 |
| LeBron James |
Yahoo USA Top Latest News - Four years after "The Decision," LeBron James appears headed toward another one.
The burning question: Where will the NBA superstar land next?
The Miami Heat star and four-time league MVP has decided to exercise his contract's early termination option, meaning he'll be a free agent July 1, a source close to him told CNN's Rachel Nichols on Tuesday.
What's the big deal about a basketball player possibly changing teams? Four years after "The Decision," LeBron James appears headed toward another one.
What's the big deal about a basketball player possibly changing teams? After opting out of his contract, LeBron James has another “decision” to make.
What’s up with all the LeBron hate?
LeBron James opted out of his deal with the Miami Heat Tuesday and the reaction was predictable.
Dwyane Wade is in serious decline and LeBron had no significant help in the Finals against San Antonio.
LeBron-staying-in-Miami is no fun for the haters. This morning news leaked that LeBron James, the most famous active basketball player in the world and arguably the best, is going to opt out from the final year of his contract with the Miami Heat and become a free agent. Interestingly, however, this doesn't mean that LeBron is going to leave the Heat. And it doesn't even mean that LeBron is going to try to get the Heat to pay him more money.
1) LeBron James and all other NBA stars are underpaid
The key fact about LeBron James and every other truly first-rate player in the National Basketball Association (guys like Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, etc.) is that he is underpaid.
2) Teams can only spend so much on salary
The other big structural factor that's relevant is that NBA teams are subject to what's called a salary cap, a series of rules whereby NBA team owners collude to reduce the amount of money they spend on player compensation. This means that when teams are hiring players, it is crucial to consider not just the quality of the player but the value proposition the player provides. That means it's extremely valuable to hire players who are underpaid. To win in the NBA, it is crucial to assemble some underpaid talent. Any team that manages to hire LeBron James secures the services of not just one of the best players in the league, but a player who generates wins far out of proportion to his salary.
3) James took a pay cut to play in Miami
LeBron James has been at the center of free agent drama before. At the end of the season, he departed in free agency to join Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat. Given the salary cap rules, it was not possible for the Heat to pay all three players the individual maximum salary. The terms of the arrangement were that Wade, James, and Bosh would all accept essentially the same salary (James and Bosh are paid the exact same amount, Wade is paid very slightly less) even though everyone agreed that James was the superior player.
4) LeBron is amazing, but the Heat need more talent
When James signed with the Heat, he was unquestionably the best player in the NBA. Meanwhile, the quality of the "supporting cast" of players behind the big three has deteriorated substantially.
5) To improve, the Heat need Wade and Bosh to take pay cuts
Because of the salary cap, the Heat can't easily improve by simply going out and hiring more good players. Because maximum salary levels increase continuously with age but player effectiveness does not, there is a tendency for young underpaid stars to become old overpaid ex-stars very rapidly.
Wade and Bosh, like James, have a one-year player option remaining on their contract. The message LeBron is sending by opting out is that if Wade, Bosh, and the Heat don't work something like this out, he'll leave town.
6) LeBron's non-Miami options are not that great
LeBron is so good that any team would gladly hire him, and a number of teams have the ability to pay him a maximum salary. But to the extent that LeBron wants to earn a maximum salary and contend for a championship, his non-Miami options are not actually all that appealing.
Most of the teams where LeBron could go and join other quality players — places like Houston and Dallas — are in the Western Conference where most of the good players are. LeBron could choose to join an Eastern Conference team with some promising young talent — Philadelphia or Charlotte or Cleveland — but that would be a big risk.
7) The last time LeBron was a free agent, it was a PR disaster
LeBron's previous spell as a free agent back in 2010 was highly anticipated. 9) LeBron makes a ton of money outside of basketball
In theory, LeBron could agree to play for the league minimum salary and still have an extraordinarily high income.
