<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Meanwhile, here is a list of questions and answers related to this vital summer: Q: Why is there a moratorium between July 1 and July 12 when players can't sign deals, only agree to them? How does that work? A: The moratorium serves as a period during which teams and the league and players can negotiate but not sign deals. The reason is to promote a level playing field and give players and teams the opportunity to talk with other players and teams before concluding negotiations and deals. On July 12, the moratorium is lifted and players and teams can begin signing contracts. During the moratorium, a deal cannot be signed - only negotiations are permitted. Q: Is there any reason LeBron might not sign on July 12, when the moratorium period ends? Do the Cavaliers want to make a statement by coming to an agreement on his extension immediately? A: James might wait because of a busy summer that includes trying out for Team USA next month. Or he could wait because he wants to watch everyone sweat. Signing James on July 12 would not necessarily mean a statement for the Cavs, but it could encourage other free agents to sign with the Cavs because of James' commitment to remain with the organization the next six years. Q: Can the Cavs really pay him more if he stays vs. if he plays somewhere else? A: If James chooses to explore restricted free agency in 2007, no other team can offer James more money than the Cavs because of the "Bird Exception." This exception permits a player's current team to offer the player a sixth year and 10.5 percent annual salary increases. A new team can offer only five years with 8 percent annual increases. The "Bird Exception" is named after Larry Bird, because the Boston Celtics were the first team permitted to exceed the salary cap to re-sign one of their own players. To qualify as a "Bird" free agent, a player must have played for a team for three seasons without being waived or changing teams as a free agent. The collective bargaining agreement was set up for teams to have an advantage in keeping their own players in any type of free-agent situation, especially in a restricted free-agent situation. A team does not need cap space to re-sign its own "Bird" free agent, which James would be in the summer of 2007. Simply put, no other team can offer James more money than the Cavs. Q: How much will he make under a max contract and endorsements compared to other top athletes? A: Under a max contract, James would make 25 percent of the 2007-08 salary cap. That cap number will not be determined until closer to that season. That contract would increase by 10.5 percent each season for four additional years. Several league sources predict the new salary cap could mean James would make at least $75 million over the next six years. James, who has not signed a major endorsement in about two years, remains one of the top athletes in the world in endorsements. His current deals include Nike and Coca-Cola. According to sources, James is close to signing another major endorsement deal with a technology company. Forbes magazine estimates James earns about $22 million in endorsements annually. That would make him the NBA's top endorser, ahead of the Lakers' Kobe Bryant ($15 million) and Miami's Shaquille O'Neal ($10 million). Q: Why would he stay? A: James has professed that he plays basketball to win championships. If that's the case, the Cavs are closer to winning a title now than they were when he joined the team as a rookie three years ago. He also could be motivated by playing near his hometown of Akron. Owner Dan Gilbert is doing his best to make a move by James more difficult. The Cavs upgraded the team by signing free agents Larry Hughes, Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall last summer and re-signed Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The locker room was remodeled and upgraded, and the arena is undergoing more upgrades. A $20 million state-of-the art practice facility in Independence is in the works, and the organization also plans to purchase a spacious charter jet. Q: Was the new facility built with James in mind? (It's a lot closer to Bath, where James owns a house.) A: Not only built with James in mind, but built with the entire team in mind. The practice facility is centrally located to most of the players, the airport and downtown. Q: Why would he go? A: If James believes the Cavs don't have a commitment to winning, and if he believes the market is not big enough for him. James has said he wants to become a billionaire. Can he become a billionaire playing in Cleveland? James also is good friends with rap mogul Jay-Z, a minority owner of the New Jersey Nets. His friendship with Jay- Z could influence his decision to play for the Nets, although, as previously explained, his contract would not be as large there. Q: Does his Nike deal pay him more if he plays in a major market, say, New York? Would the NBA consider that tampering? A: The Plain Dealer confirmed this week that James' deal with Nike and several of his other endorsements include increases if he plays in a major market such as Los Angeles, New York or Chicago. NBA rules do not govern Nike contracts, and the league does not consider that tampering because the clauses are related to the city he's playing in, not the team for which he plays. Q: How does the LeBron James situation compare/ contrast to the Carlos Boozer situation? A: The situations are unrelated. James was a first-round pick, and Carlos Boozer was a second- round pick, so the rules are different. The Cavs had the option of allowing Boozer to become a restricted free agent or keeping him under contract for one more year at a $695,000 salary. The Cavaliers reached a verbal "understanding" with Boozer. They would forgo their right to keep him for an extra year at $695,000 and instead allow him to become a restricted free agent. In exchange, he was expected to sign a long-term agreement with the Cavaliers and not to sign an offer from any other team. Both sides understood the parameters of the new contract would be about $40 million over six years. Instead, Boozer signed a six- year offer sheet with the Utah Jazz for $68 million. The Cavs could not offer as much because they would be over the salary cap. The difference with James is the Cavs have his "Bird Rights," and that permits them to go over the salary cap to sign him. They only had Boozer for two years and therefore did not have his "Bird Rights" and could not go over the cap. </div> Source
