While Dwayne Wade has apparently fortified his relationship with the Miami Heat by actively recruiting other superstars to come join him in South Florida, LeBron James continues his one-man mystery show. Refusing to tip his cards, LeBron remains shrouded in secrecy as to his free agency fate, but it appears that “sources” close to the guy who refers to himself as basketball royalty are saying that he approves of the Cleveland Cavaliers attempting to hire Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. He approves. That’s it. No, “I’ll play for him.” Just a passing nod, apparently.

Izzo texted the Associated Press that he is still gathering information, which could possibly mean that he’s waiting to find out what LeBron’s destiny is. Izzo is believed to be waiting out this NBA dead time, with absolutely nothing else going on, until free agency begins to make his decision based on LeBron’s decision. Meanwhile, Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson just want someone to love them.

Pass this note to the doable chubby chick with braces for me, Detroit Free Press:

While no one knows what James will do, a Cleveland newspaper reports that James has endorsed Izzo. The Plain Dealer reports that “sources have indicated James approves of the highly-respected Izzo” and that “James ‘100 percent’ would endorse Izzo’s hiring.”

It’s not known if Izzo has contacted James personally – perhaps that’s the “gathering” Izzo still needs to do.

The Cavs have made Izzo an offer of 5-years, $30 million to replace Mike Brown, who won back-to-back 60-win seasons before being fired, but Izzo has also previously said that he would like to win at least one more NCAA championship at Michigan State before giving the NBA a chance. However, Izzo has been trying to get in touch with LeBron via phone, but apparently to no avail. He should try texting or Tweeting, seems to be the only way to communicate these days.

Meanwhile, David Geffen held his pointer finger and thumb to his face and said, “You need to talk to LeBron? I got him right here. What’s that Bron-Bron? You want a mansion on the moon? Done! You want a toilet made of unobtainium? Done! You want to me to resurrect Jimmy Dean to make you breakfast for the next 30 years? Done, double done and triple done! Suck on that, Donald Sterling!”

Billionaire entertainment mogul David Geffen has been trying for years to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers, and despite his best efforts and promises to raise the franchise to greatness, current owner and selective renter Donald Sterling will not sell. Sterling, widely regarded as one of the worst owners in professional sports history, has recently shed his cheapskate image to little success, but Geffen is promising Clippers fans and Sterling the ultimate prize – LeBron James.

Geffen sat courtside at Game 2 of the NBA Finals with LeBron’s close friend and business manager Maverick Carter, and the King elected not to attend to avoid creating a distraction from the game itself. The 67-year old Geffen is already friends with the 25-year old James, so the possibility of him making due on his word is hardly a longshot. The problem is that Sterling refuses to sell the franchise – or at least the majority share – because he has long declared that it is “an asset of remarkable value.” Added Sterling: “In the meantime, I just had a remarkable meal at Taco Bell and need to take an astonishing dump.”

Straighten your double Windsor, Los Angeles Business:

Based on Forbes magazine’s valuations of NBA franchises, the Clippers are the 23rd most valuable franchise in the league at $295 million. It bears mentioning that the most valuable franchise happens to be the Clippers’ roommates at Staples Center, the Los Angeles Lakers, who are currently in the NBA finals.

Based on the $295 million valuation, a 51 percent stake would cost Geffen, who has a net worth estimated around $4.5 billion, around $151 million.

Geffen believes that his history in the recording industry and partnership in DreamWorks could open endless doors for LeBron to become an unparalleled global icon. In related news, I was once on the jumbotron at a XFL game. Geffen also believes that the core of players already in place for the Clippers – Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon – could offer LeBron an immediate shot at ousting the Lakers as LA’s title team.

Sterling, however, will simply not sell a majority share of the team, but he does have some nice apartments he’s willing to rent, so long as you’re not black or Latino.

Read the rest of this entry »

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Jay-Z admitted that he is not actively recruiting his close friend LeBron James to play for the New Jersey Nets, of which Jay-Z is a minority owner. In the business sense. Not the… you know. Geez, this got awkward quickly. The rapper says that because of their personal relationship, he doesn’t want to complicate things by making it all about business. Instead, they’ll stick to having daily cash-burning contests while traveling to their moon mansions in their diamond rockets.

Jay-Z of course wants LeBron to play for New Jersey, as does majority owner and jet ski enthusiast Mikhail Prokhorov and pretty much everyone in New York City. Unless he wants to play for the Knicks. Hell, they’ll take him on the New York Liberty. If LeBron was 38, he could pitch for the Mets. Whatever it takes.

I’ve got 99 problems and LeBron news ain’t one, Yahoo! Sports:

Jay-Z is leaving all recruiting to the new owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who first met with the hip-hop exec at the Manhattan Four Seasons. “I’d been staying there for 10 years, and I always thought I was at the top level,” Jay-Z told the magazine. “But when I met Prokhorov, they took me up to this extra, extra room that I had never even heard of before. Now there’s something else to shoot for. There’s always an extra level you don’t know about.”

While Jay-Z and the Nets bolster their chances of signing the championship-less superstar, the Cleveland Cavaliers have apparently made their first attempt at a big name coach. According to multiple news outlets, the Cavaliers have offered Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo their vacant coaching position. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is a MSU alum and has been enamored with Izzo for quite some time, having wanted to hire him over Mike Brown in 2005. MSU’s Athletic Director denied the reports, stating that the Cavs are merely interested, but have not made a formal offer.

