Editor's note: This is the second of a three-part series that provides a snapshot of the professional lives of three important NBA figures -- Isiah Thomas, LeBron James and Mark Cuban. All three men are vital to the sport for different reasons:

•  Part I: If Thomas cannot restore the Knicks to prominence, the NBA will continue to have one of its flagship franchises flounder.
•  Part III: Then there is Cuban, a man of ideas, unafraid to share them, whether the league's top brass wants to hear them or not.

In Part 2, James. Popular, handsome and immensely talented, James is at the fore of the next crop of great young talent. His squeaky-clean persona is sorely needed. The sport is suffering from an image crisis not seen since the 1970s, when pro basketball was overrun by drugs and scandal. Now the NBA has seen its fair share of brawls and off-court incidents which have combined to injure its popularity.

James is seen as an antidote. Can James himself resist and avoid the traps that have enveloped other superstars like Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony?

The time with James begins in the bowels of Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena in a city where he is quickly becoming an icon.

CLEVELAND -- So you wait. Then you wait some more. You wait for LeBron James.

His pregame news conference on this chilly winter day is supposed to begin any minute now. But as is often the case, James is late.

The team's public relations person scurries about looking for James. Can't find him. Some of the local media shrug their shoulders nonchalantly. No biggie. They're used to James moving about his own orbit, at his own pace. LeBron does what LeBron does.

If you want to interview the Cavs' dapper star, you might have to wait. (Getty Images)

The NBA seems to be losing -- at least if you believe the headlines and a hyperventilated national media -- good young men arrest by arrest, brawl by brawl, gun play by gun play. So if the worst thing you can say about a superstar is that he makes the media wait, well, then James is doing just fine.

Indeed, if a list is composed of the gentlemen in all of sports, James' name would be near the top. It is likely he will never be caught sucker-punching an opponent or sweet-talking a hooker, or be booked for driving with a fistful of Bud Light.

"I always try to conduct myself professionally," said James in a brief moment away from a group of Cleveland media. "I grew up watching, as I said before, guys like Grant Hill, who were great role models.

"I respect the game of basketball," he says. "There are a lot of players in this league who are true professionals. We're not all bad guys as some people try to portray us. I think that just by being a professional, that is how you lead and lead by example."

Said Cavaliers teammate Donyell Marshall: "I don't think I have ever seen such a young guy handle so much pressure so well. He could be arrogant or cocky. There are stars in this league who get lazy, but he works as hard as anybody I have ever been around."

The NBA is at a key intersection in its history. In fact, this might be the most vital time ever as it attempts to rework an image pounded by two high-profile brawls and the perception that guns and bad boys are as much a part of basketball as free throws and dunks.

The NBA has clearly moved James and a handful of other players to the front and center of this current public relations conflict.

The NBA will not say this publicly, but privately, the league hopes James can help pull off a tricky trifecta:

1. Bring whites back to the various arenas and television sets;
2. Reveal as a racially driven lie the prevailing feeling among a significant number of sports fans that the NBA is a thug league;
3. Keep the sport in the same popularity ballpark as pro football and baseball so it does not go the way of the increasingly irrelevant NHL.

You cannot do much better than James as a front man when it comes to presenting a safe, studly product to fickle fans. His broad smile, lack of a rap sheet and polished syntax -- and game that is so magnetic it cannot help but remind anyone with half a cerebrum of a certain eternal who used to play his basketball in Chicago -- are just what commissioner David Stern ordered.

"When I see LeBron," Stern said, "I see someone becoming a great person as well as a great basketball player. He is showing a determination to understand all of the issues affecting young athletes today and come down on the right side of all of them."

Save the drama

James is important to the NBA in another way: He is stunningly vanilla. There are no juicy Charles Barkley-like quotes or controversial discussions about race or politics or the Iraq War. There are no pedantic rants about practice being overrated.

Like many athletes gorged with corporate money, from Tiger Woods to Michael Jordan to others, few non-sports statements come rolling off of James' tongue -- nothing to alienate the men and women on Madison Avenue or a fan base from Los Angeles to Lewiston that is quickly falling in love with him.

James participates in community events. He has a foundation. But -- fair or not -- some people expect more. (Getty Images)

His news conferences are about as interesting as an actuary's day planner. He's extremely intelligent, but there is no visible ideological promiscuity or publicly discussed thoughts on topics of importance. Too dangerous to do that; might offend someone.

"If everyone was watching what you do," said Marshall, "you'd be cautious. Somebody is always trying to get something from LeBron. When you are in the spotlight like he is, you should be careful."

James is not prone to Terrell Owens-like tomfoolery or to be accused of violent acts, a la Kobe Bryant. But he also seems unlikely to organize an athlete summit to discuss the plight of the underclass or be front and center on a chat about the lack of black executives in sports.

James is the epitome of the 21st century, upper-tier corporate athlete: almost perfect, smooth, like a warm glass of milk, no bitter after taste, but also non-inspirational to those same taste buds.

James is, to be blunt, extremely safe.

The NBA likes it this way. Several team executives explained that high-profile players are encouraged to stay away from controversies like expressing political views.

