Maverick Carter: LeBron's FA choice to be based on winning, not location

They say "location is everything," but that might not be the case for LeBron James.

The Cleveland Cavaliers icon can opt out of his contract after this season to hit unrestricted free agency, where he'll essentially get to choose his next destination.

Maverick Carter, who co-founded Springhill Entertainment with James, was asked how much geography will factor into his business partner's free-agent decision.

"These days it doesn't matter anymore," Carter said Wednesday on "The Rich Eisen Show."

"... The Lakers and the Knicks have been bad. The Knicks for a very long time and the Lakers since Kobe (Bryant) kind of aged out of being the best player or one of the best players in the league, and basketball is doing as great as ever with teams in Oklahoma City and Cleveland. These days it doesn't matter because you can be known and be a star from anywhere, anywhere in the world. It doesn't actually matter.

"Could he sell a few more sneakers if he was in a gigantic market like Boston, Chicago, New York, or L.A.? Maybe. But not as much as if he wins. What matters the most is if he wins. When you win as an athlete, that matters the most."

James, 32, has been most heavily linked to a move to Los Angeles, given his budding career in the entertainment industry. Not only is Springhill Entertainment based out of Burbank, but James also has a home in L.A.

The Lakers have already made moves to clear cap space in hopes of signing two max players in 2018.

But Carter further downplayed the LeBron-to-Lakers hype by pointing out James only gets three months out of the year when he can act in movies, plus he can take meetings on business projects from anywhere in the world.

The Cavaliers are off to their worst start with LeBron since his rookie season, sitting at 3-5 with the second-worst defensive rating in the league. The four-time MVP isn't expected to decide on his future until the conclusion of the campaign.

Related - LeBron on Cavs' struggles: 'We can't sustain effort for 48 minutes'

- With h/t to Cleveland.com