Izzo has previously stated that he will not even consider coaching in the NBA until he wins another title with the Spartans. If you’re not aware of how much of a god Izzo is at MSU, fans can actually purchase Tom Izzo Fathead wall decorations. Seriously. You can have a college coach adorning your bedroom wall. Give it a shot, chicks love it.

Read the rest of this entry »

In a statement so simple it could have been printed on a Bazooka Joe comic or in Maxim Magazine, economist John Skorburg of the University of Illinois at Chicago has determined that LeBron James’ presence in Chicago would net the city approximately $2.7 billion over six years. According to Crain’s Chicago Business, the city’s financial future would hang entirely upon LeBron’s ability to steer the Bulls deep into the playoffs consistently, while winning multiple titles. By those standards, James has made the city of Cleveland $162 over the past seven years.

Vegas oddsmakers currently have Chicago as the most likely spot for The King to land, as the Bulls have a talented enough squad to help James win his first NBA title. However, history is being made as James will meet for the much to-do free agent summit with Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire and Chris Bosh, at which the group could agree to predetermined salaries to join forces and dominate the NBA for the next six years. During which time they’ll write slam books about other NBA players and totally not invite Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard to their sleepovers.

Fudge the numbers, Chicago Business:

Chicago offers a big-market setting for Mr. James to increase his exposure. The New York Knicks also have salary-cap room and could make a stronger fame-and-fortune pitch. But that franchise lacks the Bulls’ nucleus of young talent, which NBA pundits believe offers the best chance for Mr. James to grab his elusive first NBA title — the real key to enhancing his endorsement deals and other commercial opportunities.

“Chicago has to convince LeBron that he can win championships there,” says Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. “To maximize his off-court earning potential, it’s all about getting rings.”

Chicago also offers LeBron the safest landing spot for his mom, because have you seen Joakim Noah? But seriously, James’ current endorsement pull of $28 million per year makes his salary almost negligible, which makes the free agent summit all the more interesting.

In the meantime, the Cleveland Cavaliers won’t go down without a fight. The city of Akron announced over the long weekend that it will host a LeBron Appreciation Day. Said the Knicks, Bulls, Heat, Clippers, Nets and Mavericks, “Well played, Akron. Well played.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers have made it clear that they’ll do everything it takes to keep LeBron in the Mistake By the Lake, including firing the deceptively successful Mike Brown, despite open criticism of the front office from other Cavs stars like the tall guy and the one who passes the ball. Brown was the NBA Coach of the Year for the 2008-09 season and won more than 60 games in each of the last two seasons. However, the Cavs were upset in the playoffs this year and last, mostly due to Brown’s inability to coach beyond his theory: 1. Give it to LeBron. 2. ??? 3. Win a title!

The list of potential new coaches for Cleveland is short but prominent, with Phil Jackson and Mike Krzyzewski at the top, and John Calipari still lingering amidst rumors that he’s kissing William Wesley’s powerful butt. Coach K has already turned down the advances of the Russian Mafia New Jersey Nets, and representatives of Duke have said he’s not going anywhere. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has vowed to open his wallet for the right coach, but there’s a better chance of Coach K giving birth to Asian triplets than leaving ultimate 100 percent job security and man-of-legend status at Duke.

Poke that hornet nest with a stick, Yahoo! Sports:

Calipari also says he’s not leaving Kentucky but, as of June 1, his representation is about to change to be William Wesley, who is a pal of LeBron’s. The word is that Wesley has been trying to sell teams on taking Calipari and James as a package.

Whoever it is, a new coach isn’t likely to be named until after July 1 when the free-agent window flies open. And if one is, it’s likely LeBron has given his affirmation and is planning to return to the Cavs.

The Chicago Bulls have also upped their ante for LeBron as they’ve reportedly used back channels to contact Jackson about returning to the coaching gig that made him famous. Cold War tactics aside, Jackson has given no indication as to his coaching future, other than a brief mention of retirement last week. Andrew Bynum certainly doesn’t appreciate the distraction while he’s playing in the Finals against the Celtics. On the moon. In front of the galactic emperor.

Read the rest of this entry »

Calvin Murphy is best remembered as a NBA Hall of Fame guard for the Houston Rockets in the 1970s, as well as a longtime member of the Rockets’ broadcast team. Unfortunately, he’s also fondly recalled for having 14 children with nine different women and being accused of sexually abusing five of them. So it’s safe to say that he’s not exactly the best source for validating rumors. With that said, Murphy recently told a Houston ESPN radio station that LeBron’s mom indeed had sexual congress with Delonte West… and others.

Murphy said that he knows the rumor, first reported by TerezOwens.com, is true, and that the relationship between Delonte and Gloria James is so widely known within NBA locker rooms that Lebron may have been the only person completely oblivious to the situation. And probably Zydrunas Ilgauskas, because nobody tells that blabbermouth anything.

Touch us under the supervision of a court-appointed official, Huffington Post:

“It ain’t no rumor,” he told a Houston ESPN Radio station, calling the claims “absolutely true” and “absolutely horrifying.” He went on:

“Unfortunately, my sources in the NBA tell me that it’s absolutely true. My sources, and they’re legit, tell me that the only people that didn’t know it was happening was LeBron and me.”

I gotta say, if a dude who has been accused of sexually abusing his own daughters calls your situation “absolutely horrifying”… well, you’re pretty much screwed. Murphy, of course, failed to reveal any damning evidence or even draw other attention-starved “witnesses” into the fray, but that didn’t stop him from dropping two other juicy nuggets:

Read the rest of this entry »