Gäste-Forum » $5,050,000 at the end of a new deal

It was four years ago Tuesday that LeBron James told Jim Gray at the Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and taking his talents to South Beach to join the Miami Heat. Four seasons, four NBA Finals appearances and two NBA titles later, another decision awaits the 29-year-old Akron, Ohio native. Opting out early from the six-year deal he signed with the Heat, James is once again a free agent with no shortage of suitors. While some clubs may be overly optimistic about their chances of attracting the four-time NBA MVP, there are a handful of teams that realistically can bring the games best player to their city...or, in the case of one team, back to its city. So which jersey will LeBron James be wearing come this fall? The fact that James and the other two members of "The Big Three" - Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade - opted out of their deals with the Heat isnt necessarily an indicator that they want out of Florida. When a player has the leverage that all three possess and negotiated, it only makes sense to use and thats just whats happened here. By opting out, the three can all improve their deals with the Heat. Call it greed if you want, but the Heat were prepared for this development and have already begun to address it. The talk following Miamis six-game loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals was that LeBron wanted Pat Riley to provide him with a better supporting cast. That began in earnest on Monday when the team brought in forwards Danny Granger and Josh McRoberts. Point guard Shabazz Napier, a player admired by James, was acquired on draft night as a means to improve the beleaguered back court (both Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole were benched during the Finals). These three additions may not have James sprinting back to the Heat yet, but LeBron himself must recognize the Catch-22 Miami finds itself in right now - James wants the team to add to quality, but his choice to opt out has negated the biggest carrot the Heat have to dangle to free agents - the chance to play with James. Still, the Heat will feel confident in being the devil that James knows. Hes won with this team and he knows the coaching staff and the players. Hes reportedly been in constant contact with Wade over the free agency process and his close friendship with the 10-time All-Star will go a long way to inform Jamess choice. While James and Wades futures may likely be entwined, Bosh is an intriguing factor when it comes to Jamess future in Miami. If one of the Big Three is most likely to leave South Beach, its Bosh. Reports surfaced on Monday that the Houston Rockets had tabled a four-year, $88 million offer to the nine-time All-Star and Bosh was seriously considering it. Its also been suggested that Boshs first choice would be to stay in Miami with James and Wade, but heading to the Rockets would give Bosh the opportunity to form a brand new Big Three with Dwight Howard and James Harden. What would that mean for James? Bosh leaving would provide the Heat with ample cap space to bring in another marquee free agent in the form of, say, Carmelo Anthony. What better way to assuage Jamess call for support than bringing in a premier scorer whose averaged 25.3 points a game over his 10-year career? Now, whether or not there would be enough ball to go around for both James and Melo is something to be addressed for another day, but the signing of Melo would go a long way to signal the Heats continued ambition and desire to retain LeBrons services. If one calls the Heat the front-runner for James, then who else is potentially in the conversation? Daryl Morey and the Rockets are focused on their first title in 20 years - luxury tax be damned. If Bosh doesnt want to form a new Big Three in the Lone Star State, then perhaps LeBron can do it himself. Dwight Howard would easily be the most talented centre that James has ever played with and James Harden as a No. 3 scoring is a proposition that no defence in the league wants to consider. The Los Angeles Lakers, who look more likely to be players in next seasons free agent frenzy rather than now, have $37 million committed to just five players including the aging Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. Still, the team seems to be interested in getting James and Melo together at the Staples Center. For this to work, one of the two would have to agree to less than a max contract, but would the allure of trying to win an NBA title with one of the leagues preeminent franchises and two future Hall of Famers in Kobe and Nash be too much for James to resist? They won 48 games last year and still managed to miss the playoffs, but the Phoenix Suns are one of the finest young teams in the NBA right now and the addition of James to a line-up that includes the dynamic Eric Bledsoe and, arguably, the most underrated guard in the NBA in Goran Dragic could turn the Suns from a team with boundless potential to one capable of competing overnight. Oh, and theres the Cleveland Cavaliers. With the level of sheer acrimony that existed when LeBron left for Miami in 2010, the idea that James could someday return to the team he took to the 2007 NBA Finals seemed preposterous. But here we are. The disdain for LeBron from Cavaliers fans and even team owner Dan Gilbert was palpable and bridges didnt just seem burned, but nuked and the earth was salted. James is an Ohio kid. In leaving the Cavs, his intent was to win a championship. Obviously, alienating himself from Cavs fans who once idolized him was a by-product of this and some of their vitriol is understandable. Sure, LeBron James was a free agent and only exercising his rights as a free agent to sign with the Heat, but its hard as a fan to not take your best player deciding that there better options out there as a bit of a slap in the face. They say that time heals all wounds and that seems to be the case here to some extent, but theres more to it than just that. So whats changed? Well, James left four years ago because he didnt have what he deemed to be a suitable supporting cast. In the 2010 playoffs, outside of James, Daniel Gibson was the only