LeBron, LeBron, where should LeBron go?

LeBron James has a lot going for him.

He is a mega-superstar, playing for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, who have been actual title contenders since he came to them seven years ago. He has a multi-million endorsement deal with Nike, making commercials such as this one.

And since the Cleveland Cavaliers' exit from the NBA playoffs, he has been persona numero uno in the eyes of the sporting world. And on Thursday, he officially becomes the top prize in what could be the greatest free agent in NBA history.

The courters of King James have come out, with all sorts of enticements to sign their way, including rallies in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, the New York-centric backings of SI.com and ESPN.com, and websites galore from fans.

So where does he sign? To date, there are six teams in serious contention for his services: the Knicks, the Nets, the Heat, the Clippers, the Bulls and of course his current team, the Cavaliers. But how much chance do each of these teams have in signing him, and should he go to any of them? Let's count the ways:

The New York Knicks
Pros: It's freaking New York, which means oodles of exposure in the media capital of the universe and sure to follow, oodles of cash. New York offers what it does in terms of a world class city, and a chance to play for one of the NBA's storied franchises.
Cons: We are talking about the Knicks, who while being of those storied franchises, are also been among the worst. Ever since the reign of Isaiah Thomas as general manager and coach, the Knickerbockers have not finished above .500 since the 2000-01 season, and have qualified for the playoffs only once since then (2003-04). Plus, thanks to Thomas, there is no way they're going to improve anytime soon.
Chances of signing: Unless LeBron is purely in it for the money, I don't like his chances of signing here.

The New Jersey Nets
Pros: It's close to freaking New York, which means oodles of exposure in the media capital of the universe and sure to follow, oodles of cash. In 2012, they are scheduled to move into a new arena in Brooklyn. Plus, their ownership includes friend and rapper Jay-Z and new majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov has promised to pump millions into his new team to make them contenders again.
Cons: They're still in New Jersey, even if they have left the Meadowlands to play in Newark for the next two years. Plus, this team stinks. They contended for the worst record in NBA history before finishing 12-70. Since last qualifying for the playoffs in 2006-07, they have been in a freefall. Even with the Mad Russian and Jay-Z, LeBron would be hard pressed to sign here.

The Miami Heat
Pros: It's Miami, one of the great and happening cities in the world. The Heat have Dwyane Wade, a free agent but much more likely to resign if LeBron comes on board. Plus, the Heat have actually been competitive, finishing 47-35 last year before bowing out of the playoffs in the first round. If LeBron signed here, the Heat might actually be title contenders
Cons: While Miami is a happening town, it also is one of the worst sports towns in the U.S. Watch any Heat game, and you're bound to see oodles of open seats, even when they're playing a noteworthy opponent. LeBron likely would not change that.

The Los Angeles Clippers
Pros: It is Los Angeles, a city that if you're looking for exposure to the media world, it's a good place to be, even if you are playing for the Clippers. The Clippers have some talent in Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin, and if the rumors are true, record mogul David Geffen wants to buy a majority share and bring in King James.
Cons: We're talking about the Clippers here, one of the most cursed franchises in sports. This is a team that Bill Simmons at ESPN.com continually asks each draft which top pick will get injured before his rookie season is out. Plus, they are second fiddle in their own area, playing in the purple-and-gold laden Staples Center with the Lakers, who just won their second straight title. But the big problem is the current owner, Donald Sterling, who is known for trading away talent when they actually get good and making life miserable for anybody around him, including coaches and apparently, minorities.

The Chicago Bulls
Pros: It's a world class city that is only about five hours from Akron, Ohio. It's also big enough where if you want to be a media superstar, you can. It's a chance to play where his idol Michael Jordan played, and to play on a team that would be immediate title contenders with talent like Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. Plus, they have the money after trading Kirk Hinrich and his $9 million salary to Washington last week.
Cons: Not really any cons, except there are no guarantees in life or sports.

The Cleveland Cavaliers
Pros: It's a chance to stay home, where he is the big dog and has been since high school. The Cavs also have some decent talent around him that has the potential to go far in the playoffs, even if one of them is an aging and declining Shaquille O'Neal. Plus, Cleveland is a nice town that is on the rise.
Cons: The leadership is a mess, with the firing of coach Mike Brown and the resignation of general manager Danny Ferry in recent weeks. Tom Izzo of Michigan State flirted with the idea of coming to Cleveland before wisely deciding to stay in East Lansing. Plus, while there is talent on this roster, it should have produced already. Instead, it has faltered, including losing in the conference semifinals despite having the league's best record at 61-21.

The verdict: I would say Chicago and Cleveland have the edge, especially with one report saying LeBron and Chris Bosh to the Bulls is a "done deal."

The good, the bad and the ugly

A lot to cover, so it's time for the good, bad and the ugly:

The good: Landon Donovan saves the day for the U.S. National Soccer Team at the World Cup Wednesday, kicking in the game winner against Algeria in stoppage time and helping the U.S. win Group C. They will face Ghana in the round of 16 on Saturday. To celebrate, here is the Spanish-language version call of the goal from Univision:




Also, in keeping up with the debate on the vuvuzelas at this year's World Cup, we get a preview of an upcoming World Cup in a site not previously mentioned:



Also among the good are the Good Guys in Black, the White Sox, who won their ninth straight win Thursday with a two-hit, 2-0 shutout of the Braves. I don't know what woke these guys up, but all of a sudden, they're 2.5 games behind leaders Minnesota going into this weekend's series with the Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field. Things are definitely looking up for the Southsiders.

