LeBron James' new managing team hasn't been completely sorted out publicly but at the core is a tight group of friends. James affectionately refers to the group of Maverick Carter, Randy Mims and Rich Paul and himself as "The Four Horsemen" and there's no doubt who plays the role of Ric Flair in this group…Whoooooooo! As in wrestling, the storyline of how this whole situation will play out is unknown but it's sure to take some interesting turns down the road. True to wrestling, wouldn't it be great if one of the Horsemen eventually turns on LeBron and uses inside knowledge to get someone like Carmelo Anthony a better free agent contract with a suitor like the Knicks?

	Having your credentials compared to Crosby's facial hair prowess is not a good endorsement.  (Source: CP)

By all accounts former high school teammate Maverick Carter will be the lead on James' new managing team and when it comes to sports management his CV is about as weak as Sidney Crosby's attempt to grow facial hair for the playoffs. During his senior year of high school in 2003 LeBron was wooed by all the major shoe companies and under the representation of Goodwin eventually settled on a $90 million offer from Nike. Along with an elaborate presentation full of concept shoes pitched to LeBron, Nike offered James' close friend Maverick Carter an internship at the Oregon-based multinational company. Despite Nike's bid coming in a few million dollars below other bidders LeBron signed on and you have to wonder if the gesture by Nike to care for LeBron's extended family was enough to push them over the top. Now Carter's internship is over and he and most importantly LeBron feel he's ready to handle the reigns despite having no formal education in law, contract negotiations, finance or marketing.

It's only natural for someone who's made it to want to surround themselves with friends and family members especially when it comes to matters of trust. Rappers do it all the time; Eminem made it big and then paved the way for D12 to release an album. 50 Cent rose to the top of the charts and then put his efforts into getting G Unit off the ground. Given such a great opportunity, maybe rappers feel each song is a like advertisement of their abilities, which helps explain the reason why virtually every rapper feels its inherent to introduce themselves before they start their flow: "It's the Big Boss Dog but ya'll knew that…X to Z, Xzibit here…Hi my name is, Slim Shady."

When it comes to financial management the importance of trust becomes even greater. But just because you trust someone to handle your personal interest doesn't mean they have the ability to do so. Good intentions don't always make for good business and there have been plenty of athletes who have let their close inner circle negatively influence their sports careers.

	"Bron, are you sure you thought this one through?"  (Source: AP)

The advantage of an experienced agent is their ability to manage a client's relationship with a team from a professional point of view. When family members act as agents, issues can be taken too personally and fester into major problems. Professional jealously has killed the success of many talented teams especially when there are two mega talented stars sharing the limelight on the same team. Kobe pushed Shaq out of L.A. Jaromir Jagr became jealous of Mario Lemieux when he returned and reclaimed his position as leader and alpha male of the Penguins. You have to wonder how many of these situations were actually the result of a close inner-circle of "advisors" getting in the ear of the athlete and providing ill-fated advice and in the process building up their ego to a point where they became unmanageable. Mike Tyson was surrounded by a group of yes-man who exploited his talents and watched silently as he blew his entire savings on lavish purchases and gifts, the result of which has left Tyson in bankruptcy protection and forced him to continue his career just to dig himself out of debt.

LeBron's next contract doesn't come up for another two years but that should prove to be a relatively easy negotiation for James' new managing team. It's a given that LeBron will sign a maxed-out contract. The only question lies in where the contract will be signed. Will LeBron want to stay home in Cleveland or will he want to max out his consumer appeal by moving to a major market like New York or Los Angeles. You can bet whatever decision James makes he'll have the input of those he trusts most helping him make the call.