He might stay in Cleveland, proving his loyalty to the state where he was born and raised before blossoming into a superstar. He might jump ship and head to New Jersey, where fellow marketing icon Jay-Z is a part owner trying to get a piece of LeBron. Or he might head to New York, poised to enhance his image on the biggest stage in the world.
It's that last possibility that just got a little bit more interesting. Because here's the latest rumor: If LeBron goes to the Big Apple next summer, the New York-based corporation Cablevision will circumvent the salary cap and find a way to give King James some extra income during his time in New York.
By giving LeBron his own channel.
That's the rumor anyway, and it's certainly plausible. Cablevision is run by chairman Charles Dolan and president and CEO James Dolan, and it's the parent company of the Madison Square Garden corporation, which owns the Knicks. The Dolan family has the corporate clout to turn the world upside down for LeBron James. And if they want to see one of the world's best athletes take the floor at MSG, then they just might.
Ethically, this is beyond sleazy. The Knicks have deeper pockets than just about any franchise in pro sports, and this is a spectacular way to exploit it. If it works, what's to stop the Knicks from trying something like this again in the future? What's to stop another team from trying a similar stunt? What's to stop Jay-Z from giving a player his own record label? What's to stop the Cavaliers from…
Wait. That's the problem. The Cavaliers could never do anything like this — they don't have the money or the corporate influence to even consider it. In fact, few teams do. The Cavs are going all in for LeBron, and the Knicks are trying to raise them out of the pot. It's crooked, it's corrupt, and unless someone steps in and puts a stop to it, it'll probably work.
It takes courage to stand up against a move like this. The NBA is probably intrigued by the Cablevision rumor — it only means more money being poured into an already filthy-rich game, and it'll make the league's most marketable star even bigger. How can the league say no?
Simple. Commissioner David Stern needs to put a lot of thought right now into what's more important — the game's economic growth or its integrity.
Those are probably his two biggest concerns as the league's commissioner, and when the two conflict, it's never pretty. But in this case, he needs to do what's right for the game.
The salary cap is in place for a reason. It creates parity in a league where one superstar signing can change everything. Basketball isn't a team sport in the same way baseball or football is, in the sense that it takes much more than one star player to rebuild a team. On the hardwood, a LeBron James type can alter a franchise's history overnight.
The Spurs drafted Tim Duncan a decade ago, and their win total shot up by 36 in one season. The Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett a couple summers back, and they won 42 games more. In the NBA, these things happen. Star players mean everything.
And that's why the league needs to do everything in its power to make sure the stars are acquired fairly. If one team doesn't play by the rules, it's a slippery slope. The parity that this league worked so hard to ensure might become a thing of the past.
This is just one rumor, and it may turn out to be nothing. But it's still a warning sign to the commissioner and the rest of the league offices: Things like this are possible, and it's up to the powers that be to ensure that this rumor never becomes a reality.
Basketball should be played the right way, both on the floor and off it.
