More Ads for New York Knick LeBron James
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Michael Jordan Comeback....
Got this from Kotaku.com today... Rumors are that Michael Jordan might be on the cover of 2K Sports' NBA 2K11 coming out next fall. They are evidently trying to reach out to Jordan's camp to get him to agree on this as well as make him a playable character in the league. This is funny becuase if you remember back in the day when Jordan actually WAS in the league, he would never be available in EA games; you always had to create him with some secret code. This would be pretty cool. Owen from Kotaku.com had more.....
ESPN, citing multiple unnamed sources, says 2K Sports is pursuing basketball's greatest player ever, Michael Jordan, for the cover of NBA 2K11 and may have plans to feature him as a playable character in the game.Jon Robinson, ESPN's sports gaming columnist, adds that he's "heard whispers" that 2K has been in negotiations with Jordan's teammates and opponents to appear in NBA 2K11. That fuels speculation that Jordan will be playable in the game, at least in recreated his iconic career moments - such as his 44 points and game-winning jumper against Cleveland in the first round of the 1989 playoffs, or the shoulder-shrugging 35-point first-half performance against Portland in the 1992 NBA Finals. Or berating Kwame Brown during practice in his second comeback with the Washington Wizards.
Robinson also notes that, if Jordan does make the cover, it'll be the first time any team executive has appeared on the cover of a sports video game. Jordan is the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.
I emailed 2K Sports who, understandably, hasn't answered the request for comment. It's a good bet more on this will be known at E3 next month.
Though up-and-comers like Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans have been rumored for the slot, 2K's cover decision might be motivated by the publisher's need to outdo itself. Last year's NBA 2K10 featured Kobe Bryant. There's only one player to go to if you're trying to top Bryant, after a championship year no less, and if LeBron James said no thanks, only a hall-of-famer like Jordan would represent a step up. 2K Sports has spared little expense or effort to defend its marquee title's top-of-the-heap status, so pursuing Jordan would be very much in character for them.
But when I heard 2K was considering an awesome dunker with ties to Charlotte's NBA franchise, I thought they were gonna stick Rex Chapman on the cover. Still no love for the original Hornets. Sad.
FULL ARTICLE
Knicks To Work Out 7 in Pre-Draft Camp
Andrew Feingold from Hotstovenewyork.com had a piece about the Knicks' pre-draft camp workouts. I'd like to see them get Prince, I watched him a lot at Tennessee and I like his IQ on the court as well as his athletic ability;
The six players invited to the pre-draft workouts in Westchester include : Cornell 7-foot center Jeff Foote, Oklahoma forward Keith “Tiny” Gallon, Tennessee guard J.P. Prince, Western Kentucky guard A.J. Slaughter, Alabama guard Mikhail Torrance, and Tulsa guard Ben Uzoh.
The three players worth mentioning:
Jeff Foote: 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocks in 34 games in his senior season. He transferred from St. Bonaventure where he made the team as an academic walk-on. Foote increased his scoring and rebounding in each of the past three seasons. He has great size at 7′0″ and 265 pounds. His presence in the middle altering shots, setting picks and high FG% helped lead the Big Red to finish 29-5. Before losing to Kentucky in the Sweet 16 he registered 28 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks vs Temple and Wisconsin. Foote has won the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year the past two seasons. He has a 7″4″ wingspan and a high basketball IQ. He might not be the quickest of foot but he puts himself in great position on both sides of the court.
Keith “Tiny” Gallon: 10.3 points, 7.9 rebounds as a freshman. Gallon was the 11th ranked (ESPN scouts score of 97) player coming out of high school ahead of: Lance Stephenson and Daniel Orton. He was a McDonald’s All-American from Oak Hill Academy. Gallon is a beast measuring 6′9″, weighing 302 pounds. He needs to get a little leaner to improve his stamina for the NBA. Gallon has raw potential frame and strong rebounding skills. He had 9 game of 10+ rebounds including a career 18 vs. Oklahoma State. His wide-body and soft touch reminds me of DeJuan Blair. “Tiny” has some off-the-court issues when he allegedly received $3,000 from a financial adviser connected to an OU assistant.
J.P. Prince: He is the cousin of Pistons F Tayshaun Prince and has great length at 6″7″. Prince transferred from Arizona and played three seasons for the Vols. He has not lived up to his potential when he was the fourth highest rated point guard coming out of high school (rivals.com). He led his team in steals (1.5) and chargers drawn (21). Despite averaging 9.9 points he has become a better defender and has the versatility to guard three positions.
By Andrew Feingold
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Eddy Curry Money Situation
I didn't really want to blog about this Eddy Curry situation but some of these details are really alarmingly funny and stupid. Or maybe just stupid. Clearly Eddy seems to be victim of another blood thirsty accountant taking advantage of another uneducated athlete financially. Now this is accountant that Eddy is a 'victim' of is all alleged. This was the story that came out of Curry's camp and they have also stated that they will proceed in suing the accountant, Lamont Carter. Curry claims that for the better part of five years, Carter has not been honest in paying Curry's bills on time or in full. Curry fired Carter in 2008. There is no doubt in my mind that off the court Curry seems to be a genuinely good guy.
He's just silly with his spending.
$115K for a 7-carat engagement ring
$33K for a pair for diamond earrings
$285K for a diamond and gold chain
$4.5M for a mansion in Chicago in which his family shares with him
The spending also includes a garage of over 10 cars which includes multiple Range Rovers, Rolls-Royces and Cadillacs. Evidently, Curry likes toys, but seems to have no sense of reality. I have to agree with Kareem's philosophy that these millionaire athletes are anointed at too young of an age. Curry has been a millionaire since the age of 19. That's not a lot of time to learn some values of spending and being responsible. I'm sure Curry is not the only NBA 'casualty' in this category. I think the NBA should look into this matter and school the kids that enter the league a little better. It will take responsibility and attention from both the league and the player himself.
More on Luring LeBron
ESPN insider had more on the Knicks trying to lure LeBron and how they are going to do it. Thought it was pretty interesting because this is the first article i've read that actually mentions what we ALREADY have on our roster as opposed to mentioning the lures and distractions of New York City.
It's the question the NBA world has been debating since Donnie Walsh took over the New York Knicks in April 2008 and vowed to clear salary-cap space to lure free agents to the Big Apple: Do the Knicks have a realistic shot at landing LeBron James?
Twenty-five months later, we still don't know.
We know about the Cavaliers' built-in advantages when it comes to keeping James, even if he chooses to become a free agent this summer, as expected: He is a local hero for a winning team, and in Cleveland he can make a higher salary for more years than elsewhere.
We know that the Bulls can make the case to LeBron that his future would be brightest in Chicago, given their young, athletic talent -- and that the Nets can say the same of New Jersey and Brooklyn, with a Russian billionaire and a hip-hop legend able to offer a unique combination of international appeal and street cred.
And we know that Miami Heat president Pat Riley is cooking up a plan to keep his own superstar, Dwyane Wade, while adding another star or two, with a wish list that starts with LeBron.
What we don't know yet is whether the Knicks can successfully use the bright lights of New York to trump those other teams in the contest for LeBron's services.
But here's one thing we do know now, thanks to a well-placed source with knowledge of the Knicks' thinking: exactly how the Knicks will try to lure LeBron.
According to the source, the Knicks have not contacted any prospective free agents or their agents, given the NBA's strict rules on tampering with players on other teams. But the Knicks have been plotting their strategy for more than two years, and now they're ready to make their move on July 1 -- to enact their game plan to get LeBron.
And it's not only LeBron who interests the Knicks, according to the source -- they are also very interested in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, as you'll see below.
When the Knicks brass makes its pitch to LeBron and his team of advisors, the source says these will be the talking points:
1. "You can play alongside another superstar."
