By Travis Bremner

Staff Writer

The 2010 NBA free agent market has been talked about for years, the main reason being one of the two best players in the league have expiring contracts, LeBron James.

No one has much clue as to where he who he will sign with, probably not even the people in his inner circle, in fact he may not even know, but there are six franchises that are realistic spots for him to play, including Dallas.

1. Cleveland (55% chance) – I’ve thought all along that James would stay in his home state; you can’t judge how much it means to him play in the city he grew up in. The Cavaliers are good basketball team but his supporting cast is relatively weak and on too many occasions they need him to everything. Also the factor of Cleveland being a small market, compared to New York or Miami, which I’ll get to. However, after watching the series with Boston, my tune has definitely changed because I’m not sure he believe Cleveland can get the players for a title.
2. New York (50%) – The Knicks have been saving up cap room for this summer for a couple years now, they need James to come in and resurrect their franchise. They give him maybe the most money of any other team and provide the biggest market. He loves playing in Madison Square Garden, routinely lighting up the New York for 40 plus points on their home floor. The Knicks could probably get another big name player as well with their cap space.
3. Chicago (35%) – The Bulls have a great young nucleus with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, though playing for the same team as Michael Jordan would only increase James’s enormous pressure. Then again he may like that, also Chicago could possibly be hiring John Calipari as their head coach.
4. Dallas (25%) – I believe James is considering the possibility of coming here, to play for the Mavericks. Now how much I have no idea, but it’s in his mind. James fits one of Dallas’s two major needs – a player who can drive the lane, create his own shot or get a shot for someone else. And he does it better than anyone else. He would have the opportunity to play with Dirk Nowitzki who is in a similar boat with James (MVP, number one seed without a title and an average supporting cast). However, Dallas would have to work some sort of sign-and-trade for him, or Dwayne Wade, to come here due to the Mavericks lack of cap room. Dallas have a strong, passionate fan base and a spirited owner who wants a championship badly.
5. Miami (20%) – James would only come here if All-Pro Dwayne Wade were staying, which he would if James came to Miami. The possibility of those two playing on the same team with one ball is intriguing. It makes you think if anyone else on the Heat would get a shot, or even a look. The city of Miami is an attractive option for many players for obvious reasons, and now with the possibility of Pat Riley returning to the bench only helps.
6. New Jersey (10%) – The Nets have money, lots of money, and a part owner(Jay-Z) who is BFF’s with James. The thought may be that New Jersey could sign James and another top tier player with all their cap space. Their collection of players isn’t as bad their record seemed this season, it just never came together for the Nets.