The Conversation: LeBron James, Free Agent
What Will LeBron do? Sportswriter Will Leitch tries to answer.
June 30, 2010— -- When the clock strikes midnight tonight, basketball superstar LeBron James will become a free agent with the power to reshape the entire NBA.
Teams across the country are hoping their Cinderella story will come true, with James abandoning the Cleveland Cavaliers to come to their city and give their team a chance at supremacy.
July 1st is the first day that franchises will be officially allowed to woo James to their program, but front offices have been readying their pitches for years, adjusting their salary loads to be able to cover the maximum deal for James allowed by NBA rules -- about $16.6 million.
Still, teams across the country are scratching their heads, asking themselves, what does LeBron want? A better chance at a championship? To stay close to his hometown of Akron? To play with fellow star Dwyane Wade?
With hours to go before the competition officially begins, there are plenty of questions but still no real answers.
Today in the Conversation, ABC's John Berman talks with sportwriter Will Leitch about the intrigue surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James and what the free agent fight could mean for the entire NBA.