However you feel about Torre, who also threatened to look into Jalen Brunson\u2019s pay cut last year before finding absolutely nothing, he gave us an absolute gem with that video being finally revealed. The centerpiece to the failed pursuit of one of the greatest players ever was able to be seen.<\/p>\n
You know, I kinda get why he saw that and went to Miami.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, I\u2019ll start the pitch here. Consider what you saw in that clip.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s so much here that shows the world of differences between the Knicks of then and the Knicks of now.<\/p>\n
They relied on star power, past glory, and the allure of New York City to pitch him. They had all sorts of guys who would go on to be super problematic try to pitch him. Hell, they played a damn Jay-Z song at the beginning when he just got done pitching LeBron to join the Nets that same week.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t feel personalized, they even sent carbon copies to his buddies Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, acting like they weren\u2019t all going to say \u201cDid you seriously get the exact same pitch that I did?\u201d<\/p>\n
All reports indicate that, with or without that video, the 2010 pitch was a disaster. Some of those reports, though, say that New York was actually an appealing place for LeBron, but the pitch and direction were so disastrously bad that he walked out and never came back.<\/p>\n
Well, 16 years later, the only person in the entire organization who\u2019s still here is… well, Dolan. But he\u2019s mostly not involved with basketball operations, only getting involved when he says how much he\u2019ll pay to keep a contender toge- moving along.<\/p>\n
In 2010, the Knicks were a mess. They hadn\u2019t won 40 games in a season since 2001. They were perennial bottom-feeders run by buffoons who gave bloated deals to Jerome James and traded their future for Eddy Curry. The fact that a good pitch with a promising vision could\u2019ve been enough for a guy who, at the time, had never had a good supporting cast in his life is insane.<\/p>\n
But now, as he nears the end of his career, the vision is clear. The Knicks are the reigning champions, regardless of what anyone wants to say about their players, what they won analytically, or whatever Wemby thinks about how the NBA Finals went.<\/p>\n
For a guy who cares so much about his legacy, he will almost certainly be looking for a place where he can win his fifth championship before he rides off into the sunset. Well, going to a team returning all but one key piece of the most dominant playoff run in playoff history would be a good way to do that.<\/p>\n
You know who LeBron\u2019s first agent was? Leon Rose. When they split in 2012, it was with no ill will, just a separation of ways<\/a> due to his good friend, Rich Paul, founding Klutch Sports. We don\u2019t know if LeBron is still on good terms with his former agent 14 years later, but considering he\u2019s the one who took him through the first Decision, I\u2019m sure there are no issues.<\/p>\n He\u2019d also be entering a situation with shockingly little pressure on him, if you can believe it. The biggest reason that any star might not have wanted to join the Knicks during the dark years was the victim complex that the franchise had become.<\/p>\n They needed someone to save them, but while you could be the knight in shining armor, you could also be the latest victim of the pit of alligators known as New York media pressure. Why do you think KD and Kyrie decided to go to the B-team across town that would never get as much coverage as whatever went on in Manhattan?<\/p>\n With the championship won and the need for a savior completely off the table, that victim complex is gone. If LeBron wants, he can hitch a ride to a very successful team as a complementary piece, rather than the knight in shining armor to save a destitute franchise.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s talk roster construction.<\/p>\n The Knicks are operating under some very tight financial circumstances, so I would think only a veteran minimum is on the table, but that shouldn\u2019t be an issue for a billionaire. If he wanted maximum money, he would\u2019ve accepted his player option and requested a trade.<\/p>\n The Knicks, as constructed, are pretty deep everywhere but the center position. Adding LeBron into the mix would add yet another tool in Mike Brown\u2019s toolbox.<\/p>\n At age 41, whatever team LeBron goes to will know he cannot be relied on for 82 games of high-end performance. It\u2019s not 2018 (or 2012, or 2008, etc) anymore. This means that the deeper a team is, the easier it can stomach his bouts with Father Time creeping in and keeping him sidelined with whatever ailment he has.<\/p>\n The currently constructed Knicks are co-favorites to come out of the East, even without adding LeBron. With him? They\u2019d be able to move Josh Hart to the bench and have ultimate flexibility at as many as four positions. Sporadic injuries wouldn\u2019t hurt the rest of the team nearly as much.<\/p>\n When you want to go to a team to win a championship, you want to go somewhere that won\u2019t collapse with one injury. While the Knicks are probably in that boat with Jalen Brunson and probably Karl-Anthony Towns, they\u2019re well-equipped for absences for… anyone else.<\/p>\n Lastly, I want to pitch the personal aspect. It\u2019s about righting wrongs, legacy, and personal objectives.<\/p>\n If Bill Simmons and multiple others are to be believed, LeBron wanted to play in New York when he hit free agency. The Knicks were just so wildly incompetent that a guy who had never been surrounded by a roster even capable of winning a title couldn\u2019t see any path to winning one here.<\/p>\n In the years since, all he\u2019s done is wax poetic about New York as a basketball city and the World\u2019s Most Famous Arena. In 2018, when he faced his good pal Wade for the final time at Staples Center, he said that this game could\u2019ve only happened \u201chere or the Garden\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\n He\u2019s always admired the market, even if fate had never taken him to the bright lights of New York City. In another life, the Knicks could\u2019ve been competently run, and he could\u2019ve been the one to end the title drought as the savior everyone was begging for.<\/p>\n But now, as he reaches the end of his incredible career, he\u2019s in a perfect spot to ride into the sunset playing for one of the league\u2019s most iconic franchises, in the most famous arena in the world, and completing a dream he\u2019s seemed to have for a long time now, all without the pressure of being the \u201csavior\u201d and being able to just be a complimentary piece on the reigning NBA champions.<\/p>\n The ball\u2019s in your court, King. Follow your heart.<\/p>\n
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