The bad: We knew it was coming, because professionals sports is a business, whether we like it or not. On Thursday, it was announced that the Blackhawks had traded wingers Dustin Byfuglien and Ben Eager and defenseman Brent Sopel and prospect Akim Aliu to Atlanta for the 24th and 54th overall picks in Friday's NHL entry draft, center Marty Reasoner, prospect Jeremy Morin and minor leaguer Joey Crabb.

The culprit: the ole salary cap. The trade shaves about $4 million off of the books for the Hawks as they try to adjust to next season's cap of $59.4 million.

As much as it hurts to lose Byfuglien, who had 11 goals during the playoffs, the Blackhawks do get a noted player like Reasoner and a look to the future with Morin.

And finally,

The ugly: The Cubs are 8-12 in June after Thursday's 3-2 win over the Mariners in 13 innings, leaving them eight games below .500 for the season (32-40) and eight games behind first-place St. Louis.

While the pitching generally has been good (save for the 12 runs given up against the Angels at Wrigley Field last Saturday), the hitting has continued to stink, especially this last series in Seattle. They were shut out 2-0 on Tuesday, only scrounged one run on nine hits Wednesday in an 8-1 Seattle win, and only six hits in 13 innings but won 3-2 thanks to strong pitching performances from guys like Ted Lilly.

The Cubs aren't completely dead, but if they don't turn things around like the White Sox (who were looking at some changes as recently as three weeks ago) have in recent weeks, Jim Hendry will have to do some serious house cleaning that could possibly mean his job, too.

And the jury is still out: The Bulls are playing the waiting game, trading guard Kirk Hinrich, French prospect Kevin Seraphin and cash to the Wizards for maybe a second-round pick in next year's draft. That will have to be sorted on July 8, when the trade can become official by NBA rules.

Why do it? It's all about making room under the salary cap for luring LeBron James and another top free agent (Toronto's Chris Bosh? Miami's Dwyane Wade? Atlanta's Joe Johnson?) to the United Center. Washington will absorb Hinrich's $9 million salary for someone who likely will babysit for top draft choice John Wall until the Kentucky star is ready, while the Bulls will have loads of money to bring top talent to Chicago.

We'll see after July 1.

The Bulls of the future...

The Lakers are NBA champions, and it's time for the other teams to rebuild through the NBA draft.

That includes the Bulls, who have the 17th pick in this year's draft (thanks to the trade that John Salmons to Milwaukee), which is set for tonight. They could move up to 15th if the Bucks take that option as part of that trade, but let's assume they stay at 17.

Who do they pick? Much of that will depend on how seriously they want to pursue LeBron James and any other big band free agent out there. Chris Bosh of Toronto, Dwyane Wade of Miami and Joe Johnson of Atlanta are some of the other prizes out there.

The Bulls' big needs could be at forward or a shooting guard to best compliment point guard Derrick Rose. And the decision will have to be made without the benefit of knowing whether they have landed King James, who doesn't officially go on the free agent market until July 1.

Some of the mock drafts have some intriguing directions for the Bulls.

-- The Sports Network's John McMullen thinks the Bulls will go best player available and take Texas' small forward Damion James. James is one of the few seniors in the draft, but brings some good rebounding and defense, always good attributes for a Chicago team that has had trouble in those areas at times.

-- HoopsHype has another Longhorn, this time freshman shooting guard Avery Bradley, going to Chicago. Bradley is a good defender despite being only 6-3, and has improved his three-point shooting. However, he is only a freshman, and very raw. (Yes, I know Derrick Rose was only a freshman when he came out, but he was also a number one pick and a rare talent, not falling to 17.)

-- Bleacher Report has the Bulls going with Lithuanian 7-foot power forward Donatas Motiejunas. Big men are always a good thing, and Motiejunas has good range for such a tall guy. A scorer is good, but can he rebound?

-- NBADraft.net also has a big man coming to Chicago in Marshall freshman center Hassan Whiteside. He's a big defender, averaging 4.4 blocks a game his only year in college. The scary part is the same predictor compares him to Tyson Chandler, which did not work out so well for the Bulls.

Who should the Bulls go with? I like Damion James because of his size and defense, but Motiejunas could be a good project if LeBron James does indeed come to Chicago.

How do the Bulls get to the Finals?

Tonight, the Celtics and Lakers will play it out in Game 7 of the NBA finals. The Celtics had been looking commanding after Game 5 in Boston when they claimed a 3-2 series lead, but the Lakers stormed back into the series with a 89-67 thumping of Boston at Staples Center Tuesday night to force the seventh and deciding game.

But the question for Bulls fans is this: Can the Bulls get back to this point, when they haven't been since 1998 and the glory days of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, and if so, when?

A big part of that, I believe, will ride on whether they can entice LeBron James to come to Chicago. I'll wax on a little more soon enough on the reasons why King James should become a Bull, but if he did decide to leave Cleveland for the big city, he would be paired with a growing and great guard in Derrick Rose, and a up and coming forward in Joakim Noah. It would almost be like he could be Jordan to Rose's Pippen and Noah's Horace Grant.

LeBron would provide the spark that would make the Bulls instant contenders, and with maybe one other piece (another good guard to compliment Rose would be good) could put them over the top. The Bulls have already solved the coaching question with the hiring of Tom Thibodeau, who will be well seasoned after having helped guide the Celtics to the Finals for the second time in three years.

This might also play a role in whether general manager John Paxson will get to hang around. Paxson has spent the better part of his basketball life with the Bulls, first as a player during the glory days of the 1990s and now in the front office. Thibodeau could prove to be a good hire after the whole mess with Vinny Del Negro, but Paxson is on thin ice.

Simply put, if he signs LeBron, figure him to be as good as safe. Miss out on him and draft poorly, wish him well on his next NBA assignment.