So says shoe-endorsement and youth basketball magnate Sonny Vaccaro, who has known James for about 10 years and thinks Jay-Z will steer James toward the Knicks or Nets. Jay-Z has a small ownership share of the Nets and is close to James.
Lebron James (left) and Jay-Z (right) arriving at a dinner during the 2009 NBA All-Star weekend.There are 39 days remaining before July 1, when the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James and several other NBA stars can become unrestricted free agents if they don't sign new contracts with their current teams before then.
We are going to hear all kinds of rumors and speculation about where James will wind up playing in the 2010-11 season.
Individuals will act as if they're in the know, such as Sonny Vaccaro. He has long been considered among the most powerful influences in amateur basketball, and is given much of the credit for the lucrative explosion of sneaker sales and endorsements.
The New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets are among the teams poised to pursue James. Marc Berman writes for the New York Post that Vaccaro, who has known James since James' early high school years, thinks rapper and small-share Nets owner Jay-Z will strongly influence James' decision:
Vaccaro said Jay-Z's influence may even trump that of his top inner circle of childhood friend/business manager, Maverick Carter, notorious confidant William Wesley and agent Leon Rose.
And Vaccaro says that bodes well for the Nets and Knicks. Jay-Z has a 1.5 percent piece of the Nets, but also is an occasional celebrity-row occupant at the Garden, with his wife Beyonce.
"I don't think the Nets would be involved without Jay-Z," Vaccaro told The Post. "LeBron and Jay-Z is something that is inseparable and you almost have to include that in the equation. I think he will be consulted. It's a very good relationship. Jay-Z was LeBron before LeBron was LeBron. That's the respect LeBron shows him."
One NBA source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person didn't want to offend James' inner circle, told The Post, "If you ask me who the most important person in this is besides blood, I'd say Jay-Z. That helps the Nets, but Jay-Z will understand it as a friend if he doesn't come. But I think (Jay-Z) helps the Knicks a lot more than Chicago."
Another NBA insider said Jay-Z's dream scenario would be James signing a contact with the Knicks with an opt-out after three years, then darting across the Brooklyn Bridge once the Nets are ensconced there. James would still be in his prime at 28.
According to a Jay-Z spokesperson, the rapper is touring Europe much of June and July but assured he and James communicate regularly. Jay-Z's public wooing of James before July 1 could be construed as tampering by paranoid NBA commissioner David Stern. Carter, James' top advisor, said James will sit down this week to look over his options.
New York ain't gold
The Chicago Bulls are another team that wants James. John Jackson writes for the Chicago Sun-Times about some issues Bulls fans ponder as July approaches. Indeed, Cavaliers fans are just as - no, more - curious about topics which Jackson notes, such as:
3. James can make more money off the court if he plays in New York.
FICTION. Jordan and Tiger Woods have racked up more endorsement money than anyone in history, and neither has had any affiliation with New York. Neither would have made a penny more off the court if he lived in New York.
The myth that it's more valuable to have success in New York is just that: a myth perpetuated by the inflated egos of New Yorkers.
Wherever he plays, James will continue to haul in a ton of cash, just like he has the last several years in Cleveland.
Check it
Plain Dealer Cavaliers and LeBron James coverage includes a column by Bill Livingston; "Bud Shaw's Sunday Sports Spin;" "Terry Pluto's Talkin;' " Plain Dealer Cavaliers beat writer Brian Windhorst's "Hey, Brian;" "The LeBron rumor mill;" a Starting Blocks poll asking about any possibility of James and Chris Bosh playing together in Cleveland.
Hopes LJ stays
LeBron James would benefit more from winning a championship in Cleveland than anywhere else, writes Gene Frenette for Jacksonville.com and The Florida Times-Union:
Now if James were 32 or older, had given the Cavaliers all the best years of his basketball life, then I’d say do the Karl Malone thing. Pull up stakes and pursue that championship where it’s most convenient.
But at 25, entering his prime, James makes any team an instant contender for a minimum of five years. It just wouldn’t feel right for Akron’s own to abandon Cleveland, a sports city whose psyche is more fragile than fine china.
If James goes elsewhere, that means he leaves Cavaliers fans with the indelible memory of two blase playoff games against the Boston Celtics. He was a human turnover in one game, and the other was seemingly disinterested in trying to rally the Cavaliers during a home blowout.
That’s not a farewell befitting of a player with the “King James” monicker. It’s simply not acceptable for LeBron to say goodbye to the home folks that way. This is basketball, so a makeup call should be in order.
However, the biggest reason I’d like to see the Cavaliers win the LeBron sweepstakes is this: One title in Cleveland is worth 10 times more to James’ legacy than three anywhere else.
Wouldn’t you have a lot more respect for James staying put, and removing 46 years of emptiness for that city’s major pro sports teams, than if he helped the Bulls, Knicks or Heat raise a banner?
Jim Brown fumbles
Legendary Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown this week told Baltimore radio station WVIE AM/1370 that LeBron James might leave the Cavaliers because, says Brown, "I think he's being treated unfairly" by Cavs fans.
Les Levine writes for the News Herald and Lorain Morning Journal that Brown should not have hinted that Cavaliers fans haven't been supportive of James:
Jim Brown’s loyalty?
All you need to know is, in between stints as an adviser to the Browns, he spent several years on Art Modell’s payroll in Baltimore. Obviously Modell was contributing to Brown’s Amer-I-Can foundation, based in southern California, but loyalty didn’t seem a factor, as the greatest running back in history aligned himself with the greatest traitor in Cleveland sports history. The loyalty to the Browns suddenly returned when the Lerner family got on board, reportedly with contributions to Amer-I-Can and a high six-figure salary for consultant fees to the team.