In Bill Simmons podcast with JA Adande on espn.com, towards the end of the discussion, they started talking about where they thought LeBron would sign this summer, and Bill Simmons said that if he had to put his life on the line, that he would say Chicago.

I know it's just one guy's opinion, but I think Bill Simmons is a pretty smart basketball guy and he's right about a good amount of things. It was also stated that Lebron's main motivation in deciding on a team will be championships. Not to mention, he will be able to make up whatever additional money he would make by re-signing with the Cavs, by endorsements and "big market" kickers.

Looking at the free agent choices, there isn't a better team with cap space than the Bulls. If any free agent is looking for championships, I think the Bulls would be the perfect destination. Any thoughts?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/player?id=4870374

(Lebron discussion starts at about 57 minutes

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I'm in favor.


But it will never happen.

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The rumblings are getting stronger

The ability to clear max cap space and sign 2 superstars, with a NAME coach to add to Rose and Noah makes all the sense in the world.

And my Bulls peeps are awfully silent on this one as well!

I think Jerry Reinsdorf is a great negotiator, even when he has nothing to offer, like playing for the Sox. It's not a shot at the Sox, but I know he has tried to get in front of some free agents in the past and tried to convince them to come to the Sox side and I would hope, even the hard die Sox fan would admit the uphill battle.

For The Chairman to come to the tbale with the MJ legacy, D rose, Noah and one other Bosch like guy that could be sweeter than anyone is offering, except of course the $20 m per for 10 years Cleve will need to put on the table.

We all know Jerry is statue happy! Look for a mini statue yet to be placed in the recruiting effort.

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If I'm the Nike marketing folks...I'm buying.

Tradition(?), big market, buzz. Let's go

...it'll never happen, right???.

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Being a playoff team would be attractive but I would still be shocked if he made that move.

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It's gotta be hella more interesting than a New Jersey/Manhattan Nets squad even with a (presumedly drafted #1) John Wall

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Obviously, I would LOVE to have Lebron, but I refuse to get my hopes up and will continue to believe this is completely impossible.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Just listened to it, not only does he say Lebron but also Bosh in Chicago.

How in the world could they afford both those guys?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

If things go according to the Bulls plans this team could contend for championships for a looooong time. With Rose, Noah and the potential signings of 2 big name free agents will put the Bulls over the top. I'm sure some of the 2010 guys are taking this into strong consideration. Bosh along with Wade or James = Championship. All great team players. Also depending on who comes and goes the bench could be pretty good as well

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I had a feeling he might be inclined to come to the bulls back when he wanted to have the entire nba retire the #23 so it wouldn't be an issue when had to change his number.

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Lebron probably won't move. Cleveland should have some cap space next year with Big Z and Shaq coming off the books. I don't know how far over the tax they are right now, but I would think that dropping $30M+ would have to allow them to sign a max guy like Bosh.
BUT, they could use one of those expirings to get a guy like Jamison or Troy Murphy, which would be good for them short term, but would absolutely destroy them long term.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

Can someone post a salary cap breakdown? I hear many people on this board talk about adding two max contracts. I'm pretty damn sure that we will not have the money for that. In my best SHARK voice, Sorry Bulls fans, but the Bulls will not sign two big name FA's this summer!

bigfan - fyi, Cleveland cant offer LeBron a 10 year deal. After Magic signed that 25 year deal with the Lakers the NBA restructured the contracts

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i told all yall bosh and lebron are coming months ago. get with the times! rose, bosh, lebron and noah leaves us one major open spot, but really even if we just played 4 on 5 the whole season we would probably still win the east

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Thats what I thought too FF - I'm assuming someone like Simmons would know that so I just thought I was wrong.

I dont think so. I cant see how the numbers work. The salary cap is expected to lower to somewhere between $50-52 million this offseason. LeBron and Bosh will each be able to sign $20M/year contracts. And Deng and Hinrich are already making a combined $18 million.

Basically, we dont have the money. People need to stop suggesting we will sign two max FA's. Let's be really happy if we get 1.

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so youre saying theres a chance? YES!!!!!!!!!!!! HELLO LEBRON AND BOSH!!!!!!

