Thank you for posting this quote. I wanted to talk about it on here — I agree completely with everything that he says. Loyalty is playing hard after you sign your contract; after that, the player should do what is best for him. Sports are a business despite the fact that most fans don’t see it that way. I was listening to Mike & Mike in the Morning on the way to work this morning and they both agreed completely with his statement. Teams aren’t loyal to their players if they don’t need them anymore (which isn’t wrong), so players don’t need to show “loyalty” to their teams. Also, all the fans who claim that LeBron should be “loyal” to Cleveland (or complain that Jim Thome, Manny Rameriz, and CC Sabathia left Cleveland for more money) would do the exact same thing in their situation. It really bothers me to fans hypocritically complain about athletes leaving for money as if they wouldn’t leave their current job if another one paid them significantly more money.

That being said, LeBron has said repeatedly that he wants to win and wants to establish himself amoung the greats in NBA history. I don’t see him going to a crappy Knicks teams just because they’re in New York. The Cavs are proving themselves to be a great team with the chance to win a championship soon (if not this year) and I don’t see LeBron leaving the Cavs if they continue to win and build a strong team around him. He doesn’t need to be in New York or LA to be more marketable; he’s already on his way to being the most famous athlete in the world (along with Tiger Woods).

These athletes are humorous with their “what’s best for my family” crap. They’re all filthy rich, what difference does it make. Nothing but a bunch of prima donnas.

It’s not like he was going to say, “No, I’ve made up my mind. I’m signing with the Nets. Screw Cleveland.”

SI.com’s Ian Thompson has a great article analyzing the free agent class of ‘10. He has the most sensible argument about LeBron’s free agency that I’ve read. Here is what he wrote:

LeBron James, Cavaliers. His opt-out clause in 2010 is driving this story. "When I decide to make that decision, it is basically to put me in a position where I feel like I can win multiple championships,‘’ James said before scoring 31 points in a victory Tuesday at New Jersey. "If it’s staying here, then I will be here. If it’s moving elsewhere, then I will have to look at all my options.’’

The chronic speculation that LeBron will bolt for New York (or to New Jersey, though that is less likely now that the Nets appear less likely to move to Brooklyn) has been based entirely on the provocative idea of his becoming the biggest thing in the Big Apple. But here, now, he is saying that winning championships is his most important consideration.

And of course that is true. If he wants to become the world’s top star and surpass the global acclaim of Michael Jordan, then he needs to win at Jordan’s level. Moving to New York and failing to win there would ultimately deem him a huge failure.

If the Cavs assemble the makings of a championship team around James, then how can he explain a decision to leave? Cleveland is, as he reminds us constantly, his hometown (he is from nearby Akron). It is not going to reflect well on LeBron if he were to abandon his valued home in order to go for the glitz of New York.

The Knicks would need to create a highly talented roster around him, in which case LeBron could make the criticism vanish by winning, much as Shaq made everyone forget the nastiness of his departure from Orlando by earning three titles in L.A. There is no doubt that winning multiple rings in New York (which won the last of its two championships in 1973) would be a bigger achievement than if he won on any other platform.

But it would also be a heartwarming story if he were to maintain loyalty to his hometown while turning the small-market Cavs into the capital of the basketball world. It would, as marketing people like to say, brand him as no other star has ever been branded, because it would give his mission the appearance of being about something more important than money. It would be a story of investing himself in his hometown.

To become the equal to (or eclipse) Jordan, LeBron must be universally loved. People would love him for staying in Cleveland.

Plus, there are billions of people in China who won’t view LeBron any differently whether he’s in New York or Cleveland. Most of his potential consumers around the world won’t know the difference. They’ll want to buy his jersey and shoes regardless of the colors.

I’m not saying he isn’t going to sign with New York; all I’m saying is that when people say James is definitely leaving Cleveland, that he’s made his decision already, I don’t buy it as anything close to a sure thing. And you shouldn’t, either, because it makes no sense for him to decide right now. He may be leaning one way or the other, or he may even be promoting rumors of his departure in order to pressure the Cavs to keep improving the roster because he wants to stay and win championships in Cleveland. Who knows?

If I have to make one prediction, let me start by saying this: He isn’t going to move to Detroit, because that would be a lateral move. No upside for him there. I don’t claim to know what James is thinking, but the only move away from home that makes sense is for him to go to either the Lakers (which isn’t likely to happen, because Kobe isn’t going anywhere) or the Knicks. Ultimately, I think it’s going to be a simple decision: Cleveland or New York.