In other words: "You won't be alone anymore, LeBron."
The Knicks are projected to have about $34 million in salary-cap space, which should allow them to sign two free agents at max dollars -- with the second star being Bosh, ideally, according to the source.
And if LeBron says no, the Knicks will make exactly the same case to Dwyane Wade, according to the source.
Therefore, Plan A would be to pair James and Bosh, Plan B would be Wade and Bosh, and Plan C would be James and Wade.
Why is Bosh part of Plan A and Plan B? Wouldn't the Knicks rather have megastars LeBron and D-Wade?
While the Knicks greatly admire Wade and are very interested in him, the source said the Knicks believe that Bosh would be the ideal partner for James (or Wade), allowing New York to pair an elite playmaker with an elite big man with shooting range.
Said the source, "I'm sure LeBron and Wade would figure out a way to play together, but it's not an ideal fit. Bosh would be a perfect complement to both of those guys because of his ability to stretch the floor."
Of course, the Knicks realize that acquiring Bosh is no sure thing. But if he doesn't stay in Toronto, Bosh will want to work out a sign-and-trade with the Raptors and another team, with the Knicks a top candidate -- as I reported Friday, New York is one of five teams on Bosh's wish list.
Even if Bosh does decide that New York is his top choice, that doesn't mean it will be easy for the Knicks to execute their plan. Knicks free agent David Lee would almost certainly have to be involved, meaning he would need to agree on contract terms and a move to Toronto. And as Chris Sheridan has written, working out the timing of all this maneuvering might be very tricky.
While the Knicks will target James first, they are no less interested in Wade, according to the source. They recognize that LeBron is three years younger, more versatile and more durable, but Wade's championship pedigree and scoring prowess make him just as appealing, for different reasons.
Said the source, "If you're trying to win championships for the next five years, I think you go with LeBron. But if you were to pick one player to try to win it with immediately, Wade may be the better choice. You can't go wrong with either guy."
So what happens if LeBron leaves the Knicks in limbo? What if Wade and Bosh are ready to sign up while LeBron ponders his decision?
When I asked the source, he said the Knicks had discussed that possibility and would not hesitate: "If Wade and Bosh committed quickly, and LeBron was still unsure, I think you'd have to go ahead and move on. It's too much of a risk to keep players of that caliber hanging."
And what happens if James or Wade wants to join the Knicks but Bosh doesn't, and if James and Wade aren't a package deal? Plan D is Dirk -- more precisely, pairing James or Wade with Dirk Nowitzki, who is expected to opt out of his contract with the Dallas Mavericks, as reported Saturday by Marc Stein.
2. "You'll have a good supporting cast."
The Knicks' current roster has been much maligned, especially with All-Star big man David Lee quite possibly leaving in July. But according to the source, the supporting cast will actually be a critical element of the recruiting pitch to LeBron, Wade and/or Bosh.
The source said that Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni believes that the ideal way to maximize the effectiveness of LeBron or Wade is to put him in a role similar to that of Magic Johnson with the Showtime Lakers.
"Both of these guys [James and Wade] are at their best when they have the ball in their hands," the source said. "While neither guy has played point guard for most of their career, that's the right position to put them in."
The idea is to let LeBron or Wade handle the ball and surround them with long, athletic players who can spread the floor, opening up the lane for penetration and kickouts. In a column last week, John Hollinger used a statistical breakdown to describe a similar strategy, and the Knicks concur.
"Both guys are incredible, willing passers," the source said. "What you want to do is open up the floor for them and let them penetrate. If the defense collapses you need a number of players around them that can make them pay."
The Knicks, according to the source, believe that the supporting cast in place is ideally suited to the task, particularly if the Knicks can bring in James (or Wade) and Bosh. The face-up skills of Bosh would be a key part of the equation, but the team is also very high on several young holdovers, according to the source.
In particular, the Knicks believe 21-year-old Danilo Gallinari, who was second in the NBA in 3-pointers made (186-for-488, 38.1 percent), and 23-year-old Wilson Chandler, a slashing wing player who shot 52.4 percent on field goals inside the arc, would thrive alongside a star playmaker.
And while 24-year-old rookie Toney Douglas isn't a pure point guard, he is a 38.9 percent shooter from 3-point range and would be needed more for his marksmanship and defense than his ballhandling.
With Bosh in the middle, Gallinari at the 4, LeBron or Wade alongside Chandler on the wing, and Douglas at the point, the Knicks believe they could be a 55-win team next season, said the source.
But would that core be enough? Probably not, but the Knicks have also worked on a plan to build their bench, according to the source.
The Knicks are very high on 22-year-old swingman Bill Walker, obtained from Boston at the February trade deadline. In March and April, Walker thrived, averaging 12.7 points per game in 28.7 minutes and shooting 44.0 percent on 3-pointers.
To help fill out the roster, the team is eager to move the expiring contract of Eddy Curry -- $11.3 million for next season -- in exchange for a couple of veterans on longer contracts, according to the source.
The Knicks are also hoping, said the source, that LeBron, Wade and/or Bosh will be able to recruit a few veterans willing to play on minimum contracts for a chance at the title.
The source said that one target would be the Suns' Grant Hill. The Knicks tried to woo Hill to New York last summer, but he ultimately decided to re-up with Phoenix. Hill can opt out of his contract this summer, and the Knicks are hopeful he will bolt Phoenix if the Suns are unable to re-sign free agent Amare Stoudemire. While Hill would have to take a pay cut in New York (he's set to make $3.4 million next season if he doesn't opt out), the thinking, said the source, is that Hill might believe the chance to play alongside superstars and win a championship would be worth the loss in income.
Other veterans the Knicks might be able to get on the cheap include Brad Miller, Joe Smith, Earl Watson, Kurt Thomas, Rafer Alston, Quentin Richardson and Fabricio Oberto. And look for the Knicks to scour the market overseas for young Americans who have excelled in Europe.
3. "You'll be working with a coach and an organization that can win."
One of the key selling points for the Knicks, said the source, will be head coach Mike D'Antoni, who has built a relationship with James, Wade and Bosh the past few years as an assistant coach on the Olympic gold-medal-winning Team USA.
The source told me that the Knicks plan to use D'Antoni as their chief recruiter during the period. The source believes that when D'Antoni discusses X's and O's with free agents, they'll be persuaded he can maximize their talents.
"If you look at the Cavs and LeBron," the source said, "they had the wrong philosophy from front office to head coach. They tried to put some shooters around him and tried to make the pieces fit, but the focus was almost entirely on defense, and Mike Brown ultimately preferred those players. It put enormous pressure on LeBron to be the Cavs' total source of offense every night. Most nights, they were really successful, but I think it's taken a toll on LeBron."
As he showed in four highly successful seasons in Phoenix, D'Antoni wants players to push the ball and make plays. Because it involves a lot of freedom, running and shooting, with little micromanaging, the D'Antoni style of play is very popular with players -- especially those who have the talent to make it work.
"There's no secret that Chris Duhon wasn't as happy playing [in the D'Antoni system] as Steve Nash was," the source said. "But Duhon couldn't really run the system. Steve could and so could LeBron and Wade."
Likewise, the Knicks also plan to show players a revamped, more professional organization, said the source. In his two years, Walsh has streamlined and upgraded the front office, invested in state-of-the-art equipment and hired a world-renowned training staff.
"One big sell to players is the training staff," the source said. "One of the reasons Nash and Hill re-signed in Phoenix was because their staff did a great job of keeping them healthy. The longer you extend these players' careers, the more money they make."
4. "You can own the world's greatest city, the basketball mecca."
The Knicks know they won't have to do much to sell New York City. The top free agents love the bright lights of the Big Apple and know its appeal and history well. But that won't stop the Knicks from reminding them. To that end, expect the Knicks to trot out a number of high-profile celebrities to help them make their pitch.
