The LeBron Finals Day 1
By JONATHAN ABRAMS and HOWARD BECK
Published: June 30, 2010

AKRON, Ohio — Before LeBron James became a high school basketball prodigy, an N.B.A. star or the most highly coveted free agent the league has seen, he was a child here. His goal, as he has repeated several times, was to land this city, his city, on the map.

He can consider the goal accomplished.

In the past, James hosted executives from Fortune 500 companies and discussed business ventures here, a town traditionally known as the rubber capital of the world, in which the Cleveland Cavaliers star has forever laid his stamp. At 12:01 a.m. Thursday, James would begin to discuss, dissect and debate his next business venture.

Northeast Ohio is the Grand Central Terminal of N.B.A. free agency until James makes a decision. It will be the landing spot for foreign multibillionaires, longtime N.B.A. owners and well-respected coaches.

All but the Cavaliers will come to extract James. The Nets were scheduled to meet him first. The Knicks, the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers will follow, commencing the wildest free-agent period in history.

James is the grand prize in a spectacular talent pool that also includes Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amar’e Stoudemire, Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer. The market got deeper in the final 48 hours as Stoudemire, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki and Richard Jefferson opted out of their contracts.

Pierce is widely expected to re-sign with the Boston Celtics after leading them to the finals twice in the last three years. That result became more likely when Coach Doc Rivers informed the team that he would return for the final season on his contract.

Nowitzki, similarly, is expected to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks, the only N.B.A. team he has played for. Stoudemire was in discussions on a contract extension with the Phoenix Suns before deciding to opt out and test the market.

Of the players who opted out in the final days, the biggest surprise was Jefferson, who left $15 million on the table to become a free agent. Jefferson struggled mightily last season with the San Antonio Spurs after being acquired in an off-season trade. He is unlikely to earn anywhere near that amount in the first year of a new contract.

Under N.B.A. rules, teams and players can discuss new contracts for the next seven days and come to oral agreements, but no deals can be consummated until July 8, when the league’s annual moratorium ends and the new salary cap is announced.

The first star player to come off the market could be Johnson, the Atlanta Hawks’ high-scoring swingman. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Hawks were prepared to offer Johnson a maximum contract — about $119.5 million over six years, or $28 million more than anyone else can offer. The precise figures cannot be determined until the moratorium is over. But a maximum contract would almost certainly ensure that Johnson stays in Atlanta, where he has played the last five years.

It would be a potential setback to the Knicks, who were targeting Johnson as their first high-profile signing, in the hopes that he might entice a second star — preferably James — to follow. The Hawks and the Knicks were the first teams scheduled to meet with Johnson in Los Angeles.

The greatest intrigue, of course, revolves around James, who has been anticipating this moment for two years — and occasionally teasing desperate Knicks fans about his intentions.

“I don’t know if it’s going to happen,” James said in 2008, after beating the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. “I’m so focused on this season and what we have at task with the Cavs, it’s hard for me to even think about that date. But at the same time, you have to stay open-minded if you’re a Knicks fan.”

His pending free agency also inspired dreams in Chicago, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Miami.

“July 1 of 2010 is a very big day,” James said then. “It’s probably going to be one of the biggest days in free-agent history in the N.B.A.”

James will be joined in meetings with his longtime business manager, Maverick Carter, and his agent, Leon Rose. But the decision will rest solely with him.

James is loyal, and the factor of leaving the area he grew up in, where he first reached fame and carved out a comfortable living, cannot be discounted. Neither can the distaste of losing in the second round of the playoffs this season to the Celtics and departing without a championship ring for a seventh consecutive year.

As many have noted, James is also a businessman. But with backings from some of the largest corporate companies already solidified, his stature cannot soar much higher than it already has.

His business is basketball, and the best opportunity to raise his already noticeable profile is by winning multiple championships.

For that reason, the core of James’s decision will probably be where he believes he can win the most championships. Whether that destination is with the three-star constellation of Wade and Bosh in Miami, with the point guard Derrick Rose in Chicago, or by remaining where he went to the finals once or elsewhere should finally be answered soon.

Jonathan Abrams reported from Akron, Ohio, and Howard Beck from New York.