I'll go on record as saying that Lebron stays in Cleveland. His entire persona, mystique and legacy as the "hometown hero" almost demands that he stay in Cleveland. Anything else destroys the "character" that has been carefully crafted since he entered the NBA, and is an admittance of failure on his part. Jordan won with "his team", as did Kobe.
The fact that Cleveland can pay him the most combined with the above almost assures he stays home. This is just a ploy by Lebron and his "handlers" to get the coach and free agent pick-up(s) of his choice.
We'll see if I'm right soon.
I was leaning your way for a long time, but there are some pretty serious rumors out there that LeBron is NOT happy with the Cavs, especially the owner, and that he has already told them he's not going back.
You really have to consider what has been happening with the Bulls, though.
1) They hire a coach out of left field who doesn't fit the description that they outlined as what they were looking for in a new coach.
2) The guy has a strong connection to World Wide Wes (just like LBJ).
3) They hired him very very quickly (like 3 days) when they typically move very slowly with these types of hires. I mean, you move quickly if you're hiring Phil Jackson, but do you move that quickly to hire a lifetime assistant?
4) The Bulls give up a mid 1st rounder to get enough cap room for a 2nd big signing.
These are all VERY risky moves, unless you consider that they might know something that we don't.
You also have to factor in that LeBron (and his people) have said that winning is the most important factor in his decision. If you're only thinking about winning, which team would you rather play for next year?
Noah - Bosh - You - Shooter - Rose
or
Ilgauskas/Varajao - Jamison - You - AP - Williams/Gibson/doesn't matter because they aren't as good as Rose
The Bulls are better at every single position. This decision will come down to whether or not he's been telling the truth and that winning is the most important thing. You talk about building a legacy, but the only way you do that is by winning. Otherwise you're just Karl Malone or Charles Barkley and you're not MJ or Kobe.