AP
I get the lure of New York. It’s the Big Apple. It’s Gotham. It’s “The City That Never Sleeps.” I used to live there and I’d go back if I could. What I don’t get is this idea that LeBron James needs to go there.
There are some athletes who need New York. They need to be in a big city and play in a big market to validate their legacy and marketability. I spent part of the offseason with Tony Parker, who told me on more than one occasion that if the Spurs played in New York, he would be a bigger star and San Antonio’s current run of success would be more appreciated. “It's because we're in a small market,” he said. “If it said ‘Knicks’ across our jersey, we would be talked about all the time. We'd be everywhere.”
Needless to say, James is not Parker. He’s an international superstar on par with Tiger Woods and David Beckham and is reaching Michael Jordan status with his global appeal. James doesn’t need to have “New York” etched across his chest to become an icon. He doesn’t need play at Madison Square Garden to make more money in endorsements. He doesn’t have to live in Manhattan and be pictured on Page Six to become a bigger celebrity.
James doesn’t need New York. New York (and more specifically the Knicks) needs James.
The way people have been talking about the lure of playing for the Knicks recently, I would have thought they were talking about the Yankees. Yes, the Knicks play in Madison Square Garden, “The Word’s Most Famous Arena,” and are in New York City, one of the world’s biggest media markets. But that’s where the draw ends. If James were shopping for a penthouse or looking to start a magazine, this move would be a slam dunk, but he’s trying to win basketball games.
The Knicks haven’t had a winning record since the 2000-01 season, finishing with fewer than 40 wins for seven straight seasons, a streak that will likely stretch to nine when James becomes a free agent in 2010. They’ve only won two championships in their history, with the last one coming in 1973. Their last trip to the Finals came a decade ago. This isn’t the Yankees or the Lakers, two storied franchises in big cities littered with championships. If the Knicks didn’t play in New York, they’d be the East Coast version of the Sonics (except for the whole relocation thing), a decent team that had some success in the '70s and '90s but fell on some hard times.
Would James sign with the Sonics, er the Thunder, if they cleared cap room for him? No, and he should take the same stance with the Knicks.
Anyone who watched the Cavaliers’ 119-101 rout of the Knicks on Tuesday knows the Knicks need more than James to become contenders again. While the retooled Knicks showed how far they have to go, the Cavs showed why they have the third-best record in the league behind the Lakers and Celtics. Surrounded by the best supporting class he’s ever had, James no longer has to carry the load. James finished with 26 points as seven Cavs scored in double figures and all 12 players made a dent in the box score.
Cleveland may not be New York, but the Cavs are no small-market team. The Cavs, who made the 2007 Finals and were six points from eliminating the Celtics in last year's playoffs, have the third-highest payroll in the league behind the Knicks and Mavericks. Their owner, Dan Gilbert, has done everything in his power to make them a winner, from opening a state-of-the-art training center near James’ hometown of Akron to trading for Mo Williams, Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West in the past year. What has also gone unnoticed by most is the cap flexibility Cleveland will have in 2010, when it could be the ones in position to add a player such as Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire or Dwyane Wade to a team already contending for a championship with James.
James may love New York and New York may love him, but there will be plenty of time for him to stroll through Times Square and Central Park in the offseason. If he wants to win an NBA championship, his best bet is still to stay in Cleveland.
Bar Refaeli
Julie Henderson
Back in Time: July 3
Manny Being Manny
Comments (87) Add A Comment
Amen Brother!
Everybody is saying that James will go to New York or New Jersey but i can't see that happening. neither team is in the position to be a championship caliber team by the end of '09. Detroit may have a chance but the 2010 free agent market will be so flooded any contending team with cap room could buy themselves a championship like boston did last year.
I can just imagine my Cavs getting Stoudemire or Bosh or Tony Parker or Yao Ming or Gasolor even Kobe - why 'cause the Cavs will have tons of cap room that year also, but everybody seems to forget that.
aegrant
Total Comments (246)
who cares. lets just see what happens. speculation over nothing to be honest, because you never know what these players are thinking. the modern day athlete is so fickle; one minute they want a legacy the next minute they want a shoe deal. who cares how this goes down. i wont believe anything until i see it. im a big knick fan, and even though we are gearing for the future. id rather have d wade on the team than lebron. remember when they reached the finals 2 years ago and remember how boring that series was? yea knicks havent been there in a decade but when we were there the garden's roof almost blew off! so again, in 2010; lets see what the hell happens.
muse324
New York , NY
Total Comments (1)
The only reason would be that LeBron just simply WANTS to go to NY.
