A Case of Class, Character, and Maturity

[The Real Yoda]

I cannot beleive this many people are against him.. Im shocked it has happened. I can't argue with it, I just can't believe it. I myself am not there and am not against him. Don't mess with CLE.. People that don't live here just don't get it... We take this s**t to heart in this city. We have lifted up LBJ on a pedestal and he called us out as a city. That was childish and I don't know why he would think it was ok to do that under any circumstances. However, LBJ is still OUR guy and even if he leaves next year... We have game six tonight.. and last I checked the best player in the NBA still wears a Cavs Uniform!!!

 

[KilgoreTrout]

LeBron tanking to get Mike Brown replaced with Calipari is about the best scenario we can hope for.

LeBron tanking, and waiting for Vinny del Negro to get replaced with Calipari is about the WORST scenario we can hope for.

High times on the North Coast!

 

[Jon]

Not to mention the William Wesley connection. Wes may be basketball's biggest power broker and it's because he gets to some of these guys very early. He was around LeBron at times when LBJ was at SVSM.

Wes has funneled players to Calipari for awhile now....with Dejuan Wagner being the first. How else do you think a highly recruited kid from NJ winds up at Memphis? Actually Wes' relationship runs deeper than that as he knew Wagner's dad, Milt....a former NBA player. Somehow Milt got a D1 coaching job at Memphis without even having a college degree.

This is bigger than just basketball, fellas.

If it were only that simple.

You forgot to tie the knot....

LeBron, Calipari, Wes, and Nike are all entertwined. The end-game for LeBron is getting Calipari's players like Wall and CDR hooked up with LRMR.

 

[NerdoMcEinstein]

Wes also has a relationship with Mike Brown and helped him land the Cavs head coaching gig.

It would be very odd if Wes were involved in getting Mike Brown fired and Calipari hired in Cleveland which is why Calipari to Chicago makes way more sense.

World Wide Wes seemingly has a "relationship" with many NBA players and coaches....his ties to Calipari go back a ways....like when Calipari was an assistant at Kansas.

His ties to MB basically started when MB became LeBron's new coach in 2005.....that AFTER Wes was reported to work as an intermediary between Dan Gilbert and Larry Brown to get LB here as team president.

Am I the only one who remembers the LB rumors from that time? Many thought it was a done deal. Wes also tried to work the Calipari to Cleveland angle back then, but it was a harder sell on Calipari back then with mild success at Memphis at that point and a failed run in NJ.

 

[NerdoMcEinstein]

You forgot to tie the knot....

LeBron, Calipari, Wes, and Nike are all entertwined. The end-game for LeBron is getting Calipari's players like Wall and CDR hooked up with LRMR.

Yep...and you can throw CAA into the mix as well.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/...-teammates-caa-could-control-freeagent-market

They've leveraged their influence to turn CAA Sports into a major power, maybe the most powerful....

From Wikipedia:

In 2006, CAA began its expansion into sports. Athletes such as Sidney Crosby, LeBron James, Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo and many agents from IMG have joined CAA.

USA Today said, "In little more than one rim-rattling year, Creative Artists Agency--longtime superpower of actors, directors, writers, musicians and entertainment/corporate deal-making--has built CAA Sports from concept to colossus."

Leveraging their media and Hollywood influence to grab a hold of the top athletes on the planet.....for example....LeBron's new movie....

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0997921/

And, of course, LRMR is in the mix....

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/104271

 

[Triumph36]

You forgot to tie the knot....

LeBron, Calipari, Wes, and Nike are all entertwined. The end-game for LeBron is getting Calipari's players like Wall and CDR hooked up with LRMR.

lol CDR. He's a borderline starter with no marketing potential. LeBron shouldn't and probably doesn't care about him signing with LRMR.

 

[3 Da Hard Way]

So, Calipari and James have a close relationship with Wesley in common. Wesley has enough influence over both to steer them toward people and steer them away from people. I think it’s pretty clear that William Wesley is acting as a matchmaker of sorts between Calipari and James.

Wesley sees that LeBron and Calipari both stand to gain by building a rapport, so he’s pushing them together. Per usual, it figures that Wesley stands to gain as well, it just that no one is sure how. However, the next reason for the LeBron-Cal relationship may give some insight into that.

Thought this was interesting from an article in 2009

 

[NerdoMcEinstein]

LeBron tanking to get Mike Brown replaced with Calipari is about the best scenario we can hope for.

LeBron tanking, and waiting for Vinny del Negro to get replaced with Calipari is about the WORST scenario we can hope for.

High times on the North Coast!

Personally, I don't see Reinsdorf ceding power of his franchise to a guy like Calipari with Wes in the shadows....even if it means landing LeBron.

Could I see Dan Gilbert doing it....??

Yeah....because it would be a deal that is good for both sides....and Gilbert may have no other choice.

