Lebron James ... what are the chances?

[quietsavant]

Dallas Mavericks well positioned to sign Chris Bosh, LeBron James, or Dwyane Wade
by Oly Sandor
Jan 28th, 2010

In Texas, they have a saying: go big or go home.

For instance, the Dallas Mavericks are hosting February's NBA All-Star game, which means a record hundred thousand hoop fans taking in the action at billion dollar Cowboy Stadium.

.

In the Lone Star State, everything, from souped-up trucks to suburban homes, is overstated. And nothing is subtle or left to the imagination. Well, almost nothing.

Quietly, the Mavericks have positioned themselves to be a factor in 'The Great Free Agent Chase of 2010'. Mark Cuban - the team's high profile owner, who never met a headline, reality show, or Dairy Queen he didn't like- has flown under the radar and could sign Chris Bosh, LeBron James, or Dwyane Wade.

Of course, New York's bright lights, New Jersey's rich owner, and Miami's sunny beaches will appeal to top talent, but Dallas, for several reasons, could be the surprise winner in free agency. Here's why:

The money is there. Currently, they have $70 million in committed salary for 2010-11; however, the team holds options on Jose Barea ($2 million) and Josh Howard ($11 million). The final $13 million of Erick Dampier's contract only becomes guaranteed if he hits unrealistic targets like making the All-Star team.

So the Mavericks could shed $25 million off the books, creating room to tender a $15-17 million max' contract. This would also leave money to fill out the roster with free agents.

Bosh, Cuban, James, and Wade are about one thing: winning. All are alpha males. All want to compete year-in, year-out for an NBA Title. And the former Dancing With The Stars contestant can point to his annual multi-million dollar luxury tax payment as proof he'll spend to win.

Right now, the Mavericks hold the fourth best record in the entire NBA. There's heaps of individual talent, too: Dirk Nowitzki, a former MVP, remains a terrific first option on offense; Jason Kidd, the future Hall of Famer, still sets the table for teammates; Shawn Marion forces the tempo with his legs; and Jason Terry, a perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate, is a superb piece off the bench.

Now add Bosh down low. Or James' all-around brilliance and athleticism. Or Wade's scoring and aerial antics. Suddenly, the Mavericks would have as much talent as any team in the league and, with Coach Rick Carlisle's get-stops system in place, could give the Los Angeles Lakers a serious run for the Western Conference crown.

The Mavericks have everything in place to 'go big' and sign Bosh, James, or Wade when the free agent bonanza begins in July. The only surprise is how they're doing it: quietly.

Got thoughts on Dallas' chances of signing Bosh, James, or Wade? Get at us in the comment box and follow Oly's Breaking Down The NBA Blog on HoopsVibe. Photo courtesy of nero88.
Comments

http://www.hoopsvibe.com/features/br...or-dwyane-wade

[Dirkenstien]

Originally Posted by quietsavant

http://www.hoopsvibe.com/features/br...or-dwyane-wade

Ha! What a coincidence! Although the approach in the article is different and I don't believe as plausible.

I'm less likely to believe we could sign a superstar straight up due to the fact the next CBA may very well be featuring significant pay cuts and players will be looking to lock in while they can. A S&T is much more likely since they could milk that max contract for all it's worth.

Anyone know what the projected cap is for next season?

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Dirkenstien

Anyone know what the projected cap is for next season?

It's actually projected to be $5-8mil LESS next season.

2010 cap may limit signings

[Dirkenstien]

Originally Posted by Underdog

It's actually projected to be $5-8mil LESS next season.

2010 cap may limit signings

Yeah, so even assuming a best case scenario where the cap stays the same next season at $58.6 mil, that would only leave enough room to offer a contract starting out at $13.6 mil. Lebron is currently making $15.8 million this season, meaning he would have to take a pay cut (not happening).

If the cap does indeed drop, let's day 5 mil, the only way we could sign Lebron straight up would be for Dirk to take a severe pay cut in the prime of his career, about $10 mil approximately. I don't see that happening either.

Which brings us back to the S&T.


EDIT:

I was just checking salary info and it looks like that $70 mil figure that the reporter used is off. She may have used the salary figure off of Hoopshype which lists it at $70 but that means $70 mil only in committed salary, not team option player salary. They don't have Damp listed as a team option even though he will be but that figure is already deducting Howard's and Barea's expiring contracts meaning we would only have Damp's contract left to cut from that number at 13 mil and would bring us down to around 57 which will most likely still be over the cap. There's absolutely no way we can sign a max level player, even if Dirk took a $10 mil pay cut the most we could offer would be around $6-8 mil. Our only option is S&T.

[sefant77]

Articles about signing Sammy with capspace are BS.

Its dust or nothing.

It all depends on Lebron. If he wanna play in Dallas, he gonna play in Dallas. He just need to want it

Then we make easily a S&T with the Cavs for Damp and some crap, so the Cavs can ship at least in the west when he clearly tells them he gonna leave Cleveland anyway.