Stern said he personally feels that players should be allowed to mature without becoming symbols or making statements.

"I think they are entitled to do what they do best," Stern said, "which is perfect their skills at basketball and then contribute to society as they see fit."

In many ways it's understandable that high-profile athletes are terrified of being Billy Jean King or Muhammad Ali. When the latter declined to enter the Vietnam War, he became the most hated athlete in the country. His decision of conviction came at great personal cost.

When Ali's friend Jim Brown, the Hall of Fame running back, organized an athlete summit as a show of support for the boxer, Brown and the participating athletes did so at great risk and would go on to lose some of their popularity because they were viewed as radicals.

Heaped upon the shoulders of James and players like Miami's Dwayne Wade, San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Orlando center Dwight Howard, Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki and Phoenix guard Steve Nash is the awesome responsibility of keeping a league from imploding under the weight of a workforce that sometimes lacks in maturity and an understanding of the subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, complexities of public relations, race and double standards.

If they do state something even remotely controversial, they can lose fans, sponsors and have a thousand columnists and bloggers attacking their every thought and pronoun. Ali never faced an opponent as vicious as a 24-hour news cycle.

So sometimes, athletes like James figure, it's better to just shut your mouth and play ball. Indeed, one NBA league executive asked rhetorically: "Why are our players supposed to be social activists? I don't see anyone saying, 'Why doesn't Roger Federer talk about global warming?'"

"Some of the standards young guys in the league are held to are unfair," said veteran Dikembe Mutombo, in his 15th season. "Other sports are not held to those same standards."

Mike Brown, the bright young coach of the Cavaliers, defends this generation of athletes. "They're very smart and very savvy people," he said. "It's unfair to ask them to be all things to all people."

When James' publicist, Keith Estabrook, was asked in an e-mail if he counsels James to stay out of potentially controversial situations, Estabrook responded: "LeBron has a remarkable take on the media and follows his own instincts."

James' place among the NBA's all-time elite -- already -- is beginning to crystallize. His talent is not the issue. Ability courses through his veins. It's not outlandish to say that by the time he is done playing, James could end up being one of the top five NBA greats of all time.

The real battle is not what happens on the court but off of it. Like his league, James might be at a crossroads himself.

Will James and other athletes stand for more than dunks and selling products? Should they even be asked to? Will James continue to be the NBA's golden boy or will ego and power transform him the way those forces acted on others like Iverson, who spat and cursed at authority on his way to being traded out of Philadelphia?

This brings us to the waiting. And waiting some more.

An audience with the King

James was supposed to arrive for the pregame news conference some 20 minutes ago. He does not show. An hour later, he is still not there. The redoubtable public relations professional searches for him. He is located. James eventually decides to show up and speak.

Questions are asked, cameras are pointed his way. He stands against a wall, rarely expressing emotion. The queries are simple, and the answers are easily digestible. It's quickly over. He rapidly departs.

Don't expect anyone, let alone a 22-year-old, to clap his hands and make the NBA's problems disappear. (Getty Images)

No one is perfect, and as stalwart as James is, he is no exception. He has been known to blow off local news conferences or interviews without explanation. One-on-ones with the Cleveland media are almost unheard of.

Nationally, according to several people with knowledge of the situation, James will not, for example, cooperate with magazines unless he is guaranteed the cover.

Estabrook, when queried if the strategy of the James camp was to ignore the local media and focus on the national picture, said: "No, that is not the strategy and LeBron speaks with the local media every day. In regards to national magazine covers we entertain each magazine request on a case by case scenario."

Several league sources say the Cavaliers are so worried about James departing one day for a larger media market like New York or Chicago that he is allowed to basically, as one source explained, do what he wants, when he wants.

The Cavaliers vehemently deny this.

"I ask him for input," Brown said. "I've told him there are times when he will come at me and he may be angry, but it won't be personal. There are going to be times when I come at him and I may be angry, and it won't be personal. We have some back-and-forths, but he is a total professional.

"He is a great human being. He is still growing as a player and a person. Everybody goes through their trials and tribulations. He's special because he's so good and he hasn't even hit his ceiling yet."

All he is asked to do is help save the NBA, be a shining example to millions of people, be a great athlete, generate millions of dollars in shoe sales, never do what thousands of Americans do every week -- which is, have an opinion, get in trouble with the law -- and oh, yes, win a championship.

All while just being 22 years old. No problem. Where does he sign?

"I don't think the NBA could be in better hands if guys like LeBron James are the next generation," said Orlando's Hill, one of the great leaders in all of sports. "It won't be easy for him being in the spotlight, but he understands it all. He's a terrific ambassador for the sport."

"If people feel that way, that's great to know," James said. "I'm nowhere near on a level as a Grant Hill because I haven't had that adversity that Grant Hill has had his entire career by going through all these injuries and still having the determination to come back and still want to play this game. I'm working on being a good person, but he's a great person."

Asked if he was ready to spend his life in the spotlight, James did not hesitate. "I've been in (the public eye) for a long time now, since I was a sophomore or junior in high school. So I'm very comfortable with it."

