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What’s Zero Percent of Zero?

Can someone, anyone, give me just one good reason why LeBron James would choose to come to the Knicks rather than Miami, Chicago or Cleveland.

Just looking for one good reason as we wait for the ESPN stroke-a-thon tonight at 9.

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28 comments

1 RagingTartabull   ~  Jul 8, 2010 9:37 am

Yesterday afternoon I really started convincing myself that it could happen. The Greenwich thing, the Allan Houston rumors...for the first time in this whole circus I let my guard down and actually let myself think it would happen.

...well at least Tex seems to be heating up.

2 Shaun P.   ~  Jul 8, 2010 9:45 am

Because its not so much basketball that he cares about - its becoming a global icon, and the best place for that to happen is NYC.

As long as he makes the Knicks competitive - and he will, look what he did with dreck in Cleveland - he'll be beloved in the City. He's only 25 - he has plenty of time to win a title or four. While basketball-wise, things look bleak for the Knicks now (and for the next year or so), who knows what will happen after that?

Disclaimer: I know nothing about basketball.

3 Jon DeRosa   ~  Jul 8, 2010 9:47 am

[1] Sorry for you and the Knicks fans on the board. I wish he was coming here.

But I can think of some reasons why he should have chosen New York (assuming the Miami rumors are true). The most legit would be if he could start a Knick dynasty, it would be the biggest thing in New York basketball history and would be the best spring board possible for whatever else he wants to do in his life.

What we'll see tonight is how self-confident LeBron is. Does he think he can win anywhere? Does he want to throw in with a crew, maybe ensuring his titles, but diluting his personal impact on the game's history? I think if he chooses Cleveland or the Knicks, he's saying I got this myself (and I hope it's one of those two choices). If he chooses the Heat or the Bulls, he's showing he's not that confident he can do it by himself.

4 Jon DeRosa   ~  Jul 8, 2010 9:49 am

[2] I'm with you. But ithink he has to win titles, with an "s" at the end to make that happen, wherever he goes.

5 ms october   ~  Jul 8, 2010 9:49 am

new york new york big city of dreams

staring at a skyscraper reaching into heaven
when over in the ghetto I'm livin in hell
just play ball or be an entertainer

well, one thing is of these teams he is considering only the knicks currently have significant cap-space next year as well when eddy curry's fat-ass comes off the books.

6 RagingTartabull   ~  Jul 8, 2010 9:53 am

I'm still holding on to a slim SLIM sliver of hope that this is all one big misdirection, and I'm basing that fully on my experiences as a Yankee fan...which I'm totally aware is completely irrelevant.

But, remember:

A-Rod was going to Boston.

Pettitte was going to Philly.

Bernie was as good as gone.

...it ain't over till it's over.

7 Shaun P.   ~  Jul 8, 2010 9:57 am

[4] Agreed - and I think he will win titles, it might just take a little time. I think Knicks fans will be so grateful to have a title contender, after all these years, that it doesn't matter if it takes him two or three or even four years to win it all.

[5] Again, I know nothing about basketball - but can anyone else see the Knicks getting LeBron this year and then Carmelo the next year? Everyone talks about about a Wade-LeBron or Bosh-LeBron or Wade-Bosh-LeBron combo; why not a LeBron-Melo combo?

8 Chyll Will   ~  Jul 8, 2010 9:58 am

[1] What, is Allan Houston his father or something?

New York has better pizza than those places (not a big fan of deep-dish). Plus the corner stores downtown stay open 24 hours as opposed to closing at eight or nine... what else... we're more than four feet above sea level in a global warming situation, we don't suffer ice ages in November as often, we have all the best burgers in town, umm...

9 ms october   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:04 am

for knicks fans it will be good enough to just be relevant again for the next few years, but for his nba legacy he has to start winning titles pretty soon (basically by the time mj started winning them).

[7] that's the big rumor - getting melo next year, though he would be presumably leaving a ton of money on the table by not singing a deal under the current cba.

[8] allan houston's father helped out this guy named worldwide wes who is supposed to be this behind-the-scenes major power broker in the nba and a close associate of lebron, so the thinking is that connection plays in the knicks favor.

10 RagingTartabull   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:09 am

here's the other thing: LeBron is gonna be in town this weekend for the Anthony/Vasquez nuptials (imagine THAT open bar), he's gonna really show his face around the city 48 hours after kicking everyone in the gut?

plus, FWIW this whole thing was broken by Alan Hahn at Newsday...Newsday owned by James Dolan. Of ALL the NBA reporters in the country, this story is going to be leaked to a fairly anonymous beatwriter from a NYC suburban daily that just so happens to be owned by the same guy who owns the Knicks?? Really? Thats a red flag.

11 ms october   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:13 am

[10] haha raging, i can see your mind piecing all this together in a manner only an nba aficionado could :}

12 RagingTartabull   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:15 am

[11] look at what they're doing to us!! I feel like one of those guys on Fulton St. trying to convince everyone that Jay-Z, Dick Cheney, and Bibi Netenyahu are controlling the weather.

