LeBron James is 23 years old. When his contract runs out he will be 24. If at that time he goes overseas for two years to the tune of $100 million plus endorsement money, when he returns to play in the NBA he will be 26 and have the ability to sign with anyone. If he wanted he could sign with the defending champ for the MLE because with all the cash he made in Europe, he wouldn't necessarily need to sign for a max contract that would probably only be available from a really bad team.
Michael Jordan, His Airness, who Kobe and LeBron will always compare their legacy to, was 28 years old when he won his first title. He then won 6 in the next 8 years. With a 2 year head start, a boatload of cash already in his pocket, and the ability to hand pick his desired destination, LeBron could still go on to win more titles than Jordan did.
So I think the point I am trying to make is don't discount LeBron's legacy because he went Euro and for the Euro for two years. He is still remarkably young for someone so accomplished and going to Europe and pocketing all that money could very well be just the thing that will free him up to make the decision to take less money to go to a contender or champion than to go to Brooklyn and be stuck in the same rut that he is stuck in in Cleveland.
So before dismissing LeBron off as a money grubbing afterthought because at an extremely young age he decided to make tons of cash and give him the luxury of hand picking his future, think again. It could very well assure his legacy.
Regardless of whether he goes to Europe or not, I don't see Lebron deciding to play for less than a max contract in the NBA for at least another decade. Money equates with respect in the NBA, and Lebron isn't going to sit back while lesser players make two to three times more than him, regardless of whether he already made his fortune elsewhere. I mean, it's not like Lebron couldn't play for the MLE *now* and be rich beyond our wildest dreams for the rest of his life. (He's earned in excess of $31 million already, plus he's guaranteed $30.1 million more. He's made at least double that in endorsements. I'm pretty sure that at this point, after earning $100 million+, Lebron could pretty much play anywhere for free, and still be making out okay.)
Also, I'm not sure how signing with the defending NBA champion would improve Lebron's legacy. If he wins, he's a ring chaser who couldn't do it on his own. If he loses, he couldn't even win with an elite team around him. Either way, such a plan wouldn't improve his legacy in the slightest. That doesn't mean he has to sign with a lousy team, but the scenario you laid out would backfire on him.
And yes, I do think a top-flight NBA player chasing money in the prime of his career, to play against vastly inferior competition, is damaging to his legacy. Lebron would be conceding his status as second best player of his generation behind Kobe if he made this move. (Similarly, if Kobe left, he would be admitting that he couldn't win in the NBA without Shaq).
Neither player will leave.
I kindly will disagree with you. because in the scenario I laid out if he does go on an extensive run of championships with that team
1.) he will eventually be earning top dollar
2.) history doesn't look back the way you say.
History looks back and applauds winners. If he went on a string of championships that eventually equaled or bettered MJ, that is what will be remembered. That he won is all that will matter in retrospect because going to a winning team and then continuing the winning ways for years would eventually transform that team into his and how he got there will eventually be forgotten.
Besides he doesn't even have to go to the defending champs. All he would have to do is go to a team that is contending and has the parts there and situation there to win long term.
You may be right about taking less money upon his return to the NBA, I can't say you are wrong there. Most players in the NBA look at things that way. Of course, after making all his endorsement money over the two years and the $100 million that would be largely untaxed, I guess returning to the NBA and taking relative chump change but being able to justify it by saying that he is the player that earned more money in one year than any other player in history, including Michael Jordan's $33 million that largely was taxed, might be a pretty good way of saying that it really doesn't matter what you make now.
If he's already made $31 million and maybe double that in endorsements, maybe this doesn't look like a feasible scenario. But if he's then looking at it like he made that $91 million plus the $100 million plus another let's say $50 million in additional endorsements, it might be easier to look at it after having already earned a quarter of a billion dollars and not already having won an NBA title ans saying, let's take less money until that team has the right to give me a max contract and win some titles.
For instance, if after earning all that money he decides teaming with Dwight Howard and the Magic with some pretty decent peripheral talent there will easily get him multiple titles, why wouldn't he do it. Sure he could do it now, but that decision to do it might be easier to make after he already holds the single season earning record and has an additional $150 million in his pocket.
Topic: Will International Leagues Destroy the Salary Cap (Read 9792 times)