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

I don't think the first year salary for a max deal is $20M. I think it's closer to $15M. That said, the bulls, as currently constructed, are probably right on the threshhold of being able to offer ONE max deal and nothing else. If they can somehow shed Hinrich and Salmons (or Salmons is dumb enough to opt out after this year), they would be close to 2.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

Right, but you also need to consider that Rose and Noah will be up for extensions after the season, having only 1 year left each.

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With the ridiculous amount of endorsement money out there, who said these two are going to demand max contracts?? They can make max money where they are now, but they want to win championships.

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I think they can wait to resign their own guys (that have time left on their current deals) until after they sign free agents. So, in theory, they could sign a bit time player (or two!) and be under the cap, then extend their own guys.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

Most guys that accept less to play for championship teams aren't max guys. I'd guess ego gets in the way with that, who knows, would still be nice.

The Bulls are on the hook for about $37.7M next season if they don't make a deal. If they happen to trade for one of those elite guys (Bosh) this year the salary cap won't mean as much in the offseason because of the Bird rule. They would be able to get another guy like LeBron without going over the cap. Uncle Jerry has said many times he has no problem paying the luxury tax for the right guy. He was willing to do it for Kobe so I believe he would do it for LeBron.

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/chicago.htm

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If they are on the hook for $37.7 next year and deal for Bosh, assuming the salaries are roughly equal, wouldnt that leave only 12.3-14.3 million left? That's not enough to get a max guy.

And then consider Noah will be looking for Deng money if he keeps improving, and Rose will obviously want CP3 money if he keeps leaping, you'd be talking about massive luxury tax money. Think Knicks 4-5 years ago type salary. I'm not sure Jerry would do that.

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wouldnt some of that money be leaving in the deal for bosh such as deng or kirk?

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I dont think they would trade Deng, and why would the Raptors want him when they just gave Hedo a bunch of money?

Yes, some of that money would be leaving, but Bosh is making $15 million. So it'd be coming back. We want to get rid of Salmons and Kirk. Even if we did, we'd be getting it back because combined they make about what Bosh does.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

What the Bulls pay Bosh wouldn't matter at that point. A guy like LeBron may only want a 3 year deal again. That would put him roughly in the same area he is now as far as salary. The Bulls won't have a problem getting 1 guy. Their problem will be getting 2 without a trade this season.

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What do you mean it wont matter what they pay Bosh? He's already earning $15 million. Obviously any potential trade would have to include a mutual agreement on an extension. So the Bulls will still have roughly the same salary they have now, thus not leaving room for a max contract.

LeBron wont want a 3 year deal. He's gonna want a similar one to the ones him, Kobe, Wade, Melo have been signing. 6 years, with an option to opt out at 3 years(so he can get a new deal done every 3 years while still guaranteeing him 6 years worth of money in case of injury or something.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

If bosh is acquired in a trade then he would technically be a re-sign? I thought there were some different allowances for re-signs and extensions as opposed to signing a true free agent.

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The Bulls would be able to exceed the salary cap to re-sign Bosh (Bird rule). That's why his contract wouldn't really matter if they trade for him. Bulls will only be able to give LeBron a 5 year deal starting around $16.6M next season.

Maximum salaries are based on years of service, with players broken into tiers. In 2010, the top free agents — James, Wade and Bosh — will be entering the tier for seven- to nine-year veterans. This year, the league wide maximum salary for a seven- to nine-year veteran is about $16.2 million, and like the salary cap, this amount changes yearly, based on league revenues. Given the league’s salary-cap projections, the league wide maximum salary for a seven- to nine-year veteran in 2010 will probably fall in the $14.2 million to $15.1 million range. Players also have a personal maximum of 105 percent of their previous salary, and can sign for the greater of their personal maximum and the league wide maximum. For James, Wade and Bosh, this is about $16.6 million, which is the figure each will be able to command in the free-agent market.

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So basically if we are going to get 2 guys from this class, we had better get one of them before the trading deadline, which would get rid of a couple more of our contracts, plus give us better options to resigning the guy we get from a trade???

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."