Daily LeBron James rumor mill
The good news in all the LeBron James free-agency lunacy is that his destination will not be determined by mistake-prone World Cup referees. Or mistake-prone Major League Baseball umpires, for that matter. But if there's any truth to the old adage that there's power in numbers, then Cleveland might have reason to worry.
One person who has been able to talk to LeBron James since Game 6 of the Boston series is John Wall, expected to be the No. 1 pick in Thursday's NBA Draft. James told Wall, who played one year at Kentucky, to relax, play ball and not worry about the hype when he takes the floor for the Wizards in the fall. It appears Wall doesn't need any advice on garnering publicity as he appears on the cover of ESPN The Magazine.The New York Daily News reports that 12-year-old twins Corey and Jason Grant so desperately want LeBron James to play for their beloved Knicks that they've launched an interactive movement deemed "NY heart LeBron."
Really, it's only a way to tally the votes of people who say they want James to sign with the Knicks when he's eligible to be a free agent in 12 short days.
The boys set up "LeBron buttons" -- which are giant basketballs -- in 10 locations in New York City. Anyone who can't vote in person can vote on nyheartlebron.com or on their Facebook or Twitter pages.
Even the Daily News admitted the tally wasn't scientific, as computer users can vote multiple times. The vote count jumped from 120,000 to more than 1 million Wednesday, the newspaper reported. By Friday evening, it was more than 1.1 million.
According to the Daily News, family friends Cory Berger and Michael Kantrow helped the twins formulate the plan focused on a simple declaration of love to attract James to New York.
"We have to get LeBron to come to the Knicks," Corey Grant said.
Because there hasn't been enough LeBron James news in the past month, ESPN's "SportsCenter" will present a three-part series on The Most Coveted Free Agent in the History of the World (our label, not theirs), debuting during Sunday's 10 a.m. program on ESPN2.
The schedule is as follows: Sunday -- The Wooing of LeBron: how cities have made their case; Monday -- Global Marketing: how LeBron's decision will impact global marketing; Tuesday -- World Wide Wes: how much influence does William Wesley have?
There doesn't appear to be anything new or earth-shattering in the series based on excerpts released. Among those included: "I think if you're going after LeBron and you haven't put in a phone call to [William Wesley], you're probably going to have little chance of getting him," Rick Pitino, Louisville coach said about the NBA middleman.
And on why there's a lot of hubbub over a guy who hasn't even won a title, there's this from CNBC's Darren Rovell: "All you have to do is visit the big cities in China -- Beijing, Shanghai -- and Kobe is clearly bigger than LeBron. I would say he's at least two times bigger. And the reason for that is that the Chinese really do respect a champion."
James might not be talking to former Cavaliers coaching prospect Tom Izzo. Or to any media save CNN's Larry King. But at least he remembers his roots.
James gave advice to Kentucky guard John Wall, the projected No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, according to the Washington Examiner. The Washington Wizards have the No. 1 pick in the draft and are expected to select Wall.
"The one advice LeBron [James] gave me was: 'Don't try to live up to all the hype. Just go out there and play basketball. Enjoy the game and be happy to be out there to play,' " Wall said at a news conference.
Finally, no news is good news for Cavaliers fans. At least according to oddsmakers.
As of Friday, the Cavaliers still held the edge in re-signing James, according to SBR Forum. The Clippers have been downgraded with the L.A. Lakers championship because oddsmakers believe James won't want to play in Bryant's shadow in Los Angeles.
A breakdown of odds: Cavaliers, 5 to 9; Chicago Bulls, 2 to 1; Miami Heat, 9 to 2; New York Knicks, 5 to 2; Los Angeles Clippers, 15 to 1; New Jersey Nets, 4 to 1; Harlem Globetrotters, 100 to 1.
For a complete breakdown, go to tinyurl.com/lbjodds