Halstead Property

Diane M. Ramirez
President
dramirez@halstead.com
(212) 381-3203

What Has Your City Offered Lebron James Lately

I'm still just as fascinated by the LeBron sweepstakes as I was when I wrote about it last week.  I've been following C'mon LeBron and Send LeBron to Chicago on Facebook, and I can honestly say I've never seen anything like the campaigns going on to woo King James.

In addition to the previous offers of famous chefs Mario Batali and Marcus Samuelsson, and the plea by Mayor Bloomberg, which included a quote from the Bible, (the King James version, of course), New York has upped the anty with a proposal from Halstead Property.  They will offer their expert brokerage services to find the King a castle and will donate any fees to the charity of his choosing.  Oh, and by now you must have learned there's a website: www.everykingneedsacastle.com.  So, now LeBron can rest assured he'll be well fed and have a roof over his head if he chooses New York.  He'll also be well-attired, having been offered the full line of Nooka design products, from fragrances to watches, by its creator, Matthew Waldman.

If the sheer number of offers from citizens in New York, Chicago and other cities isn't impressive, the creativity certainly is.  My favorite is a suggestion on the C'mon LeBron page on Facebook that the city come up with a "bat signal" of sorts to light up the New York sky when the Knicks are playing at home.  It reminds me of the way they light up The Trop orange when the Rays win a game, but, of course, with the type of flair fit for a King.

While Chicago's website initially impressed me more than New York's, I'm now being swayed by the seemingly infinite number of websites emerging from New York fans. There's the official C'mon Lebron site.  Then there's the aforementioned Every King Needs a Castle, offering real estate brokerage services.  Next there's NY Heart LeBron, which was created by Jason and Corey Grant, two of the most adorable 12-year-old twins I've ever seen.  According to that site, 1,954,425 people have either tweeted #NY<3LEBRON or have pressed the LeBron button, which is both featured on the website and scattered in locations across New York City.

The coordinated effort in New York is overwhelming. to say the least.  Yet, the Vegas odds-makers are picking Chicago according to fellow SportsMoney contributor, Tom Van Riper.  Six out of eight experts from ESPN.com and TrueHoop picked Chicago as well.  Nonetheless, the Knicks and Nets will make their pitches to the King today in Ohio.

For once, it's not all about the money.  If LeBron James leaves the Cavs, it's because he wants to win a championship.  The NBA free agency rules allow a player's current team to pay him more than other suitors and to offer longer contracts.  If he stays with the Cavs, he can get a six-year contract with 10.5% increases each year.  However, if he chooses another team, he can only get a five-year contract with 8% increases each year.

For now, we all wait with baited breath for the grand proclamation that will declare which kingdom LeBron will choose to rule....

Thursday, July 01, 2010