When Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics had a monster game against the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday, I started to wonder how all of this was going to affect the Cavs' LeBron James.

Rondo had perhaps one of the finest statistical lines in NBA playoff history Sunday in the Celtics' 97-87 victory in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

His 29-point, 18-rebound, 13-assist effort for a point guard was phenomenal, and, more importantly, it helped Boston to even the best-of-seven series at 2-all.

My thought was where does this leave James' state of mind, not just for this series, but for the NBA Finals, if the Cavaliers get there.

James can leave the team as a free agent after the season and many teams have been targeting him, trying to clear cap space the past two years so they have the chance to sign the 25-year-old superstar.

In seven seasons, James had put up some amazing numbers: 15,251 points, 3,861 rebounds, 3,810 assists and 955 steals, or 27.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.0 steals and 1.7 steals per game, but the biggest number of all is zero championships.

Granted, he is 25, so he still has a lot of years left. But if he truly, truly wants to stay in Cleveland, can he make it happen.

Of course he

can, but will he want to?The Cavaliers have become one of the power teams in the Eastern Conference, which is noticeably weaker then the Western Conference. Eight out of 15 teams in the West won 50-plus games while only four of 15 in the East won more than 47.James made almost $15.8 million this season, less than 38-year-old Shaquille O'Neal ($21 million) and just ahead of 33-year-old power forward Antawn Jamison ($11.6 million).He's not the highest-paid player but that is not what drives James.If it was, the NBA has a plan for teams to allow them to spend more money to re-sign their own players. Instead of a hometown discount, more like a hometown incentive.But James makes much more money in endorsements, so his salary pales in comparison.No, money won't be the issue. Winning a championship will be.Where does that leave him. It's no secret that the New York Knicks have been trying to entice James to Madison Square Garden.But being a big fish in New York may not be ideal, especially if criticism follows. He could be the King of New York and can wear that Yankees cap whenever he wants and not get blasted.New York could be the place or it could be a place that also brings in a player like the Toronto's Chris Bosh or Miami's Dwyane Wade, two other premium free agents.I don't know if a team could swing that, but if it could, James most will likely leave.I'd like to see him stay in Cleveland and try to win something there. Money and fame are great, but there's something about winning a championship from the ground up, not leaving for the best chance to win.Despite Rondo's heroics, if the Cavs do respond and go on to win it all, will James stay with his hometown team and win more or, will he feel he did what he came to do and now he can leave?That's the $15.8 million dollar question.Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.