HoopsHype.com Rumors

And building it means getting other players to wear it? I realize I’m jumping a little ahead… Dwyane Wade: Yeah, we’re moving a little far, but that is it— I am chief brand officer of my own brand, and I have to keep my eye out. That’s what I’m doing right now, I have my eye out. This season I’ll be going through, and in college, I’ll be watching the college basketball, I’ll have my eye out on someone who can represent the Wade brand and someone who wants to do something different. Someone who don’t wanna stick to the status quo, and hopefully we can build this brand out for years to come. So this is really your Jordan — you’re taking THAT role. CEO Wade. Dwyane Wade: Yeah, exactly. complex.com

Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Business, Sneakers 

BDA Sports Management COO Bill Sanders wrote Wade’s signing is “clearly something more significant than any of the previous defections to the Great Wall.” Nike remains the “market share 800-pound gorilla,” but this signing is “more than an anomaly.” It signals “two key issues worth taking note of.” The first is that China “is for real" and the second is that Li-Ning “is for real.” Just a “few years back, many Chinese shoe companies would sign NBA stars and hope for the best.” Sports Business Daily

Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Business, Sneakers 

Jorge Sierra: Adidas officially announces Wolves guard Ricky Rubio has signed with the company. Twitter @hoopshype

Minnesota Timberwolves, Ricky Rubio, Business, Sneakers 

Jordan Brand officially announced the newest members of the team on Tuesday, signing four players to the brand including Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kendall Marshall, Jared Sullinger and Jeff Taylor. Examiner

Business, Sneakers, Jared Sullinger, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kendall Marshall 

The Seattle City Council is expected to approve a deal Monday that would help build an arena to bring NBA and NHL teams to the city. Members of the council have indicated they're ready to sign off on investor Chris Hansen's plan to build a $490 million arena near the Seahawks and Mariners stadiums in the SoDo area, south of downtown. The plan calls for $200 million in public investment. Oregonian

Seattle SuperSonics, Business 

East West Bank has agreed a three-year deal with the NBA's Houston Rockets. The bank, which has branches throughout the US and China, will be granted a branding presence at the Rockets' Houston Toyota Center and exposure in media coverage of the team until the end of the 2014/15 NBA season. The deal follows the Rockets' signing earlier this of Jeremy Lin, the first Taiwanese or Chinese-American to play in the NBA, who joined from the New York Knicks after grabbing headlines with a string of excellent performances last season. Sportspromedia.com

Houston Rockets, Business 

Derrick Rose is now an equity partner and national spokesperson for Giordano’s Pizza, but on Thursday the Bulls star and former NBA MVP briefly played the role of a Giordano’s waiter. Rose visited Giordano’s on Rush Street hours after his involvement with the restaurant franchise had been announced and decided to surprise one table by personally delivering their pizza to them. Once he brought out their order, Rose took a seat at the table -- which included an ecstatic young boy, as you can see from the above photo -- and ate pizza with the group. Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Business, Derrick Rose 

Darren Rovell: David Stern says there are at least 10 cities that have expressed interest to him in hosting an NBA team #BBsports Twitter

Business, David Stern 

Friday, team CEO Adam Aron told ESPN.com the Sixers have doubled their season-ticket base (92 percent of season-ticket holders renewed with some prices raised) and quadrupled sales of their 10-game plans as compared to last year. ESPN.com

Philadelphia 76ers, Business 

In an effort to sell more 10-game plans this offseason, the team recently sent out a postcard that includes a personalized website and picture of a Sixers shoe with that person's last name on it. The team sent it to more than 40,000 people who the team believes have been to a game in the past two years. To trigger a response, the Sixers are offering a piece of the floor on which Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points (the team bought it last year for an undisclosed price and gave it out last year as part of a giveaway). To get that piece, a fan has to make sure his or her information is updated on the special website, answer a few questions and, of course, buy at least one ticket to a game to pick it up. "Normal direct mail response is 2 percent," Aron said. "Our response so far is about 10 percent." ESPN.com

Philadelphia 76ers, Business 

The U.S. has appointed an ambassador to Myanmar and helped bring in American businessmen keen on doing business in the rapidly reforming Southeast Asian nation. Now, Washington is sending professional basketball players and coaches in a bid to boost cultural ties. The U.S. Embassy said Sunday that four "sports envoys" will be in the country this week as part of a U.S. State Department-sponsored program "to emphasize the importance of academics, cooperation, and respect for diversity." NBA.com

