Legacy-wise, he could be the greatest New York Knick in history and beloved by the biggest city in America. He'd be an even larger star than he currently is, if that even seems possible now. Miami just isn't that great of a basketball town. Not to mention -- Wade will always have 1 more championship than Lebron if they played together and we will always wonder if Lebron could have won a championship without Wade.

Money-wise, he could make more money as the face of the Knicks as opposed to part of the trio in Miami. Amare is a good player, but nobody confuses him to be anywhere close to as good as Lebron. His brand could be diluted by joining forces with another legit superstar in Wade.

Basketball-wise: I realize this is the most sketchy point, but listen to me here. Lebron James is the greatest transition player in history on offense and defense. His strength in the half court is playing off of pick and rolls finishing around the rim in traffic. His weakness is playing off the ball and his back-to-the-basket game.

I contend that for Lebron to take best advantage of his skills, he would want to play in D'Antoni's system. The Lebron/Amare pick and roll would be practically unstoppable. Amare's isolation plays could take a lot of pressure off of Lebron and his presence in the paint could keep opposing defender's honest when Lebron takes it to the hoop. The Knicks have more 3 point shooters than Miami, and the particularly interesting one is Danillo Gallinari who could turn out to be a really good player.

Also, consider who else the Knicks could pull in. There's the possibility they could join forces with Tony Parker and/or Carmelo Anthony in the next year. Even if they just get Tony Parker, is that not the best looking roster you can imagine for Lebron? For 2010, guys like Derek Fisher, Jason Williams, Ray Allen are the kinds of players that might be a nice fit that could possibly be convinced to sign for the vet min.

I reiterate -- the best thing about the Knicks for Lebron is that there'd be no question that he was the superstar that made the team tick.

Lots of 'ifs' on that roster for the Knicks.


Right now he is looking at Lebron & Amare w/ a no defense coach that likely will not win a ship.
vs
Lebron, Wade, & Bosh


That's an easy choice if it is about winning.

As a Rockets fan, I might weep tears of Joy if Lebron either stays in Cleveland or goes to Miami. It would make those Knicks picks look infinitely more valuable.

Even with Amare, the Knicks don't have much of anything else going on with their team, and no 2nd star means their only real move in the offseason was to replace Lee with Stoudamire, and to be honest, that's not much of an upgrade (judging by their numbers).

A couple years of lotto picks could be a coup for a Rockets team that might be a playoff team already (if Yao comes back decent). If Yao doesn't come back, the picks could be used to try to find his replacement.

If he goes to the Knicks, I'll bet the club picks up the confiscatory taxes he'll be paying.

I think there's too much pressure to win now. He can't wait a year for Parker or Carmelo. If he had won in Cleveland then he could afford to play around with Dantoni for awhile

D'Antoni won't be the coach forever most likely, and if Lebron doesn't like him he would be gone after the first year. I would argue that the Knicks give him as good of a chance to win as the Heat. The reason being is that the Knicks third best player (Danilo Gallinari) is not tied-up in a max deal meaning the Knicks would have an opportunity to put more solid role players around him than the Heat would. Plus Gallinari can shoot the three better than D-Wade meaning that teams can't clog up the middle in hopes of preventing Lebron from driving.

I think because the Knicks were so bad, a lot of people don't realize how good Gallinari can be, but he is only 22 and is already turning into an elite three point shooter.

"Sports do not build character. They reveal it."
-John Wooden