Everyone wants a piece of Lebron James.
The 18-year-old phenom out of Ohio’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School has encountered a rocky road the past month. That’s just fine, because I’m sure his new Hummer H2 comes standard with 4-wheel drive.
James, who stands at 6’8′ and weighs 240 pounds (which makes him more man than child), will almost certainly be the number one overall pick in June’s NBA Draft.
It appears lots of people stand to win in the Lebron sweepstakes. Sneaker companies, the media, the NBA and sports agents are eagerly waiting for his high school career to end and his NBA career to begin. James seems to be as close to the easy money as possible.
However, I’m not convinced that the track James is on is the right one for anyone.
All too often in Lebron’s ascent to the high school basketball Kingship, the real issues have been overshadowed. The media has embraced his scandals over his performance and stories that should be nothing more than sidebars have taken over the front page.
The shame in this is that Lebron’s talent is placed on the backburner. One would think that putting up 50 points on two separate occasions this season and leading his team to the No. 1 high school ranking in the country would be story enough.
NBA Commissioner David Stern also seems awfully anxious to welcome James to the NBA family. Air Jordan has lowered the landing gear on his career (again) and the NBA is looking for someone to take the torch. But Stern is too focused on the immediate benefit James will have on the league.
Lebron’s long-term effect on the league might be worse than you think. Even though James himself may possess the necessary talent to be an NBA star, he is only perpetuating this disturbing trend of skipping college to seek out an NBA career before one can even drink legally.
For every Kevin Garnett there’s a Leon Smith. Who, you may ask? That is exactly my point. For every kid that makes the jump and succeeds there’s another that no one knows about.
Stern must also be excited about the arrival of James and what he can do for the NBA’s ratings, which have been slipping faster than the fat kid in PE class down the rope climb. The phenom is so popular that home games had to be moved to the 6,000-seat University of Akron Arena and for the past three months, games have been shown on Pay-Per-View to 14 counties in Ohio for $4 to $7 per game. I can picture Stern foaming at the mouth.
The talent level at the NBA has been so watered down, however, by the actions of kids like Lebron that no one player can bring the fledgling league back from the dead. Years ago, when the practice of skipping college was unheard of, the NBA was dealing with players who had spent four years in college honing their skills and talents. Now, players are using the NBA as their training ground.
Even worse is that some of the most touted players, like the Washington Wizards’ Kwame Brown, don’t see minutes. They spend their time sitting at the end of the bench. In his rookie season, Brown, who was selected first overall out of Glynn Academy in Georgia, barely broke a sweat, playing 14 minutes a game and averaging a mere 4.5 points.
This also poses a great concern for basketball at the college level in the future. I would hate to see March Madness, the greatest annual event in sports in my opinion, turn into nothing more than a gathering of ‘B’ players because all the players who would have been forces in college are warming the pine in the NBA as rookies.
Unfortunately, it is current high school procedures and NCAA rules that drive James, and players like him, to pass over the college education and experience. Currently, James is the reason for the already mentioned Pay-Per-View deal in Ohio as well as TV deals with ESPN and the YES Network of New York. Yet current sanctions don’t allow James to even as much as sniff the cash.
Is it possible that if the players were given a taste of what they helped earn, they might be a little more inclined to develop their skills on a smaller stage before jumping at the money the NBA has to offer? I’m not saying that paying players is the solution, but perhaps allowing the player to enjoy a percentage of profits and altering the gift giving sanctions might keep them happy. This would help to avoid the gift-giving scandals that seem to run rampant and keep the focus where it really should be: on the talent of the player.
If Commissioner Stern were smart, he would also rethink rules, or lack thereof, which allow players to make the jump so easily. In a recent edition of ESPN’s Outside the Lines, Stern said, ‘We’ve thought about increasing the age of entry into the NBA to 20, but we can live with our current rules.’ He’s going to have to do a better job than blaming his passivity on the fact that he would meet disapproval from the Player’s Association. Instead, Stern continues to be the R. Kelly of the NBA, unwisely proclaiming, ‘Bring on the teens!’
If only there were rules in place that could protect teens from David Stern.