Lebron in a New York State of Mind

I'm not a New York Knicks fan.

As a matter of fact, I've always taken strange delight in watching the utter ineptitude that the Knicks have shown this decade. It seemed that there was no contract too big and no player too dysfunctional for New York to throw some money at. They were laughable, with unarguably the worst coach and GM in professional sports.

Unfortunately, Isaiah Thomas will be remembered for his views on
women and race relations, than for being one of the best point guards to
ever play the game.

The list of signings and trades the Knicks made in the post-Patrick Ewing era were laughable. Guys like Howard Eisley, Shandon Anderson, Jerome James, Steve Francis, Jalen Rose and the always popular, Stephon Marbury (who's worth an entire blog post by himself) showed that the Knicks had no idea how to run and manage a successful basketball franchise anymore.

What made these signings so egregious was that instead of wasting their salary cap on has-beens and nobodies, they should have been clearing salary cap and positioning themselves for a player that could arguably go down as the best basketball player ever (and that includes MJ): Lebron James.

After jettisoning Isiah out of the Big Apple, the Knicks finally started making decisions, to , ya know, actually win some basketball games. Signing Mike D'Antoni to coach in the offseason is proving to be an enormous upgrade, and GM Donnie Walsh has a proven track record of managerial success.

And after the Knicks pulled off two HUGE trades last Friday, the Lebron sweepstakes is officially back on. No one's going to confuse Al Harrington for Patrick Ewing or Cuttino Mobley for "Clyde" Frazier, but their play the next two years won't matter.

What's important is that all of the new Knicks' acquisitions will come off their salary cap in 2010. That summer, the cream of NBA's young crop of talent will be available, with guys like Lebron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh all finishing their current contracts.

These trades have saved the Knicks $27 million in cap room, and as it stands now, they currently only have four guys signed for $24 million for the 2010 season. It's expected that the 2010 salary cap will be upwards of $64 million.

As much as I've enjoyed ridiculing the Knicks; this move was genius. And in all honesty, the NBA is better for it.

I'm sorry Cleveland fans, but it's better for the league when superstars play in the biggest markets. I'm not a Lakers or Celtics fan, but the NBA had one of its most exciting and intriguing seasons last year when those two teams were on top. It's good for the NBA to have a good team in New York. When you factor in the latest hot rumor that Nike is willing to pay King James a $50 million bonus for signing in New York, Chicago or L.A., you can see why this move makes complete sense.

And it was one thing for the Knicks to position themselves just to get Lebron, but with these salary cap dumps, New York may also have enough money to sign another one of the marquee free agents of the 2010 class. What if I told you that Lebron might be playing with Bosh or Wade in NY in 2010? Is that something you might be interested in?

It's not Cleveland's fault. Recently they've been doing everything right, by getting Lebron guys that can spread the floor and make open shots (Mo Williams and Delonte West) and the Cleveland fans have shown nothing but love for their superstar.

But the NBA is a business. Lebron is a business man. He's going to New York.

The only real question now is which New York team it'll be. It was widely believed before the Knicks recent transactions, that he would follow friend and part owner Jay-Z to Brooklyn, where the Nets will move to in 2010.

Like I said earlier, I don't like the Knicks. But I must admit, I like the idea of Lebron playing for them in Madison Square Garden. I like what his signing will do for the NBA as a whole and I like the idea of the Knicks mattering again.

Cleveland fans, enjoy the King while you can. In 2010, he'll be where he belongs.


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