LEBRON JAMES WILL COURT MEDIA MOGULS

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Picture 9

via NYPOST

King James is coming to the valley of the sun, but Mayor Bloomberg is staying home.

Sources confirmed to The Post that LeBron James, basketball’s reigning giant, will attend Allen & Co.’s annual media mogulfest in Sun Valley, Idaho, which officially kicks off with this evening’s opening-night barbecue.

The first-time invitee isn’t coming just for the hiking, however — he’s going “to listen and to learn” about ways to expand his marketing company, LRMR Marketing, sources said.

James’ popularity rivals that of Tiger Woods in golf or Peyton Manning in football, but his off-court endorsement deals haven’t quite risen to Woods’ or Manning’s level. As such, James and company CEO Maverick Carter are hoping to gather intelligence on how to change that from the assembled group of media star makers attending the conference.

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Report: Knicks prepare to waive Marbury by end of week

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Finally this love affair seems to be over. Though his stats may say different Stephon Marbury has not be a nice fit with the Knicks. The end was when he claimed to be the best guard in the league. The only thing is the Knicks not getting anything in return. They should work out a trade and not just cut him loose. Story below:

via ESPN

The Knicks are preparing to put Marbury on waivers by the end of the week, several sources with knowledge of the situation told Newsday. The team must await the go-ahead from Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan, however, because it would involve eating another large chunk of money in a buyout, Newsday reported.

Marbury is entering the final year of his contract, worth $21.9 million.

Once Marbury clears waivers and a buyout is agreed upon, he would be free to sign with any team. Reports in Newsday and the South Florida media have mentioned the Miami Heat, who are in need of a point guard, as having interest.

According to Newsday, Marbury has recovered from January’s left ankle surgery, which was needed to remove bone spurs, and has worked out all summer in Southern California, trimming his weight to 200 pounds.

He did not join the other Knicks veterans for scrimmages at the team’s training center until Monday, even though the informal workouts had been going on since last week.

Marbury’s best performance statistically in 4½ seasons with the Knicks was in 2004-05, when he averaged 21.7 points and 8.1 assists a game. Since then, his numbers have declined, even as his feuding with his bosses and his teammates increased.

Marbury had numerous conflicts with former Knicks coaches Larry Brown and Isiah Thomas. The low point may have been in November 2007, when Marbury left without permission and returned to New York while the team was in Phoenix for a game.

The Knicks signed guard Anthony Roberson in July, a further indication that they were ready to jettison Marbury. Roberson played 36 career NBA games with Memphis and Golden State, but spent last season in Turkey and Israel. The Knicks signed him to a deal after he averaged 14.8 points in five games for their summer league team.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.