By: Bill Ingram Last Updated: 3/26/10 1:37 PM ET | 1400 times read

Adjust font size:One of the more amusing ongoing themes this season has been the underlying suggestion that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or even Kobe Bryant might choose to change teams this offseason. Nearly half of the teams in the NBA have been positioning themselves to make a run at one or more of the elite players who can be free agents this summer, but how realistic is it to believe that an elite player will walk away from a playoff team to join a team that's rebuilding?

Let's take LeBron James, for example. We all know the Cleveland Cavaliers can pay their own free agent more than any other team in the league, and while there are very few players in the NBA who I would consider to be "max" players, LeBron is one of them. Nike's going to pay him regardless of where he plays, and he'll make more playing for the Cavs than he would anywhere else. The only factor left is his desire to win a championship. Is there a team in the NBA more championship-ready than the Cavaliers? GM Danny Ferry has made every move necessary to build a contender around LeBron, and the additions of Shaquille O'Neal and Antawn Jamison may have accomplished that goal. Time will tell. The Cavaliers are the best team in the NBA for the regular season and could win a championship in a couple of months. What possible incentive could there be for LeBron to leave?

The same can be said of Kobe Bryant. The Lakers are the West's best team and they're the defending NBA champions. Kobe is a household name, cashing checks from nearly everyone that matters in the basketball space and poised to possibly win another title. GM Mitch Kupchak has put a brilliant supporting cast around Kobe, so good that the team was able to continue winning while he was out with an injury earlier this season. Like LeBron, Kobe is one of the few true "max" players, and the Lakers will certainly pony up the dough. Kobe Bryant is going nowhere.

What about Dwyane Wade? Wade's situation is a little bit different. Shaquille O'Neal's departure also signaled the end of the HEAT's elite status, and try as he might GM Pat Riley hasn't had a great deal of success is luring top-notch talent to Miami via trade or free agency. The Michael Beasley pick wasn't a disaster, but it wasn't exactly the game-changer a second overall pick is supposed to be. How nice would Brook Lopez, Kevin Love or even Russell Westbrook look in Miami right about now? Still, does Dwyane Wade leave his "max" deal on the table in Miami, where he also gets all the sponsorship money he can possibly eat, to join, say, the Chicago Bulls?

Hardly.

You see, building a championship team isn't just about inking one or two great players. You have to have the right supporting cast in place. If you want to lure LeBron James to New York or Dwyane Wade to Chicago, you better have more than a nostalgic feeling about playing in your home town or the bright lights of Times Square to offer. You better have a head coach and some complementary players who have a proven track record of knowing what it takes to get to the NBA Finals.

If I were trying to lure an elite player to my team, I hire Avery Johnson as my head coach. Then I'd take a long, hard look at Manu Ginobili, Carlos Boozer, Amar'e Stoudemire, Ray Allen and Shaquille O'Neal. This is the pool of players who have been top players on teams that have had a great deal of success over the last few years. Ginobili, O'Neal and Allen are older, but they all have a fundamental understanding of what it takes to win a championship. Ginobili may be the best of the group, as he is still very much in his prime and can be the piece that makes a good team great. Carlos Boozer and Amar'e Stoudemire are easily the two of the top five power forwards in the game, and the Jazz and Suns have been top teams in the West with those two guys in place, respectively.

If I'm Donnie Walsh in New York, I go get Manu and Boozer, add a legit starting point guard like Raymond Felton, and then make my call to Wade. I tell him I have two championship pieces already in place, a solid point guard in the mix, and I'm one piece away from a championship. Wade is going to New York for the money or for the spotlight - he has that and warm weather in Miami. You have to put a solid nucleus in place first. The same reason LeBron and Kobe aren't leaving their current teams is the same reason New York, Chicago, and the LA Clippers don't have a shot as things stand today. They don't have a recent history of winning. They don't have the pieces in place to win right away if an elite player were to join up.

No player is going to leave a max deal on the table in one city to go play somewhere else. There has to be a championship incentive. There is no such incentive anywhere else in the NBA for LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. If you want to lure Wade, who might be willing to listen, you better have an experienced coaches and a great supporting cast in place when you put that call in.

Read more NBA news and insight: http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=15754#ixzz0jKdeRPkg

Terrible article.

