"The Roc boys are in the building tonight", the Jay-Z lead single to his 2007 'American Gangster' album became the staple of every sports team celebration and even more exclusively to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The two slaps and the salute from the music video surfaced into every arena where Lebron played. The ultimate hustler Jay-Z and the ultimate hustler on the basketball court Lebron James have more in common than just the balling and rhyming but also the love for the city of Brooklyn. Although James along with another 'Roc boy' Kanye West were not available for the video shoot of the Jiggaman's hit song, Lebron may be 'inked' to Mr. Carter for a long time starting in 2010. The rumors of James being the face of the new 'Brooklyn Nets' are starting to look more and more like a reality.
If you ask any NBA player or even better yet any athlete, who receives the most plays in your 'I-Pod'?, more than likely you will get an answer of Jay-Z or another Brooklyn great the late Notorious B.I.G. So there is no coincidence that Lebron, who wants to be the first billionaire athlete is close friends with Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter, whose worth just over a 'measly' 600 million dollars. Just a year after unanimously winning the rookie of the year for the 2003-2004 NBA season, Lebron's close friend signed on to become a minority of interest,holding a strong share in the New Jersey Nets franchise. Along with lead developer Bruce Ratner, Mr.Carter and the other shareholders, the team plans on moving the franchise with very limited history to the reinvented city of Brooklyn.
There is no question Brooklyn is slowly becoming a great city again, from the million dollar Brownstone homes, Caucasian people calling Brooklyn home, and even MTV using the city as the location for the next 'Real World' season. With the city on the rise again, the inevitable questions follow right behind, Will Lebron leave his hometown for the city of Brooklyn? or even more office cooler worthy, What kind of impact will he have?.
The transition into becoming a great city again has not reached all areas of Brooklyn such as, Brownsville, East New York, and Cypress Hills with the consistent crime, prostitution and heavy drug trafficking daily. If Lebron opts out of his contract with the Cleveland Cavailers in the summer of 2010, his hero like image may help suppress the problems in those areas. In 2010 James will only be 26 and he can provide all the troubled and lost teenagers in the streets of Brooklyn a sense of hope and a heroic type figure to look up to. Instead of the numerous gangs such as the Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings being separated by colors of red, blue and yellow, they can all share a common love with every purchase of a James number 23 jersey. 'King James' wont become the next Ghandi or MLK just by signing a contract to run the city of Brooklyn, but he will be the second young black man these neglected teenagers can look up and relate to, the first being his close friend and potential boss Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter.
Last week marked the first major move towards the dethroning of the 'King' of Cleveland and re-naming him the 'King' of Brooklyn, when the Nets traded small forward Richard Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks for second year player Yi Jianlian and 'Mr. Expiring' contract Bobby Simmons. The move cleared nearly 15 million dollars for King James to come through and devour and use to further his future marketing plans. Combined with a young guard in Devin Harris and rookie big man Brook Lopez, Lebron will have a young nucleus to create magic with in a very weak Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn is still dominated by mostly African-Americans, and having Lebron and Shawn Carter as the faces of the future can only boost the confidence of any young athlete or rapper in high school unsure about his or her future. 2010 can also possibly mark the second year in which potential president Barack Obama will be in office, making every teenagers dreams seem like more like a reality and less like a fantasy or false hope. Even though every NBA player in the leagues ultimate goal is to win a championship,helping kids off the street and into the classroom or simply into the arena to support them will be enough compensation for now.
The 'Brooklyn Nets' with Lebron as the leader can be the best thing to happen to the league since the introduction of the three point line, simply because of the rivalry that can reach new heights with the city of New York being separated between the storied franchise in the Knicks and the team looking to make its own history in the Nets. Can you just imagine the opening day of the arena with James being the superstar guard, and the then 40 year old Jay-Z performing at halftime giving back to the city of Brooklyn. The possibilities are endless but the only problem is its just a possibility.
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