Sources indicate that on July 1st LeBron James will begin contract negotiations with the WNBA's New York Liberty. This course of action is said to be fueld by James' intense desire to play in New York and win a championship. Why would LeBron sign with the Liberty instead of the Knicks? The Knicks would not yet be ready to compete for a championship next season; additionally, Knicks' coach Mike D'antoni is unproven as a championship caliber coach, unable to make the finals when coaching then league MVP Steve Nash with the Suns. Both are legitimate concerns that also apply to the NBA's "other New York team," the New Jersey Nets. The New York Liberty are currently 7-7, 2 games out of the playoffs in the WNBA's superior eastern conference, adding LeBron alongside Liberty stars Cappie Pondexter and Taj McWilliams-Franklin would instantly propel the Liberty to the favorite to win the franchise's first title.
James, as the WNBA's first male player, would receive preferential treatment, due in part to the gratuitous positive publicity and financial impact his presence would have on the league. One WNBA owner believes that every game James played, at home or on the road, would be a sellout. Sellouts are quite rare for WNBA games and LeBron's impact would be comparable to the Stephen Strasburg effect in Major League Baseball. This financial impact on the league would find its way back to James. Aside from receiving the same salary and bonuses available to other WNBA players, which is obviously lower than an NBA salary, information indicates that Liberty ownership, Madison Square Garden L.P., would give LeBron stock valued at a majority percentage of the profits he generated for the team. James would also be given ownership in the team based on the number of championships he wins, possibly becoming majority owner after a three-peat. Though the NBA would miss James, it would be truly interesting to see the number of unbreakable records he would set playing in the WNBA.
