For more than a couple years, this particular summer, 2010, has been talked about regarding NBA free agents. And the grand focus was the King himself, LeBron James. Not to mention other marquee free agents starting with Dwyane Wade and then Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire, and even Dirk Nowitski and more.
Well, July 2010 is here. One of the biggest names came off the board today. Dwyane Wade stayed put with the Miami Heat. And he took another name off the board, his friend Chris Bosh who will join him in The 305, the Magic City. On marketing, D-Wade is already a big winner. Way to turn staying put into a media frenzy. Flash traveled around to Chicago and hyped up the possibilities and in the end doesn't switch teams but gains days of headlining attention.
Next is LeBron's turn. His media machine has ticked off some people for trying to be too much. We don't blame him. And it's been GREAT for the game. It's getting a lot of people fired up-- from Chicago to New York. And it's taking the NBA Title up a notch in the eyes of fans as we all learn how so many players want to maneuver and get positioned to try and get one (from Kobe).
So, Thursday at 9pm Eastern-- kudos to ESPN for turning LeBron's announcement into a 1-hour TV special (surely it must be tough for ESPN to turn away its focus on Tiger Woods' every shot as he wanders some course in 14th place).
Anyway, tomorrow is LeBron's day. He has set up a Twitter account (@KingJames) that is swelling with followers. He is feeding them to his website to set up a new email list. Its bold marketing from the players. And its kind of showing a shift in the balance of power in the NBA in general as the players drive attention for the league in part via technology mediums. P.S. the speculation (from NBA player Chris Dudley) is that LeBron will end up in New York, as a Knick.
Full coverage via CNNSI and CBS Sports.
