Brandon Phillips Trade Continues to Haunt Cleveland
June 28, 2010Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh Meet in Miami to Discuss Signing with the Heat (UPDATE)
June 29, 2010In the non-stop LeBron James coverage that has been Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, his latest published piece may be the most telling – and somewhat chilling – to date. Per the report, there appears to be an inner struggle of sorts between William Wesley (“World Wide Wes”) and those in James’ inner circle.
Wojnarowski writes:
This is the push and pull on the inside of Team LeBron, sources say – agendas colliding in self-interest as the start of free agency creeps closer on Thursday. In the end, James is too strong to let someone else make a decision for him, but there remains strong influences deeply immersed in this process with him.
Beyond James’ own sentimentality and belief of staying the course with Cleveland, the best chance the Cavaliers have to re-sign James likely belongs to Carter, his business manager, and the high school buddies on the payroll. Should James leave for the bright lights and big cities, his childhood associates become less relevant, less impressive.
James’ inner circle has long been compared to those of Vinny Chase in HBO’s “Entourage.” A group of close friends that follow their bread-winning leader to a big city, only to be another hanger-on. In Cleveland, James’ friends are his business managers et al. In New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, they could become another Turtle, Drama or “E.”
And it appears that they may be starting to realize this. Wesley is of a different breed when it comes to his connections to James – it’s strictly business. But the Maverick Carters and Richie Pauls of the world have been with James through childhood. Could they fear possibly being pushed to the side? Would Steph Floss get a job DJing for James’ next employer as well as big city clubs? Would Randy Mims be a player liason in 2010 if not in Cleveland? It could be doubtful – and therein lies said strife.
Say what you want about some of Wojnarowski’s LeBron-focused pieces. This one, folks, is about as real as it gets in a very sad, but true way. Who knew that those we once thought were trying to get James out of Cleveland may in fact be the ones to wind up on the Cavs fan’s side?
—
Team LeBron Reaches for Prominence [Yahoo! Sports]
29 Comments
Can anybody explain to me how “World Wide Wes” makes his money?? I know he seems to hand deliver high school players to Calipari every year. Just saying I dont think I have ever heard anybody explain exactly what he does??
WWWes was a failure when it came to John Wall and Lebrons management group. One thing that history has proven is that when WWWes flaps his gums, hot air fills the room.
Doesn’t matter if Lebrons goes, when he holds court in Bath and all the execs are there and he asks them, what about me HS friends, they need jobs, every single exec will have the same response, “Don’t worry Lebron, we’ll hook them up the best way possible.”
@1 – I could but I’d be killed and then you’d be killed.
Seriously, there’s a TrueHoop article that describes it as well as anyone.
He’s a power broker! But yeah, I don’t really know either, seems kind of shady.
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/16874/william-wesley-in-the-spotlight
So what you thought you knew, LEBron’s childhood friends whispering in his ear to seek greener pastures, may not be true? Even after the speculating continues.
well, Woj also states that Maverick may have been the one trying to get Geffen to buy the Clippers.
So, perhaps they were favoring leaving and are now favoring staying? or maybe they are still favoring leaving and Woj’s sources are 2 days old?
Is it July 8th yet?
World Wide Wes is a leach. Hopefully LeBron can see the only reason William befriended him is because of LeBron’s talent. If LeBron turned out to be Darius Miles out of high school do you think Willy would give him the time of day??? Wall and Durant were smart enough to see though this con artist….hopefully other wake up and see though the bs.
The egos involved in this process are just suffocating, and I’ve appreciated Wojnarowski’s leveling perspective. All of this has served to make me an even bigger Browns fan.
This is just reaching unprecedented absurdity for us fans. To sit here and theorize about the motivations and machinations of a grown man and his lackeys who have the mentality of a grade school playground clique is just ridiculous. LeBron and his cronies can kiss my you know what either way… that applies if he stays too.
Oh, and this isn’t a knock on you guys at WFNY personally… this is the mainstream media’s angle with the LeBron FA and you guys are obligated to report on it. It’s just sad what a circus this has been.
@#10 MattC, do you think the machinations of grown men with ‘real’ jobs in corporate America act any differently?
@GP – that’s a great point. It’s only b/c this whole charade is happening in the sports/entertainment industry that there are so many compelling storylines for the media to latch on to.
There’s a lot of “unsexy” machinations that go relatively unnoticed in other sectors. For instance, BP’s manipulation of the Minerals Management Service and other regulatory bodies in DC was much more treacherous (and even involved sexual favors!), but it still isn’t as consistently gripping as celebrity news about Lebron and his handlers. As someone who works in medicine, I can tell you that pharmaceutical companies have many world wide wes’ and maverick carters who are engaged in much greater malfeasance every day.
