Danny Ferry has been a very busy man since becoming the General Manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers one year ago.  He was immediately faced with the challenge of constructing a roster that lives up to the expectations required to secure superstar LeBron James with a contract extension at the tail end of his rookie pact.  Ferry was able to convince James to sign a three-year extension this off season, which was greeted by the Cleveland faithful with an outpour of jubilation and a collective swab to the sweaty brow of the franchise.  

Much to the chagrin of their fans, many believe this could be a mere three-year lease before LeBron opts to bolt for a big market team like New York or Los Angeles, where his marketability and superstardom would reach unlimited proportions.  There appears to be two options for the future of LeBron James at the conclusion of his contract extension: win a championship and keep him in Cleveland for his career, or fail to reach the pinnacle of the NBA and watch its superstar ride off into the sunset with nothing to show in return.

At the conclusion of James? newly signed contract extension that expires after the 2010 season, he will be a seven-year veteran on the verge of entering his prime.  At 25,  he may have become the icon of the NBA, a three-time MVP, or perhaps set a new standard for domination and excellence in the league.  Only time will tell.  However, the front office realized its objective when James became the messiah of the franchise: surround him with players capable of helping him win a championship in his hometown of Cleveland.  If not, it will be deemed a failure for the organization.  They will have had seven years to build around the league?s brightest upcoming star and failed miserably to deliver on their end of the bargain.  Let?s take a look at how Cleveland has faired since selecting James in the 2003 NBA Draft.

Following James? rookie year, the Cavaliers knew it was important to prove to LeBron that their management was competent enough to surround him with championship level teammates.  Then-General Manager Jim Paxson agreed to make fan favorite Carlos Boozer a restricted free agent in order to forego the final year of his rookie contract at $695,000, with the intent of resigning him to a long term deal in the neighborhood of $6M per year.  

Shortly thereafter, Paxson was publicly humiliated after the Utah Jazz jumped on this opportunity and offered Boozer a maximum deal which pays him twice what the Cavs were prepared to offer.  Quickly, Paxson saved face by masterminding an incredibly one-sided trade, acquiring Drew Gooden, Steven Hunter, and Anderson Varejao for Tony Battie and two second round draft picks.  However, the damage already was done.  Paxson was fired at the conclusion of the season when the Cavs flopped down the stretch and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

In search of a brilliant mind to assume command of the franchise operations, the new ownership group of Dan Gilbert, David Katzman and Usher Raymond lured a former Cavalier forward and thriving assistant to the GM of the 2003 and 2005 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.  Danny Ferry took the reins of the Cavs and knew his primary focus was keeping LeBron James in his hometown Cleveland.  With cap room to maneuver and a glut of quality free agents available, Ferry made a big splash with the signing of SG Larry Hughes, fresh off of a career year with the Washington Wizards.  He also signed PG Damon Jones and F Donyell Marshall, two key role players capable of elevating the overall talent level of the squad while filling the glaring need of a three point threat and added production from the forward position.  The final move of the off season was signing Zydrunas Illgauskas, their fragile but effective starting center, to a contract extension.  These moves were very well received by the Cleveland fan base and ultimately, the NBA community.  

LeBron responded by carrying the team on his back for the 2005-06 season and leading them to the playoffs for the first time since 1997-98.  There, the Cavs forced the two time defending Eastern Conference Champion Detroit Pistons to the brink of elimination only to come up short in Game 7.  However, the season was ultimately a success and Ferry was able to convince LeBron to sign an extension that would guarantee the fans of Cleveland a chance to cheer for their hero until 2010.  Ferry now realizes his mission: win a championship before James is free to roam about the NBA organizational landscape.  

