Lebron James (Los Angeles Lakers)

[jlb1705]

I knew who Michael Jordan was too, but I never asked for his jersey on Christmas. I wanted a Mark Price jersey.

I liked Charles Barkley, but had a poster of Dougherty, Nance, and Price.

Put LeBron in NY, and shoe sales, merchandise sales, and his marketability increase. If for no other reason than population size vs. Cleveland. But it's more than that...

Yeah, but how many of your friends or other kids at school wore his shoes, had his posters and wore his t-shirts/jerseys? I saw plenty of those around me growing up, and Jordan didn't play ball in New Carlisle, OH.

Jordan wasn't a transcendent superstar because he was a big deal in a major city, but because he won championships and was a big deal everywhere else. I am of the opinion that LeBron James can accomplish the same thing playing in Cleveland. When you're trying to be marketed to billions, a few million more home fans is only an incremental difference.

 

[Brutus1]

I'm tired of constantly hearing this bullshit talk. Enjoy the next 2 years, then if he leaves, screw him. If he's that concerned about money and being a global icon, perhaps he should have hired a professional marketing firm to market him, rather than hire all his buddies to do that job.

If he leaves, I'll be the first one there to greet him after his team bows out of the playoffs. Fuck New York and fuck the Knicks.

 

[exhawg]

I admit that I had a Bulls jacket in rural Ohio back in the day only because I was a Jordan fan. I understand that Lebron would get some extra money by moving to a big market, but his major contracts aren't going to change much. It doesn't seem like it's worth a lot more to Nike for him to be in NY instead of Cleveland. How much more would the "we are all witnesses" billboard cost in NY?
IMO it is probably better for Lebron to be in a smaller market. If he moved to a bigger market his head will probably grow with his surrounding and before you know it he'll be staring in Space Jam 2. :p
He needs to stay hungry if he wants to reach his goals.

 

[billmac91]

Yeah, but how many of your friends or other kids at school wore his shoes, had his posters and wore his t-shirts/jerseys? I saw plenty of those around me growing up, and Jordan didn't play ball in New Carlisle, OH.

Jordan wasn't a transcendent superstar because he was a big deal in a major city, but because he won championships and was a big deal everywhere else. I am of the opinion that LeBron James can accomplish the same thing playing in Cleveland. When you're trying to be marketed to billions, a few million more home fans is only an incremental difference.

I think it is being underestimated on this board, how much additional marketing LeBron can garner by being in the largest market in the United States. Your point is well taken, but for example:

I'm sure LeBron has been marketed in Times Square, but he will be plastered all over NYC if he becomes a member of the Knicks. That is 8 million people in NYC, plus how many International Tourists/Bussiness people in and out of the city every day? Being the King of New York is different than being the King of Cleveland. It just is.

Aside from that, is it better for LeBron to work from NYC on his side bussinesses or from Cleveland? Someone was talking about his Hip-Hop label in this thread...that's a perfect example of the benefit of NY vs. Cleveland. I think there are very few business opportunities where it would be beneficial to be in Cleveland vs. NY. And I'm still convinced LeBron will be able to parlay a bigger endorsement deal from his sponsors by being in New York vs. Cleveland. It is more exposure for those companies. I still thnk it is telling that there was a provision in his last contract that if he played in a major market within his first year, he'd be given an additional 25 million.

And honest question here, if LeBron is already an established Global Icon, why is Nike so forthright in their attempt to push him to NYC. Sending thousands of free "LeBron James Witness T-shirts" to MSG doesn't seem so subtle. Neither does launching his "Big Apple" shoe last night.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

I think it is being underestimated on this board, how much additional marketing LeBron can garner by being in the largest market in the United States. Your point is well taken, but for example:

I'm sure LeBron has been marketed in Times Square, but he will be plastered all over NYC if he becomes a member of the Knicks. That is 8 million people in NYC, plus how many International Tourists/Bussiness people in and out of the city every day? Being the King of New York is different than being the King of Cleveland. It just is.

Aside from that, is it better for LeBron to work from NYC on his side bussinesses or from Cleveland? Someone was talking about his Hip-Hop label in this thread...that's a perfect example of the benefit of NY vs. Cleveland. I think there are very few business opportunities where it would be beneficial to be in Cleveland vs. NY. And I'm still convinced LeBron will be able to parlay a bigger endorsement deal from his sponsors by being in New York vs. Cleveland. It is more exposure for those companies. I still thnk it is telling that there was a provision in his last contract that if he played in a major market within his first year, he'd be given an additional 25 million.

