He would be No. 1 attraction

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

He would be No. 1 attraction

James expected for summer league

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 6/10/2003

n opportunity for Boston fans to see high school phenom LeBron James is
expected to come this summer at the Reebok (formerly Shaw's) Pro Summer League
at UMass-Boston.



The Cleveland Cavaliers will take James with the first overall pick in this
month's NBA draft, and according to the Associated Press, Cleveland general
manager Jim Paxson said James will be in the summer league, which runs from
July 14-20 and also features team representing the Celtics, Nets, Spurs,
Hawks, Mavericks, Bucks, Knicks, Sixers, and Wizards.

A complete shedule of games will be announced this month.

''We're so young, regardless of having the No. 1 pick, [that] we knew we
wanted to play in both summer leagues,'' said Paxson, whose team will also
compete in an Orlando-based league, with those scrimmages closed to the
public.

Since the Celtics announced a multiyear deal with Reebok yesterday that
includes title sponsorship of the Boston summer league, it creates an
interesting combination of shoe company power. James recently signed a $90
million deal with Nike, but his first professional action will come in a
Reebok-sponsored event.

In addition to sponsoring the summer league, Reebok will work with the Celtics
on a number of community and basketball-related initiatives.

''Reebok is proud and excited about our new partnership with the Boston
Celtics,'' said John Lynch, Reebok's vice president of sports and
entertainment marketing. ''We believe this is an excellent opportunity for
Reebok to expand in the world of basketball. To bring a new dimension to our
long-term agreement with the NBA, it was a natural fit for Reebok to join
forces with our hometown NBA team.''

Check-out time

The Celtics passed on Tony Parker back in the 2001 draft. Yesterday, they got
a good look at the French point guard Parker displaced on the national team:
22-year-old Paccelis Morlende. Morlende wasn't the only European player in for
a workout. Others were the man-child they call ''Baby Shaq,'' Sofoklis
Schortsanitis, and Malick Badiane, a Senegalese who played in Germany last
year. A few years back, Morlende was ahead of Parker on the French depth
charts, according to agent Marc Fleisher, who represents both players. But
Morlende got hurt and Parker moved ahead of him. The rest is history. The
Celtics passed over Parker in the 2001 draft and took Joe Forte. The
6-foot-2-inch, 185-pound Morlende started last year in Bologna, but was
injured and finished the season in Dijon. He averaged 14.4 points a game. He
turned 22 in April. He will be available when the Celtics pick this month, but
most mock drafts don't have him going in the first round. Schortsanitis is
another story. He could be gone by the time the Celtics make their first
selection at No. 16. He is 6-9, weighs 255, and averaged 11 points and almost
7 rebounds a game for Iraklis. Badiane turned 19 in January. He is 6-10,
weighs 230, and averaged 11.7 points and 8-plus rebounds a game for Langen. He
is hoping to play for his native Senegal in the 2004 Olympics.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com

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