Posted by Sam Smith | asksam@bulls.com | 11.02.09 | 9:40 a.m. CT

Well, at least I’m fairly sure now where LeBron James is going to be playing next season.

Los Angeles, most likely with the Lakers.

Stay with me a bit here, and when the Bulls are in Cleveland Thursday for the TNT national TV game with the Cavs, I doubt LeBron will have much to say on the subject. And this is hardly an overreaction to the Cavs slogging out of the starting gate this season with two losses and looking ready for pasture.

No, going to the Lakers makes all the sense in the world, and, at least to my view, fits LeBron better than it would other players of his caliber. Of which there’s basically only Kobe Bryant.

I’ve heard this scenario from some NBA people, though I’ve heard every other one as well, from staying in Cleveland to New York to New Jersey to running Berkshire Hathaway for Warren Buffett.

The general consensus seems to be LeBron stays in Cleveland given you can be a star from anywhere, the New York teams generally are a mess and would mean a step back in his competitive career, and he likes Cleveland. Makes sense and it probably is the second best option, though I strongly question the Cavs roster and decision making to help make LeBron a champion. Michael Jordan was able to accept the lack of titles into the late 1980s because the Bulls were improving and going farther each season. It appears the Cavs are backsliding.

The obvious reason this never gets discussed is no one can see James hooking on with Bryant. I really cannot understand why not.

How good a team would that be with Bryant, James, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom? Supposedly it would look like James searching out a place to win a championship instead of lifting his team to one. Allegedly a no-no.

But Bryant is 31; James is 24. Bryant has probably three really high level seasons left before some sort of a transition. It was the transition Shaq could never accept and why I think the Lakers dynasty broke up. Not because of Kobe. But because Shaq refused to be viewed as a supporting player to Bryant, and the Lakers understood that. So they traded him. Clearly the right move.

The Lakers are no sure thing to win the championship with the Celtics healthy and the Magic deep. But you add LeBron and it’s hard to imagine anyone beating them the next three or four years.

So then Kobe, working toward incredible immortality on the way to maybe 10 or 11 championships, backs off some to allow James to be the dominant figure when James is 27 or 28 and Bryant is looking at 35. Bryant could ease into a brilliant supporting role while the Lakers continue winning titles, and, in the end, like base hits, they count how many. Not how you got them.

The big reason I believe this could occur and work is because James is an unusual superstar. Jordan never would do it, and I doubt Kobe would. But you watched James in the Olympics and he seemed to embrace the supporting role, rebounding and moving the ball. He’s always said he wants to play with those Olympic teammates, and it doesn’t seem like the Cavs payroll can accommodate that.

Yes, James could go to Miami to join Dwyane Wade, and that’s possible. I’ve heard it speculated often and it puts James on the other side of the Finals from the Lakers with the Celtics having a short window. Of course, there is Dwight Howard.

Also, James is a unique superstar because he’s a very willing passer, more so than virtually every league leading scorer. He doesn’t fight the double and seems to have trusted teammates from Day 1, a trait we never saw with Jordan or Bryant. I don’t think James would have any problem submerging his ego for Bryant’s for a while knowing full well his talent already is surpassing Bryant’s. The transition under a coach like Phil Jackson would become obvious. It was Phil who practically begged Shaq to take that Lakers’ $20 million offer and accept the transition like Kareem did with Magic. Shaq was just too stubborn.

James also is unique in the way he has been so devoted to his group of friends from his youth, a star who doesn’t seem to chase other celebrities but is devoted to the group. I can see James comfortable in any role with a top team like the Lakers.

But James does have his sizeable ego. You’ve got to if you’re OK with a 10-story mural of yourself across the street from your office.

James has often talked about expanding his empire, and lately has been involved with books and movies. So where else but in L.A. would you want to be to be involved in the entertainment industry?

And, really, everyone wants to play in L.A. The weather is fabulous. You can be a star and have privacy because there are so many other stars. And then when you want to be a star you can because it is a city of stars. And basketball is by far No. 1, the only big city in the U.S. where you can say that. Plus, owner Jerry Buss knows stars sell and has been the most successful at recruiting and paying for stars.

I’ve heard the Clippers mentioned, though I see James preferring to join the best rather than try to overcome the best from a distance.

So how does it get done?

The Lakers certainly have no salary cap room. They are in no position to pay James, which remains the No. 1 priority for all free agents. James just has to explain to the Cavs he’s leaving. If they don’t accommodate him, he’s going to New York or Miami and they get nothing. But if they do in a sign and trade to save the franchise, they get a young, potential All-Star center in Andrew Bynum. Maybe Lamar Odom as well or Ron Artest. Draft picks, some pieces like Jordan Farmar. The Cavs can compete in the East with a star center and some pieces added to what they have. It’s better than nothing as cap room doesn’t mean anything in Cleveland. No one’s going there.

Look, I believe James has no idea yet what he wants to do next summer. But I also believe the Lakers’ scenario makes the most sense for him if he wants a chance to be considered among the greatest winners of all-time. I believe that’s what he’s about now, and he accomplishes that only with the Lakers.

THE SPOILED UNDER-30 CROWD!!!