And honest question here, if LeBron is already an established Global Icon, why is Nike so forthright in their attempt to push him to NYC. Sending thousands of free "LeBron James Witness T-shirts" to MSG doesn't seem so subtle. Neither does launching his "Big Apple" shoe last night.

your numbers are a tad low. the ny-msa is 18.8m.
the ny-white plaines-wayne metro division is 11.6m alone.

the ny-msa doesnt even encompass a full 50miles.

 

[billmac91]

your numbers are a tad low. the ny-msa is 18.8m.
the ny-white plaines-wayne metro division is 11.6m alone.

the ny-msa doesnt even encompass a full 50miles.

Interesting...I got my figures from Wiki which said the state of NY had 20 mil and NYC had 8 mil.

Maybe I mis-read the paragraph.

Yep, I did. That 20 mil, encompasses New Jersey and I'd assume Connecticut? Either way, that is a lot of Knicks fans in a small area. Assuming WIKI is correct, it says Ohio has a population of 11 mil.

As of the 2000 Census, the city proper had a total population of 478,403, and was then the 33rd largest city in the nation, (now estimated as the 40th largest due to declines in population)[7] and the second largest city in Ohio. It is the center of Greater Cleveland, the largest metropolitan area in Ohio, which spans several counties and is defined in several different ways by the Census Bureau. The Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor Metropolitan Statistical Area which in 2000 ranked as the 23rd largest in the United States with 2,250,871 people. Cleveland is also part of the larger Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area, which in 2000 had a population of 2,945,831, and ranked as the country's 14th largest.[8]

The City of New York, most often called New York City, is the most populous city in the United States, in a metropolitan area that ranks among the world's most-populous urban areas. It is a leading global city, exerting a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, and entertainment. The city is also an important center for international affairs, hosting the United Nations headquarters.
Located on the Atlantic coast of the Northeastern United States, the city consists of five distinct boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. It is the most densely populated major city in the United States, with an estimated 8,274,527 people[1] occupying just under 305 square miles (790 km2).[2][3][4][5][6] The New York metropolitan area's population is also the nation's highest, estimated at 19,750,000 people over 6,720 square miles (17,400 km2) in three states.[7]
New York is unique among American cities for its high use of mass transit, and for the overall density and diversity of its population. In 2005, nearly 170 languages were spoken in the city and 36% of its population was born outside the United States.[8][9] The city is sometimes referred to as "The City that Never Sleeps" due to its extensive 24-hour subway system and constant bustling of traffic and people, while other nicknames include Gotham and the Big Apple.[10][11]

 

[tsteele316]

I think it is being underestimated on this board, how much additional marketing LeBron can garner by being in the largest market in the United States. Your point is well taken, but for example:

I'm sure LeBron has been marketed in Times Square, but he will be plastered all over NYC if he becomes a member of the Knicks. That is 8 million people in NYC, plus how many International Tourists/Bussiness people in and out of the city every day? Being the King of New York is different than being the King of Cleveland. It just is.

Aside from that, is it better for LeBron to work from NYC on his side bussinesses or from Cleveland? Someone was talking about his Hip-Hop label in this thread...that's a perfect example of the benefit of NY vs. Cleveland. I think there are very few business opportunities where it would be beneficial to be in Cleveland vs. NY. And I'm still convinced LeBron will be able to parlay a bigger endorsement deal from his sponsors by being in New York vs. Cleveland. It is more exposure for those companies. I still thnk it is telling that there was a provision in his last contract that if he played in a major market within his first year, he'd be given an additional 25 million.

And honest question here, if LeBron is already an established Global Icon, why is Nike so forthright in their attempt to push him to NYC. Sending thousands of free "LeBron James Witness T-shirts" to MSG doesn't seem so subtle. Neither does launching his "Big Apple" shoe last night.

you're so brainwashed by the whole deal that you don't even realize that this argument actually supports him staying in cleveland. he sells big apple nike shoes while in cleveland. wil nike sell any more because he is a knick? probably not many. will they lose massive sales in ohio if he goes elsewhere? definately. the endorsement discrepency you try to push is minimal and a red herring. again, he was the #3 grossing athlete in endorsements last year, before phil and tiger lost endorsement deals.

as for the t-shirts, you have misinterpreted it yet again. nike is simply playing the current situation for all it's worth. they aren't pushing him anywhere. it's good business, not a hidden agenda.

that extra pocket change will certainly be enough to sway him to leave $30 million on the table to play for a suck team.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

LeBron James' parting message for New York Knicks fans after his Tuesday night appearance in Madison Square Garden?

"You have to stay open-minded," he said, in reference to his pending free agency on July 1, 2010.
Knicks officials were understandably coy about the possibility of the Cleveland Cavaliers star eventually landing in New York, but the New York newspapers were full of stuff about it this week, and James did nothing to head off all the talk.

