From LeBron And Wade And Beyond: Unselfishness, Business And 'Uncle Sams'

By Mike Fisher -- DB.com

   The Dallas Mavericks have formulated The Sales Pitch.

    It does not feature a set-in-stone itinerary. It does not feature show-biz flash. It does not feature a singular target.

     But at 12:02 a.m Eastern time on July 1, the Mavs will put into action their Summer of 2010 sales pitch for available NBA stars – LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and all the rest, the marketing wave set to occur only after Dallas has, hopefully, secured the services of Dirk Nowitzki.

    “We definitely have a plan,’’ Mavs GM Donnie Nelson tells me. “There are details to it. … but there also needs to be flexibility in it.’’

    The Sales Pitch is a living, breathing, flexible thing … and DallasBasketball.com, after a dozen conversations with the principals (some for attribution, some from unnamed sources, some as general background) has learned that The Sales Pitch is founded upon three fundamental platforms.

    Read on for the details. …

   A Mavs-related LeBron note of interest, as maybe Rick Carlisle is on a short list of sorts:

  It is difficult to know whether this is a LeBron James “requirement’’ or if it’s a whimsical desire. Or is it a foundation of James’ future? Is this like Britney Spears demanding her dressing room be fully stocked with “Pop Tarts, Fruit Loops and Cap’n Crunch’’ … you know, just so she can prove she can get whatever ridiculous thing she asks for?

   So here’s the story: Buried at the bottom of the Cleveland paper’s coverage of Tom Izzo’s visit with the Cavs is the following note:

   James has let the organization know is that he's interested in a coach that has played in the NBA …

   And you know where I’m going next, right? Which teams have coaches who played in the NBA?

   Here’s the complete list (I believe) along with a quickie comment: