The King Is Here

So will we all be perched in front of our televisions tomorrow evening to learn where The King will be making his castle for the next few years?

Yeah, we will.

All of us that consider ourselves hoop aficionados have our own theories on where LBJ will land. Some believe that, despite all of the talk about team and winning and the like, it will wind up being - in the words of the O'Jays - For The Love Of Money, and James will choose the Knicks on the strength of the potential of earning an additional eleventy bazillion dollars off the court in New York. Part two of that theory says that in addition, there is no place better in the basketball universe to be a champion than New York City.

As a native New Yorker, I agree for the most part about NYC - but would underline if you win. There have been Knick teams that the city & region have loved for their grit & tenacity - but that love didn't extend outside of the area because there was no ring. Where would 1984 Bernard King be in the eyes of the hoop world - considering he averaged almost 40 as they beat Detroit and then almost singlehandedly won three games against the Bird-led champions-to-be - if he had that one more player and was able to lead the Knicks to victory in that series? He was the most unstoppable offensive player of that era - partially shown by the fact that he made the all-star team post-injury, probably at no more than 65% of himself - but I believe the lack of a ring hurts his legacy, despite his NYC years.

Although the Knicks are iconic & the Garden is #1, I wonder how much bigger they make LeBron James. I think you can make the case that being in NY grows most players - including stars like the new Knick Amar'e - in a massive way on the marketing side...but for a Kobe or LeBron, not much. They're already there.

What guys like that do, especially in a smaller market, is grow a franchise to never-before seen heights, which is what LBJ has done in Cleveland. If he comes to NY he'll make the team better, but he can't really grow the franchise, which is already iconic though the team sucks now. The next time they win a ring, whether with LeBron James or John Doe, the star will be a legend and the rest of those players will be New York heroes forever. LeBron would retire a Knick & get his jersey hung at the top of the Garden alongside of those of Frazier, Monroe, Reed, DeBusschere, Bradley, Ewing & McGuire. After a while, the Knicks would get another superstar, and his jersey would wind up next to LeBron's.

But if he stays in Cleveland and wins, he's on a plateau all by himself. Not just one of a number of great Knicks. Not the second greatest Chicago Bull of all time...because the greatest one has been immortalized with a statue outside of the United Center. And not the guy who becomes a villain in the eyes of some by joining D-Wade in Miami...not good enough to win on his own.

I think he will stay with the Cavs.