#6 LeBron James

[King Taharqa]

The defending champs retooled.

LeBron getting fitted for his ring. Suck it haters! :)

[Hawk]

lots of empty fingers to pick from!!!

[King Taharqa]

After training camp practices, James has been seen polishing his sky-hook in the post. Yes, LeBron James appears to be taking a page out of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's playbook.

"This year, I’ll be spending most of my time in the paint," James said, "Just trying to develop my game and continue to expand it."

This has been the evolution that many critics and fans alike have demanded and expected of him at this stage of his career. After all, James has the size of Karl Malone. Why not play like it?

James fully unlocked his post moves on the way to winning his first title. Chris Bosh's injury forced James to move closer to the block and embrace his role as a "point-4." According to Synergy Sports, he averaged 6.3 post plays per game last postseason compared to just 3.8 post plays per game in his first playoff run with Miami.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/miamiheat/post/_/id/15298/lebron-james-winner-of-the-anti-flop-rules

[King Taharqa]

Buffet praises LeBron's business acumen

LeBron James is earning high praise in high places.

Warren Buffett, 82, is the second-richest man in America, a person whose business acumen has been lauded the world over. Worth an estimated $46 billion, Buffett does not take his investments lightly, and he has taken an interest in 27-year-old James of the Miami Heat.

“You have to get to know him,” Buffett said, according to The Miami Herald. “LeBron’s not initially really talkative. He’s savvy. He’s smart about financial matters. It’s amazing to me the maturity he exhibits. I know that if I had been famous at that age, I would have had trouble keeping my feet on the ground.”

James has a net worth of $110 million and was the fourth highest-paid athlete in 2012, according to Forbes.com. Tiger Woods—who was listed at No.3—became the first athlete to earn $1 billion dollars, and James wants to be next. He certainly has people in his corner who know about accumulating wealth. Not many people can count Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and rap mogul Jay-Z as friends.

James didn’t attend college, famously making the leap from high school to the NBA without missing a beat. That has had no bearing on his ability to make savvy business moves—and it doesn’t hurt to turn to Buffett for advice every now and then.

At the root of James’ place as the most bankable NBA player is his personality and prodigious talent. His first season with the Miami Heat, which ended in an NBA Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks, resulted in a 17 percent increase in the Heat franchise’s value, pushing it to $425 million, according to Forbes. That number increased to $457 million after James’ second season in Miami, in which the team finished with an NBA championship win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. James also helped add $111 million to the net worth of team owner Micky Arison.

The best season of James’ NBA career did more than earn the NBA’s most recognizable player his first championship—it also added validation that only increases his earning power. James currently holds lucrative endorsement deals with Nike, Coca-Cola, State Farm, McDonald’s and Samsung, and the list is bound to grow. James’ most publicized venture was the deal with Fenway Sports Group that made him a minority owner in the British soccer team Liverpool.

But James made it known he will be selective in business moves, something he has already done with his pool of friends and advisors.

“I’ve got a lot going on right now,” James said. “I’m not looking for too many new opportunities—unless it’s a good one.”

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2012-11-03/lebron-james-net-worth-warren-buffett-miami-heat-micky-arison-tiger-woods-stats

[King Taharqa]

A couple of years ago, I was asking various NBA people what LeBron James could do in the coming years to differentiate himself from Michael Jordan. If Jordan wasn't the greatest basketball player ever, then at the very least he was the best-marketed.

I wasn't asking for a political statement, but that's what I got. The best answer, not surprisingly, came from one of the smartest, most thoughtful athletes I've ever interviewed: Ray Allen. This was in early 2011, before James had taken the first important step toward rebuilding his image (i.e. winning a championship) and before Allen and James improbably became teammates on the Miami Heat.

This is what Allen said in January 2011, and it rings true now, the day after Election Day.

"Mike paved the way for all of us to open up the endorsement door," Allen said. "But the one thing that Mike never was is political. I think in today's era, the NBA player has an even greater podium if he chooses to use it. And with Barack Obama being the first black President, it's a great forum. I think that would separate him from anybody who's done this."

In other words, Jordan may have won six championships, but he was oh-for-scoring-political-points during his Hall of Fame career. Jordan -- as the often-related story goes -- chose commerce over politics in 1990 when he refused to endorse Democrat Harvey Gantt, a black U.S. Senate candidate in his home state of North Carolina.

"Republicans buy shoes, too," Jordan famously explained.