Despite the central place the Knicks, New York and Madison Square Garden hold in basketball lore, New York hasn't celebrated an NBA championship in 37 years.
That's what might make the Knicks' final selling point the most compelling of all, according to the source.
"Whoever can come in and win a championship in New York will own the city," the source said. "No one can replace Michael Jordan in Chicago, no matter how many titles you win. The Heat are coming off a recent championship and the city is far from the most rabid when it comes to basketball. I think there are more Knicks fans in Miami than Heat fans.
"If someone can come in here and do what no one has been able to do for decades, their legacy is complete. That matters to players and [the Knicks] are going to make sure they know it."
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
New York to Boston "Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer"
OK...So I am totally over this New York fan can't ever root for a Boston team; at least as far as basketball goes. As I followed the Celtics closely through the first three rounds especially in the semi's against Cleveland, I came to the realization of something. The Knicks' brass should do them selves a huge favor while rebuilding this team; Build another Celtics.
Currently the Knicks have some pieces that can mirror the Celtics slightly but are missing the key components of a winning team. This year, the Celtics are neither the deepest team or the most talented but they possess many winning characteristics that very few, if any, teams have.
Starting from the foundation and working our way up, we have the point guard: Rajon Rondo. This is one of the pieces the Knicks have nothing to compare to. Rondo has catapulted himself into the elites of the position and has impressed everyone with his ability to control a game as well as his future hall of fame teammates. Rondo has outplayed each counterpart at his position in all three series creating an automatic mismatch in which the Celtics have heavily relied on in their success thus far. Despite being shaky from the perimeter and the free throw line he has found ways to get teammates open shots, drive to the basket when needed, finish with contact, draw fouls and control the tempo impeccably. Any winning team needs to have a competent point guard and the Celtics certainly have that for the next few years.
It isn't imperative to have a scoring shooting guard, but it doesn't hurt either. Future hall of famer and third option on the Celtics, Ray Allen has done many things besides score to help the team win. Since the playoffs started Allen has thrown his game into another gear on both sides of the ball. Several possessions against the Cavs, he has switched onto LeBron and he did a more than adequate job. Ray Allen's defense has been a very unexpected surprise for the Celtics, much like that of Larry Johnson's when he came to the Knicks in 1997. Since the trading of Jamal Crawford the Knicks have not had a two guard that can really create his own shot let alone play solid defense on the perimeter. As much as I loved Jamal, I would never compare him to Ray Allen on either side of the ball. Aside from just being multi-talented, Ray provides a sense of calm for the Celtics in pressure situations with his sharp shooting touch from downtown and from the line.
So far, we have the back court and we've seen that these are two huge voids the Knicks have. As we move to the front court we may find more parallels. First we have the tenured vet, Paul Pierce. The truth, the leader, the first born of the big three, call it what you want. Pierce is the fan favorite in Boston and has proven that no task is too tall for him. Sometimes when I think of Pierce, i think back to his days of being a loose cannon ball hog who would be pouting on the bench around this time after losing to the Nets. Pierce has come a long way and deserves credit. while his already limited athletic ability seems to be abandoning him further, he still finds ways to use his high basketball IQ to out play his opponent. In this series, his victim is Vince Carter. If you checked the career numbers, they would be identical, possibly even a slight edge to Carter. But this series shows more than ever that substance over style is the winning formula. Take game one for example, Pierce scored 22 and Vince scored 23, the big difference lies in field goal attempts; Vince took 18 while Pierce only needed 8. Despite playing different positions, I would liken Pierce to David Lee. Now we may have seen Lee play his last game as a Knick, but some sources seem to believe he will be back. If the Knicks rebuild the way they would like to, I could see Lee taking on that roll of a leader like a Paul Pierce, being the longest tenured and certainly the fan favorite at this point. Lee possesses a high basketball IQ and has been on the New York stage for almost five years now.
Here is the guy that every fan and every player wishes they had on their team. Kevin Garnett. I think I respect him more now than I did in his prime. Yelling profanities up and down the court every time he scores, beating his chest psyching out his opponents, there could not be more of a gamer. Physically, he is a relic of his old self, but mentally he is much wiser and in my opinion that has made him a lot of efficient. Adding the mid range set shot to his repertoire has paid immediate dividends for he and the Celtics. Like Rondo, through the first three rounds, Garnett has presented an automatic mismatch to those he has faced in Michael Beasley, Antawn Jamison and Rashard Lewis. The power forward position has changed drastically since Kevin first entered the league, but fortunately for him, the change revolved around HIS talents. Now more than ever, PF's are leaner, quicker, more athletic and more jump shot oriented. In fact most player that are playing center in today's league would be power forwards in the 90's, such as David Lee. With a solid back to the basket game and the ability to hit the open jumper as well as find the open man, Garnett has been the heart and soul of the team, helping the Celtics defense to be solid as a rock.
The final piece is something that without, any team would be hard pressed to win a title; a strong defensive minded center. That takes us to Kendrick Perkins. Kendrick is a throwback type of play to me, in the sense that he is a true center defensively. Even more so than Dwight Howard Perkins is more of a defensive center because of his ability to guard the post as well as block shots. While Howard may be the only player to fill a stat sheet with defensive accolades, he doesn't posses the IQ to make plays and stay in games. I think Dwight gets away with a lot of mistakes defensively due to his freakish athleticism as well as the lack of size he competes against on a nightly basis. Going back to Perkins, first of all, any coach has to love his size. At 6'10 280 pounds, he becomes in immovable force down low with an extremely long wingspan. Perkins ranked in the top 10 this season in shot blocks while playing significantly less minutes than those ahead in that category. On the down side, Perkins does have the tendency to rack up fouls but unlike Howard, his fouls are from hard physical play as opposed to movement mistakes such as being pumped faked and jumped into by guards on the drive. Howard has been quoted to say that Perkins gives him the most trouble out of anyone in the league in their head to head match ups. Having Perkins at center prevents teams such a Cleveland and Orlando from having that automatic mismatch down low with their center's; Shaquille O'neal and Dwight Howard.
As we all know, the playoffs are all about match ups. It takes good coaching to recognize those match ups and exploit them. What you have seen here is a blueprint to a winning team. Only God knows what the Knicks roster will look like next year I just thought it might be a good idea to look no further than Boston to pick up a few ideas. I am well aware that the players they have over there in Bean-town only come around every so often and Kevin Garnett's are a dying breed. Nonetheless they are winners and the Knicks need to win. They started their rebuilding process 3 years too late and the fans have still waited around loyally.
LeBron or no LeBron, it's time for a change in New York. As a fan, I can only hope that the Knicks take that Celtic's formula into account while rebuilding. It takes a TEAM to win a ring, not just a LeBron James.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Madison Square Garden Renovation Update
A new pic came out today of the Garden's four-year renovation plan. Looks pretty cool. Not sure how the garden would look with two bridges looming over the court or ice but If it's not new, its not New York.
Via NY Post....
Forget courtside! The hottest ticket at the revamped Madison Square Garden will be straight above Spike Lee's head.
Up to a thousand fans will get to sit in premium nosebleed seats on the two sky bridges that will be built five stories above the playing floor as part of the $850 million inside-out reconstruction of the "world's most famous arena."
"This is our signature element. It will be a unique experience in sports and entertainment," Hank Ratner, CEO of Madison Square Garden, told The Post.
Rather than merely renovate the Garden, the project, funded without a dime in taxpayer subsidies, calls for building an entirely new arena in the shell of the 1968 building, he said.
HIGH CHAIRS: Fans will be able to look out over the action from two bridges planned as part of the four-year Madison Square Garden renovation. "This gives us the best of both worlds. We keep what's iconic -- the exterior and the famous ceiling -- and create a whole new building," Ratner said.
