Lebron staying in Cleveland! (heard it here first)

[Surferdad]

...It's a big deal if he leaves, not a big deal if he stays, unless you're from Cleveland.  If he stays I'll lose a lot of respect for the guy...

Why?  I feel the opposite.  Staying would show allegience to his LIFELONG fans and the city in general.  I will lose respect for him if he leaves.

[Jon Niednagel]

My gut says Miami, but my brain says he stays with the Cavs or joins Amare in NYC. I think he signs with the Cavs, but has an ETO after 3 years so he can go to Brooklyn with Jay-Z if the Cavs are not any better. I hope he stays with the Cavs. It would be good for our friend Mac, the NBA, and most importantly, the Celtics.

[action781]

He is broadcasting from Akron... No way he announces he is going to NY, NJ or Miami from Akron.

Done deal.

Um, so where should he hold it?

If he holds it in NYC, Newark, Chicago, or Miami, there's no point in even having an announcement, because it would be obvious.

He could have held it at ESPN studios in Bristol, CT.  That's where I would bet he'd hold it if he were leaving.  I think he stays.  That's why I think Bosh decided to go to Miami.

[SCBirdman]

I think LeBron stays in Cleavland. It think he stays because that's where his crew wants him to be, its where his mother needs him to be.

Staying in Cleavland is not the best basketball move, it won't bring him any titles at all in my opinion. But that is what he is going to do.

He will never be able to attract top level free agents because, well, because its Cleavland. Bosh refused to go there in a S&T, which is going to cost him $30 mill. To me, that is telling.

LeBron could have gone to Chicago and Bosh would have followed. Same for NY Knicks. Instead, they get Amare.

I think Miami will need one to two more off-seasons to become real contenders because they have stripped their roster. Chicago will probably land Boozer...they will be a little bit better.

C's need to re-sign Ray and then use the Sheed contract and MLE to get a good big and shooters.

[kozlodoev]

He could have held it at ESPN studios in Bristol, CT.  That's where I would bet he'd hold it if he were leaving.  I think he stays.  That's why I think Bosh decided to go to Miami.

That doesn't make much sense, given the reports that the Raptors had a sign-and-trade arrangement with the Raptors for Bosh.

[rickyfan3.0...]

Connect the dots here... Cleveland.

He and Amare should have gone to Chicago.

[BuckeyeCelt]

I dont want him here...that is all I care...

PLEASE LEAVE THE STATE!!!!

[indeedproceed]

Connect the dots here... Cleveland.

He and Amare should have gone to Chicago.

LeBron James is planning to announce where he's going to sign on ESPN Thursday at 9 PM (eastern).

Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer has followed James for a long time and wrote some interesting tweets Tuesday night about how he doesn't recognize him anymore.

Windhorst wrote: "The location of LeBron's announcement is not expected to be in one of the cities he's considering. Will keep the guessing going. ... Suddenly it is clear to me. LeBron has changed. A new website. Starting Twitter. This announcement. This isn't the guy I know."

Windhorst then wrote these tweets Wednesday morning: "I'm told none of LeBron's suitors know his decision. It seems possible of all them could remain in dark leading up to tomorrow night. ... Teams & even several people in James own camp were blindsided when hearing about ESPN show."

Akron doesn't mean anything. Im still sayin Nets.

[rickyfan3.0...]

Don't expect ESPN to release even a HINT of a rumor as to where Lebron ends up. They are going to push this "Nobody knows where he is going, tune in tomorrow night" angle for the next day and a half.

ESPN is the country's biggest propaganda machine. It's disgusting.

[cdif911]

you heard it here first: Lebron signs with Olympiakos...ahahahaha that'd be awesome

[indeedproceed]

Don't expect ESPN to release even a HINT of a rumor as to where Lebron ends up. They are going to push this "Nobody knows where he is going, tune in tomorrow night" angle for the next day and a half.

ESPN is the country's biggest propaganda machine. It's disgusting.

Well Windhurst isn't ESPN, he's the beat writer that has been closest to LeBron since his rookie season.

But, I agree that is in ESPN's best interest.

I don't think Akron means anything though. I think the more telling thing is this rumor:

Just before free agency started last Thursday, we noted a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that indicated there was a bit of a power struggle going on between LeBron James' camp and William "World Wide" Wesley.

Wesley wanted James to head to Chicago, a domain he knows well. James' friends, including business manager Maverick Carter, seemed to be pulling for Cleveland. After all, they'd stand to have more cachet by staying home.

Carter went so far as to tell the New York Times that Wes wouldn't be in any meetings and "has nothing to do with where he goes," in regards to LeBron.

On Monday night, such a rift was confirmed by Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

He tweeted: "Can confirm several reports of a rift between Wes Wesley and James camp. Wes was indeed pushing Chicago, I'm told."

As ESPN's John Hollinger writes, if James' camp has "won" this battle, it could mean a return to Cleveland is more likely:

"The palace intrigue that reportedly has seen World Wide Wes pushed out of the picture in favor of the Akron Gang certainly has to favor the Cavs. While LeBron ultimately is the one to make this call, all the people advising him have a vested interest in Cleveland."

[GreenEnvy]

...It's a big deal if he leaves, not a big deal if he stays, unless you're from Cleveland.  If he stays I'll lose a lot of respect for the guy...

Why?  I feel the opposite.  Staying would show allegience to his LIFELONG fans and the city in general.  I will lose respect for him if he leaves.

I agree that you shouldn't LOSE respect for him if he stays, but I will say you can be loyal to a fault. Unfortunately, KG may become the poster-boy for that in professional sports.

Noble of him to restructure his contract and believe in Minny, but he could've been considered an all-time great (still is) if he got out of there sooner.

[cdif911]

I will say with Bosh ending up in Miami after (supposedly) having a deal worked out to go to Cleveland falling through because he didn't want to go there, I would think Bron wants to stay in Ohio - if he were going to NJ, we'd see Bosh going there too...

[Jeff]

sources say that CROTOR has the scoop, but he's going to broadcast it at 8:59 PM

[RebusRankin]

What does the Deli Guy have to say?