Quote:
Originally Posted by KevB
He's not "using" them necessarily....he's simply not saying anything at all and people are trying to draw their own conclusions. When I say leverage, I mean why would he publicly exclude any team at this point? Hold your cards close. If Cleveland feels as if they're being led on, it's their own hope that driving that perception/emotion.
I tend to agree that they're the next option if things don't work out in Miami. But that was a logical conclusion that's been neither confirmed nor denied by LeBron.
|
His agent talked to Lebron. Lebron is planning a visit to Cleveland. That is as public as you can get that both the agent and Lebron are expressing interest. They could both easily say no. There have been lots of teams they have taken off his short list.
I don't think Lebron is using Cleveland. I think he has legitimate interest. Again, I am not saying he's decided on Miami or Cleveland. I am saying that he wouldn't dangle Cleveland out there unless there was an actual strong interest. We are not just talking about Lebron. We are talking about Nike, who had to spend a gazillion dollar campaign just to fix Lebron's image. And Lebron's agent. They all know there is nothing to be gained by teasing a city like Cleveland after what happened the first time. Again, the reputational damage is not worth the extra few million dollars you might squeeze out of a contract because of leverage.