Construction will start in earnest on June 14 and go through several phases over the next four years, moving from the bottom up. The work, which will not disrupt the Knick or Ranger season, will occur mostly in summer.
After conducting focus groups with fans, MSG officials found that the biggest complaints were over the arena's lobby, its narrow concourses, the limited food choices, the lack of bathrooms and the poor sightlines at the higher levels, Ratner said.
"We gave the whole list to our architects," he said.
One longtime complaint about the Garden is that the building gives no sense of its location in the heart of Manhattan.
By moving out most of the office space, the revamp will turn the somewhat claustrophobic lower concourse into a wide thoroughfare with city views, shopping and a slew of high-end dining options.
This concourse will also pay homage to the Garden's history, with tributes to Knick and Ranger championships to such landmark events as the Ali-Frazier fight.
Also, as part of the first phase, to be completed for the 2011-12 season, is the addition of 20 "event-level" suites. Located below courtside and featuring kitchens, bathrooms, fireplaces and dining rooms "nicer than most apartments in Manhattan," the suites lead right up to the best seats in the house.
The following year, the arena's upper bowl will be redone.
The new seats will all be more plush, and the angle of the bowl's incline will be increased 17 degrees to bring fans closer to the action.
This phase will include the addition of 58 "lower-level suites," which would be larger and closer to the action than the ones in the current Garden.
The sky bridges and new lobby are set to be completed for the 2013-14 season, along with a party deck on the 10th floor and remodeled upper-level suites.
Pricing has not been set for the sky bridges, but the courtside suites reportedly sold for upward of $1 million.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Cavs at Celtics Game 6: A Knick View
ESPN writer Ian O'Conner has an article about Spike Lee and his reasons for wanting the Celtics to win. I loved some of his quotes, especially,
"But listen, I'm not putting on any green and I'm not going to kiss the Blarney Stone or do the shamrock thing. I hate the Red Sox as much as I hate the Celtics and the ghost of Johnny Most and all those guys. This is the first and last time I root for Boston on anything, but for this one possible result it's worth it."Tonight represents game 6 of the series and the Celtics should be geared to win the series at home.
Coming into this game I am reminded of the 1999 East Finals; Knicks vs Pacers. As the 8th seed a veteran Knicks team was able to split the first two games in Cleveland and also win on the road in Indiana in game 5. Now, like the '99 Knicks, the Celtics will have an opportunity to close out the favored Cavs at home in six games.
If anyone listened to any Cleveland sports talk radio yesterday, you heard almost half the city give up on LeBron, calling him a quitter, saying that he didn't even try to win. I was really surprised at that. Let's see what he does tonight in what maybe be the most dicey situation of his young NBA career.
Spike Lee answered his cell phone on the first ring Monday, and he quickly intercepted my first question with the cries of a best-of-seven sinner in dire need of a confessional booth.
"Yes, yes, yes," Lee screamed.
The world's most famous Knicks fan was acknowledging guilt and asking for forgiveness at the same time. Speaking for millions of New Yorkers tired of weathering a basketball drought of Biblical proportions, Lee was saying something he swore he never would.
"For the first time in the history of mankind," he shrieked, "I want a Boston team to win. It's the first time ever, ever, ever, ever, ever ... "
Lee has become a Celtics fan -- for one series only.The man said "ever" more than a dozen times. The filmmaker who ensured the yuppie bicyclist in the Larry Bird jersey got verbally harassed on a Bed-Stuy street in "Do the Right Thing" was ready to check into the same lineup with Bird, McHale, Parish and Danny Ainge.
A longtime admirer of all things Knicks and Yanks, Lee was willing to sell his Boston-bashing soul for this most worthy cause:
"We need LeBron," he said. "I feel we have a better chance to get LeBron James if Cleveland loses this series to the Celtics. The quicker Cleveland loses, the better our chances are of getting LeBron."
The Cavaliers host the Celtics on Tuesday night in a Game 5 colored by the highest possible stakes. Fall again in Quicken Loans Arena, and Cleveland returns to Boston with the possibility of losing a whole lot more than a second-round series.
James might stay if the Cavs are eliminated, and he might leave if the Cavs win it all. Nobody knows for sure if LeBron will base his free-agent choice on his team's performance over the balance of the playoffs, or if that performance will be a mitigating factor at best.
But if your Garden variety Knicks fan had to guess, he or she would likely side with human nature. And human nature suggests that marriages usually stay intact when two parties are happy, and usually dissolve when at least one of those two parties is not.
“I feel we have a better chance to get LeBron James if Cleveland loses this series to the Celtics. The quicker Cleveland loses, the better our chances are of getting LeBron.
” -- Filmmaker and lifelong Knicks fan
Spike LeeJames and the Cavs will love each other dearly if they win Cleveland's first professional sports title in 46 years.
LeBron might file for divorce faster than Sandra Bullock if they don't.
"We've got a better shot at LeBron if he loses to the Celtics than if he loses to the Lakers in the Finals," Lee said. "I don't want Cleveland in the Finals, win or lose, because then I think he'll stay."
If Lee speaks for the majority of Knicks fans, he doesn't represent them all. Freddie Klein, a familiar 75-year-old face at the Garden and a fan who says he's missed only about 50 home games over the past 51 years, believes New York's odds of landing LeBron will improve if Cleveland wins a ring.
"I couldn't root for the Celtics if the end of the world came, anyway," Klein said. "I hate them. But if LeBron gets his championship he has his excuse. He can say, 'Look, I did everything for the city and now I can leave.' He can be the mayor of New York, and there are fewer reasons to stay in Cleveland if he wins it this year."
In any other Knicks-free postseason, Lee would've been pulling for just that. He would've been pulling hard for the Cavaliers to sweep the Celtics and send the 2-guard turned executive, Ainge, barreling into a rebuilding mode.
But this isn't any other Knicks-free postseason. This is the last Knicks-free postseason to be played before James lets his contract expire and then makes the most dramatic career move in NBA history.
Should he lead the hometown Cavs, or rescue the big-market Knicks?
"Donnie Walsh has done the near impossible of clearing out space for two max contracts under the cap," Lee said of the Knicks' president. "All I'm saying is it's very easy to get over rooting for the Celtics when I know what the end result might be, and that's LeBron and the second free agent he chooses to play with."
At a recent party promoting the Queen Latifah and Common movie "Just Wright," Lee ran into Boston's Rajon Rondo, he of the Oscar Robertson-esque 29-point, 18-rebound, 13-assist shredding of the Cavs in Game 4.
The filmmaker spent 20 minutes telling the point guard his team needed to take out LeBron for the sake of the Knicks. Lee asked Rondo to pass on the same message to Ray Allen, who played the role of Jesus Shuttlesworth in Lee's "He Got Game."
"I believe in Jesus," Lee said. "I believe the Celtics can win this series because something's happening with Cleveland. They look suspect to me, and they have no answer for Rondo.
"But listen, I'm not putting on any green and I'm not going to kiss the Blarney Stone or do the shamrock thing. I hate the Red Sox as much as I hate the Celtics and the ghost of Johnny Most and all those guys. This is the first and last time I root for Boston on anything, but for this one possible result it's worth it."
The possible result of LeBron James in the Knicks' starting five next fall.
So right here, right now, Spike Lee and millions of fellow New Yorkers are willing to cut a Faustian deal and speak these two evil best-of-seven words:
Go ... Celtics.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
A Question from NyKnicksBeat
So how was it rooting for the Celtics last night, Knick fans? For me it was strange, I watched most of it with a Celtic's fan so I didn't go crazy. During the game I was asked, if the Celtics were to advance who would I root for... I couldn't answer right away but the thought of all those people from Boston being happy made my stomach turn.