Business 

The group will conduct several sports workshops with local youth before leaving Friday. Three of the envoys arrived this weekend and the last one is due to fly into Yangon later Sunday. The group includes Charlotte Bobcats basketball team manager Richard Cho, a Myanmar native who migrated to the United States. Also traveling are Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Darvin Ham, former Women's National Basketball Association player Allison Feaster and former NBA player Marty Conlon. NBA.com

Charlotte Bobcats, Business, Rich Cho 

The NBA announced an aggressive move in the ticket landscape on Monday, joining forces with Ticketmaster to create the sports world's first website that will list both tickets for games sold by the teams and the fans. As fans and brokers have taken to the secondary market to resell tickets, many teams have felt left out of the game, as secondary ticketing sites like Stubhub get a percentage from the buyer and the seller. ESPN.com

Business 

In one recent survey, the NBA found that 70 percent of fans who had purchased ticket from a secondary site went to the team site first and didn't find what they were looking for. Another survey reflected that two out of every three fans wanted to shop for their tickets in only one location. "When you aggregate more inventory, you'll have more eyeballs and more sales," said Chris Granger, the league's executive vice president of team marketing and business operations. ESPN.com

Business 

Nick DePaula: Hearing from several people that Dwyane Wade will likely leave Jordan Brand and sign with Li-Ning. Huge shift. Twitter

Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Business, Sneakers 

Unfortunately, I just don't think it happens. Maybe he stays with the Inc. and moves to Nike Basketball at a discounted rate, where the brand can capitalize on Miami's Big 3 with campaigns including LeBron, Wade and Bosh together as a trio. Or maybe a Chinese-based brand sitting on ample cash – like 361 Degrees, Peak or Li-Ning – throws a boatload of money his way and offers him the chance to be the face of their company and the promise that he can build his brand in China with its ridiculously expansive marketplace of basketball consumers. With Wade already topping the age of 30, he might be looking to life after basketball and the allure of growing his name throughout China, where he's also likely to hear his highest annual offer, might be tough to pass on. There's early indications that he's been in contact with Li-Ning already and if he were to leave, that would be the likely move. It also might be enticing enough if he's looking to do “what's best for me and my family” from a dollar standpoint. It's just too bad things didn't work out with Jordan Brand, where it appeared to be a perfect match for both Wade and furthering MJ's brand into another decade. Sole Collector

Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Business, Sneakers 

With a brand like Under Armour still on the hunt for a major market star, the possibility of being lost in the shuffle behind signature athletes like LeBron, Kobe and KD if he stays at Nike, and the chance to really make his mark with the brute strength and raw power image of UA, it would make a ton of sense for Griffin to lead the Baltimore-based brand as they continue to grow in the basketball market. Of course, a lot of that discussion will come down to pure dollars, and several people throughout the industry think Blake – with his combination of the L.A. market, being on a playoff team, his beastly highlight dunks and his camera presence – could command as much as $5 million per year on a new five-year endorsement deal. That'd be quite a raise from his first sneaker deal, but he's certainly done his best to earn it with his electrifying play and growing personality. A deal with Under Armour has to be enticing for Blake, as the company is known for huge national brand campaigns that he could take part in and really leverage to expand his reach. Sole Collector

Los Angeles Clippers, Blake Griffin, Business, Sneakers 

Blake Griffin of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers, Troy Polamalu of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers, Rudy Gay of the NBA Memphis Grizzlies and Hope Solo of the U.S. Women's Soccer team have become equity partners in Hyperice, which recently started selling its ice compression wraps for prevention or treatment of sprains, tendonitis and other activity-related conditions. Orange County Register

Los Angeles Clippers, Blake Griffin, Business 

Michael Jordan gave a fascinating answer to the question of why - after years of keeping his name and likeness out of games - he joined up with the NBA 2K group a couple years ago. "I just didn’t have a passion to do that initially. I was in it early on, then three years ago they came to me about being involved in it and I felt the need to kind of connect to this different era, this different generation. When I was playing, it was easy - all you had to do was see me play live. Now these kids don’t have an opportunity to see me play. I think the beauty of what 2K does is it gives them a perception of how I played the game, based on my stats and obviously some of the highlights." Sulia

Michael Jordan, Business 

He's got nearly 10 million Facebook fans and over four million Twitter followers, but Miami Heat star LeBron James wants to get more social. The NBA player has turned to adland, asking digital shop SapientNitro to build out his website and boost his ability to engage with fans over social-media channels. "I'm blessed with the best fans on the planet and love engaging with them directly," Mr. James said in a statement. "Every day, new technologies come out that allow me to take that fan connection to another level. In SapientNitro, I found a partner that has the brand thinking, creative ideas, digital expertise and global delivery scale to support my expanding ambitions." Advertising Age

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Business