HONOLULU -- The NBA is expected to review the legality of formal summer camps for NBA players run by various league coaches and administrators, and that could mean the death knell for the oldest and most prestigious of them -- the Pete Newell Big Man Camp, currently underway for the 25th year in Honolulu.

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No official response from NBA headquarters in New York could be obtained Tuesday, but sources say the league's concern about offseason workouts has been heightened by high school junior LeBron James being invited to participate in scrimmages at the Cavaliers' practice facilities.

Cavs coach John Lucas was suspended two games and the team was fined $150,000 for extending the invitation. Never mind that talented high school players have been training with local pros at their team facilities for years -- Jason Kidd with the Warriors and Kobe Bryant with the 76ers being two -- or that the Newell camp maintains no exclusivity about which teams can participate.

No matter. Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe and Pistons coach Rick Carlisle, longtime Big Man instructors, had to lobby the league to let them participate this year, which is why the upcoming review is not expected to be favorable. Newell, the legendary former California coach and Lakers GM, runs separate sessions for both pro and college players, but doesn't plan to continue the pro portion if the league prohibits NBA personnel from working at them.

Other camps that would be affected are less well-known week-long sessions run by Vandeweghe in Los Angeles and Bucks assistant coach Tim Grgurich in Las Vegas.

"If that happens, the NBA camp is done," Newell said. "It's too bad. If there weren't any obstacles, I'd keep doing it."

Newell, who will turn 87 this month, planned for this to be the camp's last year because camp organizer Merv Lopes wanted to retire and the cost for college players to fly to and stay in Hawaii was becoming prohibitive.

Lopes had a change of heart last spring and plans are being made to move the college portion of the camp to Las Vegas. But after several pros at the camp this year suggested its appeal would wane if moved, Lopes is hoping to keep the pro part of the camp on Oahu.

"You need NBA instructors because they know exactly how we think and how certain moves work," said Warriors forward Antawn Jamison, a camp attendee for the third consecutive year. "And in Vegas, you're going to have a lot of distractions. They should keep it here or move it to Salt Lake or Idaho or something."

Newell worked for the Lakers when he started the camp and most recently served as a consultant and scout for the Cavs.

"I've been associated with a team this whole time and it hasn't been a problem," he said. "All of a sudden it's a problem. You'd think they'd want players to be more skillful. It's not like we're changing the game, we're just helping players get better. But the NBA hasn't done a whole lot to improve the game of basketball, anyway."

Anybody watching the pro campers this year understands how vital such instruction is for most of today's NBA players, who are physical wonders but are novices when it comes to the nuances of fundamental hoop technique and strategy.

The reverse pivots, proper square-ups, stagger fakes and step-through moves clearly have been revelations to the majority of players this week.

When the Bulls' Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler warmed up with a two-on-two game against the Wizards' Bobby Simmons and Kwame Brown, they did nothing but launch 3s and throw lobs to the rim. The backdoor passes and seal-offs taught later in the day were nowhere to be seen.

If there's any tampering going on, it's with the league's caliber of play. Players routinely come away from the camp eternally grateful, but none to date have forced a trade to be with a coach who instructed them over the summer. Selflessness is not common in pro sports of any kind or at any level, making Newell's camp -- and all those like it -- an invaluable oasis. By draining it, the league would be killing off its own precious resources.

AND ONES: Biggest Big Man Camp surprise: Pistons swingman Tayshaun Prince. Matched against Warriors guard Jason Richardson in one-on-one drills, Prince shook JRich several times and stayed in front of him defensively. Richardson had his moments, too, recovering from one Prince juke for a ooohhh-inspiring block at the rim, but Prince was clearly the early talk of camp. "I'm really impressed with his overall skills," Newell said. "He's much tougher than I thought." Others who have made a notable impression: Nuggets rookie forwards Nene Hilario and Nikoloz Tskitishvili. That's a turnaround for Tskitishvili, who apparently got eaten up at Grgurich's camp in Las Vegas last week ... Cezary Trybanski of Poland, who signed as a free agent with the Grizzlies, is too thin at 7'2" and 240 and plays too straight-up to be an effective NBA post player, but has a silky array of moves and touch …No. 3 draft choice Mike Dunleavy Jr. was matched up against the Kings' Gerald Wallace and showed why NBA scouts loved him, but also why no one's sure just how good he'll be: he sets up well defensively and has a full complement of skills, but Wallace's athleticism clearly caused problems for him as the workout progressed ... Cavs guard Trajan Langdon has signed a one-year deal to play in Italy for Benetton next season. ... Warriors forward Troy Murphy was expected to attend the camp but stayed home after spraining his ankle last week ... Two reasons Chris Mullin did an about-face and joined the Warriors' organization (as a special assistant, not GM) after his agent said at draft time he wouldn't: his duties will include working out with the players and assistant coach Clifford Ray will not be back. According to one team source, Ray and Mullin had philosophical differences.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ric.bucher@espnmag.com.