Lebron James ... what are the chances?

[Dirkenstien]

The thing I wonder most about is Cleveland's willingness to do a S&T should Lebron tell them he'd like to leave.

Will they try to force his hand and give him an ultimatum of you either sign here for max money or elsewhere for less, knowing that if he does sign somewhere else it will most likely be in the East? (Miami, New York, New Jersey)

Or will they try to get as much back for him as possible and look at S&T's where they could place him out in the Western Conference?

I'd think they'd prefer the S&T option which would set us up really nice for a legitimate shot at him. They'd get talent, prospects, and major cap relief which would help them start building another competitive team. No one else has anything like the DUST chip that I'm aware of, and keep in mind, it would have to be somewhere he would actually want to go, a competitive championship contending team. Not many teams can do S&T's without significantly gutting their talent. Cleveland won't take back any bad contracts either. I think this gives us a very big advantage.