LeBron talk's enough to make your head spin
In less than 48 hours, NBA teams can officially contact, meet with and send flowers to members of the coveted 2010 free-agent class.
In the meantime, there seems to be a race among media members to make definitive predictions with questionable basis in fact. The process has been especially strenuous for gullible sports-radio hosts.
On Sunday, The New York Times quoted an anonymous NBA executive saying LeBron James and Chris Bosh signing with the Bulls is "a done deal."
A day later, former ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, who writes for - let's just double-check to be sure - The Philadelphia Inquirer, claimed his sources tell him James and Bosh actually are headed for Miami to link up with Dwyane Wade.
Just for perspective, Cavaliers coaching candidate Byron Scott told Yahoo.com he has spoken with people in James' camp and there's a 50-50 chance he stays in Cleveland.
Plenty of New York writers, meanwhile, refuse to believe James wants to go anywhere but the Big Apple.
Anyone want to stand up and make a call for the Los Angeles Clippers?
Let's just remember, for argument's sake, that the free-agent negotiating period has not started yet. James is planning to entertain six different teams in northeast Ohio this week for a reason.
"Anybody who says they know what's happening, it's nonsense," Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo told The Fan 590 radio.
Actually, Colangelo does know something. He admitted it's likely Bosh won't re-sign with the Raptors, but that has been obvious for a few months.
Wade echoed the cry for reason in a chat with The Miami Herald.
"None of us know what's going to happen," he said. "Not LeBron. Not me. Not Chris. Not any of us, right now. As a free agent, you explore everything and see what happens."
One way to avoid getting caught up in the plethora of predictions is to remember that logic usually prevails in these situations. Not always, but often enough. So here are a few things to remember:
• James has been thinking seriously about joining the Bulls since the Cavaliers were knocked out of the playoffs by Boston. Derrick Rose offers the chance to pair up with a star-caliber sidekick James never had in Cleveland. By trading Kirk Hinrich to Washington, the Bulls now have the ability to sign a second major free agent.
• James has spent his entire life in the Cleveland/Akron area and has been embraced by the area's basketball fans. The only reason he has to leave is for a better chance to win a championship. He will have plenty of money and fame wherever he goes. Or stays.
• Since reaching the Finals in 1997, the Cavaliers have suffered an early playoff knockout three years in a row. They have an aging roster with very little flexibility. The Cavs made a painful error last summer by signing Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon instead of creating cap room for 2010.
• Miami doesn't currently have enough cap room to re-sign Wade and add two maximum free agents but could get close by giving away Michael Beasley to a team like Minnesota, which is surely possible.
• Wade and James would give the Heat two players who have averaged 30 points in a season. If that seems to make for questionable chemistry, imagine how Bosh feels being placed on that team. Is it really Bosh's dream to average 9 points a game?
• New York has the cap room to sign two maximum free agents, but it will be difficult for any free agent to get past the fact that the Knicks have been to the playoffs once in nine years. A little proof that a franchise knows what it's doing might be helpful.
The Bulls are hoping to be the last team to make a presentation to James. They'd like to have another free-agent lined up before Gar Forman, John Paxson and coach Tom Thibodeau make the recruiting trip to Ohio.
Bosh is their first choice to pair with James, but they're expected to reach out to Atlanta shooting guard Joe Johnson and Utah power forward Carlos Boozer, as well.
There was a report that Wade is hoping to sit down with the Bulls, even though he has made no secret of his desire to stay in Miami and questioned the Bulls' loyalty to their players a weeks ago.
That's another prediction that may be far-fetched. A league source suggested the Bulls are not making plans to meet with Wade, who grew up in the Chicago area.
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<li><a href="/story/?id=390763">NBA free-agent prediction wheel<span class="date"> [6/29/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=390728">NBA waiting on James to make move<span class="date"> [6/29/10]</span></a></li>
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