In professional team sports, the summer normally brings with it the end of the season and a much needed rest for the majority of athletes. However, across the Atlantic in the United States, fans throughout the country of the NBA (in my opinion the world’s most exciting basketball league), are waiting with baited breath on the decision of some of the leagues elite free agent crop.
Now, those familiar with the biggest sporting league in England, football’s Barclays Premiership, are aware that the teams buy players and thus own them. In the NBA, teams do not own players; their services are tied into a contract until it has run its course, and are thus free to go to any team once that contract is up (or if they are traded). Can you imagine the likes of Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Ricardo Kaka, Fabio Cannavaro and Fernando Torres all available at one time to go on a free transfer to any team in the world, who are in an all out bidding war for their services! Now if some of you are unfamiliar with the NBA, and other pro leagues in the USA such as the Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Football League (NFL) in particular, and gulp at the amount our footballers receive for their services. Their wages are pale in comparison to the amounts the best athletes in America’s top sports leagues are paid.
The 1st of July brings with it the start of the NBA free agency market where teams will be bidding for players available to transfer teams. The most talented players explodes into the market and could potentiality alter the face of the NBA for the next decade! The list of free agents this year has some of the most talented players available all at one time. It has been dubbed “Decision 2010” because the person who heads the list is none other than “King James” “The Chosen One” LeBron James.
Here is a synopsis of what NBA writer Fran Blinebury has to say about LeBron:
“Where will the rumors end? With the Russian billionaire who bought the Nets offering him half of Moscow if LeBron will play in New Jersey? With the Knicks offering to build a Manhattan skyscraper in his likeness? With Nike unveiling a new logo shoe at each stop of his “recruiting” tour? With him gathering up his own personal all-star team to conquer the basketball world? The two-time MVP is the best free agent ever to come onto the open market. His decision could change the NBA for the next decade.”
Not only have NBA team owners and General Managers been doing everything in their power to lure LeBron to their teams. Residents of NBA cities from regular Joe Bloggs to people of power, fame, fortune and influence including the likes of Jay-Z, Usher, Spike Lee and President Barack Obama have all been getting in on the “We Want LeBron” bandwagon. New York launched a “C’mon LeBron” campaign, featuring Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a host of high-profile celebrities, to get the 25-year-old to Madison Square Garden. Not to be outdone, Cleveland (where LeBrons current team is based), a city which would lose untold millions if James leaves, is banking on him staying put. Large banners reading: “Home: More Than A Player” have been attached to the sides of buildings and hung over downtown streets.
Checkout the piece put together by New York Magazine titled “Dear Lebron, We Need You.” Which gives you a good insight into the lengths cities are going to covet Lebron
Well, after the fireworks and the dust settles, not only will it be interesting to find out where LeBron and his fellow peers end up, but, more intriguing, whether or not LeBron lives up to the hype and expectations and brings a championship to the eventual city of the team he ends up with. I for one would not put it past him, after all he is the “Chosen One”
Be sure to follow the free agent process as it unfolds on www.nba.com
Images from New York Magazine
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