Chase For LeBron In Full Effect, Bulls, Knicks, Nets, Heat In Hunt

The Chicago Bulls moved to the front of the line in the chase for LeBron James by clearing enough cap space to add two max players in free agency. They did it by sending Kirk Hinrich and his $9 million salary to the Wizards, along with the 17th pick — for, essentially, nothing. Nothing — and everything.

The Bulls ($30 million of cap room) are now second only to the Knicks ($34 million) in the chase for cap space, assuming the 2010-11 cap holds firm at the league-estimated $56.1 million. Then come the Heat ($29 million) and the Nets ($27 million), both of whom fell short in serious efforts to clear more space and keep up with the Joneses — or Reinsdorfs, if you will. Miami’s push to unload Michael Beasley and his $4.9 million salary fell through, as did the Nets’ attempts to deal Devin Harris ($9 million). All of this could change in the coming days and weeks, but this is where we stand now: The Knicks, Bulls and Heat have room for two max players. The Nets hope LeBron signs a two-year extension with Cleveland and then joins them in Brooklyn in 2012.

In short, the pecking order of the teams chasing LeBron, Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Amar’e Stoudemire, etc., became a lot harder to handicap Thursday night. But if you ask someone who was in control of what remains the biggest free-agent summer in NBA history — 1996 — the dynamics for the players making the decisions haven’t really changed all that much.

In ’96, Falk represented most of a murderer’s row of free agents that dwarfed this summer’s class. Falk had Michael Jordan, Alonzo Mourning, Juwan Howard, Dikembe Mutombo, Kenny Anderson and others who joined the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Reggie Miller and Allan Houston on the open market. There were no max contracts at the time, so the agent actually had to negotiate. Once that part was done, Falk said, it came down to the same issues that will guide LeBron and Wade 14 years later.

“I told my clients that my job is to get you the same offer from three or four different teams,” Falk said at the draft Thursday night. “And your job is to tell me, do you want to play in the North or the South? Is there a specific coach you want to play for? What are the intangibles? Don’t let the money make the decision. Today, the first part’s done for you. There is no negotiation. LeBron is going to get the max wherever he goes and his decisions should all be based on whatever intangible factors are important to him.”

Falk was arriving at a point that I believe most people handicapping the Summer of LeBron have missed: in this case, it’s not about the money. It’s not about the fact that the Cavaliers can give LeBron a six-year deal with 10.5 percent raises under the current collective bargaining agreement, versus a five-year deal with eight percent raises that other teams can offer. For the first five years of a max contract starting at $16.57 million, the difference amounts to barely $2 million. Then there’s the matter of the sixth year, worth about $25 million if he stays home. Irrelevant, according to Falk.

“LeBron’s 25 years old,” Falk said. “So does he think at age 30 he’s not going to be able to play anymore? No. Secondly, Cleveland can pay him 2.5 percent more per year and he pays tax on that. He goes to Miami with no state taxes, and he’ll make 5 percent more. So there’s no home-court advantage. … It’s minimal. There’s an advantage for Joe Johnson or another guy who’s 29 years old. It’s not an advantage to a guy who’s 25.”

In other words, LeBron’s long-term earning potential in basketball is essentially the same regardless of the decision he makes this summer. So he’s faced with the same landscape that Jordan, O’Neal, Miller and others encountered 14 years ago: Where can he win championships? Is there another city or market that can offer him more off-the-court intangibles (and yes, off-the-court money)?

“That last year [of the contract], LeBron’s going to make that up in his next contract,” one Eastern Conference GM said. “He’s going to make $25 to $50 million in New York in a year off the court.”

Maybe that’s an exaggeration. But maybe it’s also why, at the Knicks’ training center in suburban Westchester, N.Y., coach Mike D’Antoni was nonplused by the Bulls’ shrewd cap maneuvering Thursday.

“Looks like our plan was the right one — clear enough cap space,” D’Antoni told reporters there before the draft. “Everybody’s doing it, so that’s good. We’re on the right track. … Everybody is trying to do more or less the same thing. But as long as we can keep the Empire State Building where it is, we’ll be OK.”

It’s about the Empire State Building vs. Cleveland’s Terminal Tower vs. Chicago’s Willis Tower (formerly named Sears) vs. the allure of South Beach vs. what’s to come in Brooklyn. And it’s about so much more than that — the rosters as they’re currently constructed, the coaches who are (or will be) in place, and most of all, which max player is going with LeBron.

“LeBron can go wherever he wants,” Falk said. “I don’t know what his criteria are. Only he knows that. Is there a certain player he wants to go with? But I definitely think the Bulls have the opportunity now to have two guys, and that could be very attractive.”

With one exception. Does LeBron want to go to work every day and walk past the Michael Jordan statue outside United Center?

“LeBron is a fan of Michael, has worn his number and has respected him,” Falk said. “But for me, if he’s in Chicago, he’s going wake up in the morning and people will say, ‘You don’t brush your teeth like Michael. You don’t put your Hanes on like Michael. You don’t dust the talc like Michael.’ And for someone who’s so accomplished, you want to have your own identity. So it’s a very interesting question. Some people say he’ll be compared to Michael no matter what anyway, but nowhere as much as in Chicago.”