Manny Acta Looking to Fill Out the Bench
March 5, 2010Josh Cribbs hath been paid, per ESPN
March 5, 2010Sometimes you set out to write something with the intentions of the article going one way, only to have it take a big U-turn in the middle and go somewhere else. That’s the case with this post. I was initially going to make some light hearted jokes about how LeBron and Kobe teaming up to give away headphones to their fellow All-Star members was a sign that LeBron and Kobe would soon team up on the Lakers. After all, isn’t that what all the kids are saying these days?
However, as I started working on my outline and doing some research, I realized just how frequently LeBron gives away “Beats by Dr Dre” Monster Headphones as gifts. And for those who don’t know what I’m talking about, lets start there. Chris Broussard wrote an interesting little tidbit on ESPN’s TrueHoop about Kobe and LeBron’s gesture:
James and Bryant decided to buy each member of the 2010 NBA All-Star team a pair of custom-made “Beats by Dr. Dre’’ Monster headphones. James bought them for his 12 Eastern Conference teammates, while Bryant did the same for the 14 other Western Conference all-stars.
Speaking via blackberry, James and Bryant settled on getting Dre’s $350 “Studio’’ version headphones. They then contacted Dr. Dre and asked him to customize each set of headphones by making them in the All-Star colors (blue for the East, red for the West) and putting each player’s number on them. That cost an extra $100 per set.
James and Bryant presented their gifts in the locker room before the Feb. 14 game. I’m told their stunned teammates “went crazy.’’
This story may be deeper than a nice gesture. It shows that James and Bryant have a legitimate relationship, not one that’s just fabricated in puppet commercials or pushed by Nike’s shoe salesmen.
So, yeah, you can probably see where I was initially going with this. But then I stumbled upon Rob Mahoney’s take on this story over at ProBasketballTalk.com:
Headphones! Brilliant! I mean, everyone loves music, right? And players travel all the time, so they’re constantly plugged into their iPods and laptops!
Nevermind the fact that, well, everybody owns a pair of headphones. I guess you could always stand to upgrade. Don’t get me wrong, the gesture is certainly a nice one, but for some reason the idea of a bunch of NBA stars going “crazy” over some headphones is just a tad ridiculous to me.
I have to admit, Rob is right.I mean, far be it from to suggest anyone should be ungrateful for the nice gesture put forth by Kobe and LeBron, but this story has been played out before.
You might remember that LeBron previously bought a pair of Dre Monsters for each of his comrades on Team USA. And maybe you will recall that LeBron also once bought all of his Cavalier teammates a pair of them for Christmas in 2008. Oh, and let’s not forget about the time that he made sure he was wearing a pair of Dre Monsters (different from the Custom Cavaliers model) in this NBA ad:
By now you may be saying, “so what?” And in the grand scheme of things, maybe LeBron James really does just love these headphones and wants to share them with the world. But the fact that LeBron insisted he wear them in the NBA ad and the fact that LeBron is frequently seen wearing a pair wrapped around his neck makes me wonder a little what’s in this for LeBron? Is this an unspoken advertising partnership? And if so, does that cheapen the gesture between Kobe and LeBron at all?
I don’t have the answers to these questions, nor do I really care as it really has nothing to do with on-court matters. The real reason why I am writing this is really two-fold:
1) To point out that Kobe and LeBron certainly did a nice thing together in buying their teammates a (supposedly) nice and (literally) expensive pair of headphones, but that nobody should be surprised anymore to receive a pair of them from LeBron – heck, if I met LeBron on the street I would probably half expect him to give me a pair of them at this point
-and-
2) To point out that if you look closely at the Cavs model, in the center of the gold section, you can make out what looks like the #6. Interesting that these headphones came out in 2008. Hmmm, perhaps this whole number change wasn’t on such a whim after all, huh*?
*sarcasm
_____
(All photos courtesy of Gear Live)
25 Comments
I was going to say LBJ will need to give out new sets next year with the change of numbers but that is interesting that there does indeed appear to be a “6” already included. Even so the 23 is more easily recognizable so I’ll expect my pair of #6s phones next year in Wine and Gold!!!
I have to say even if I had a pair of $100 headphones I’d go nuts for a pair of custom $350 headphones. You really can hear the difference in pricey studio headphones. I really does depend on what kind the players already had, but I could see the players getting excited about them, especially if they were customized with their own numbers on them.