I am curious to know what you Knick fans felt like last night if you were pulling for the Celtics...??
LeBron Postgame Conf. After Game 5 Smacking
What's with the jacket? Would that make it in NY? Just Kidding.
Tony Parker in Knicks' Sights
In recent news, a Spurs source says that Tony Parker could be traded to the Knicks. Apparently the emergence of guard George Hill makes Tony and Eva expendable. Tony is a great player but personally I think he is best suited to be away from a big market like New York. New York offers him way too much to lose. When things get rough you can almost bet your life that Eva will be blamed, his attention to detail will be questioned and so forth. How will he handle this?
New York is not San Antonio.
Having said that doesn't mean I am against a possible trade to bring him here. I would be open to any deal that would improve the team for both the immediate and distant future. Parker has a great track record in this league and is a proven winner. Unfortunately in New York, no matter what you have done elsewhere in the past, you must start from scratch upon your arrival. Having a hot TV wife isn't enough.
ESPN's insider had more......
"...With a disappointing playoff season in the recent past, it's only natural for speculation to begin regarding how the Spurs might be altered this off-season. Teams that have elite talent but no apparent shot at a title rarely sit still.
And while Spurs general manager R.C. Buford insists he wants point guard Tony Parker to be part of the club's future and he won't trade him, others are aren't so sure. Bottom line: if Buford's stance changes, the GM won't have any trouble finding a team that wants the point guard. And already there are hints at suitors.
A source tells the New York Daily News that Gregg Popovich is so high on George Hill that Parker could be traded and that New York would be a good spot for Parker, who has a slashing style that would fit well in Mike D'Antoni's offensive system.
"Pop loves George and I could see a scenario where he would trade Tony," said a Spurs source. "Tony will be looking for a max deal and New York may pay him."
Parker's contract expires at the end of next season and he could come to New York through a trade or free agency if the Knicks don't spend all their cap room this summer.
Not something to bank on, but the fact that there's a lot more chatter on Parker's future outside of San Antonio is indicative of a situation most feel is pretty unsettled.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
I Never Thought I'd Say This But.......
It pains me to even think it..Prior to game 1 of the Celtics series against the Cavs, I pondered which team I wanted to win the series. I decided it was a win win situation for me, because I would very much enjoy seeing either of these teams lose the series. Now that the Celtics have surprised people, including LeBron, by having a very legitimate chance to win this series, I think my preference is a little more urgent now. I'm not going chant 'let's go Celtics,' or buy a Rondo jersey, but I think I just may have to pull for them here. I'm not going to go all deep into the "LeBron must lose to be a Knick" sweepstakes, but you have to at least attempt to understand that failure in Cleveland may give Lebron a case of the wandering eye. The series is tied again and I am betting that the Celtics have learned from their game 3 bed-wetting that they need to do more than just SHOW UP to win. So for one time in hsitory, on this very night, NyKnicksBeat says, "Go Celtics!" (No! that was not a chant)
Marc Berman from the NYPost reported,
"...
Mike D'Antoni is Italian to the core, speaks the language fluently. But the Knicks coach should find a green leprechaun to clutch onto tonight.
Knicks president Donnie Walsh flies back from Paris today from a scouting mission. He might want to get off the plane, don the green tie he wears on St. Patrick's Day and smoke an old-school Red Auerbach cigar.
Knick fans everywhere should head to the nearest Modell's this morning and throw down a few bucks on a Rajon Rondo jersey. Or if you can't do it, a new Nate Robinson jersey. If there is a "Boston Sucks" T-shirt in the wardrobe, burn it.
EPAIRISH DESTINY: Knicks fans should be cheering for Rajon Rondo (left) and Kevin Garnett to beat LeBron James' Cavaliers, especially if they want to see the "King" at Madison Square Garden next season.Anyone who cares deeply about the Knicks must get their green on this week. The success of the Celtics could mean the rebirth of the dead Knick franchise.
The Celtics have the Cavaliers reeling in the second round, with the series tied at 2-2. All the pressure tonight falls squarely on the Cavs, the NBA's regular-season champions and strong favorites to win this series.
If Cleveland does not beat Boston tonight at Quicken Loans Arena, LeBron James just may have played his last home game as a Cavalier.
It was 57 degrees on a May afternoon in Cleveland yesterday, but the dread along the shores of Lake Erie made it feel like 23 degrees in February (James' number).
James was silent yesterday, declining to speak to the press after practice. You should not need a doctorate in LeBronomics to figure a second-round ouster vs. Boston increases the likelihood of James fleeing Cleveland for the Knicks.
The LeBron Code is not exactly as intricate to decipher as "The Da Vinci Code." We don't need a Harvard University symbologist to crack it.
All season, when the question of free agency was put to James, he repeated variations of the same theme: "It's all about winning."
Translation: If James felt he can string together a series of championships in his hometown Cleveland, he was more than willing to pass up the bright lights of Broadway to spend his career in northeast Ohio.
A shocking second-round ouster to the elderly Celtics could be the impetus James needs -- the kind of message from the basketball gods that it may not happen here, that it is as much a risk to stay as it is to leave. Seven seasons in Cleveland, one Finals appearance, zero titles.
A second-round ouster to Boston, and James can justify to the world why he would leave and sign with the Knicks for legitimate "basketball" reasons, not silly reasons like being close to Yankee Stadium. Teaming with Chris Bosh to rescue the Knicks -- even if for three guaranteed years with an opt-out -- is not preposterous if the Cavs lose here.
A poll on the Cleveland Plain-Dealer's website asked whether getting eliminated by the Celtics would spur James to leave, or does James bleed wine and gold? The top answer was a Boston ouster would spur him to leave.
The acquisition of Antawn Jamison figured to be the final piece to Cleveland's championship puzzle and it still may be. But it puts Cleveland into a box, as Jamison's long-term contract does not give it the cap flexibility to make major moves to further improve the club, short of firing Mike Brown and bringing in, say, Jeff Van Gundy.
Shaquille O'Neal is a free agent and, considering the lack of respect shown by Brown in the Game 4 loss, Shaq is probably on the way out. O'Neal was yanked for foul trouble one minute into the fourth quarter and never returned. Brown spent most of his press conference yesterday defending the move.
"Any player in his situation would be upset not coming back in," Brown acknowledged yesterday after Cavaliers' practice.
The Cavaliers did not look like championship material Sunday in Boston. James had little help -- the story of his Cleveland stint -- but also did not attempt to own the game. Whether due to his injured elbow, James was a passive 2 of 7 in the fourth quarter. His team was outrebounded in the fourth by little Rondo alone, 7-6.
James made a remark late in the season he "will not stop" until he brought Cleveland its first NBA championship. Taken literally, James would not depart Cleveland unless he won a title. Don't take it literally.
Take this literally. If Cavaliers cannot get out of the second round this week, King James will be looking more intensely at finding a new throne, possibly in the world's greatest city in the World's Most Famous Arena.
It's safe to chant it tonight: "Let's Go Celtics!"
Monday, May 10, 2010
Joe Johnson's Poor Performance This Postseason
Seven different ESPN analysts ranked their top 3 playoff disappointments this postseason. Surprisingly, Joe Johnson was numero uno on 4 different lists. Does this poor performance as well as facing a sweep effect his summer free agency plans at all?
Each writer ranked their top three. Here are some of the comments they made;
"....The postseason is when players are made in this league. ... The best players step up."Who said that? Joe Johnson, before the playoffs started. Who hasn't stepped up? Joe Johnson, the further the playoffs have gone. So far he's shooting 29 percent and averaging 12.3 points per game in the second round.
He was supposed to be a non-LeBron Plan B in free agency this summer. After this performance, why would anyone plan to spend big money on him?