 

[Triumph36]

Personally, I don't see Reinsdorf ceding power of his franchise to a guy like Calipari with Wes in the shadows....even if it means landing LeBron.

Could I see Dan Gilbert doing it....??

Yeah....because it would be a deal that is good for both sides....and Gilbert may have no other choice.

How would Wes being "in the shadows" with Cal be any different from how it is now with the Cavs? Wes is already in the shadows in Cleveland and has relationships with personnel in the Cavs organization, including MB.

If Gilbert passes on Cal it won't be because of Wes.

 

[Splitz]

LeBron tanking to get Mike Brown replaced with Calipari is about the best scenario we can hope for.

LeBron tanking, and waiting for Vinny del Negro to get replaced with Calipari is about the WORST scenario we can hope for.

High times on the North Coast!

I don't know about you but any scenario where Lebron quits on his team is a worst case scenario to me. The guy would catapult to the biggest doosh bag in the NBA in my eyes. I would be hard pressed to be able to root for someone like that. Not when I work my ass off to make less a year than he makes in a game. Much less.

 

[Baba Booey]

Quoted from another site:


William Wesley is one of the most powerful men in the NBA, but he is virtually unknown.

Wesley who goes by the moniker World Wide was described by Scoop Jackson in his ESPN Page 2 column as “The second most powerful man in sports after Phil Knight at Nike Sportswear.” Very few people are able to describe his role and those who do know what Wesley is up to don’t talk. That is the way he likes it.

Worldwide Wes was friends with ex-Louisville Cardinals star player Milt Wagner and later became the godfather to Dajuan Wagner, who would grow up to be a phenom in high school basketball in Camden, New Jersey. He acted as an "uncle" to Wagner Jnr, managing his career from the age of 12. When Wagner went to Memphis, it is alleged that Worldwide Wes negotiated Memphis not only giving Wagner's best friend Arthur Barclay a scholarship, but also Wagner's father a big coaching job at the college.

Once Dajuan Wagner got drafted by Cleveland following his one season in college, Wes met a 14 year old kid named LeBron James who was making a big name for himself in nearby Akron, Ohio. The two became friendly, due in part to Wesley introducing him to Jay Z, who Lebron idolised.

Theory has it that Wesley eventually convinced James to fire his original agent Aaron Goodwin and seek the advice of one of his best friends, the lawyer Leon Rose, who was relatively unknown. 10 years ago, Rose’s client list consisted of NBA journeyman Rick Brunson and a handful of players plying their trade overseas. In 2002 seemingly out of nowhere he started representing Dajuan Wagner and Allen Iverson. This was followed by Richard Hamilton and then in 2005 Lebron James.

Worldwide Wes officially works for nobody, so he is able to work for a number of companies and organisations. He unofficially represents Nike and Reebok, and guides players to them. If you look closely at the various forces at work in basketball at every level— from the AAU programs that link young players to collegiate hoops, the agents looking to land players as early as NBA rules allow, the shoe companies, coaches, franchise owners, front-office executives, players—it eventually dawns on you that they have one thing in common: William Wesley.

 

[BooyaCS]

Quoted from another site:


William Wesley is one of the most powerful men in the NBA, but he is virtually unknown.

Wesley who goes by the moniker World Wide was described by Scoop Jackson in his ESPN Page 2 column as “The second most powerful man in sports after Phil Knight at Nike Sportswear.” Very few people are able to describe his role and those who do know what Wesley is up to don’t talk. That is the way he likes it.

Worldwide Wes was friends with ex-Louisville Cardinals star player Milt Wagner and later became the godfather to Dajuan Wagner, who would grow up to be a phenom in high school basketball in Camden, New Jersey. He acted as an "uncle" to Wagner Jnr, managing his career from the age of 12. When Wagner went to Memphis, it is alleged that Worldwide Wes negotiated Memphis not only giving Wagner's best friend Arthur Barclay a scholarship, but also Wagner's father a big coaching job at the college.

Once Dajuan Wagner got drafted by Cleveland following his one season in college, Wes met a 14 year old kid named LeBron James who was making a big name for himself in nearby Akron, Ohio. The two became friendly, due in part to Wesley introducing him to Jay Z, who Lebron idolised.

Theory has it that Wesley eventually convinced James to fire his original agent Aaron Goodwin and seek the advice of one of his best friends, the lawyer Leon Rose, who was relatively unknown. 10 years ago, Rose’s client list consisted of NBA journeyman Rick Brunson and a handful of players plying their trade overseas. In 2002 seemingly out of nowhere he started representing Dajuan Wagner and Allen Iverson. This was followed by Richard Hamilton and then in 2005 Lebron James.

