THE BLUEPRINT TO SIGNING LEBRON JAMES

The Lebron James Free agency will come down to two basic questions with the second having several angles. Will Lebron James stay in Cleveland or, will he leave after seven years of being the Cavs savior and breathing life into a dying franchise? If Lebron James does leave, what will the Bulls, Nets, Knicks, Clippers and Heat need to do in order to retain his services?

CAVALIERS
I have no doubt that the Cavs are in the driver seat. The reason they are has nothing to do with what Lebron said as far as the Cleveland fans or even the fact that Ohio is his home state. They are in the driver seat because all they have to do is hire and impressive coach and make an outstanding trade.

The Lakers Phil Jackson would obviously be the first option. The Celtics Doc Rivers, the Bobcats Larry Brown, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski or even Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau will all be highly endorsed by Lebron. I am sure there are other great coaches out there but, if the Cavs are seriously trying to lure Lebron, then their next coach must be one of those five.

An outstanding trade must be made by the Cavs if they expect to re-sign Lebron James. The Antawn Jamison experiment was a disaster for two reasons. Even though Jamison is a good player and is considered a 'hybrid stretch four' (A versatile power forward who can shoot 3s), he is not a good defender. To be honest, he is not a really good 3 point shooter either. He took major minutes away from J.J. Hickson and Varejao on the defensive end. Kevin Garnett pretty much abused him like a rag dog. I can honestly say, the Cavs would have been better off had they not made that trade, especially on the defensive end.

Rather than talk about it, the Cavs should have done everything in their power to trade for the Sun's Amare Stoudemire and not an aging 34 year old Jamison with two years $28.5 milion left on his contract. Had they gotten Amare instead of Jamison, chances are much higher that they would have won the championship and proven to Lebron that they were seriously committed to winning. Well, it didn't happen and we are here.

I believe Chris Bosh would be the trade that saves the Cavaliers. Eventhough Cleveland is not one of his choice cities he does want to play with Lebron. In order for the Cavs to get him, they would have to include Hedo Turkoglu in the trade to really entice the Raptors. The Cavs would send Antawn Jamison; thank God for them if they can include him, Delonte West, obviously J.J. Hickson and Daniel Gibson for Bosh and Hedo. This would mean dismantling their entire team but, this trade with the addition of one of those five coaches, most likely Tom Thibodeau, will force Lebron's hand into re-signing with the Cavs. If this doesn't happen, Lebron is out!

I believe the Bulls, Nets, Knicks, Clippers and Heat have the best odds of prying Lebron away from Cleveland and in that exact order.

BULLS
Some people like super agent David Falk believe that if Lebron goes to Chicago, he will forever be playing under Michael Jordan's shadow and I agree. However, this is a challenge I believe that Lebron James will glad embrace especially if it means playing with Rose, Bosh and Noah for the next 5 years. The Bulls have the best chance after Cleveland to sign Lebron but, they too must go after Bosh in order to land Lebron. More than likely, they would trade Deng and Hinrich. It would be a miracle if they could get away with only trading Deng but, I believe the Raptors are looking to use this opportunity get rid of Hedo's contract as well which means both Deng and Hinrich will have to be included. With Derrick Rose, Noah and Bosh in place along with new head coach Tom Thibodeau, Lebron will gladly accept the Bulls maximum contract offer. The only way he turns it down is if the Cavs have Amare Stoudemire and Doc Rivers or Phil Jackson on board.

NETS
I am not really a fan of the Nets but, I really felt their pain on lottery night. Had they won the first pick, I would have picked them as the favorite, even over the Cavs to get Lebron. The Nets would have had John Wall, the concensus number one pick, Devin Harris and soon to be perennial all-star center Brook Lopez on their roster. The cap room to offer both Lebron and Bosh maximum deals, actually they are a few millions away. Also, they have Jay Z, a part owner of the team who is a mentor that Lebron looks up to along with a new billionaire owner worth $10 billion and willing to spend. There is no way Lebron would have said no to all that.

Even though I rank the Nets behind the Cavs and the Bulls, there are still some positives in place. The Nets could package the 3rd overall pick and power forward Yi in a trade for Bosh. I believe it's one of the few trades the Raptors will accept without having to include Hedo. Other than John Wall not being on the roster, all the other factors would still be in place. This pushes the Nets ahead of the Bulls because now they would have Bosh and probably force the Cavs to the brink of losing Lebron.


KNICKS
The allure of playing in Madision Square Garden 41 times a year is very intoxicating even though Lebron's small time Akron circle may not be in favor of this. The Mayor of New York has already started a full court press in an effort to bring Lebron to New York. The Knicks is one of two teams, Miami being the other that can sign both Lebron and Bosh to maximum contracts. Many believe that if Lebron wants to win, the Knicks will have to do more than that, a sentiment I share as well. What most people don't realize is that the Knicks have two aces in their pocket that could change the entire dynamics of things. They have Eddy Curry's $11.3 million expiring contract and the option of signing and trading first time all-star center David Lee. What if the Knicks are able to package Lee and Curry in a trade for the Hornets Chris Paul and then offer Ray Allen a mid-level deal for four years just to make sure they get him? Now you would have a roster of Paul, Allen, Lebron and Bosh. Should I be a G.M.? Well, this may be all wishful thinking but, a few things are for sure. The Knicks could offer Lebron and Bosh to maximum deals. The Knicks could also offer Ray Allen a four year deal, knowing he is only good for two or three years, but a four year $30 million deal will be hard for Ray to pass up at his age. The Knicks do have Eddy Curry's $11.3 million expiring contract with the option of trading David Lee. The Knicks could emerge as the front runner in the Lebron James sweepstakes if they are able to combine these factors.

CLIPPERS
The Clippers played all last season without Blake Griffin the number one overall pick, whom many believe is ready to contribute 20 points and 10 rebounds immediately. You throw in Baron Davis, Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman in the mix and all of a sudden, you have a team that can contend for a championship if they were to add James and Bosh. I see this as a long shot but, I wouldn't rule out the Clippers. The Clippers could also surprise everyone by trading Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon for Bosh and then making a maximum offer to Lebron. This would make things even more interesting. A roster with Lebron, Bosh, Kaman and a healthy Baron Davis would immediately contend for a championship.



HEAT
I consider the Heat the last option simply because both Lebron and Wade are alpha males. I know they can play together but the question is will Lebron want to leave Cleveland to go to Wade's team? I doubt that very seriously. However, I still think the Heat must be considered because if they trade Beasley, the Heat will be in the position to go after three max free agents, Wade included. So if they were to sign Wade and Bosh, Lebron would have to give them a serious look if indeed his real motivation is winning. A Lebron-Bosh-Wade trio would be almost impossible to bet against for the next 5-6 seasons.

If I were the G.M. of the Cavs, Bulls, Nets, Knicks, Clippers or Heat, this would be my blueprint for getting Lebron James. Rather than waiting to sign Lebron, I think all six teams should be looking to make a blockbuster trade. They should all take a page out of Boston’s book in 2007. It took a trade for Ray Allen to convince Kevin Garnett to join the Celtics. It will take a trade for Bosh or Amare in addition to hiring a powerful coach to convince Lebron.