then there's the bubbling talk about either Chris Paul or Chris Bosh figuring in some sort of deal that could keep LeBron here. It all seems pretty far-fetched, but Dan Gilbert is just the sort of guy to think he's genius enough to pull it off. Not that that's always a good thing.
Anyway, it's too hot to do anything as strenous as changing the 'Meter.
Today's reading: Keep 'em Guessing
Like everyone else in Cleveland, we wonder what LeBron James will do when his contract is up this summer. Will he stay home, or follow the bright lights to Broadway? Until he decides to talk, we have to rely on hunches, instincts and educated guesswork. We'll report our findings, more or less daily, using the LeBron-O-Meter.