May 23, 2010 | 7:17 am

Lebron James’ Jewish Dilemma

Posted by Jeremy Fine

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Unless you are a Celtic or Laker’s fan right now you couldn’t care less about the playoffs. I mean I guess there is a little bit of hope left in Phoenix, but really can anyone stop Kobe and Gasol. Seriously, the NBA should have vetoed the Gasol trade, arguably the most lopsided trade ever. Even though I love watching Kobe I couldn’t care less about the playoffs. And like most of you sitting at home I am just waiting for the finals to end so we can start the offseason.

The offseason has not even begun yet and there are crazy Lebron James websites, owners running their mouths, and Sportscenter and radio outlets everywhere are going crazy for whats about to unfold. The anticipation is almost as intense as tonight’s LOST finale.

Mainly all of this because of LEBRON JAMES.

And as the Lebron James storyline becomes more intense I realized that this is a huge issue for the Jews. Cities, man, and values divided all over one the Lebron James Saga. Where should James go?

Well, most news outlets have the two major players for James’s services, outside of Cleveland, to be New York (Knicks) and Chicago (Bulls). So let us begin there.

New York. What is more Jewish than New York? Seriously, they sell out the Garden for Maccabi Tel Aviv, imagine if King James came to town. If James took his game to NYC you know it’ll be about 10 minutes before Rabbi Shmuely took him under his wing. And if the Messiah were to come and need to stop somewhere before Jerusalem, don’t you think it’d be in NYC? Maybe a Crumbs Cupcake perhaps? James is as good as they come and New York is as Jewish as they come. Knick’s jersey sales would sky rocket both in NYC and in Israel.  If James chooses NY he will be making a lot of Jews happy.

Then there is Chicago, which is another heavily populated Jewish city. But forget about that. The Bulls are owned by Jerry Reinsdorf. The Jewish owner won six titles with Michael Jordan in the drivers seat. If James came to Chicago he would make Reinsdorf a happy man. James could be like Isaac to Jordan’s Abraham. Also, Chicago as a city pulling hard for James. Check out sendlebrontochicago.com.

Another Jewish owner recently got into the mix and made headlines. Dallas Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban said on CNNMoney.com that “anybody” would be interested in Lebron James. He went on to mention a possible sign-and-trade deal with the Cavaliers. Cuban was later fined $100,000 for his comments because he was considered to have “tampered” with the free agency pool. But Cuban isn’t the only one in Dallas trying to lore James to the great state of Texas. Check out lebrontothemavs.com.

Another site could be Miami. I acutally do not want to discuss this possibility because the idea of Dwyane Wade and James playing together scares me.

But James could very well stay in Cleveland. How is that Jewish? Well, James has eaten at the Kosher Subway in the JCC (that is a joke). But really Judaism has a principle of Shalom Bayit (Peace in the Home). If James left Cleveland there would be a lot of tears shed and many people upset. Maybe James would want to make his extended family of Ohio happy for a long long time.

I left out the Clippers and the Nets…well….because….they are the Clippers and the Nets. It would be exciting for LA to have Kobe and Lebron share a building. But they are the Clippers, so doesn’t seem likely. And I am not sure if anyone else paid attention to the NBA this year but why would James want to leave Jamison and Mo Williams to play with Devin Harris and Brook Lopez? Maybe if the Nets landed John Wall, but that seems unlikely.

New York. Chicago. Dallas. Miami. Cleveland. L.A. N.J. Those are the rumored destinations. Where does TGR think he will end up. Well, in my heart of hearts I want to say Chicago. With James and DRose running the United Center for the next 10 years I think it would be safe to say there would be a few more rings to add to Reinsdorf’s collection (6 Bulls, 1 White Sox). But honestly I think he is staying in Cleveland. Why leave? He is already bigger than life. The King of a city. What else could a man want? Maybe a Crumbs Cupcakes.

And Let Us Say…Amen.
-Jeremy Fine
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