The LeBron James sweepstakes officially began Thursday night when the Cavaliers were ousted from the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Boston Celtics in six games.
New York has long been rumored to be a potential spot where James, a free agent this summer, will land.
Last summer, I spoke with longtime Socastee coach and now New York Knicks assistant coach Dan D'Antoni and here's what he said about the team's salary situation:
"I think [GM] Donnie [Walsh] did a great job getting our salary structure in line for the end of this year if we need more," D'Antoni said then. "These guys might show us they can get right to it too. The financial ability is there [either way].''
The 2009-10 Knicks definitely showed the franchise needs more - and will pursue it this offseason. The team finished 29-53 despite adding the likes of Tracy McGrady at the trade deadline with hopes of making a push for the playoffs.
In my mind, it seems hard to believe at this point James will return to Cleveland. An exit in the conference semifinals was far from what this team expected to be - and should've been - capable of. I can't picture the Cavaliers being able to put a better cast around James, or a better coach.
So does he land with the New York, where Dan's brother is the head coach? Time will tell.
Either way, it should be an interesting offseason for the D'Antonis.
I agree with you that it would be very hard to think that Lebron would return to Cleveland. After many years of failure to lead his team to an NBA championship, it may be time to move on.
Regarding the free-agency, it is also said that NY even hired an agent with the specific job of recruiting Lebron for the Knicks next season.
Posted by: AC-DC | 05/15/2010 at 04:03 AM