Lebron: Does he want a Championship, or a Legacy?

In the heated race to sign Lebron James, the superstar has said he wants, above all, a chance to win championship rings. Money, coaches, etc. don't matter. He wants a ring, having said that, a new question pops into my head.

 Does Lebron want a Championship, or a legacy?

At first this may not make any sense to you guys. Let me clarify.

Lebron can stay in Cleveland. He's loved there. The city depends on him there. Also, the city has had no sports success since the 1960's(correct me if im wrong, but i believe the last major sports championship was in that decade). If he wins here, he'll be remembered as the one who rescued Cleveland sports. The Ace. The hero. The one guy who everyone loves in that city. So its a perfect fit for him. Hence the years of success and happiness he's had there, barring the playoff eliminations.

So if he wins in Cleveland, he will be a legend and a hero. Which is why i believe there is a shorter lists of teams he will go to than popularly believed, simply for the reason Lebron doesn't just want a ring(s), he wants to be a legend.

If he goes to the Bulls, he might be great, but he will (most likely) still fall short to what Jordan did. Simply because in the Jordan era, the NBA wasn't nearly as competitive as it is now. Take the Jordan era Bulls into today's NBA, or that of the 70's and 80's with the Lakers and Celtics, and Jordan might win 3 MVP's and maybe 2 or 3 rings. But that wasn't the case. Point being, Lebron will most likely never top what Jordan did there, because the NBA has too much talent today. This is the same reason i don't believe he will go to the Knicks. The Knicks are a great market, its NYC. Its awesome! They however, have had some greats play there. They have a history. Maybe not a storied one, to the level of the Lakers or Celtics, but a history nonetheless.

I believe Lebron needs to win somewhere where the fans need a winner. The fans aren't used to a winner. The city isn't used to a winner. This is what i believe makes us a candidate for Lebron. Not to be confused with me saying i think he'll come to Dallas. I just think there are truly only 4 teams in TRUE contention for him, and Dallas, who's chances are under 5%, is one of them.

The other 3, are Cleveland, Miami, and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Of these 4, Cleveland has (in my opinion) a 80% chance of retaining him, and the others squabble for the remaining small shots at fishing him in. Now you may think im insane, not mentioning New York, The Nets, the Bulls. But no. Lebron wants to go somewhere, where he can be the most beloved sports icon in the city, and with a few rings, of all time in any sport, in that city.

LAC- They have always been in the Lakers shadow. Coming here, he could make them into a contender. If the Clippers work to surround him with talent, they could win. They really could. And that would make him a legend in a big city, and who knows, here in 10 years after Kobe(who i strongly believe is still better than LBJ and will be for 2ish more years) leaves, the Clippers may be the new hot shots in town. Again, the Clippers with Dallas are in the 2-3% area, but this offers Lebron a chance to really make a name for himself. Make himself a hero. And also brew up what could be an amazing rivalry with Kobe Bryant. Oh the possibilities.

Cleveland- Enough said. He can become the biggest athlete to play here. So on and so forth. The hero of the city.

Miami-They've won 1 ring. That's is. Other than that, their team has a (short) meaningless history. And the Dolphins, if you recall, never hoisted up that prized trophy either. He has a chance to pair up with D wade, or maybe just with the South beach air, and become an icon. D Wade will play 2nd fiddle to him, and provide a solid 22-25 PPG. Match that with Lebrons(would be) 27ish points a game, and you have a perennial contender. His PPG would die down. He may not win 5 more MVP's in his career. But he could win rings. And this could create a Jordan-Pippen scenario, which the media would eat up. This is all assuming Wade is ok with the 2nd banana role, and if he is, and he and LBJ get together(won't happen in NYC) watch out.

Dallas- Possibly the lowest chance of the 4 teams I believe even have a shot, but we offer Lebron what he needs. If we get him, it would be a similar role to the one he'd have in Miami. Dirk would( in my eyes) not lose too many stats. He could not comfortably score when he needs to, not needing to force a shot when given the ball with under 10 to go in the shot clock. Dirk will stay at 23ish PPG, with Lebron getting his 25-6 aswell. Here in Dallas he's have the hungry fans, (us =D =D) the run of the mill owner who would do anything to keep a smile on his face, a fantastic supporting cast, complete with a PG who would provide him with 2-3 great plays a night off amazing passes, not to mention another 5-6 scoring abilities on just average passes. He would have the scenario he needs. Even if we have to lose Dirk for him( I don't see it happening, but whatever this is just talk) we would still be great. Again, like the other 3, this provides him a chance to be the hero of the franchise, and go down as the one player who is the best ever, at this team.

Look at it this way, Lebron has a chance to make 1 team be "Lebron's team" for yeaarrss to come. Teams like LA and Boston don't have 1 guy to say "Dang, that was his team" but look at some of these.

In 20ish years, the Spurs will have been Duncan's team, as the Bulls are Jordan's. Etc. etc.

This is why the biggest chances remain with Cleveland. But Dallas has a shot, Another team in this scenario who might have a shot, is Utah. Ill leave you guys to come up with why, but i think maybe. He's play under Sloan, with Williams, with no shortage of a supporting cast, and a city who never took the big trophy.

Point being, he needs to go(or stay) in a place where he can be remembered as the greatest. As HUGE as (for example) Kobe Bryant is, image how much bigger he'd be if he'd have all those rings and great seasons with eh Kings, or Wizards, or any team who doesn't have a huge history. Just imagine. He's already an ICON with a team who had won countless titles prior to his birth.

GO Mavericks!