Mondo Jay
Total Comments (7107)
muse324, you are an idiot. The real MVP on that heat team was Shaq (and the officials). Kobe Bryant has done nothing without Shaq and that WILL continue this year. Now that LeBron actually has a cast behind him and a $13 mil contract for a deadline trade, we'll see what you are saying after the Cavs get even more help for the bench. The deepest teams win and right now the Cavalier's are as deep as the Mariana Trench.
buckeyeblitz76
Akron , OH
Total Comments (7)
The reason would be MONEY. MONEY talks.
somebody else do it
Saint Louis , MO
Total Comments (545)
Wayyyy off, Arash. You conveniently omit the idea of ego. Ever heard of it? If LeBron is as good as everyone believes he is, then he can win anywhere. So you say, "But he's trying to win basketball games" -- sure, but you don't think that he thinks he can win with any group of guys?
The Knicks will have so much cap space prior to that season that they'll be help in New York as well. LeBron is a cool kat, he wants to party and bring the house down everywhere he goes in the big city. He's a larger than life figure, and there's only one city that's larger than life. LeBron will be there.
JFro
L.I., NY
Total Comments (458)
Someone who isnt a friggin idiot! Congrats the most sound and well reasoned article out of the whole Lebron to NY fiasco. Also why would Lebron want to be in business with Dolan?
domdawg9000
Avon , OH
Total Comments (232)
I think LeBron would like to go to New York but I think once he looks at the team he would have around him he'll decide Cleveland gives him the best chance to win a ring. Sure, he has an ego but he's not stupid. Kobe was faced with the same situation last year when he tried to go to Chicago and realized if the Lakers made the trade he'd be in Chicago all by himself with a worse supporting cast than he had in Los Angeles. And as far as money goes, Cleveland can offer $30 million more than any other team over the contract's lifetime.
Arash Markazi
Los Angeles, CA
Total Comments (118)
Chris Bosh and Lebron would be unstoppable in Cleveland.
pooloo
Total Comments (176)
Personally I think that this whole 2010 free agency thing is getting a bit out of hand. Anything can happen between now and then (look at the Celts, worst to first in a year), so it's kind of hard to say that James/Bosh/Wade is going to NY/LA/Detroit.
James will stay in Cleveland, and Wade is going to the Rap's. End of story.
Carl J
Barrie, ON
Total Comments (8)
Has anyone talked about Lebron wanting an ownership stake in the Knicks yet? I think that's what he wants more than money is to be the guy who makes the decisions while he's still on the floor -- just like Jordan tried to do when he went to the Wizards. Lebron is doing it much earlier in his career and he can control his own destiny and the team they put together that way.
Deek102
Total Comments (1)
Reality check, folks. As a life-long local, LeBron knows that Cleveland is cursed, jinxed, and possessed by the devil. That's why he roots for the Yanks and Cowboys instead of the Tribe and Browns. A championship ain't gonna happen here. Ever. We all know this.
LeBron may not go to New York, but he'll go somewhere. We are not worthy. Happy Thanksgiving.
MrCleaveland
Cleveland, OH
Total Comments (103)
Are you stupid? He's 100% right, what are you reading?
U-C-F
Total Comments (300)
The Drive, The Fumble. *sigh*
FlatSnap
Arlington , TX
Total Comments (938)
It's easy to think the Pundits are right when the have LeBron automatically going to NY..... but how much bigger can LeBron get? .... Who's poster is in my son's room? Stephon Marbury? I don't think so......
Sir Robin (again)
Camelot, UK
Total Comments (11174)
what makes you think Cleveland is going to spend money on Chris Bosh or Amare? That's the whole reason LeBron would go to NY because they'll actually get him help. The man brought the Cavs to the finals with no help, and the Cavs repay him by getting mediocore players around him. Look at the Celtics, they basically proved that with 1-3 Superstars you can go on from being the worst team in the NBA to the best. LeBron has to wonder that if the Cavs aren't willing to spend some money to get him help after going to the finals and being 1 game away from the finals last year, that NY Knicks will give him and other free agents in that year a ton of money because they are desperate to win. Also, given NY's signing's in the past of Marbury and Curry, it's obvious they don't have a problem spending money, especially if it were on players like LeBron who alone would pay for his salary in ticket sales and merchandise, and a guy like Bosh or Amare, or even D Wade. It's a very good possibility LeBron could go to NY, it's really going to be up to Cleveland on how they deal with it, but it's still 2 years away so we should stop talkin about it like it's in 5 months.
Harry Balzagna
Total Comments (169)
Who are you, Markazi, a mind reader for knowing what LBJ truly wants? Maybe he wants all those things you said he doesnt, including starting a magazine. This article its a pure waste of fricking time.
AirJordan
Total Comments (327)
No the truth on this comment is that LeBron is a poster child for any kid born in the late 80's who grew up watching 1990 dynasties. He's a front runner. Yanks, Cowgirls, & Bulls....what do you expect?
Harry Balzagna
Total Comments (169)
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