Whole ear headphones that are set up for ergenomic comfort are amazing. For those of us cursed with larger than average heads, ear buds can be pretty uncomfortable, and normal headphones can squeeze the ears and be painful after about an hour of use.
I originally bought some awesome noise canceling ones for work, but I took them back after a week of having people scare the bajeebus out of me by tapping me on the shoulder without me hearing them approach.
ps. Give out the Cavs’ headphones adertised on the site as a prize. Oh, and start handicapping contents to favor us longtime readers. We are angry and crazy.
Agreed with all of the above. I’ve been eying up Beats headphones for quite a while. Looking at the white ones to go with my iPod. The only white buds right now are those “hearts” by Lady Gaga. If you can get past the name, they sound amazing.
Eli – I’d love to get to the point where we can give away that kind of stuff. The more links out there, the more hits we get, the more we can afford things outside of t-shirts and jerseys. Balls in your court, readers 🙂 Tell your friends!
I hate to shoot down the whole premediated switch to #6 hypothesis, but it’s actually a “b” for beats, and it’s apparently on every set of headphones Dre sells.
http://beatsbydre.com/
Sigh………hence the sarcasm note.
Also, * shouldn’t be used for sarcasm, CAPS SHOULD!!!!111!
I’ll go back to putting my head in the sand now.
Good point, Chris. It’s my fault for failing to follow site protocol for sarcasm. 🙂
First off – just because Scott is putting the site’s balls in the readers’ court doesn’t mean they are MY balls.
I know that they’re all like super rich and stuff, but quality headphones are always nice. Especially when they’re customized. That’s pretty cool. But, I’d be surprised if any of the guys on the AS Team didn’t already have 300+ dollar headphones. It’s kind of like when LeBron got everyone Flip Mino HD cameras last year after he won MVP. Cool gifts, but I’d assume most of the guys already had one.
And don’t forget when LBJ gave out the Flip cams. If it wasn’t for that, we wouldve never had the Delonte West ‘hot sauce in my bag’ video.
Speaking of West, he’s still holding out for the Range Rover gift…
Scott loses the ‘quickdraw’ this round!
Does this mean LeBron is playing in Compton next year? I dont get it…
“But, I’d be surprised if any of the guys on the AS Team didn’t already have 300+ dollar headphones.”
I guess this is kind of my point. It would be like me buying all my coworkers $25 pairs of sunglasses. Sure, they’d appreciate the gesture and act like they were excited to receive them, but at the end of the day, they all already have a pair of $25 sunglasses laying around somewhere.
…..actually, that’s not even true. I don’t have a point. This piece was pure Friday Afternoon Filler. A FAF piece, if you will.
he should send a pair to Josh Cribbs….since he just got paid and all
FAFFLE FAFFLE FOOO!
When WFNY starts stepping up and giving out prizes like those ‘phones that’s when I’ll start getting serious! 😉
I LOVE THE FAFFLE.
And Scott, I spread the love all around whenever possible. I have random college buds I talk to every once in awhile because they live across the country and it amazes how many of them read the site.
I’VE BEEN READING AND COMMENTING ON THIS SITE FOR YEARS AND ALL ITS GOTTEN ME IS DENNY’S REFUSAL TO BUY A ROUND OF BEERS.
Well, consider this.
NBA All star game worn jersey would go for what?
All star limited edition (only 12 made) headphones given by Lebron to, Dwight Howard. Signed. Would go for what? Maybe $400 dollar headphones to us, but some sap will pay $20,000 for them on Ebay someday?
They are Lebron/Kobe memorabilia now.
At least it was cordial.
You can sample these headphones in any apple store, and i would recommend it. They are spectacular. It feels like a soundsystem in your head. The bass is incredible.
The NBA auction site . . . (really? yes.) has the all star jerseys autographed and going for $350. Rondo’s is at $366.
Lebron’s and Kobe’s are not available I think.
True most of these guys probably already have nice headphones, but even if they already have the Dre headphones I bet they don’t have Dre headphones customized with All-Star colors with their numbers on it. In this case (for these millionaires) the customization is cooler than the actual product.
HOW DARE ANYONE SUGGEST LEBRON MIGHT HAVE AN “advertising partnership”?
HE’S IN CLEVELAND. TO GET ANY SPOKEN OR UNSPOKEN SUCH PARTNERSHIP, HE HAS TO MOVE TO NY.
/sarcasm font
Sweet!… Knicks version soon?
They are reversible…the other side is knicks colors.