It’s all human folly, and that’s why we can’t look away. Shakespeare would have a field day w/ this process
Yea…everyone has their little cliques, and those little cliques have their group leader and so forth. This is normal male behaviour, and I’m stunned that after reading this, you (#10) can still blame LeBron? For what? For a guy he happens to know shooting his mouth off? I’m totally beyond the point of blaming LeBron. He says nothing. And nothing. And nothing. Yet somehow his ego is totally on display and this is all his doing? How do we reach that conclusion?
When I think of WWW I get the same feelings as when I think about lobbyists. Whether sports or politics, it’s these elusive, behind the curtain slugs that will push whatever or whomever for a buck that make me sick. Simply put, the world would be better if these people became garbage men instead.
And yes, the tension is mounting.
you think WWWes knows a good hitman?
At some point you hope LeBron grows up and realized none of these people are his friends and all of them are just leaches.
I am getting real sick of WWW.
If Lebron goes to Chicago … even if he wins 4 rings he still is no Michael Jordan.
If Lebron goes to Miami, he will be secondary to Wade, who has already won a title without Lebron.
If Lebron goes to Clippers he is in Kobe and the Lakers shadow since LA belongs to the Lakers not the Clippers.
If Lebron goes to Nets or Knicks … its a rebuild same as Cleveland.
If Lebron wants to have his own Legacy, his best chance is in Cleveland. End of Story. All other roads lead to Lame.
I don’t care if he stays or goes personally. This Drama is worse then Brett Favre in my opinion and I just want it over.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5338472
And look out, now the HEat are the frontrunners..only one day after the Bulls were a done deal for LeBron and Bosh. Love it. MSM making itself look like total fools and being totally oblivious to that fact.
Anyway, I have to take exception at the idea that is presented here that the Cavs don’t have the pieces to get Bosh in a SnT..but the Heat do? The Heat with 2 players under contract can make it work, but the Cavs can’t. ]
Don’t worry though, there is no explanation for it. Just a simple statement that the Cavs can’t do it.
What a circus! World Wide Wes will ruin LeBron the way Don King ruined Mike Tyson. Although “Team LeBron” will make millions in the meantime, LeBron will never again reach MVP status or come close to an NBA championship. And as far as becoming a billionaire, it’ll never happen. Book it!
I can’t believe anyone takes anything that Adrian Wojnarowski says seriously. There’s no way his “sources” are legit. Wojnarowski is nothing more than an angry groupie with an active imagination.
Exactly who should Lebron keep close? One of you? For anyone to make the claim that the people he grew up with aren’t really his friends and they are just hanger ons is just flat out stupid. Even if that were true, how does that make them any different from any of you? If Lebron were 8 inches shorter and had no potential to bring success to your favorite franchise, you wouldn’t give damn about Lebron.
Do I leach money from LeBron? Is my success tied to him? Do I count on LeBron do get me a job and take care of me?
Yea, not the same. You’ve just confused a fan with a leech.
The bitter ex section of WFNY!
This Wojnarowski piece is the best news we’ve heard in a while. And it makes perfect sense. If Wade, Lebron, and Bosh go to Miami, you think Maverick will have an open door to Riley and Arison? If Lebron goes to Chicago, even if he goes alone, will Reinsdorf even acknowledge the posse’s existence?
I don’t think Lebron’s inner circle are all a bunch of leeches. In Entourage (which I’m a couple seasons behind on) the group are not leeches. Lebron likes/needs his guys. With all the crap that’s been swirling, that is one thing we know for sure.
Rich, you don’t have access to Lebron to do any of those things.
WWW is not a leach. He’s a legitimate realtor who also made a ton of bank with reebok. He is a meantor for young athletes and even coaches. He brought Jimmy to Dallas to win championships. He’s helped God knows how many players realize their full potential by shedding the real leaches that try to latch on. He is certainly no Don King who made himself the spectacle of every entertainment event he could get his hands on and wrote his name into contracts to swindle money. He’s a guy who’s built himself up from nothing by making the right connections and through his experience wishes to teach others to do the same.
And if you’re looking for proof he’s by their side rain or shine, look at Eddie Curry or Wes’ nearly lifelong best friend Dajuan Wagnar. Not to mention the amount of trouble he’s gotten players out of that no one else could.
What about WWW spreading rumors about LBJ guaranteed to sign with whatever team trades for Chris Paul, or WWW saying LBJ is guaranteed to sign with Chicago? I’m not saying he’s a leech, but he is a spotlight grabbing egomaniac who think he has sway over LBJ’s decision.
WWW will never has and will not have any impact on what Lebron decides to do in Free Agency.
[…] many flights on the team plane. But with the possibility of James leaving, these privileges were thought to have been at risk – something that the Chicago Daily Herald confirms would be the case if James were to head to […]