The National Editor of Forbes predicts that LeBron James will join the Knicks, with one of the major financial drivers being James' ability to buy shares in the publicly-traded New York franchise.

The Knicks cannot compensate James with shares in the organization, Madison Square Garden, but James would be able to invest his personal wealth to acquire the public stocks.  The theory is that these stocks would dramatically increase in value with James playing for the Knicks.  

"Now I am telling you next season LeBron will be playing for the New York Knicks because this January they became the only franchise that can use their stock as currency," writes Ozanian.

"This would allow James to in essence work for himself and capture the upside in revenue from higher ratings on the MSG RSN, a soon-to-be renovated Madison Square Garden and much higher profits he will bring to these platforms," he explains.

In his position at Forbes, Ozanian specializes in corporate earnings, economics and sports team valuations.