Cavaliers player 25 or under. The likes of Jamario Moon, 33-year-old Antawn Jamison and a 37-year-old Shaq didnt exactly instill confidence in LeBron that this team was equipped to compete in the long run. Flash forward four years and the long run is exactly what the 2014 edition of the Cavaliers are all about. Thanks to five lottery picks in the last four years, including three first-overall selections (Kyrie Irving and Canadians Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins), Cleveland is stockpiled with young talent. The environment that James wanted in Cleveland four years ago exists now. But what about the anger? Fans, perhaps reticent at first, will likely come around to a return engagement, but the enmity wasnt a one-way street. While fans were furious with the player leaving, James, himself, felt that the Cavs played into the fomenting anger of the fans and all too easily allowed him to be cast as the villain in his exit. There was also the now notorious open letter to the fans (bizarrely written in comic sans) from Gilbert posted on the teams website that, in no uncertain terms, casted aspersions upon James as both a player and a person. Thats not something that somebody quickly forgives and forgets. Gilbert certainly didnt forget, which is why, after four years, the letter was finally removed from the teams site. While the summer of 2014 wont bring with it the forced and ill-advised pageantry of the Decision, the fallout of LeBrons choice four years later may dwarf that of his first one. So until we know for a fact, well continue to wonder and ask this - Where is LeBron James headed? As always, its Your Call. MLB Jerseys China . The league-leading New York Rangers outhit and outmuscled the Maple Leafs during a 3-0 victory on Saturday. Backup goalie Martin Biron stopped all 20 shots he faced to complete a nice workmanlike effort by the visitors. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . Murakami gracefully executed a double triple toe jump and a triple flip jump that put her at the top of a tightly contested race with 64.73 points, just ahead of Li Zijun of China on 62. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/. MLB.com reported that the Dodgers locked the left-hander in for one year at $10 million with up to $4 million in incentives. Wholesale Nike MLB Jerseys .com) - The Miami Heat will try to close out the Charlotte Bobcats Monday night in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first round series. MLB Jerseys Outlet . This week they discuss the Philadelphia 76ers, Gregg Popovich, Royal and Ancient Golf Club and Bill Belichick.TORONTO - With the current Canadian Football League collective bargaining agreement set to expire in mere hours, talks between the league and the Players Association stretched over 12 hours Wednesday in hopes of reaching a new deal. Although neither side overtly stated any progress in negotiations, commissioner Mark Cohon told the media talks will resume Thursday at 9am ET. "Its been a long day of meetings and well resume tomorrow," Cohon said shortly after 10pm ET. "And thats a good thing." The current deal between the league and the union expires Thursday at midnight. A long day of talks can be interpreted as an encouraging sign after so much acrimony and frustration played out publicly when discussions broke down last week. The league and union initially met around 10am ET, and the day was a steady stream of comings and goings. The leagues representative, including Cohon, chief operation officer Michael Copeland, Saskatchewan Roughriders president Jim Hopson, Calgary Stampeders president Ken King, and CFL legal counsel Steve Shamie, left the meeting room a couple times before noon. "Were still talking," is all Cohon said then. "Were working hard," Hopson said. When asked later to give a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" on how discussions were going, Hopson placed his bag on the ground and gave both. The players, including union president Scott Flory, vice-presidents Marwan Hage and Jeff Keeping, treasurer Brian Ramsay and legal counsel Ed Molstad, remained in nearby meeting rooms for much of the day, breaking for dinner around 6pm ET. Keeping, an offensive lineman with the Toronto Argonauts, said the players werent considering any new proposal around dinnertime, but did expect to meet with the CFL by the end of the day. Molstad confirmed a "conciliation officer&" was present to assist with negotiations throughout Wednesday.dddddddddddd At 7:30pm ET, the leagues representatives returned to the meeting room to resume discussions with the union. The two sides met for about an hour before the league left once again. "Going upstairs [to the leagues room in the hotel] to talk," Cohon said at the time. Shamie and the mediator walked into the meeting room used by both parties at 9:45pm ET. Shamie later emerged and said the league and players were "still talking." When asked if the two sides were any closer, the mediator just smiled and continued walking. Cohon didnt answer questions from the media. The union didnt make any public statements. Last week, the league quickly broke off scheduled talks with the union before making its proposal to the players public. The leagues recently published proposal included a nine per cent increase to the current salary cap, taking it from $4.4 million to $4.8 million, along with a yearly $50,000 increase for five years (putting the cap at $5,050,000 at the end of a new deal). The players published proposal included a $6.24 million initial salary cap, constructed primarily through a revenue-sharing model that would give the players 55 per cent of gross revenue from TV, internet and radio right, 45 per cent of gross sponsorship revenue, and 40 per cent of gross ticket revenue. The leagues representatives insisted then any revenue-sharing model the players requested would be bad for the CFL. "In fact, (a revenue-sharing model) would threaten the very existence of the CFL," Cohon said in a statement to players and fans. The only work stoppage in CFL history occurred in 1974, when three weeks of training camp were lost before a new agreement was signed and the regular season schedule started unaffected. ' ' '