Mike Krzyzewski's hiring as Cavs coach might keep LeBron James from leaving Cleveland. But if Coach K isn't interested in the job, does that mean LeBron is a bit further out the door?
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.
Yesterday we were feeling queasy about what LeBron James will do come July, partly because of the uncertainty surrounding the Cavaliers' search for a new coach. Without knowing who the coach is, we figured, how could he feel comfortable about re-signing with Cleveland? Today we're feeling queasier still, thanks to Grant Hill, the Phoenix Suns forward who once played for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. Hill has expressed doubts that his former coach would be interested in coaching in the Cavs or for that matter any other NBA team.
"He knows he has a good thing going," Hill told Yahoo Sports, "and I can't see him leaving."
That's worrisome, because Krzyzewski is one of five coaches whose hiring might induce LeBron to stay.
According to nesn.com, "The best way to restore James’ faith in Cleveland is to bring in a coach with whom he’s actually won a title -- the 2008 Olympic gold medal -- his only championship since becoming a professional." So, have the chances of LeBron staying just gone down by 20 percent?
If there is any consolation, the Cavaliers did retain assistant coach Chris Jent, who is very close to James. In fact, the Chicago Sun-Times quoted "a source familiar with James" as saying, ''Jent could wind up as the team's new head coach.''
It may not be the ace-in-the hole we've been looking to cling on to, but it's something.
Today's meter reading:
![LeBron Meter]()