Yeah, Ferry has done a good job...please. Trading expirings for vets past their prime is not rocket science. LeBron best shot at multiple titles is by leaving Cleveland.

Point #1 - This entire article is all conjecture, no facts involved at all. I don't have any figures in front of me either but just looking at this realistically -- Yeah of course Nike will pay James regardless of where he plays. I just can't see them paying him the same or more in Cleveland than if he played in NY. Why would they? Better yet, how could they?? They just won't be able to. The endorsement gross for Nike won't be nearly the same if he stays in Cleveland where by comparison, that company's revenue should go through the roof if he comes here. Much larger pool of people that will suddenly be re-energized, interested in basketball once again and suddenly interested in LeBron and anything he touches...A Winning NY team anchored by LeBron James and another top player will be worth a fortune. Nike will be willing to give him his piece of the pie (and his sidekick too) -- only with NY & the whole Tri-State area firmly on board, MUCH larger pie now and a much larger piece for him I would think, no? Whether you believe the rumor that he gets an automatic $100,000,000 by Nike for coming here is up for debate, though I doubt it - I don't quite get the logistics behind something like that and how it would work (first off, Nike would have to feel extremely confident to offer up something like that -- hey LeBron's so good that it's still probably a good bet to take, however it's just too much money to hand out before the whole venture even got off the ground. Hey maybe I'm wrong and that's exactly what's waiting for him, who knows?..I don't see Nike conducting business like that at all though). What I could see however is something relatively simple such as this: LeBron pockets X amount (whatever's decided) on all revenue gained on the products he endorses. Makes much more sense no? Nike is set to gain so much more by getting an entire NY area market on board - I would think the difference will be like night and day (look at the situation now -- the Knicks are a huge draw and money maker right now, and we've been terrible. Can you imagine if we suddenly turned the corner & were successful and had some real star power up in here (what amounts to the league's best player and another star)?? Can you imagine the buzz, intrigue and interest that would be generated?? I can - it would be a frenzy..And we're just talking Nike now btw, not the countless other companies that will want LeBron and his sidekick to endorse their product or whatever else they're selling. I would think the opportunities would be endless, along with the amount of money to be made. He'd be the toast of the town over here starting DAY 1...And it's a mightly big town, one that's dying to throw it's arms around it's team and their stars. Look at it this way -- say LeBron was suddenly traded to NY next year mid season. You don't think he'd be looking to rework his deal with Nike the moment his plane landed in NY, now that he'd be playing in a much bigger market??? I'm no economics expert nor am I an accountant, but just looking at this as a layman, I gotta say man, what this guy is saying here is totally without merit. Baseless in fact..

Point #2 - Let me get this straight - getting LeBron and another major FA star to come play TOGETHER along with the few quality pieces we already have here and then filling in around them smartly through the draft, minor free agency etc. isn't the right way to quickly go about building a winner here but Wade will want to come if we went out and got Ray Felton, an older Manu an injury-plagued, an overrated Carlos Boozer and the past his prime, shell of his former self Shaquille O'Neal??? Huh?? That's this guy's pitch to bring a star here? That's what he's prepared to do with all this cap room we just cleared? He almost makes it sound like we shouldn't even waste our time talking to LeBron. Crazy. As I detailed in the 'what's you dream team' thread today, whether you agreed with what I wrote or not, WE CAN turn this around rather quickly if we can get two top guys interested right off the bat to come together, add them to the 4 or 5 players we wind up keeping, the players we get in the draft (I'm calling for 3 players in 1st round trade ups and if that's asking for too much, at least 2 solid 2nd round selections) and a couple of other smart signings along the way -- after the draft concludes, through summer league invitations, players in Europe, players from the NBDL, etc.. It can be done. Certainly a much better plan than an idea that has Ray Felton and Carlos Boozer (Boozer's not even as good as David Lee for Christ's sake) as my centerpieces to lure a top guy. Come on, I mean is this guy kidding me or what? Holy ****. What rubbish..LMAO!!!

s3231 wrote:I'm sorry but that has to be one of the worst articles I've ever seen.

Yeah, Ferry has done a good job...please. Trading expirings for vets past their prime is not rocket science. LeBron best shot at multiple titles is by leaving Cleveland.

Cavs can retool in 2012 meanwhile remain a 55-60win team until then.