Lebron James stackin Euros?

NBA commissioner David Stern has done a marvelous job in recent years of contorting most every controversy embroiling his league into something relatively benign, or at least flipping the culpability onto the media, society, one rouge referee, or the spoiled, incorrigible players he is paid handsomely to govern.

One can only imagine how Stern would twist the revelation of the NBA's most marketable star - LeBron James - bolting for Europe in the summer of 2010. Stern might require Fox News to help spin that story.

According to a national report, James might consider a temporary NBA hiatus if the price is right, and the bidding starts at $50 million per season. Don't scoff: James will make $14.4 million next season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and $15.8 million in the final season of his second contract with the franchise. Should James chose to re-up with the Cavs, the maximum amount he'd earn annually is roughly $22 million. That pales in comparison to what James could demand oversees, and that compensation doesn't take into consideration the weak American dollar versus the Euro or the potential for a tax-free salary in Greece.

Greece is no stab in the dark. Olympiacos, which signed Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Childress to a 3-year, $30 million contract just last month, has reportedly contacted James' representatives, as has CSKA Moscow of Russia. Childress is one of nine players to have signed with European teams this summer after playing in the NBA last season, a list that includes another black American, Earl Boykins, who recently inked the most lucrative annual contract in Italy - a one-year, $3.5 million deal with Virtus Bologna.

James' current salary ranks a modest 26th in the league along with fellow 2003 draft alums Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. And given the globalization of basketball, James might stand to gain in means beyond finances with a short stint in Europe. Even if he stacks Euros for two seasons, he could return to the NBA in time for the 2012-13 campaign while entering his prime at 27 years of age.

Brandon Jennings set a precedent for prep stars when he spurned the University of Arizona and spit in the face of Stern by circumventing the league rule prohibiting high school players from jumping directly to the NBA when he signed a multimillion dollar contract with the Italian franchise Virtus Roma. Considering James fancies himself a trendsetter, everyone should take the news of his courting Europe quite seriously.

Especially David Stern.