EuroBron Attacks - Just in time for 08/08/08

Forgot about giving Ohioans sleepless nights. LeBron James has now progressed to holding the entire NBA hostage.

As a Cavaliers fan, you want to laugh at the recent report saying that LeBron would consider offers from Europe in that dreaded year of 2010 if they were in the $50 million range. You want to laugh at them just as you laughed at all the speculation that infested and plagued the minds of sports fans everywhere during LeBron's rookie contract - only to see him inevitably re-sign for three more years. You want to sit back and wait for him to just re-sign before laughing in the faces of those wasting their time speculating LeBron's future today.

There's one problem. It's time to start looking at this entire situation objectively.

Back in February of 2007, Dime Magazine did a cover story on James targeting 08/08/08 - the first day of the Olympics and just a matter of hours away at the time this goes to press - as a marketing ploy. In that piece, published just 18 months ago, LeBron and his camp seemed to have made their goals clear. 

"08/08/08 is the start of the Beijing Olympics. It's that date, the opening ceremonies, that LeBron and his partners at his marketing company, LRMR Marketing have identified as the deadline they have set for themselves to turn LeBron James into a true international icon," read the article. "The plan is to make LeBron a global brand through a two-pronged attack of forming several partnerships with global fortune 500 companies and grassroots community efforts on the ground in China (where LeBron has already built basketball courts in Beijing and Guangzhou)."

"I want to expand. I don't just want to be known in the U.S. That's not anough for me," LeBron was quoted as saying in that February issue. "I'm very focused on globalizing the LeBron James brand."

Well - there you have it.

LeBron James, a 23-year old African American from Akron, Ohio, rivals Chinese-born Yao Ming in popularity in Yao's own country of China. LeBron's marketing campaign has gone above and beyond making him a household name on even the other side of the world. The Olympics present him with a unique opportunity since the host city is Beijing, and it's no surprise that James' camp is zeroing in on these games as a chance to exponentially increase his popularity in the largest country in the world.

That's the good thing. As a Cavaliers fan, you like that. It means more exposure for LeBron, meaning more exposure for the Cavs and the city of Cleveland. Nobody gets hurt.

But that is before the whole "Olympiakos" thing came out of nowhere.

If you're looking at this from the perspective of a Cavs fan, you are raging mad. You think that this is just a major bluff, and that the "LeBron is leaving Cleveland" circus has inexcusably spiraled out of control. You believe that once 2010 comes around, LeBron will just re-sign with the Cavs and be the good ol' hometown boy that he is - just like he was when he signed that first extension with the organization in 2006.

This time, it's a little different.

The NBA championship is looked at as the pinnacle of the professional basketball profession. But is that the case with LeBron? When you hear James talk about his career goals, you only hear the term "billionaire" mixed with "global" and "icon." You hear about being the "richest man in the world." You hear him talk about the "LeBron James brand." You hear about him trying to learn Mandarin Chinese to make his conquest of the Chinese market as thorough as his punctuating dunk in Kevin Garnett's mug in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Never have you heard him talk about Larry O'Brien trophies - or even gold medals - unless he's provoked into giving a politically-correct answer. Even a monkey could figure out that on-court success takes a back seat to marketing in King James' court. Put it all together, and getting $50 million a year to play in Europe - along with distinguishing himself from any other player who came before him - would put LB on the fast track to accomplishing all of his "real" goals.

Translate that $50 million a year into a five-year contract, and you're talking about a quarter billion (with a "b") over the life of the contract. That doesn't include the possibility and reality of displacing soccer stars as the face of European sports, as well as single-handedly evolving basketball on the other side of the pond.

He's already a sports icon in China, the largest country in the world. Make him the most recognizable name in Europe - combined with what he'll accomplish over here in the states over the next two years and possibly in these very Olympics this summer - and it's a safe bet to assume that he'll blow the combined international popularities of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and David Beckham out of the water before he turns 30.

From a marketing standpoint, it's sheer genius. From the perspective of a Cavs fan - or even NBA fan - it's just plain blasphemy. Heck, would you blame Cleveland fans if they try and pretend like the guy doesn't even exist if he followed the Benjamins to the other side of the pond?

Probably not.

This isn't about leaving money on the table and taking less to be buddy-buddy with Jay-Z in Brooklyn. This isn't about signing with the Knicks for the midlevel exception and relying on some mythical bonus from Nike to make up the difference. This is about accomplishing two goals very near and dear to The Chosen One: Becoming a global icon and a billionaire. Just one signature on one potential offer in 2010 can help him do that almost overnight.

So, National Basketball Association and its fans: There's plenty of room in this house of horrors. Welcome to the life of a Cavaliers fan for the last four years.