Sean B. Fitzgerald It doesn’t go something like this, it goes exactly like this.

LeBron James is going to the…

When LeBron James signed a three year extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers at the end of the 2005-2006 season, most of the United States quickly utilized their third grade math skills and deduced that James would be a free agent following the 2010 season. Ten minutes later the speculation began.

And it hasn't stopped since.

The front-runners in the LeBron sweepstakes for the past three years have seemingly been the New York Knicks. The reasons for it have been myriad. For one thing, LeBron James has not stopped flirting with the Big Apple since the day he stepped foot onto an NBA court.

And it's the flirting that has more or less convinced me that LeBron James will be in a Knicks jersey at the start of next season.

Admittedly, James has done a great job of saying nothing. He gave no obvious inclination as to what his intentions were. He said all the right things. Platitudes about how he loves Cleveland, loves the fans, loves his teammates. But it's his peripheral quotes and actions that have peaked my attention.

Regardless of whether Madison Square Garden is so, why even proclaim it as "The World's Most Famous Arena"?

Regardless of whether he's a Yankee fan, why wear a Yankees cap to Yankees games?

And regardless of his relationships, why make so obvious his connections with Jay-Z?

These all may seem limited and insignificant, but in the world of LeBron James, they are very important. James isn't a dummy. He's actually very bright, completely aware the shadow he casts, and the impact he makes. So what are the chances not every public move he makes is calculated? Zero.

And that's why I think he's on his way to New York. Look, it's easy to say he'll stay in Cleveland because he'll be loyal to the city he grew up near. Or that he'll sign with Chicago because of their strong, young foundation of players like Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

But does LeBron really want to toil in Cleveland for the rest of his career? Playing for a team that has yet to provide James with solid complementary players for the last seven years. Honestly, Antawn Jamison and Shaquille O'Neal were their answers to LeBron's impending free agency? Those moves would have been great if it were 1998 when O'Neal was 26 years old and Jamison was a highly touted college star.

And I laugh at the idea of James heading to Chicago. Really? Honestly? You're kidding. I'm sure he would love to play under the shadow of Michael Jordan for the rest of his career. I don't care how good Rose and Noah are, they're not winning six championships. And that's what James would have to accomplish, AT LEAST, if he didn't want the constant comparisons to Jordan. It's lose-lose, no matter what he does.

Do people fully realize how great Michael Jordan was? The man won three NBA Finals (as well as three Finals MVP's), decided to try baseball on for size for two years, came back and subsequently won three more NBA Finals (with those MVP's as well). Sports are about comparisons and if LeBron wants to stamp his legacy, New York is where he needs to do so.

Basketball is this town hasn't been relevant since the late 90s, and even then it was luke-warm. It's weird to think of a city that chugs out NBA talent on a yearly basis, a city with a hunger for hoops, has played second fiddle, if not third fiddle to the Yankees, Mets, Jets, and Giants. LeBron could easily re-energize basketball in New York. And if he were to carry the Knicks to their first championship since 1972, he could become an immortal.

Which is what he wants.