By Kelly Dwyer

There's no point in trying to tell you that it doesn't make sense for us to be wondering aloud as to where LeBron James might potentially head as a free agent in 2010. July of 2010. 20 months from now. Who can't help but talking about stuff that's 20 months away? I know I was breathlessly waiting for this particular month way back in March of 2007, and I know I wasn't alone.

Snark aside, there are very viable reasons for LeBron leaving Cleveland that summer, and none of them have anything to do with some NYC-obsessed batch of NBA pundits disliking and underestimating Cleveland so much that we all somehow banded together in order to spread the word that James isn't long for Ohio. Those people don't exist. Even the prominent guys who use their middle initial on a byline and host a radio show in New York City when they're not shouting on SportsCenter know what they're talking about. Stop with the martyrdom, already.

We speak about LeBron leaving Cleveland mainly because he's made a point to leave his options open, and most of us applaud him for doing so. Not because we want this guy in New York or Miami or Detroit or Chicago or down the street from where David Wain films his little whimsical flicks.

No, we like the fact that James has left his options open because it puts the onus on whatever team he plays for to somehow approximate the job that LeBron does on the court with the job they're doing in the front office. After spending years watching guys like Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce, and others waste their primes on teams that didn't suit their talents, we're not really keen to see it happen again. And after the close call with Kobe Bryant (thinking, about this time last year even, that he'd be another superstar stuck on an average team), we'd kind of like to see LeBron go to the best situation available. (And, yes, Pierce and KG won a ring last year. But each player was more than a few years removed from their best season. You know
that.)

While we're at it, we kind of more than like the idea of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh making the same move, keeping the pressure on the executives, and keeping their own options open. Stay active, Miami and Toronto. So, as a fan and a follower, it's worth cheering. What isn't worth cheering? Anyone who tells you that they have a good idea as to just what, exactly, LeBron is going to do. Whether that means jetting to New York the second he's allowed to, for whatever reason, or staying in Cleveland for the duration of his next contract, for whatever reason.

Because it's an incredibly fluid situation. There is so much that can happen from now until the summer of 2010, and that's just on a basketball level. I don't want to even get into the Worldwide Wes-in-Detroit idea, or the Jay-Z-in-Brooklyn partnership, or the everything-in-NYC situation.

That concrete is even wetter. There's nothing to steady ourselves on now, there's certainly nothing LeBron can do with that, and there won't be anything he can take from those benefits for years. And here's what keeps getting bandied about in Cleveland, but never seems to make it to the set of PTI or Around the Horn: the Cleveland Cavaliers have about $19.3 million in salary set aside for 2010-11. They're probably looking at over $45 million in cap space. Should they pass on guaranteeing Delonte West's very reasonable $4.5 million salary for that season, they'll have even more room under the cap. LeBron and Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh have about as much a chance to play in Cleveland for max deals as they do playing in New York or Brooklyn. Assuming the Nets will even be in Brooklyn by then.

And here's the nasty reality that never seems to sit well with Cavs fans who can't stop yelling "we have space, too! And he's from Akron!" ... LeBron is in this position because he hasn't exactly been given a supporting cast that's worth a damn. The Cavs are much, much better this season. Delonte and Mo Williams' shooting, the semi-resurgence of Ben Wallace, and the continued sound play of Zydrunas Ilgauskas have the Cavaliers working under the "championship contender" umbrella. And, yes, they made the Finals in 2007. But they were also about the most outclassed Finals opponent in history that year, and "Delonte and Mo" doesn't really remind of "Scottie and Horace." And most of this is just on LeBron. Getting these teammates up to "average" is enough to put the Cavs in this strata.

Sure, every team looks worse when you take away a superstar, but not to this extent. The Lakers, with Pau and Bynum and the rangy ones, are still a playoff team without Kobe. The Heat have Beasley and tons of cap space next summer. KG has Pierce. Pierce has KG. The Cavs? They have LeBron. And though they have options (Wally Szczerbiak's expiring deal), they have to be careful making any deal from here on out. Lest you screw up that cap space for 2010-11.

So Cavs fans need to know why we're here. And Knicks and Nets and Pistons and Heat and Raptor fans need to show some patience. And that goes for the rest of us, talking heads and scribes alike. This thing is so far away from even getting to the point of developing a part of a picture that we can observe and then ably guess at that it is borderline ridiculous to offer anything more than a shrug of the shoulders and a "could happen" between now and the latter part of the 2009-10 season.

I mean, one bit of legal haggling from the Clippers should Donnie Walsh push too far, and the Knicks are back up to owing $41 million in salary during 2010-11. And Miami offers sunshine and tax relief. And Bryan Colangelo has been an Executive of the Year. And there's no guarantee that Joe Dumars won't use his cap space all up in 2009, or even just re-sign Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson.

And Cleveland can offer him the most money, while still throwing any number of solid-to-superstar free agents a bone. And countering that? It's going to take James and Dwyane Wade in Cleveland before I ever learn to trust Danny Ferry as a GM. So chill. Please, everyone, just cool out. COOL OUT!

Not sure if you've noticed, but James has been the best player in the NBA for a little while. And he has a good team, one that is eschewing the dribble-heavy play that made them such a tough watch for years, and the team's offense is responding. The Cavs are playing out of their minds, while the defense has sustained.

So whether LeBron is gone in 2010 or is a Cav until 2021, how bad are we if we're spending 80 percent of the words written and spoken about this guy to guess at where he'll go next as a could-be free agent? Remember Grant Hill's free agent turn in 2000? Sure you do. Remember his 1999-00 season? You probably don't, and that's a pity, because he was brilliant. Almost 25 points per game, six and a half boards, five assists, some steals, and that was it for him. He injured himself late in the season, and he was never the same. Never even close. I'm not going to guilt you into watching LeBron because he could tweak an ankle. But I will tell you that, as amazing as this guy will probably be in 2010-11 for whatever team, he's just as jaw-dropping this year.
And he was about the same, last year.

That's worth talking about.

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