Johnson, who was at least in the discussion as a player who might be able to get max money this summer, has fizzled not only against Orlando but, before that, was a disappointment in the last three games against Milwaukee.
He hasn't looked like anything approaching a max player, which is what Johnson has been described as heading into this summer's free-agent market. And he disrespected Hawks fans by saying he didn't much care what they thought.
I don't buy that JJ has cost himself a ton of money with his postseason struggles because too many teams will have cap space this summer, virtually assuring that he'll get paid by somebody. But I'd argue that free agency would have been far more interesting if Johnson was playing well -- and not following up bad games by dissing Hawks fans to the media -- to attract a wider range of suitors.
Lebron's Welcome Mat Blueprint
New York Magazine's latest issue featured a cover story based on Lebron's opportunities if he were to join the New York Knicks. The cover featured a great picture of him wearing that Knicks' road blue #6.
1. If You Want to Make That First Billion Before You Turn 30, This Is the Place to Do It
We know you’re a brand-savvy guy. We read where you said you wanted to be a billionaire. You don’t need more business advice, and if you did, you’d probably get it at one of your lunch dates with your friend Warren Buffett. But we just want to make sure one thing is clear: You can make more money playing in New York by far than you can in Cleveland.
People in Ohio will try to tell you otherwise. In today’s global media landscape, they will say, a superstar like you can build a following from anywhere. We heard it from David Falk. “Players at that level,” he said, “are going to make money anywhere. We live in a digital age.” It’s a fair point. The NBA’s marketing department will throw its weight behind superstar players wherever they are (this was the essential lesson of the Jordan era). And the people who make decisions about endorsement deals generally follow their lead. You know this as well as anyone, seeing as Nike signed you to a seven-year, $100 million deal before the company knew where you would play. And the Cleveland market hasn’t exactly scared away Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, State Farm, and Upper Deck.
But that’s looking at everything the wrong way. The question is not whether you can get national, even global, exposure playing in Cleveland. The question is whether you can get more in New York. And the answer is a resounding yes, especially if you win. Listen to Vince Gennaro. He did marketing for Pepsi for years and is now a sports-revenue consultant. The prospect of you as “the centerpiece of the resuscitation of one of the marquee franchises in sport” is dizzying, he says. According to him, if you won a title with the Knicks, “the income opportunities would be boundless. It would be staggering.” Nike sales, he says, would “spike enormously.” You’ve done some slick commercials in your day. We especially enjoyed the Nike “Chalk” spot featuring Lil Wayne and some clever variations on your pregame talcum-powder hand-drying ritual. But check out the Nike ad, up above, that digo, a New York creative shop, already made for you. That work for you?
Steve Stoute, the marketing guru behind Translation LLC who lined up your recent deal with McDonald’s, is understandably bullish on your ability to make money from anywhere, but even he acknowledges that “access to money is driven by proximity.” He believes the city’s private-equity crowd would open their wallets for just about anything with your name on it. And we’re not just talking endorsement deals. Name a venture you might like to try—restaurants, nightclubs, a fashion label—and you’ll find the best in the business waiting with open arms. Sonny Vaccaro, the man who persuaded Nike to sign Michael Jordan, told us that if he had “a new shoe company and $200 million to spend on an athlete,” he would give it all to you as a Knick, that he’d “be crazy not to.” Vaccaro, admittedly, is prone to hyperbole (and Nike might have something to say about that deal), but one levelheaded NBA agent we spoke to estimated you’d take in an extra $20 million a year playing here. Gennaro said it best: “You can’t beat the combination of great player and great market.”
2. Of Course, Money Isn’t Everything
Six or seven NBA titles would be nice, too.
We left a big if in that last section. If you win. You would be forgiven for pausing on those three little words. Winning an NBA title (check that: titles), we know, is everything to you. Falk spelled it out directly: “Gloss over the money, over whether LeBron could sell more shoes in New York, get more TV roles in L.A., or a better tan in Miami. He’s going to go where he can win.” Fellow agent Bill Duffy says that “superstar players become validated when they win a championship.” Christopher Gebhardt, the researcher from your 2006 brand summit in Akron, gave us his tagline, “the accessible hero becomes the people’s champ.” And Darren Rovell, CNBC’s sports-business reporter, just plain threw down: “Kobe Bryant is bigger than LeBron in China because they value championships.”
Right now you’re in a playoff battle with Boston, and the Cavaliers have some pretty good talent in Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams. But we’re here to tell you that while you may win one in Cleveland, you could win four or five, maybe six or seven in New York. Don’t look at the assembled has-beens and also-rans currently filling Knicks jerseys. They are placeholders. These Knicks are a blank canvas, ready to be filled in however you wish.
You’re a Yankees fan, so you’ve seen how it works when they want an elite player. If the Knicks were the Yankees, and the NBA were Major League Baseball, the Knicks would just write a check, let you fill out the amount, and tell everyone at the press conference how you came to New York for the schools. “If there were an open market,” Gennaro told us, “I can’t even imagine what LeBron would get.” Alas, the NBA has a salary cap, so the Knicks can only pay you so much. But the good news is that Donnie Walsh, the guy the Knicks brought in to replace Isiah Thomas, is almost as good at clearing salary-cap space as Isiah was at blowing it. Falk says bringing in Walsh was “the most important step” toward getting you. Walsh made room to offer you the maximum allowed: roughly $96.1 million over five years, with $16.6 million of that coming next year. (If you don’t want to be tied down that long, just say so! The Knicks will accommodate!) It wasn’t easy. When he arrived in April 2008, there were four players with fat contracts standing in your way: Jared Jeffries, Jamal Crawford, Zach Randolph, and Eddy Curry. Walsh got rid of the first three. Curry is still here, but his contract expires next year, which, in the bizarro world of NBA economics, makes him a valuable trade chip. In the meantime, we know the two of you are friendly; perhaps you can finally get some use out of his seven-foot, 300-pound frame.
Still, Walsh had to give up a lot to get it done, including first-round picks after the next two seasons. Right now, there are only four players locked in for next year: Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas, and Curry. No, that is not a group that screams dynasty-in-the-making, but that’s not the point. The point is that there is plenty of room to rebuild the team in your image. Even better, the Knicks have cleared so much cap space that they will in all likelihood have room to offer two max deals, one for you and one for one of the other stars in this deep free-agent class. No other team can say that. Yes, Miami already has Dwyane Wade and could add you with him, but with the Knicks, you could simply call your favorite available player and see if he’s up for joining you. And who wouldn’t want to get paid maximum money to play with you—the greatest player in the world—here in the greatest city in the world? As it happens, we have a particular guy in mind, a superstar in his own right, the Scottie Pippen to your Jordan …
3. Allow Us to Introduce You to Chris Bosh
Before the 2009 All-Star Game, you told a reporter, “I would definitely love to play with Chris Bosh. Being around him last summer [in the Olympics], I got to see how smart he is. His basketball IQ is unbelievable.” We completely agree with your assessment, and, as you two may have discussed, Bosh also happens to be a free agent this summer. Are you thinking what we’re thinking?
The Toronto Raptors’ big man is perfect for you. David Thorpe, the private coach to some of the NBA’s best players and one of the game’s greatest minds, told us the first thing you would need to succeed here is a lithe, shot-blocking, rebounding big man who can make the outlet pass and push the offense into motion. Bosh is nearly seven feet tall, runs like a deer, and is one of the five best rebounders in the game. Thorpe says the combination of you two would be devastating—two fast, powerful players in their primes. Realistically, New York is the one place where you two can play together without leaving money on the table. You’ve never played with someone of Bosh’s caliber before, and you probably won’t get another chance.