13 seamus   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:15 am

Well, i'm probably just being a homer, but I think he's more likely to wind up with the Nets than the Knicks. The Knicks are a mess as an organization and I can't see why he'd want to be a part of that. The Nets are loaded with young talent but need one more piece to come with Lebron which is probably the hangup if there is one.

14 ms october   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:19 am

[12] haha, word, just don't yell at me as i am trying to walk by!!

[13] if the nets had made it to bk already they would probably be the front-runner or close to it.

15 Diane Firstman   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:20 am

I predict he signs with DePaul.

16 rbj   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:21 am

Because you've got stars on the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, and really nothing during the winter. Going to NY would be a bad career move for LeBron. Knicks haven't been competitive since Ewing, haven't won anything since before he was born, the NBA is successful despite bad teams in NY. (Boston-LA is the classic series, just as Yankees-Dodgers is). I do suspect knicks ownership's commitment to winning (Nets, with a new billionaire owner, is a different story).

Cleveland has stepped up to the plate, even if they got tossed in the semis. I actually think that leBron could go farther with bringing a championship to a city that hasn't won anything since 1948 than bringing another title to Miami, or Chicago, or have to play second fiddle to the Yankees.

17 Sliced Bread   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:25 am

when James eventually comes to the Nets they're changing the name of Brooklyn to LeBronx. It'll be a little confusing at first - ie the LeBronx-Queens Expressway - but we'll get used to it.

18 Diane Firstman   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:27 am

[0]

The title makes me think of Billy Preston's "Nothing from Nothing"

19 williamnyy23   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:28 am

If he signed with Miami it would create an incredible powerhouse. If they didn't win multiple NBA titles, they'd likely be deemed a failure. I am not sure if that's best for LeBron's legend (damned if he does; villified if he doesn't), but maybe he does just want to win, regardless of the credit heaped upon him.

If the latter is important, the only choices seem to be Cleveland or New York. I have a feeling he will just stay in Cleveland. Unfortunately, playing out the process probably has cost the Cavs a chance at getting him his Scottie Pippen.

20 Ben   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:59 am

My favorite thing about this whole drama is that I'm competely convinced he's coming to the Knicks. Total, blind, stubborn conviction. I have no idea why. I don't even like Lebron, or the Knicks, very much.

21 bags   ~  Jul 8, 2010 12:25 pm

the fact that he's having a tv show to inform us of his decision makes me not want him. not one bit. a little too kingly for me.

22 Alex Belth   ~  Jul 8, 2010 1:22 pm

Just went out to do an errand at lunch and dudes on the street were in a heated conversation about LeBron. I like that. The excitement. Barber shops from Akron to Brooklyn to Chicago to Miami must be awesome today.

23 jrsrock1222   ~  Jul 8, 2010 1:44 pm

Lebron won't go to Miami because that would be joining Wade's team. Lebron (and his oversized ego) wants his own team. If he wins a championship he will want the King James stamp on it.

He won't go to Chicago, not because he doesn't want live in Jordan's shadow, but because the management there is notoriously sucky.

He won't stay in Cleveland because try as they might they just can't get any better. When Bosh said he wouldn't go to Cleveland it was a yet another sign that they cannot lure the big guns to play with Lebron.

The Knicks on the other hand have already signed Amare, the guy Lebron openly petitioned for before the All Star break last season. The have space to add another complimentary player. Plus, it's NYC. He loves it here.

I agree the Nets would have probably been up there if they were moving to BK now. But two years in NJ is hard to sell.

Of course this is just my opinion and I have no clue what he will actually do. I do love that this thing is being covered like a Presidential Election, Conclave, and the OJ Trial all wrapped into one.

24 The Hawk   ~  Jul 8, 2010 2:04 pm

[20] I'm kind of in the same boat though in my case it's more of a gut feeling. I don't intellectually think he's gonna be a Knick, but it feels like he will for some reason.

25 mhoward120   ~  Jul 8, 2010 2:18 pm

Call me crazy but I have a feeling that at the last minute he's gonna decide to do what anyone else in his position would logically do - sign with the Yankees.

26 Diane Firstman   ~  Jul 8, 2010 2:31 pm

Old Hoss Radbourn tweet:
Fortunately, L. James is so wealthy he will move the entire city of Akron -- people, houses, pets, etc. -- to wherever he ends up playing.

27 lroibal   ~  Jul 8, 2010 3:28 pm

New York still has a basketball team?...humph

28 mhoward120   ~  Jul 8, 2010 10:01 pm

So, natch, this worthless piece of shit joined a team that can easily win a title without him. I understand that Queen Lebron joined the Heat only after Brian Cashman refused to add his name to the Yankees 2009 roster and the Lakers wouldn't add him to their 2009-2010 team and his attempt to join both Spain and the Netherlands in soccer for the World Cup proved fruitless.

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