Only one more month to go until the long anticipated free agent signing period begins. This will be the biggest sports story of the summer because of the numerous elite players available in the free agent pool. The most talked about is obviously Lebron James. Questions about where James will go after the 2010 season have been being asked for the past two years. The most talked about teams for James include the Bulls, the New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, and Miami Heat along with the option of resigning with the Cavaliers.
Reports have surfaced that the Bulls is one team that James is looking at really hard. He would love to play in a big market like Chicago, but it is intriguing that he would consider playing in the shadow of Michael Jordan. It was assumed that James would not want to play in the shadow of Jordan in Chicago, but recently he says that he is interested.
Where James goes will dictate where the other major free agents go. Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, and Amare Stoudemire are a few other players who have the option to sign with another team after July 1. Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki may also become a free agent or be used as trade bait for Lebron James, if the Cavaliers decide to do a sign and trade.
There is a possibility that one team can get two of these free agents, and that team will immediately become a championship contender. Any team that adds James and Bosh or James and Wade will become the frontrunner for the 2011 NBA Championship. The possibility of Wade and James, arguably the two of the three best players in the NBA, on the same team is just scary. The aforementioned Knicks and Bulls are two teams that have enough cap space to land two max-salary free agents.
Though the Bulls have the room to land two of the big available free agents, it does not necessarily mean that they will. They have to worry about getting one first, especially after Dwyane Wade told reporters and other free agents that the Bulls aren’t loyal to their players. Hopefully, this doesn’t sway others like James away from the Bulls.
Teams can be begin to sign free agents starting on July 1st. All NBA fans will be watching to see where James and others will go. Bull’s fans especially will be watching because they realize that the Bulls control their playoff destiny this summer.