Worldwide Wes officially works for nobody, so he is able to work for a number of companies and organisations. He unofficially represents Nike and Reebok, and guides players to them. If you look closely at the various forces at work in basketball at every level— from the AAU programs that link young players to collegiate hoops, the agents looking to land players as early as NBA rules allow, the shoe companies, coaches, franchise owners, front-office executives, players—it eventually dawns on you that they have one thing in common: William Wesley.

Someone needs to bring this guy down.

 

[Jon]

lol CDR. He's a borderline starter with no marketing potential. LeBron shouldn't and probably doesn't care about him signing with LRMR.

My mistake. I thought I remembered something about CDR and LRMR, but it looks like they have Ted Ginn, OJ Mayo, LeBron, and are reportedly going to sign Wall (if it hasn't happened already).

Anyway, the point is that LeBron and friends are building a circle of companies that will promote and profit from these athletes throughout their careers - and most importantly reinforce each others interests through networking, influence, and channeling.

Calipari has a reputation as a guy who's coached at the pro-level and that's very attractive for kids who expect to become pros, and most importantly he's willing to deal with one and done players with questionable academics and ethics.

He's part of the "family" so everyone in the "family" is doing their part to make sure he gets paid, but if he leaves the college ranks it would leave a hole in their plans ... that is unless they've already identified someone to fill his role.

Anyone come to mind?

LeBron and Nike have a relationship with Ohio State; I wonder if Thad Matta has any connections to the Wesley, Rose, etc.

 

[I.K.W.T]

My mistake. I thought I remembered something about CDR and LRMR, but it looks like they have Ted Ginn, OJ Mayo, LeBron, and are reportedly going to sign Wall (if it hasn't happened already).

Anyway, the point is that LeBron and friends are building a circle of companies that will promote and profit from these athletes throughout their careers - and most importantly reinforce each others interests through networking, influence, and channeling.

Calipari has a reputation as a guy who's coached at the pro-level and that's very attractive for kids who expect to become pros, and most importantly he's willing to deal with one and done players with questionable academics and ethics.

He's part of the "family" so everyone in the "family" is doing their part to make sure he gets paid, but if he leaves the college ranks it would leave a hole in their plans ... that is unless they've already identified someone to fill his role.

Anyone come to mind?


LeBron and Nike have a relationship with Ohio State; I wonder if Thad Matta has any connections to the Wesley, Rose, etc.

John Wall has signed with agent Dan Fegan.

John Wall Signs with Dan Fegan and BEST
by: Jonathan Givony - President
May 3, 2010
The biggest name in the draft has selected an NBA agent, DraftExpress learned tonight.

Kentucky freshman John Wall, the leading candidate to be selected first overall in the 2010 draft, has signed with Dan Fegan of Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST).

Fegan, a Yale Law School graduate and one of the most powerful agents in the NBA, made a big splash for Jonathan Blue’s agency, which acquired his practice in 2008, with this signing.

It has been heavily rumored in recent weeks that BEST will be acquired by French sporting and publishing giant Lagardere S.A., as reported by Sports Business Journal. The sale has not yet been finalized according to sources, but is surely in the works at this point.

The signing of Wall is a major coup for Fegan, BEST and, potentially, Lagardere. They’ve landed a player widely considered to immediately join an elite group of young NBA point guards. Wall’s unique combination of exceptional physical tools—size, speed and explosiveness—along with his terrific playmaking skills and superb intangibles make him a game-changing presence in today’s NBA, and an extremely marketable one at that.

Wall is not only a physical specimen with an unlimited amount of talent and upside, but he’s also an extremely unselfish and highly competitive player—making him an incredibly rare and coveted prospect for NBA teams, and beyond.

Fegan also represents another highly marketable future star point guard in Ricky Rubio, along with the likes of Anderson Varejao, Nene, Jrue Holiday, Shawn Marion, Yi Jianlian, Jason Terry and Troy Murphy.

Industry sources and other top NBA agents we’ve spoken with since the news broke about Lagardere’s acquisition of BEST expect them to immediately compete with fellow top media conglomerates Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and Wasserman Media Group (WMG), companies that have slowly taken over the NBA agent landscape. This is a major step in that direction and will provide a huge amount of exposure in turn.

It has yet to be determined what will happen with Wall’s marketing rights. Marketing is considered to be a major piece to the puzzle with Wall, given the pull the projected No. 1 pick will likely have in the sneaker world and beyond.

Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported a few weeks back that Wall could join LeBron James’ marketing firm, LRMR, but that deal appears to have fallen apart.

BEST is reportedly in the process of finalizing an agreement to co-represent Wall’s marketing rights along with another company, not LRMR.

Look for Dwon Clifton—part of Wall’s AAU team, D-One Sports—to leave his position as assistant coach at Baylor University as part of this signing.

 

[winner0274]

If Lebron tanks the game tonight I will have no longer have any respect for him. I won't even want him to be on the Cavs next year. If he decides to re-sign we should trade him.