Another "Answer"?

[David]

I got this from MSNBC. Some valid points and some jealousy.


"THE OHIO HOTSHOT, a 6-foot-7 guard/forward, is
flaunting his celebrity status and it all seems quite sickening.
He’s just in high school for crying out loud.

Perhaps you’ve
heard of him as LeBron
James, Player of the Year
for USA TODAY as a
high school junior. He is
expected to be the first
pick in the 2003 NBA
draft. He is called the next
Jordan. He handles the
ball, dribbles it, shoots it,
stuffs it, rebounds it,
perhaps even does
needlework with it
because he is so gifted.
Now we should call him King James. He is a rising
senior, attends high school in Akron, Ohio, and his
basketball team commands appearance fees upwards of
$15,000 for its games because everyone wants to see him
play.
And what has this adoration produced? Judge for
yourself.
King James seems to be on the verge of promoting his
own clothing line. At one camp he wore a shirt with a crown
on it and called it “King James.” Snickered that God left this
shirt in his hotel room. The kid wasn’t serious, but why be
so silly?
King James, who has no intention of going to college,
was asked last week about taking recruiting visits to five
college campuses his senior season in high school. He says
he will go because they are free and he wants to travel.

King James is
6-foot-7, but the height of
his arrogance can’t be
measured. He wants to
waste somebody’s time
and money on a needless
recruiting trip so he can
be courted and fawned
over. Duke and
Kentucky, I bet, have
turned their backs.
In another sign of haughtiness, King James was
scheduled to appear at a press conference at the adidas
ABCD camp. He is intentionally late. He boasts how he has
media people waiting on him and he controls them.
King James arrived at the two rival basketball camps
held by adidas and Nike with an entourage. They must be
flown everywhere. Their bags are carried; they arrive in
style in a big car with a driver. Sure, the white tennis
prodigies arrived with entourages for Wimbledon and the
U.S. Open and no one fussed, but at least they had attained
some measure of status in the pro game.
According to one report, King James is already driving
a Lincoln Navigator. Hmmm. He lives in a small apartment
with his mother. Hmmm. Has he been corrupted already?
Will he even be eligible for his senior season in high school if
someone digs and finds money from an agent is already in
his pocket?
You shake your head with pity. Just a teenager and
already another athlete who takes himself too seriously.
Don’t we have enough of those: Sammy Sosa, Shaq, Barry
Bonds, Randy Johnson, Vince Carter, and on and on.
“He hasn’t changed a little, he has changed a lot,” said
Bob Gibbons, a high school recruiting analyst. “It’s all
gotten out of control. I guess you could call him the ‘King
James version of high school basketball.’ He is signing
autographs and this has all gone from the sublime to the
absurd.
“The kid is talented, make no mistake. But you’ve got
to be focused on getting better and improving. He’s focused
on what he can get. When Michael Jordan came out of high
school he was a hungry player. I question how hungry
Lebron James is?”
Perhaps this kid needs a taste of the NBA game right
now with Kobe or Shaq or Vince Carter serving the first
dish of humble pie. I can’t wait for this kid to get lost in a
maze of screens and Caron Butler uses him like a rag on a
dirty window.
Six months ago, LeBron James seemed like a high
school athlete with some humility. He played for his school’s
football team to help them win, even if there was significant
risk of injury. It was all about school pride.
A rival high school coach told me last fall that James
refuses to shoot at a times and prefers to be a playmaker
and team guy.
What happened? Every humble thought he once had
looks like it has been replaced by swagger. Maybe it was
just the summer season, but the garish clothes and the
diamond stud earrings … geez.
I know why the handlers of Amare Stoudemire, the
high school phenom from Orlando kept that child away
from the spotlight. I don’t blame Stoudemire’s caretakers
for limiting access and not responding to interview requests.
Teenagers, most of them anyway, can’t handle the
adoration. They end up looking like self-promoting brats.
They end up looking self-absorbed like King James.
Maybe it’s the media’s fault for fueling the hype. But
even without the media clamoring for news about King
James’ pending sneaker deal, which could be a $20 million
whopper from Mike’s Nike, LeBron James might still be
strutting into basketball camps acting self-important.
At least we know King James has a sense of humor.
He was invited to a press conference by adidas at the shoe
company’s summer basketball camp and arrived wearing
shoes by hated rival Nike. That’s fair. He showed up at the
Nike press conference wearing adidas.





The other thing to like about King James is that if he
turns out to be as good everyone says he will be Nike might
lose some of its bluster. If James signs with adidas does he
do for them what Michael Jordan did for Nike?
That might be the best sales tool for adidas. The
German company cannot match Nike’s money, which could
be as much as $20 million. But what if James is persuaded
that if he goes with Nike he would always be second-ticket
behind Mike, but at adidas he could be No. 1?
How glorious would that be for King James? He could
lift up an entire brand.
Even that should satisfy a head that seems to be
swelling by the day."

[Cipherous]

Well, its a pity but Lebron will bring in $$$$ for the NBA and whatever sponsor who signs him. You can't ignore the fact that he brings in $$$$. As long, people are making money off him...they don't really care what he acts like or what he does.

[scooterj5]

What a jealous, arrogant writer. He clearly does not know Lebron James, why does he hate him?