In the waning weeks of the season, NBA fans from New York to Miami to LA will be ticking off games as though the schedule were an Advent calendar. After all, with the best-ever free agent class available in 90 ... 89 ... 88 days, Christmas will be in July this year, right? "Only if you get the exact right guys," says a Western Conference exec/killjoy. "Otherwise, you could screw yourself."

LeBron, of course, is an exact right guy. And there's no doubt his choice of kingdom will dictate how the rest of the free agency dominoes fall. And chances are good that he won't go anywhere at all. But not all GMs are waiting on His Highness before considering how to position themselves. In fact, the suits who run a lot of bottom-feeders are daring to wonder if any one of the best players in the world alone can fix their franchise.

"I've never mentioned a single player's name, publicly or privately," says Knicks president Donnie Walsh, who faces daily the most virulent strain of Get-Us-LeBron-or-Else fever. "I want to have financial flexibility because that's the only way you can build the foundation of a title-contending team."

Maybe he's posturing. Or maybe Walsh, whose team will be the cash-richest of all heading into free agency, is tempering expectations. He knows New Yorkers are convinced that he aims to land not just James but also another superstar from the pool of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer and Amar'e Stoudemire. But, says Walsh, "I never said I wanted to sign two guys this summer, either. You can't spend all your money in one shot."

Well, you can. Problem is, say the Knicks did open the vault for James and superstar No. 2. That would leave roughly $30 million to spend on the other 10 roster spots. So wave good-bye to free agent All-Star and fan favorite David Lee. Miami, another team with deep pockets, is in a similar spot. The difference is they already employ one of the potential money hogs. Conventional wisdom has held that to keep Wade, the Heat have to attract another headliner. But doing that would mean having to part with rising second-year guard Mario Chalmers and three-point specialist Daequan Cook, both of whom are in line for new deals. The Heat could end up with a nucleus of Wade, Amar'e and iffy second-year forward Michael Beasley, surrounded by a troupe of minimum-wage castoffs. Does that sound like a contender to you?

The point is, even with the long-running hype about this bumper crop of free agents, another approach is slowly gaining traction in NBA offices: Wait 'til next year.

GMs might be persuaded to exercise patience by the most timeworn financial brake: cost of labor. With a new collective-bargaining agreement being negotiated for 2011, and owners intent on fighting for salary reductions, next summer a superstar could cost a third less than he would this July.

And make no mistake, the Class of '11 has its own roster of superstars, led by Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant. Chris Paul and Deron Williams might be available too. Those cornerstone point guards are said to be unhappy and both have opt-out clauses in 2012, meaning they could be traded as early as next summer. Going forward, the wise GM will always be the one with available credit.

For example, imagine the Knicks sign James and Bosh this summer. Meanwhile, the Nets decide to be thrifty. At next February's trade deadline, though, they acquire O.J. Mayo from the Grizzlies and Andris Biedrins from the Warriors, guys who do not appear to be in the future plans of their current teams. New Jersey would then have Mayo and Biedrins -- impact players who don't demand superstar loot -- and keep the financial freedom to trade for Paul and his inevitable max contract. For what it costs the Knicks to get two big names, the Nets would get one All-Star and two potential All-Stars and still have enough left over for a healthy bench. Throw in the hard cap the owners want (the one that will prevent the Knicks from blowing past the limit to keep James and Bosh happy with a quality supporting cast), and suddenly it's not so clear which Apple-area team has the brighter future.

That's just one of the very real scenarios that make any GM's trepidation easier to understand. "The last man standing, in terms of having cap room, always wins," the West exec says. "A lot of teams will rush to spend all their money this summer. Those that resist have a chance at some killer deals on some pretty good players."

In fact, several teams -- like the Bucks, Nuggets, Rockets and Suns -- have already switched their focus to 2011. Walsh has a toe in that pool too. "If we do this right," he says, "we'll have room next summer, as well."

In other words, keep your NBA Advent calendars handy.

Ric Bucher is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.

Panos wrote:We've been over this a million times.
If he didn't want to spend all the money this year, he'd not have traded JHill + picks to be rid of JJ2.

seriously, what is so hard to understand about this move? Donnie can paint whatever kinda fake picture on this he wants to, it doesn't change the fact this was an all in trade for this summer... we already had the flexibiity he's talking about to build a championship foundation w/o making the trade... the best way to build a foundation is through the draft, & yet he traded away the rights to 2 future picks & our #8 lottery pick from this past draft... just more of the same smoke & mirrors BS he's trying to sell the Knicks' fanbase on... i'm sick of hearing about 2011, that option was available to us before Donnie ever took the job to begin with.