LeBron Update Part IV

Tom Izzo isn't as dumb as I thought. He's pretty much made it clear that he won't take the Cavs job until he speaks with and is assured by LeBron James that he will return to the Cavs next season. According to many reports like this one, they have not spoken yet. Adding to the confusion is LeBron himself who said that he would "100%" endorse Izzo as coach of the Cavs - take your guess on what that's supposed to mean?

I know LeBron has said a lot of things since his team was eliminated, each one more contradictory than the previous statement. Once again, LeBron has not tipped his hand in the slightest, and has given no clue as to where he is leaning. His people, most notably World Wide Wes have given various winks and nods obviously, but that in no way should be taken as LeBron Gospel even though it would appear that the Bulls have done exactly that with the hiring of Tom Thibodeau. One thing that does appear important to him is winning the championship. If it were all about money, LeBron would just stay in Cleveland where he stands to make the most, and none of this would be happening right now. So the fact that he hasn't re-signed with the Cavs is telling in and of itself.

That said, I'm reducing the LeBron Clock to 25%. I just don't like that Izzo will be able to talk to LeBron before taking the job, and/or that they can talk each other into signing with Cleveland. I'd like to think that tampering rules would prevent this from happening, but if you believe other reports out there, the league would have to suspend itself if it knew what was happening under the table, tampering wise.

Out of all the uncertainty though, this much is clear. If Izzo takes the job, it's a foregone conclusion that LeBron will be back with the Cavs and the Bulls will need to wait until 2013 to make a big splash free agent wise.