Some interesting food for thought from Hoopsworld.com -- So the question is this: If LeBron wins a ring this season and (possibly back-to-back next season) does that make him more or less likely to stay on Cleveland?

It’s a very intriguing question. At the end of the day, I think LeBron would actually be MORE likely to leave Cleveland for New York if he delivered a couple of championships to the denizens of Akron and Cleveland and all of Ohio. Maybe he would feel more comfortable moving after winning a title in a town so desperate for a ring? If he won back-to-back titles, would hometown fans be slightly more understanding if he gave them two parades?

I’ll also say this – think back to MJ in 1993. After winning three titles in a row, the best player in the league at the time (Michael Jordan) got bored and felt he didn’t have much left to prove. Thus, he decided to quit the sport altogether and try his hand at minor league baseball.

There was nobody that could have predicted that turn of events. So I do have to laugh when I hear analysts state resolutely that there is 0% chance that LeBron would ever even consider leaving Cleveland. If LeBron knew for certain that he wanted to spend the rest of his career in Cleveland, he could sign a seven-year max extension tonight. The reason LeBron chose to include an early-termination in his contract was because he wanted to keep his options open.

Lastly – regarding the money issue: Nike (among other multi-national corporations) would gladly cover the (relatively) nominal difference between the contracts he could sign in Cleveland vs. the one in NY. LeBron is focused on big money – not simply a few extra million in a basketball contract. King James is looking at the big picture.

Odds are he probably stays in Cleveland. But nothing is set in stone. Stranger things have happened – like Michael Jordan shagging flies in Birmingham, Alabama. MJ (LBJ’s hero) was thirsty for a new challenge and went to an extreme. What if LeBron felt like he desperately needed a new mountain to climb? What would be a greater and more rewarding challenge than heading to New York and putting another moribund franchise on his back and carrying them to a title under the bright lights of Broadway…