The Miami Heat are NBA champions for the second time in as many seasons and after going to the finals three straight times, LeBron James is ready for more, but everyone is wondering whether this will be his last go with the Heat, as he could be a free agent in the summer of 2014.
The media has already speculated quite a bit about what he will do, including whether he will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers or the New York Knicks, although many see him back with the Heat, which is considered the expected move. James has done a good job so far of getting caught up in the media hype machine, but naturally he has been asked about his contract status quite a bit and he was once again while talking to ESPN reporter Chris Broussard.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, James was asked about his contract status and the ability for him to opt out and naturally he avoided the question. James did mostly the same back in 2010 when he was with the Cavs and everyone wondered whether he would bolt or not from Cleveland and of course that happened in the way that it did and now it likely will not happen with such fanfare. James said that he wants to spend the rest of his career in Miami as he tries to win championships, which likely will set up a situation where he signs a new extension with the team.
Many have speculated that the Heat will try and replace Chris Bosh while signing James to an extension and inking star Dwyane Wade to another deal at not as much money as well. James said that he knows how things work in the NBA and often times they are not that simple, including when he said that he thought the Bulls would never split during their championship run, but clearly that did not happen either.
James is far and away the best player in the world and after winning yet another MVP award, he is poised to become the best player of all-time if he can three-peat and keep the championships coming. The Heat already signed Greg Oden for this season and with Wade, Chris Andersen and Bosh coming back along with Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers, the team should still have a strong core.
Reports came out over the summer that James would be courted hard by the LA Lakers along with Carmelo Anthony if they hit the market, but so far all signs point to Miami. Cleveland also could be an option even with the way he left, as many fans have seemingly gotten over it and likely would love having the chance to compete for championships again.
LeBron said to ESPN:
"I have absolutely no idea," James recently told ESPN.com. "I would love to spend the rest of my career in Miami with this great team and great organization as we continue to compete for championships. That's ideal. But we don't know what may happen from now to the end of the season. That's the nature of the business. It's the nature of not knowing what tomorrow brings.
"I'm going to try to (stop the discussion about free agency), but you always have reporters who are going to always bring it up. They're going to change the question and make it sound like something else. But it will get to a point, if I continue to hear it, where I will say, 'Hey guys, I've answered the question and out of respect, let's talk about this after the season."'