And that was Allen's point: Whereas Jordan avoided politics for fear of alienating potential customers, James could really separate himself by embracing his role as someone who could not only generate opinions but influence them.

"It's great to be a basketball player, but to transcend sports is a big responsibility," Allen said. "If he were able to pull that off -- if he wants to pull that off -- I think that would set him apart."

So when Obama became the first black candidate to win the White House in 2008, James was not hesitant in expressing his approval. Then, the day before Obama's re-election bid went to the voters, James took to Twitter -- a platform Jordan lacked during his playing days -- and tweeted, "The president got more work to do, make sure you get out and vote."

Then, another tweet urging his 6.5 million followers again to "get out and vote," with a hash tag inspired by Obama's campaign slogan: #forward2012.

From the sheer standpoint of getting involved and expressing his opinion, it was a risk -- one that even Jordan himself is now willing to take. A political agnostic no longer, Jordan organized a $3 million fundraising dinner for Obama in August, an event supported by NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo, Grant Hill, Paul Pierce and others. Vince Carter previously hosted a $30,000-per-person Obama fundraiser at his Florida home.

According to a donor list aggregated by HoopsHype.com, five current NBA players -- Anthony, Hill, Carter, Nolan Smith and free-agent Baron Davis -- donated to Obama's campaign. Jordan was an exception among NBA ownership types who donated to the President's successful re-election bid, putting up $5,000.

Even though commissioner David Stern recently poked fun at Obama's basketball skills -- "He’s not that good," said Stern, the noted Democrat who himself donated $5,000 to Obama -- the obstacles that kept Jordan from voicing political opinions during his playing career appear to have been lifted. But the golden rule of sports is to follow the money, and if you do that when it comes to NBA political donations, the league appears just as divided as the country is.

Members of NBA ownership groups donated far more to Romney's campaign than players to Obama's campaign. According to the campaign finance documents cited by HoopsHype, 21 members of NBA ownership groups donated $98,500 to Romney, compared to the five aforementioned players who delivered $21,000 to Obama.

Curiously, James' name was absent from the list of NBA donors to this presidential campaign. But he threw his considerable weight behind the president with his social media influence and something even more valuable: his vote, in the battleground state of Ohio.

"2 terms!!!!" James tweeted after Obama's re-election was called by the networks Tuesday night. "Ohio u guys are ... awesome."

An array of current and former NBA players chimed in, mostly in support of Obama's victory. James' friend, Chris Paul, tweeted, "OBAMA!!! #4MoreYears," while Kevin Durant wrote, "4 more! What a great night."

So what do we have in the NBA's tiny corner of the universe on this day after Election Day? An environment where it's no longer taboo for pro athletes to express their political opinions. Is this good or bad? Is this what we wanted?

I, for one, could do without it. While I understand the criticism Jordan incurred for sidestepping the landmines of politics in the '90s and the praise James has received for voicing his opinions, I'm not sure we'll enjoy a politicized sports landscape as much as those who criticized Jordan back in the day thought we would.

The electoral map, popular vote and demographics of Tuesday's outcome proved only that the country is more at odds than ever. During crucial times with massive problems to deal with, do we really want our athletes to take sides? Do we want sports, a bastion of recreation and means of escape from real-world problems, to become just as fraught with disunity as the rest of our lives?

I don't know the answer for sure. But I do know I'm more interested in how LeBron does Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets than I am in what policy agenda he believes will get the country back on track. Debate about that will be impossible to avoid without sports becoming a forum for it, too.

Is it so wrong to reserve those questions for the politicians and pundits? LeBron thinks so, even though Republicans buy Samsung Galaxy Note II's, too. That's his call, and part of the strange times in which we live.

Whether you agree, disagree, or just want to talk hoops and leave the politics out of it, on to the rest of the first 2012-13 regular season edition of Postups:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/20870688/postups-james-like-mike-not-about-politics-hes-involved-is-that-good

[HeatCheck]

LBJ would have got a triple double last night if it wasn't for the lopsided score.

[ZB1224]

LeBron will never be the GOAT, but he's definitely one of the best playmakers and best all around players in NBA history. I'm not a huge fan of his (don't dislike, just isn't my fav player), but I definitely respect his game. We should be seeing a lot of triple doubles this season with sooooo many sharpshooters around him.

[King Taharqa]

Mike Brown's firing stuns LeBron

By Michael Wallace

ESPN.com

As the Los Angeles Lakers move forward in a high-profile search for their next coach, count LeBron James among those who took exception to how matters went down with Mike Brown.