The transcendent one

"So you can't blame jazz musicians or David Stern with his NBA fashion issues."
-- Rapper Nas on the NBA's dress code

"White America has shut the NBA out. They're not interested in the NBA ... for a variety of reasons. Tattoos, behavior, hand guns, the fight (between) Indiana and Detroit. All those reasons are why the white fan is not interested, for the most part, in the NBA. I couldn't get a white (sports) fan in some of the towns that I've been around to even talk about the NBA. They're not interested."
-- New York radio talk show host Chris Russo, who is white

Is it possible that many other whites feel the same way? Or is this a false issue disgorged by the media?

Critics of Stern contend his recent measures and rules, such as adding a dress code, are an effort to create a palatable league -- translation, more appealing to whites, they say -- which will bring back white viewers.

'He is just a likeable guy,' says commissioner David Stern, who no doubt understands James' value to the NBA. (Getty Images)

Stern is as good a commissioner as there has been in American sports. He is also a blunt talker, not shy with his opinion. Stern responded to the notion that he is trying to create a more appealing league to whites by saying all he is doing is attempting to make the best NBA possible.

Stern also denied there is white flight from arenas.

"Our season-ticket base is as white as can be," Stern said. "They clap their hands, they enjoy the games, they listen to the music, so it's not so."

What is not in doubt is that professional basketball is held to a different standard than other sports. It is an amazing phenomenon, actually. There are nasty altercations in hockey and bench-clearing fights in baseball that would put NBA scrums to shame.

Yet when NBA players get their brawl on, it seems to resonate more in the public domain. People in the NBA admit the reasons are complicated.

One has to do with the proximity of fans. Fans at hockey and baseball games are seated far from the fights and protected by significant barriers. In both the Detroit and New York brawls, large, formidable athletes spilled into the stands, thus endangering fans. In the Detroit melee, they fought them.

The elephant under the basket is the topic of race.

If you believe players and executives in the NBA, it is a prism that disfigures almost everything basketball. One basketball player arrest or gunfight or Iverson-like act of defiance is treated like the end of Western Civilization; when an NFL or hockey player commits an unsocial act, the public opinion consequences are not so harsh.

Stern laughed at remembering how years ago the fact players wore Afros were considered bad for the league's image.

"It is sitting there, obviously," Stern said of the issue of race. "But what can you do? You just work through it."

Stern has two choices. He can either let the people who are turned off just continue to be, and accept the fact that the television numbers will be smaller. Or he can take steps to limit the damage. Stern is definitely doing the latter.

This is where players like James enter the picture. Like Woods and Jordan before him, James is not seen as black or white, just a star. His athletic prowess seems to armor him against racial double standards.

"He is just a likeable guy," said Stern. "Just look at that smile."

Worth the wait

The people who believe that James is overrated (unbelievably there are those critics), believing he is a better sneaker salesmen and ad man than he is great player, did not witness what he did Dec. 23 against Orlando.

There are so many moments of brilliance already in this young career. One occurred against the Magic as James broke their backs by scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. During that streak he made four straight baskets.

Inside Cleveland's arena, a raucous, fun place to watch a basketball game, fans went berserk. It is clear how much he is a Cleveland heartthrob.

Though people might occasionally try, there really is no denying James' talent. (Getty Images)

It is easy to understand why. They are seeing history. By his 22nd birthday, James has gotten more points, assists and 3-point baskets than any other player by that same age. Jordan, Magic, Wilt, Bird -- none of them did that.

Since being drafted, he is the league's leading scorer with more than 7,000 points.

The Cavaliers, before James, suffered five sconsecutive losing seasons. By that 22nd birthday, with James, Cleveland was 142-130.

As for now, right now, that game against Orlando is over and the media wait to speak with James. A group of about seven to 10 people hold positions outside James' locker, which is tucked away in the back corner of the room. The media wait. And wait some more.

About 25 to 35 minutes after the contest, James emerges. He is asked about how he took over the game with his dramatic fourth quarter. His responses are measured, precise, carefully picked.

It is moments like these where you notice that James is extraordinarily mature and wise; it is easy to forget that he is just 22.

Still, he publicly conducts himself as if there is a guardian political adviser nestled on his shoulder, whispering advice in his ear.

"Be safe, LeBron," that guardian must tell him. "Don't give them too much. They'll kill you if you do. Be safe, brother. Be safe."

After the group breaks up, he is asked if this is the kind of game that demonstrates he is a true superstar. He smiles cautiously, hesitating to give a 30-second one-on-one interview with someone he barely knows. Such a thing is something that he apparently feels is akin to being water boarded.

"I don't know about all that," he responds, smiling. "I just don't want to lose. (No one) wants to lose. I don't care if they are a superstar or not. OK?"

OK -- it is a signal. It means goodbye. James turns his back to get dressed. Interview over.

You wait. You wait some more, but the wait will be worth it.

James will not just win. James will probably win big, free of the handcuffs that make a troubled reputation.

Free of handcuffs, period.

In February: How Mark Cuban saved basketball in Dallas and became one of the best owners in sports -- all while sticking his finger in the eye of David Stern.