You can't read a story about an NBA transaction without hearing what kind of impact it will have on the 2010 free agents. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade can both opt out of their deals in the summer of 2010… along with other pretty good players like Chris Bosh and Michael Redd. The free agent list in 2010 doesn't look too bad either.
While everyone is jockying for position to clear whatever space they can to lure 'Bron and DWade, we're sitting here with the opportunity to clean up in the '08-'09, and '09-'10 seasons. Some of these teams are going to be willing doormats for the next two years… leaving good teams like the Celtics clear paths.
Meanwhile, a lot of teams are setting themselves up for MASSIVE failure. Teams are essentially tanking the next two years in hopes of getting LeBron or Wade. They are handcuffing themselves by making every move with 2010 in mind… and telling their teams that the next two years don't matter.
I know LeBron and JayZ are tight… and a lot of people are looking at this as some kind of foregone conclusion… but what if the Cavs get better? What if the Cavs make a couple of decent moves over the next couple of years and get back to the Finals…. or even with the Championship? Will LeBron really leave that? Will LeBron leave a team on the precipice… to go to a team that has spent 2 years in the tank just to get enough cap space to make him an offer? Haven't any of these other teams heard of Bird Rights?
I'm openly rooting for the Celtics to beat the Cavs on a buzzer beater in Game 7 of the 2009-10 Conference Finals while the Nets are making a lottery pick. I want that team in such disarray that there's no way LeBron could switch teams.
There will be more than 1 team that gets ROYALLY screwed in 2010. Like franchise-altering screwed. I can't wait to see who it is.
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