Our focus has been on New York and Chicago for so long, perhaps we should shift our gaze to the West Coast for a bit.
UPDATED: 8:22 p.m.
(Chasing down rumors about LeBron James' basketball future could be a full-time job. Now it's my full-time job. Just call me The Rumor Monger. Every day we'll compile a list of the rumors we're hearing about James and his next contract. Just remember these are just rumors, not necessarily facts. It's going to be a long and rough ride, Cavs fans. Buckle up. -- Mary Schmitt Boyer)
Here's a long-shot scenario -- instead of abusing Chris Kaman and the Los Angeles Clippers, is there a possibility of LeBron James joining the "other" team in Tinseltown?CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Our focus has been on New York and Chicago for so long, perhaps we should shift our gaze to the West Coast for a bit. Peter Vecsey says an "impeccable" source tells him DreamWorks co-founder David Geffen wants to buy 51 percent of the Los Angeles Clippers and had dinner Friday with Clippers owner Donald Sterling to discuss that. The source told Vecsey he could deliver James if that happened.
Just FYI, James business associate Maverick Carter sat with Geffen for Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday.
Of course, Vecsey also says a source told him James will re-sign with the Cavaliers for three more years and if the team doesn't win a title after his 10th season in Cleveland, he'll leave for the Nets, playing in Brooklyn for pal Jay-Z.
• Wacky as it sounds, the Harlem Globetrotters are interested in signing James and Dwyane Wade, reaching out to representatives for both players on Tuesday. They’re preparing to offer part ownership to both players as well as 51 percent of revenue from licensed merchandise sales bearing their name or likeness (neither matchable under terms of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.) They have no other salary cap restrictions, either.
• Native New Yorker Lamar Odom wants James to go to New York, where he's sure James can handle the pressure.
"Of course he can handle the pressure," Odom told the New York Post's Marc Berman. "Obviously he can. He's so well established. ... To get a player of his caliber would be great for New York City. As a player in the NBA, I'm always kind of rooting for the Knicks, wishing them well. It would be great for the city and so many more people would be following him."
• Cleveland native Charles Oakley, a former Knick, disagrees.
"I can't tell him to go to New York," Oakley told a Miami radio station. "New York treated me bad. ... When I go to the Knicks games, do you know that they have somebody that follows me around to see what I say to the press? I said maybe Chicago or Miami. I think him and [Dwyane] Wade would be great together."
• There are widely varying opinions on how playing in New York impacts James' earning potential, but most seem to think where he plays won't matter on that front.
"The knee-jerk reaction and conventional wisdom is that by coming to New York, he would further his chances for endorsements," Andrew Forman, an associate professor of marketing at Hofstra, tells Neil Best of Newsday. "He's already the highest-earning endorser in the NBA without being in New York. It's hard to say he's been hurt by being in Cleveland to this point."
As a Knicks fan, Forman would love to see James in New York. But as far as earnings go, he said, "I'm not sure it really makes much of a difference. ... You could almost spin it another way, that him staying in Cleveland is a feel-good story about the local kid who stays after he could have had fame and fortune elsewhere. ... I can't envision a company like Coca-Cola or Nike saying we can pay him less because he plays in Cleveland.
"Michael Jordan wasn't in New York. [James] is at the point where he has enough celebrity where if he wanted to launch a fashion line the way Michael Jordan launched a cologne line and restaurant, I don't think it's as limiting as the conventional wisdom might be."
Rick Horrow, CEO of Horrow Sports Ventures and author of the book "Beyond the Box $core," tells Newsday, "I do think there is some incremental value in being a stone's throw from your Madison Avenue sponsors and advertisers -- for the Knicks or the Nets."
Maury Gostfrand, president of Vision Sports Group, whose clients include Michael Strahan and Joe Torre, told Newsday, "I do believe his people will be able to negotiate more dollars for these deals as a result of playing in New York. ... A big advantage of playing in New York for someone like LeBron is potential business opportunities that may be presented to him, whether it's partnering with a company on a new product or crossing over to other ventures in music, fashion or even real estate. If he plays in New York, he will meet a lot of successful and wealthy business people who want to align themselves with him."
Cliff Kaplan, president of Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment, told Newsday, "He's a global figure, and no matter what market he is in, he will have a strong portfolio of endorsements. He would be in the No. 1 media market [in New York], the hub of finance. ... The people he gets to rub shoulders with here on a more regular basis can provide various business opportunities."
• Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News says Tom Izzo should not leave Michigan State unless James remains with the Cavs.
"The Cavs are an Eastern Conference contender with the King," Weiss said. "They will be a sinking franchise in Lake Erie if this Elvis leaves the building for good. ... Sure, East Lansing is no Durham, N.C., but it's also no Cleveland. And if Izzo leaves Michigan State without the guarantee of coaching the King, he could end with a royal mess on his hands."
Weiss says Izzo has a great reputation and job security in East Lansing, which could change with one bad season in the NBA.