Weekly Countdown: LeBron clues everyone in on his future plans

As LeBron makes his lone appearance of the season Friday night at Madison Square Garden, I am convinced he has basically decided to remain with Cleveland as a free agent in 2010. Here's why I believe he has made that decision (and why he won't admit it) ...

• He has made his plans clear already. Over the summer James made numerous publicity appearances to support a documentary about his Akron high school team as well as a complementary autobiography, Shooting Stars, co-authored with Buzz Bissinger. In all of his interviews James used his life story to define himself as a loyal and well-grounded friend who values personal relationships above all else.

Why would he go to all of this trouble if he was planning to dump his hometown of Cleveland in order to sign elsewhere?

It's easy to anticipate the universal storyline should James decide to sign with the Knicks or Nets as a free agent this summer: He'll be the guy who was drawn away to the bright lights by the superficial lures of money and fame. In so doing he'll break the hearts of the people he has abandoned in Cleveland.

Millions upon millions of fans around the country will suddenly be rooting against LeBron if he walks out on his hometown in order to become a mercenary for the Knicks.

Everything James has done over the last year has deepened his ties with Cleveland. He chose to accept his MVP award last spring at a ceremony in his high school gym in Akron. Throughout his movie and book tour he described himself as someone who puts family and friends first. So why would he work so hard to develop that personal identity in a public way -- only to suddenly and erratically blow it all up by walking out on the people of Cleveland?

Those who believe James will jump to the Knicks argue that he'll be operating on the world's biggest stage. But that stage could hurt him more than it helps him. If he wants to be the most popular athlete on the planet -- and surely he aims to be just that -- James must be universally popular. Walking out on Cleveland won't create a warm identity for him. The glitz and size of the stage in New York will only encourage people to dislike -- rather than adore -- him.

That's why he has spent the last year renewing his bond with Cleveland. The best way to sell products -- and ultimately to sell himself -- is to be viewed as loyal to a fault. Ultimately, I believe, he'll prove that loyalty even as he is being wooed by New York: He'll appear to think about it seriously, weigh the good and the bad, and then he'll decide to stick with his small town.

If going to New York is his endgame, then I think he would have distanced himself this summer from creating a warm-and-fuzzy persona linked to the Akron/Cleveland area.

After he re-signs with the Cavaliers in 2010, James will be able to say he is committed to elevating Cleveland. In spite of his immense talent he will be viewed as taking on an underdog's mission -- because who has ever been able to rescue a city like Cleveland? But you'll see James leading championship parades through Cleveland, and investing himself in urban renewal projects for his hometown, and ultimately creating a new identity for one of the nation's least respected cities. Staying in Cleveland gives him the opportunity to make the world (or at least his little corner of it) a better place.