National Basketball Association

LeBron coverage is just too much

Published Jul. 6, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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Somewhere along the way LeBron James picked up the nickname King James -- a grandiose designation for a basketball phenom who won't celebrate his 26th birthday until December. In hindsight, though -- based on the tone and volume of media attention -- that title doesn't come close to fitting the bill.

Emperor James, anyone? Or perhaps Intergalactic Leader James?

Actually, if you spent any of the weekend following ESPN -- which turned the Cleveland Cavalier’s free agency into a miniseries, “Courting the King” -- he felt like Elvis and the Beatles rolled into one.

James is a marvelous talent, of course, but the coverage’s breathless tone has bordered on the absurd. And while his future has also preoccupied print outlets, because this is TV, you must have video to accompany the story, even if it’s lousy.

As a consequence, poor reporter Shelley Smith was left standing outside a building watching luxury vehicles containing franchise owners and general managers parade by, documenting minute details like precisely how long meetings lasted and exactly when James showed up.

For his part, ESPN’s NBA analyst J.A. Adande was pressed to guess what was in the minds of James, Dwyane Wade and others. He gamely played along, referring to James’ final destination as “Decision 2010,” which, one suspects, CNN will use for the midterm elections.

An alien visitor could easily have confused the LeBron sweepstakes with a meeting of world leaders -- a G20 Summit, if Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy wore shorts. (By the way, if you can explain the NBA’s salary cap but have no idea what the G20 is -- or think Sarkozy is a shooting guard for Memphis -- maybe it’s time to listen to NPR or a news-radio station for a few minutes during that daily commute.)

To its credit, FOX Sports has been relatively restrained by comparison -- “restraint” and “Fox” not often being words you hear in the same sentence.

Granted, this unprecedented wave of free agency happened to coincide with a stretch where not much else was happening. Still, even if sports represent our collective sandbox, wouldn’t it be nice if there was some perspective about the crazy figures being tossed around? Think about Amar’e Stoudemire -- who played so little defense in the playoffs versus the Lakers’ that Pau Gasol resembled Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his prime -- receiving a $100-million contract relative to the teachers, cops and firefighters our cash-strapped cities are currently struggling to pay.

Even in Hollywood, entertainers and those who employ them recognize that bragging about ostentatious salaries isn’t really good for business. Yet here were these owners, almost literally backing up money trucks (OK, money SUVs) -- even as they strategize over how to plead poverty in future collective bargaining negotiations.

Meanwhile, the media has largely short-changed one of the better angles in the James saga – namely, the David-and-Goliath mismatch pitting Cleveland, the 18th largest U.S. TV market, against other cities two (Chicago), four (L.A.) and five (New York) times its size. There’s something both sweet and sad about Cleveland’s attachment to this home-grown star, as if the town is starved for reasons to exhibit civic pride beyond the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and comedian Drew Carey.

While they haven’t gotten much attention in this equation, James’ endorsement partners -- including deals with McDonald’s and Nike -- are surely elbowing him toward a team in a location with more mouths to feed and shoes to fill. Forbes estimated his career-long haul will rise dramatically -- approaching $1 billion -- if he jumps to New York.

“The madness continues,” gushed ESPN’s Stan Verrett over the weekend, conveniently ignoring his network’s role in helping perpetuate LeBron-Mania.

By the way, most of those aforementioned, modestly paid city employees, like just about everybody else, will have to settle for watching James ply his trade on TV regardless of where “Decision 2010” leaves him -- an announcement expected later this week, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

In the meantime, the media’s primary contribution to LeBron-o-Rama thus far has entailed inducing a King-sized headache.

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