LeBron Plans Elaborate Free Agency Tour (Update: Nike refutes rumor)

[Doc]

Up until this season I actually didn't mind LeBron, but his "attention whore" ways have really annoyed me to the point where I actually dislike him now.

Check out his lately "genius" plan:

In honor of LeBron James and his apparent insistence on being talked about during the NBA Finals, we interrupt coverage to share some free agency news about the league's King of hype.

According to a source with first-hand knowledge of James' plans, the Larry King interview that was shot Tuesday and will air Friday on CNN was only the beginning of his elaborate scheme to draw unprecedented attention to his courting. James, according to the source, is in discussions with Nike to create a new shoe for every visit along his free agent path starting July 1. The shoes would have the date of the visit printed, with James already having scripted his itinerary for the Free Agency Tour 2010.

The source insists that he'll head for New York first to visit with the Knicks, and then spend time with the Nets. Chicago will be next, with the Bulls hoping he wants to follow in the footsteps of Michael Jordan and become the Windy City's beloved star. Depending on the level of sustained public interest and the discussions with the teams in the respective cities, James will decide at that point whether to continue on to Miami and possibly Los Angeles to see the Clippers.

Source - Click here

[hateslosing]

The guy started to irritate me last year when he refused to shake hands with the Magic. I've said it before and I'll say it again, no one should be talking about Lebron as being one of the greatest players ever until he leads his team to a title. To me Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce still rank ahead of James on the all time list of great players and I'd even say that Dwight Howard is a better/more valuable player than Lebron James today since the magic have advanced further in the playoffs than the Cavs two years in a row. He should spend more time in the gym trying to get better than running around the country trying to prostitute himself out to anyone who will listen.

[Mess]

I've stopped caring about where he goes. It's too much.

Jordan became, and is still, a global icon because of winning, not the shoes.

No amount of publicity and promotion can get James to that level without the rings to base it on.

[mo-sales]

I still buy into the hype. If Lebron comes to Tdot I will be out there rain or shine screaming like 12 year old lesbian at a Justin Bieber concert.

[Apollo]

Jordan didn't need to scheme to sell his merchandise and he didn't plan stunts to draw attention. People naturally couldn't get enough of him because of his great performances that led to wins and naturally wanted to buy his merchandise. I hear no huge buzz about when the new "LeBrons" come out but I remember back to when I was a kid... When the new "Air Jordans" hit the shelves, are you kidding me? If you were lucky enough to have a pair you were the man.

[Hotshot]

Man what a primadona, its too bad Shaq wasn't in his prime and would have played against James instead of with him then I know James would have been known as "Queen James".

Someone needs to put that guy in his place.

[Apollo]

For the record, Nike on Friday refuted the notion of a free-agency shoe tour for LeBron.

"I don't think it's fair," Magic said of the criticism directed at James. "We've never had a summer like we're going to have in the NBA, and we've probably never had a guy like this on the free-agent market -- and the other guys, as well. And what's good about it is, the NBA is staying in people's faces, so I like that. So I would say, 'Continue to do what you're doing.' And also, he's doing it on the off days, so it's given people something to think about while the series has two days off. You know, hey, the man is great, he's got personality. You know we were upset when these guys were not marketing our league; I was upset. Now, they've got guys going out here and doing it."

I asked the obvious follow-up: Is LeBron marketing the league or himself?

"Well, both," Magic said. "If he markets himself, he's marketing the league. You've got him and Kobe [Bryant], the 1 and 2 popular players, so it's good for the league when he's out there."

Speak of the devil. At that very moment, Bryant came walking down the loading ramp at Staples after practice, wearing a black and yellow Nike sweatsuit and his customary shades. And so I asked Magic: If Larry King was going to have one basketball player on his show to commemorate his anniversary week, shouldn't it have been that guy? Shouldn't it have been the one with the shades and the four championship rings? The one actually playing basketball with another title on the line?

"No, you can't discount [LeBron] for doing that," Magic said. "I mean, he's the second best."

And then Magic and Kobe embraced, a few hours from the airing of the second best's interview on CNN. On our way out of Staples, I stopped the best and asked him the same question I'd asked Magic: Do those who accuse LeBron of trying to upstage the Finals have a point? Is this national TV interview, along with a report Friday of discussions about a different pair of Nikes for each city on his free agency tour, crossing the line?

"No," Bryant said. "I don't deal with that, and I don't think about it. I know him personally, and he's a great person; a great person and a hell of a player. My deal with him is, I wish people would just leave him the hell alone and let him do his thing and that's all I'll say about that. I really don't think about anything other than just him doing well."

CBSsports.com