James doesn't believe his former coach in Cleveland ever got a "fair shake" in Los Angeles and was stunned when he learned Brown was fired by the Lakers on Friday after their 1-4 start to the season.

James played five years for Brown with the Cavaliers before Brown was fired by Cleveland after the 2009-10 season, just weeks before James departed in free agency to sign with Miami.

"I think it's unfortunate," James said Friday after the Heat's win in Atlanta against the Hawks. "I just don't think he got a fair shake, honestly. With the shortened season last year, and five games into this year, he didn't really get a full season."

Brown was hired by the Lakers before the NBA lockout last season, which condensed the regular-season schedule to 66 games. The Lakers were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals by Oklahoma City, who eventually lost to Miami in the NBA Finals to give James the championship he never won with Brown in Cleveland.

Brown was fired in Cleveland despite winning more games than any coach in franchise history. But he was let go amid speculation that his relationship with James had soured over their final season together. James was publicly silent about Brown's potential fate -- or any other matter regarding the Cavaliers -- after Cleveland was eliminated from the playoffs by Boston in 2010.

James shook his head and paused for several seconds at his locker when he was initially asked about Brown's dismissal in Los Angeles. The Lakers are reportedly interested in former coach Phil Jackson, among others, to take over for the rest of the season.

"I've got a lot to say, but I'm not going to say it right now," said James, who won two of his three league MVP awards under Brown in Cleveland and also led the Cavaliers to the 2007 NBA Finals. "I wish him the best, but I just think it's unfortunate and it's just, you know, how the league is. They can do what they want to do."

James didn't elaborate, and his session with reporters was ended by a team official after that final vague comment. James told ESPN.com he planned to reach out and speak to Brown in the coming days. The Heat are on a six-game trip that takes them to Los Angeles next week to play the Clippers.

Brown is connected to others in Miami's organization. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra considers Brown one of his better friends in the league and they share a similar rise to prominence in the coaching ranks.

Spoelstra and Brown started as video coordinators and advance scouts in the NBA and worked their way to premier head coaching jobs. The two were also rival point guards in the same collegiate conference on the West Coast.

"When you see one of your coaching peers, one of your fraternity, not get an opportunity, that's tough," Spoelstra said of Brown. "Mike is an excellent coach. He has proven it. He has got an excellent track record. It's a shame that it came down like that."

The Lakers made the change after getting off to a 1-4 start despite the offseason acquisitions of two-time MVP Steve Nash and perennial defensive player of the year Dwight Howard. With Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol already in place, the Lakers entered the season with immense expectations to reclaim their spot atop the Western Conference.

Instead, they had the worst record in the West through five games before they opened a homestand with Friday's victory against Golden State. Injuries and chemistry problems have contributed to the Lakers' slow -- and costly -- start to the season.

Miami endured similar early struggles when James and Chris Bosh first joined Dwyane Wade in Miami two seasons ago. The Heat started 9-8 during the 2010-11 season, and their frustrations spilled over during a team meeting after a loss at Dallas in November. Like Brown, Spoelstra also initially had to deal with players privately grumbling about his offense and their roles in it.

But the Heat quickly regrouped and advanced to the Finals that first season before losing to the Mavericks in six games. They avenged that setback last season to win the title, and all the early turbulence is now a faded memory in Miami.

Spoelstra said one difference between the Heat's and Lakers' situations is that he had more support from owner Micky Arison and team president Pat Riley, who groomed Spoelstra for the head coaching position when Riley retired as coach following the 2007-08 season.

"Looking at our situation, it was something much, much different," Spoelstra said. "We had patience. The stability comes from Micky and Pat. They were thinking big picture the whole way. There wasn't a panic, even when we were 9-8. I felt great confidence from them, but it needed to be said. All we needed was to get our hands dirty, get to work and figure out collectively how to get out of that hole."

http://espn.go.com/n...-angeles-lakers

[ZB1224]

Not sure why LBJ seems distraught over the Mike Brown firing. LBJ and Brown were failures their entire career in Cleveland.

[CarolinaPride5]

LBJ is upset because he knew Mike Brown was terrible and wanted him to stay in LA.

[CarolinaPride5]

[King Taharqa]

That was Sunday, CarolinaPride, this was Monday night...

[Kevin Greene]

Heat/Clips should be a fun game to watch.

[CarolinaPride5]

Clippers pounded em.