This off season, Ferry has continued his steady improvement of the team by adding a very explosive young scoring threat in Michigan State?s Shannon Brown via the draft.  He has also recently added veteran backup center Scot Pollard, and offered a three year, $23M extension to PF Drew Gooden.  These transactions have stifled the Cavaliers front office to a point where they are on the brink of becoming a luxury tax team, where they will pay a dollar-for-dollar tax for each dollar spent over the threshold.  When LeBron?s contract extension kicks in next year, they will be paying nearly $65M for their core of James, Illgauskas, Hughes, and Gooden for the next three to five years.  This doesn?t take into consideration the fact that their youthful defensive sparkplug off the bench, Brazilian Anderson Varejao, will be an unrestricted free agent.  Varejao has proven himself well in increased minutes off the bench and he has the potential to develop into a very productive NBA power forward.  Re-signing Varejao could cost the Cavs upwards of $8M per year depending on how he progresses over the upcoming season.

Now that his team is fully assembled and Ferry has no financial flexibility to make significant roster alterations over the next three years, it is becoming clear where Ferry is looking for a blueprint in building a championship roster:  The Chicago Bulls of the 1990s.  They have a game changing superstar in LeBron (Michael Jordan), a defensive stopper capable of scoring 20 per game in Hughes (Scottie Pippen), a forward with a knack for hitting three pointers in Marshall (Toni Kukoc), a defensive menace and rebounding machine with funky hair in Varejao (Dennis Rodman), a slow-moving low post playing center in Illgauskas (Luc Longley), a power forward capable of nightly double-doubles in Gooden (Horace Grant), a three-point sniper in Jones (Steve Kerr), a backup center capable of shooting and rebounding in Pollard (Bill Wennington), and an intelligent floor general point guard in Eric Snow (Ron Harper).  Although there are some similarities between the roster of the 2006 Cleveland Cavs and the 1990s Chicago Bulls, please realize that the Bulls played in a different time and were all veterans, as opposed to the youthful, inexperienced Cavs.  However, if head coach Mike Brown can keep this group together, teach them how to play as well as they did in last year?s postseason, and continue to grow with one another, then we could be looking at a future NBA powerhouse.  

More likely, the Cavaliers will just continue to teeter around the four-seed every year and watch LeBron follow in the footsteps of other superstars looking to win championships and adoration in a big market city.  The list also includes a multitude of MLB stars like Barry Bonds (Pittsburgh to San Francisco), Manny Ramirez (Cleveland to Boston), Jason Giambi (Oakland to New York), Carlos Beltran (Kansas City/Houston to New York), and Vladamir Guerrero (Montreal to Los Angeles).  

It also includes NFL stars of the future like Eli Manning (forcing trade from San Diego to New York) and Randy Moss (Minnesota to Oakland), and NBA stars like Shaquille O?Neal (Orlando to Los Angeles), Vince Carter (Toronto to New Jersey), Bill Walton (San Diego to Boston) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee to Los Angeles).  Despite different circumstances, it is shocking that even the two leading scorers in NHL history began their careers in small market Edmonton and eventually landed in Los Angeles (Wayne Gretzky) and New York (Mark Messier), where they both resurrected their respective franchise and led them to a long awaited Stanley Cup Championship.

Another reason that leads to the belief that LeBron will venture off to a big market club is that the majority of the NBA?s 50 greatest players in history won championships while playing in big cities.  The list includes superstars like Magic Johnson, Jerry West, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain in Los Angeles, Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, and Earl ?the Pearl? Monroe in New York, Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Bill Walton, Kevin McHale, John Havlicek, and Bill Russell in Boston, and Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago.  

The future of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers remain up in the air, and very well could remain there until his contract ends in 2010.  At that time, he will have the opportunity to become the ultimate star in the league by becoming the hero of a big market major city.  Unless Ferry?s lineup provides the city of Cleveland with multiple titles in the upcoming four seasons, I think it?s very likely LeBron James will join the list of the NBA?s greatest players winning championships in a big market city.  Maybe that?s why some of the past decade?s best players like Kevin Garnett (Minnesota) and Tracy McGrady (Toronto/Orlando/Houston) have never even reached the NBA Finals?

Jason M. Williams can be reached at jaywilli05@gmail.com for comments.