4. We’ve Already Picked Out a Pretty Sweet Place for You to Crash
You’ve built yourself a nice spread out there in Summit County, Ohio: six bedrooms, 33,000 square feet, your own barbershop, aquarium, recording studio, and bowling alley. Your walk-in closet has two flat-screen TVs, a fireplace, and a pole to reach the suits on the upper rack (sounds like a New Yorker to us). We’re not saying you need to give up the homestead. Keep it as a summer place. But Dennis McCormack of Sotheby’s Prominent Properties has gone ahead and picked out a pad for you to live in during the basketball season. It’s the centerpiece of the former Frick Estate (above). It’s across the Hudson, in Alpine, New Jersey, where Sean “Diddy” Combs and the Yankees’ CC Sabathia live. Currently on the market for $57 million, the former home of Henry Clay Frick II is on the only single-family gated street in northern New Jersey. It’s set on 27 acres, has six bedrooms, nine baths, a guest house, an aviary, and a pond, and borders the Alpine Country Club golf course.
And for nights when you feel like staying in the city, here’s a nice little pied-à-terre.
Darren Sukenik of Prudential Douglas Elliman, who has helped a number of “major Yankees” find places in the city, has found you apartment 63A of the Time Warner Center, at 25 Columbus Circle. “No other apartment in Manhattan has a view like this,” says Sukenik. “Sixty-third floor, full city, full park, full river.” The three-bedroom, 3.5-bath unit is on the market for $15 million. For what it’s worth, Tom Brady used to live in the building.
5. Right, We Almost Forgot
The man who can bring you all of this is Mike D’Antoni.
Listen, we know you like Cleveland coach Mike Brown. He’s a smart man and particularly skilled at coaching defense. You’ve done some fine things together. You might even win a title this year. Here’s the problem. Brown’s approach to coaching the most unique, breakthrough NBA talent in decades has basically been, I will match up my five against your five, and because one of my five is LeBron James, I will beat you. On the whole, this has been effective, but, LeBron, watching you dribble around while everyone on your team waits for you to do something is excruciating to watch. We can’t imagine it’s that much fun for you, either.
Here in New York, we have Mike D’Antoni, the most innovative offensive mind of his generation. Remember Jack McCallum’s book Seven Seconds or Less? The title is a simplified version of D’Antoni’s coaching philosophy: Shoot early and shoot often. D’Antoni was the guy behind those high-octane Phoenix Suns teams from your first five years in the league, the ones that routinely averaged more than 110 points per game (a dozen more than the Cavs have been getting). Rather than carefully build their way into a high-percentage shot, D’Antoni’s teams routinely attempt the spectacular. Or at least, that’s what they do when he has the talent. And D’Antoni’s never coached a talent like you. Sure, he had that whirling dervish Steve Nash and the LeBron-lite known as Amar’e Stoudemire. But you are a whole different beast. You at “the helm of a Mike D’Antoni offense,” Thorpe says, “could be the most beautiful basketball ever played.” Just discussing the idea made Thorpe practically giddy: “LeBron allows a coach like D’Antoni to come up with matchups that have literally never been created before. The best finisher of all time, on an offense that thrives in the transition? Imagine!”
We don’t exactly have a Nash-level point guard at the moment, but that’s okay, because you could do it. This wouldn’t be the way the Cavs play you at the point, just dribbling, dribbling, waiting. This would be you in the role of Nash (plus five inches and 75 pounds). Thorpe again: “LeBron’s passing angles on the run would be like no one else’s. He sees the floor like no one else sees it. You could just run everything through him, but on the go.” Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Just check out the play below.
Plus, on a team that plays at a faster pace, you’ll have more possessions, and therefore more opportunities to score, rebound, and assist. Your stats this year are jaw-dropping, but they pale in comparison to what you would do in a D’Antoni offense. Your Cleveland team has a Pace Factor (the number of possessions a team has per game) of 93.5. That’s 25th in the NBA. The Suns’ Pace Factor during the 2007–8 season was 112.9. That’s 19 extra possessions a game, or 1,600 a season. If you play with D’Antoni, you could assault almost every NBA career record and love every second of it.
1. Chris Bosh rebounds and outlets to you on the wing (dashed purple line), then trails the play (solid purple line), making a “rim run” to clean up missed shots or finish an alley-oop.
2. You dribble toward the top of the key (curvy green line). Since no one player can stop you, the other defenders will be forced to choose between leaving their men to step in your way (not recommended) or staying put.
3. If the defender checking Danilo Gallinari comes to you, dish to Gallinari in the corner (dashed green line). He made the second most threes in the NBA this past year.
4. Or, if one of the defenders guarding the other two Knicks switches to you, hit the open man spotting up or filling the lane on the opposite side of the court (solid purple lines).
5. If the defense decides to stay put, you candrive past your man, head straight to the hoop, and unleash a ferocious dunk (wavy red line). But you knew that.
6. A Few People You May Have Heard of Are Big Fans
Here’s what they have to say about how to get you here.
John Leguizamo
“LeBron, come to New York! Have you ever been to Scores, LeBron? There’s no strip club like New York strip clubs. You can have whatever dancer you want. And endorsements up the ass! You’re a Yankees fan. You can hang out with the Yankees. We’ve got all the rappers—Jay-Z, A Tribe Called Quest. Al Pacino, De Niro, you can hang out with them on the weekends. You want to be on the cover of Vogue again, LeBron? It’s in New York! What do you got in Cleveland? A struggling economy? Fifteen percent unemployment? Is that where you want to be?”
Jean-Georges Vongerichten
“Free dinners as long as he wants. I’ll feed him whatever he likes—double chickens.”
Mark Sanchez
“Great food, great fans, the best place to play. Madison Square Garden has so much tradition, and he can only add to it. I heard he just changed his number to 6, same as mine. I mean, everybody has a hero, but he doesn’t have to do everything I do.”
Drew Nieporent
“Shall I show you my picture of LeBron? I was just courtside at the Cavaliers-Celtics game in Boston. It’s a great shot. [Paging through photos on his BlackBerry.] That’s the World Series. Let me get to view pictures. There it is. No, that’s Dr. Dre. He and LeBron were together later at the game. [Paging through.] I can show you the Who at Royal Albert Hall. [Paging through.] If I erased this picture, I’m going to shoot myself. There it is. [James has his hands in front of his face.] He was upset that I was taking his photograph. He thought I was a Celtics fan. Why would I tell him to come here? If you really want to be the best at what you do, you have to perform in New York.”
Tommy Hilfiger
“I’d give him free clothes.”
Ray Kelly
“We should use bribery or whatever we can to get him. He’s phenomenal.”
Spike Lee
“I got my own plan. I’m working on it.”
Martha Stewart
“Should LeBron James come to New York? Oh, definitely! Incentive? Money.”
Ice-T
“Start the LeBron James Fund, and get everybody in New York to pitch in a dollar.”
Well, not everybody...
Denzel Washington
“LeBron is a grown man and he is going to make his own decisions. I have nothing to say about that.”
7. We’re Afraid There’s Just No Polite Way to Say This, But Our Superfans Make Your Superfans Look Plain Sad
This is just an abbreviated photo gallery of celebrities who attended a game at the Garden this year. Keep in mind that this was during a season when the Knicks went 29-53. In Cleveland, you pretty much have one superfan—Usher. Do you think he’d still show up if the Cavs lost 50 games?
NEW YORK
Céline Dion, Michael Imperioli, Chris Rock, Jay-Z, Brooke Shields, William Hurt, Mary J. Blige, John Mcenroe, Tracy Morgan, Shaun White, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Stam, Lou Reed, Woody Allen, Rosie Perez, Dustin Hoffman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rihanna, Howard Stern, Mark Wahlberg, Chloë Sevigny, Spike Lee, Hugh Jackman, Ethan Hawke.
