Could LeBron James’ Mother Rumors Push Him Out of Cleveland?

By Dr. Boyce Watkins, PhD on May 24th

2010 10:41PM

The world seems to be buzzing incessantly

about the

NBA great Calvin Murphy

said that it’s true that LeBron James has

been noticeably upset about the

sleeping with teammate Delonte

West

BV. Been there, done that. Now, let’s move

on to what this really means in terms of

sports.

The biggest question in the minds of

most Cleveland Cavalier fans is not who

LeBron’s mother is sleeping with but who

LeBron will be dressing with next season.

With

this summer, the entire NBA could be

knocked on its side if he makes the predicted

leap to a bigger spotlight.

Quite a few NBA observers have taken

notice of LeBron’s friendship with the rapper

Jay-Z, who is part-owner of the

Jersey Nets. Yes that's nice, but I'm sure

LeBron has a lot of friends. The real power

player for the Nets might be the only friend

that matters for LeBron, and he’s probably

a guy you’ve never heard of.

Meet Mikhail Prokhorov

Prokhorov is not just a Russian billionaire

and true owner of the Nets, he is also a

man who likes to win. You don’t become a

billionaire by thinking small, and

Prokhorov has already made it clear that

he’s willing to spend whatever it takes to get

in to the winner’s circle and make his Nets

an international brand. Spending a lot of

money to win won’t make much of a difference

for LeBron, since he’s going to get

something close to the maximum contract

no matter where he goes. It does matter

that his boss is willing to do what’s necessary

to put winning talent around LeBron

to allow him to shine the way he was supposed

to shine several years ago.

Even better for LeBron is the fact that,

like Prokhorov, James has always had his

sights set on overseas opportunities. He

stopped hearts in the NBA a few years ago

by stating that he would even consider

playing overseas. At the very least, there is

evidence that he wants to see if his brand

can sell in other countries the way it does

here in the United States. Given that the

Nets have another team across the river

(the Knicks) that has also shown it is willing

to spend big in order to win, it’s almost a

given that you’re going to see James playing

somewhere in the Northeast next year.

Were it not for the pressure to leave, I’d

normally predict LeBron to stay home in

the Midwest. Growing up as an only child

with maturity beyond his years, LeBron has

always wanted to be a team player. For him

to leave the place he started will surely tear

at his heart, but there’s another part of his

heart that lives in the Big Apple, and

LeBron’s shine is simply too bright for the

economically and socially damp surroundings

he must endure in the Midwest. It’s

time for him to grow.