The biggest transfer saga in National Basketball History (NBA) – LeBron James to...?
Never before in the history of NBA has a transfer deal been this significant. Forget Michael Jordan, forget Shaquille O'Neal and forget Kobe Bryant as the new king on the basketball court has arrived. The name is James LeBron who is more commonly known as ‘The King’ and ‘The Chosen One’. James is on the verge of becoming the best player in NBA history by signing the wealthiest contract in the sport as he ponders over the offers that are hitting him from all corners of North America.
Big guns such as New York, Chicago along with just about every team in the NBA is in a mad scramble to secure the services of the talisman, almost obscuring the fact that NBA rules stipulate that LeBron can’t be paid any more than the other marquee free agents in the league. James contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers is coming to an end in the summer but it’s been a long time that James had become the subject of one of the biggest transfer sagas in sports history.
The transfer of Manchester United’s twinkle-toed winger Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid took almost a year to go through but a possible move for James has been speculated in the market for almost two years now. Since the day when LeBron become a free agent in the summer of 2010, there have been speculations in the market and basketball pundits have been trying to guess who will land this prized asset.
James can put pen on paper as early as this weekend, just at the start of what has now become ‘The Summer of LeBron’. To be exact, LeBron has the world on hold, let alone the league. But it’s a pity that nobody will know the destination of the star player until he has signed on someone’s dotted line. It is estimated that James will pocket a sum of $16 million per season. However, a recent Wall Street Journal story went on to say that had it not been for the budget and salary caps in the NBA, LeBron would have pocketed a staggering fee of around $43 million just from this transfer alone. In addition to this, he was expected to grab a further $27 million that he earns in endorsements for different brands.
LeBron could expect to earn approximately $43 million (£28.5m) every year. Forbes Magazine has also estimated that the player earns $27 million (£18m) on an annual basis in endorsement fee. Everyone may have an opinion on which team should LeBron eventually end up with but only time will be the best judge. Such is the concern on every Americans mind that even the President of the United States had a say on the matter. Every sport website in the world is filled with news items relating to LeBron James. Twitter accounts have erupted in the United States who are campaigning to lure James to their beloved teams.
But unfortunately, it will be an epic case of schadenfreude as is the case with all transfers. Some fans will remorse while others will jump in joy. LeBron James, who hails from the town of Ohio, was the top pick in the 2003 NBA Player Draft and made his way immediately into the hearts of the fans as he looked as the likeliest player to end the city’s trophy drought.
LeBron is an unbelievable athlete who brings immense social and economic value to the state of Ohio and it is very unsurprising that resident’s from LeBron’s state are running websites pledging James to commit to winning a championship medal for Cleveland. If it’s the residents in Ohio or the Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg – each and every individual has only one transfer in mind. As the moment, the mayor of New York City is leading a campaign to convince James to play for the New York Knicks. Contrary to that, there are also websites running in Chicago pledging the chosen one to play for the Bulls. In the end, it will come down to only one man’s heart as only he knows where he will be playing his basketball in the upcoming season.
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