CLEVELAND
Usher
8. Not That We’re All About Celebrities
It’s not all glitz and glamour in New York. We are also home to the most legendary court in all of street basketball, Rucker Park, where Earl Monroe, Dr. J, Allen Iverson, and Vince Carter, to name just a few, have plied their trade. We dropped by to ask the city’s hoop dreamers and fans what they had to say about you.
Asaf Breier
martial-arts teacher
“I’ve been known to do a little body-painting and face-painting. I’d have the fence and someone would have the D next to it. It’d be like soccer games in Europe, where people throw smoke bombs. Well, hopefully no smoke bombs, but closer to that.”
Elizabeth Martinez
on disability
“I’d get off my wheelchair for him to come here. I’d stand up and root for him.”
Brandon Johnson
student
“The market is much bigger, the fan support would be there, and it will add tons and tons of credibility to his legacy. But most of all, we need help. I’m going to keep it real— we need help.”
Lawanda Joyner
social worker
“Hey, LeBron, how are you? This is Lawanda. I was wondering if when you came to the Knicks, we could go out?”
9. Oh, And If You Ever Feel Like Going Out …
We know you and your friends are not immune to the pleasures of the nightlife. And, as you’ve no doubt experienced on your visits here, Cleveland can’t really hang with New York on this one. Noah Tepperberg, the impresario behind the clubs Avenue and Marquee, planned this postgame itinerary for you.
10 p.m.
Dinner at Tao on 58th Street. Seated at table No. 69, next to a large koi pond at the center of the restaurant, in the shadow of the sixteen-foot Buddha, you’d dine on lobster and Kobe (get it, as in Kobe Bryant?) sirloin.
Midnight
A stop at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club on 25th Street for a few puffs on a Zino Platinum cigar in the private “Jay’s Room,” where your McDonald’s High School All-American jersey hangs over the pool table, kitty-corner to Michael Jordan’s University of North Carolina college jersey.
1 a.m.
Avenue lounge on Tenth Avenue. Recline at the owner’s table, the corner banquette closest to the bar, and toast with bottles of Armand de Brignac “Ace of Spades” rosé delivered under sparklers lit by waitresses wearing sequined LeBron James jerseys. Your old D.J. pal Mick Boogie from Cleveland has already prepared a set list for you. It starts with Jay-Z’s “The City Is Mine.”
4 a.m.
Last stop at Artichoke Pizza on 14th Street. Skip the line while Francis and Sal fix you a special pie—one of the city’s best—and bask in the gratitude of the firemen and cops who gather there after-hours.
10. The Cavs Are Aging Fast, and Your Other Potential Employers All Have Warts
Sure, you could play it safe and stay in Cleveland, but look around you: That might actually be the risky choice. The team is only getting older. Antawn Jamison does a nice job running lanes, but do you want to be playing with him when he’s 35? You will be, if you stick around. Anderson Varejao is a quality hustle player, but the Cavs are tied to him for five more years. Is he better than whatever player the Knicks can get in a trade for Eddy Curry’s expiring contract next year? (Monta Ellis? Ben Gordon?) Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson are also onboard with the Cavs until 2013. Three years from now, this is the team you will have if you stay in Cleveland. In New York, you could be running with Chris Bosh, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, and Monta Ellis. If the Cavs finally get over the hump this year, tip your hat and get out of there. If they don’t, are you sure they ever will? Which brings us to your other options. The following four teams have been furiously clearing the salary-cap space to offer you a max deal, or at least come close. They will be whispering sweet nothings in your ear, but, trust us, you don’t want to wake up next to them. We checked in with Kevin Pelton at Basketball Prospectus, who has been studying your situation for months, for his analysis:
The Team: New Jersey Nets
Cap Space: $28 million
The Pitch: Moving to Brooklyn with new billionaire Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
PELTON SAYS
Pros: A young stud in the middle in Brook Lopez, a certain top-four pick in the draft this June, a former All-Star in Devin Harris, and young players who can contribute cheaply, especially if the team lands either John Wall or Evan Turner in the draft.Cons: Coming off one of the worst records of all time. Some of the pieces, especially Harris, won’t fit well with James.
The Team: Miami Heat
Cap Space: $24.9 million
The Pitch: No state income tax; sunshine and beachfront.
PELTON SAYS
Pros: James and Dwyane Wade would be an impossible duo to defend, and the Heat have some solid other pieces, like Michael Beasley.Con: James would be ceding a lot of the spotlight to Wade, already an established star in South Beach.
The Team: Chicago Bulls
Cap Space: $20.5 million
The Pitch: The players to win right now.
PELTON SAYS
Pros: In Derrick Rose, the Bulls have a terrific building block, and youngsters Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson are solid pieces up front.Cons: Chicago is a good market, but it’s still not New York or L.A. Rose and James are not an ideal partnership because both are most comfortable with the ball in their hands. Would be stepping into the shadow of Michael Jordan.
The Team: Los Angeles Clippers
Cap Space: $18.3 million
The Pitch: A strong young core in a big market.
PELTON SAYS
Pros: Better returning players than any competing team, with a glaring hole at small forward.Cons: Those players all want the ball in their hands. These are the Clippers, the city’s second fiddle. And owner Donald Sterling has a poor reputation among NBA players. (Former G.M. Elgin Baylor once claimed Sterling tried to run the team with a “southern-plantation-type structure.”)
11. We’re Remaking the World’s Most Famous Arena Just in Time for Your Arrival
The newly refurbished Madison Square Garden, to be unveiled starting in 2011, will essentially be brand-new. The lobby, locker rooms, sight lines, and, of course, corporate boxes (basically everything but the famed ceiling and exterior) will be revamped. How does this sound? The House LeBron Built.
12. Winning a Championship in New York Is Like Nothing Else
Just ask these guys.
Derek Jeter
Yankees, 1996, 1998–2000, 2009
“The parade is just crazy. That many people?”Keith Hernandez
Mets, 1986
“I loved winning in St. Louis, but winning here was special because the Mets were down for so long. After so many years of bad play, it really captured the town. I couldn’t buy anything for weeks. One night at Canastel’s, dinner for a party of ten, they sent over Cristal for everybody. Everyone remembers me as a Met. Even in St. Louis.”John McEnroe
U.S. Open champion, 1979–81, 1984
“It’s the greatest city in the world. Madison Square Garden is the mecca of basketball. LeBron could save the sport. He could save the sport of basketball for about 10 million New Yorkers.”13. If You Win Here, We’ll Name a Street After You
We’ve already got Babe Ruth Plaza, Joe DiMaggio Highway, Lou Gehrig Plaza, Joe Louis Plaza … you get the picture. For you, we’re thinking big:
14. If You Win Here, We'll Name a Sandwich After You
Over the years, the world-famous Carnegie Deli has paid culinary homage to everyone from Woody Allen to Venus Williams. Sandy Levine, the general manager (or “the guy who married the boss’s daughter,” as he likes to say), already has an idea for your signature creation. The LeBron MVP would be pastrami, corned beef, brisket, and turkey (“the best of the Carnegie Deli and the biggest sellers”) with American cheese (“instead of Swiss, because he’s an American-born player”), plus lettuce, tomato, and mustard on rye. What the heck, Levine says. He’ll go ahead and make the $19.95 beast available now. Not that we’re assuming anything.
The Story of LeBron James (2018)
What would a documentary looking back at LeBron James's career in New York look like?
If LeBron James comes here, it's not the end of his story: It's only the beginning. Glancing backward from the year 2018, we wondered: What would a documentary about LeBron's time in New York look like? We asked filmmaker Jonathan Hock, director of The Lost Son of Havana and ESPN's upcoming "30 for 30" entry The Best That Never Was, to use his imagination to storyboard LeBron's future New York retrospective.
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