Continued.........

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

Good read

ESPN - J.A. Adande: LeBron doesn't need New York

LeBron doesn't need New York to shine brightly

By J.A. Adande

The two biggest NBA myths around are that LeBron James needs to be in New York and that the league needs the Knicks to be good.

Anyone who still believes you can make it only in Manhattan probably still calls remote controls "clickers." This isn't the Walter Cronkite era, when we got our news from men sitting at desks in New York. These aren't the old Don Draper days, when everything we thought we knew and needed was generated by the ad shops on Madison Avenue.

LeBron, playing in little old Cleveland, stands to make more in endorsement money this year than New York Yankees superstars Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter will combined. And they play for the Yankees. LeBron could win eight championships with the Knicks and they still wouldn't rule that city the way the Yankees do. Oh, and you could add Peyton Manning's $13 million to Jeter and A-Rod's $14 million and it still won't match LeBron's $28 million in off-court money this year.
(cont)

 

[cincibuck]

Funny how it's necessary to have a winner in New York or LA, but heaven forbid anything good happen to those ticket buying folks west of the Hudson and East of the Rockies. So Vida Blue can't be traded to the Reds, Kareem has to go to the Lakers and now La Bron needs to be a Nick. No wonder I hate the Yankees.

 

[schwab]

Interesting...I got my figures from Wiki which said the state of NY had 20 mil and NYC had 8 mil.

Maybe I mis-read the paragraph.

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SRlXZ5W8lTs]YouTube - Michael Scott (Steve Carrell), NBC's The Office on Wikipedia[/ame]

 

[OH10]

Nice little war of words right now with Lebron and Charles Barkley. On the Dan Patrick Radio Show the other day, Chuck said that Lebron was being disrespectful to the Cavaliers for talking about 2010, even going so far as to tell him to "Shut the hell up."

Lebron responded last night before the Golden State game, saying about Chuck, "He's stupid. That's all I have to say about that."


Definately siding with Charles Barkley on this one. It's one thing for the media to obsess over Lebron's free agent status. It's quite another for Lebron to entertain the insanity when he still has two years left to play in Cleveland.

It's getting to the point where I'll be really happy for guys like Z if the Cavs win a title or two the next couple of years. But Lebron is turning into a Maurice Clarett type - you know, "thanks for the championship, but no love lost if you want out."

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

NBA Insider: LeBron's been a tease for years

Posted by [URL="http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/about.html"]Brian Windhorst[/URL] November 30, 2008 08:34AM

There were plenty of Cavaliers fans and outside parties not real thrilled with LeBron James' public relations tactics over the last week, most outspoken of which was Charles Barkley.
However, what most who don't know him fail to realize is LeBron is just being LeBron. Being flirtatious with potential business partners, as some accused him of being with the Knicks in New York last week, is part of his personality and has been for years.
Back when LeBron was a teenager - oh, those many years ago - he just loved to tease the shoe companies that were intently gunning for his services. It may not have been as high profile as this current chase over his next playing contract, but trust that the money and the business stakes were just as high. And yes, that one lasted for two years, too.
Before James' senior year at St. Vincent-St. Mary he played this same game. He couldn't play due to a broken wrist but still showed up in Teaneck, N.J., for adidas' signature ABCD Camp. He held a press conference for a large contingent of New York-area media wearing Nikes on his feet. The next day he and his entourage flew to Indianapolis for Nike's competing All-America Camp. He held another press conference while wearing . . . adidas.

Continued.......................

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Rob Oller commentary: New York's hysteria over James humorous

Thursday, December 4, 2008 3:41 AM
By Rob Oller


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

CLEVELAND -- The LeBron Loves New York circus rolled into town complete with microphone-toting Madison Square Garden Network staffers sweating to find something, anything, to fit their narrative.
Their story line has LeBron James jumping ship in 2010 via free agency, leaving the Cavaliers for the Knicks because, well, New York is New York and Cleveland is Cleveland. What more needs to be said?
Never mind that James, although not completely innocent in the creation of doubt -- he is, after all, the one who just came out with his Big Apple Nike shoe -- reaffirmed yesterday that "I've never said anything about being a Knick or about being
with any team in this league besides Cleveland." That position hasn't stopped the saturation of speculation.

Continued.............

 

[billmac91]

LeBron sur etakes adavantage of road trips.

He's at the Davidson NC State game today cheering on Stephen Curry. Curry is just ridiculous, and LeBron has jumped out of his seat several times now.

After the game against the Bobcats tonight, LeBron is the host at some night club downtown.