2010 Free Agency: What Makes NYC the Place to Be

I have officially given up. I have refused to discuss LeBron James and the 2010 class of free agents until the season is over but I can’t help it. It’s so captivating. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t compare to Celtics/Lakers in the Finals, but with free agency just weeks away, it’s hard not to think what the NBA might look like over the next decade. One thing’s for sure though, Madison Square Garden will be rocking.

The Knicks are under the salary cap for the first time since the summer of 1996 and are so far under the cap that they can sign two maximum level contracts this summer. Thanks in large part to the deal that sent Tracy McGrady and his $23 million expiring contract to the Knicks in February, New York is more than $30 million under the salary cap and can, and will, sign two big names this offseason.

Why New York though? Why do so many of this years’ free agents have New York on their minds? Of all the sought after free agents (Bosh, Boozer, James, Johnson, Nowitzki, Stoudemire, Wade) Dwayne Wade is the only one with a ring. So if players such as King James are trying to develop their legacy and win championships, why would they choose the New York Knicks? During this past decade, the Knicks officially took over the Clippers role as joke of the league as they compiled just one winning season (2000-2001) and lost their only playoff appearance 3 games to 2 to the Toronto Raptors.

The Knicks have totally cleaned house in New York and will even lose the club’s only consistent player over the past 5 years in Forward David Lee. Lee, who averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Knickerbockers in ‘09-10, will be too expensive to tag along with 2 max contracts the Knicks will add this offseason and will take his game elsewhere in 2010.

Whatever big name free agents that want to come to New York and win a title, will have to start from scratch. So if you’re LeBron James or Chris Bosh, what makes New York so appealing? Duh. MSG, the bright lights, and a type of fame and stardom one could only achieve in a place like the Big Apple. Many believe all of this could lure King James and his court of free agents to the city that never sleeps instead of going to a place like Chicago or staying in Cleveland; two franchises that have championship pieces already in place.

This summer and the ‘10 free agent class is eerily similar to the free agent class of 1996, the last time the Knicks were under the salary cap. During the summer of ‘96, big names of the NBA such as Charles Barkley, Alonzo Mourning, Reggie Miller, Dikembe Mutombo, Juwan Howard, Allan Houston, Shaquille O’Neal, and Michael Jordan were all free agents.

That summer, the Knicks were determined to grab the big names and team Patrick Ewing up with somebody who could help win him and the Knicks a championship. The first target: Michael Jordan. The Knicks wanted to nab Jordan along with his head coach and former Knick Phil Jackson. The Knicks even offered his Airness a stake in ownership of the franchise but Jordan liked his four titles in Chicago, so he stuck around with Phil and won two more.

MJ to NYC? Spike would've liked that

Next on the Knicks wish list was the tandem of Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley. New York believed the trio of Miller, Barkley, and Ewing would be enough to overtake MJ and Chicago in the East and into the Finals. Barkley decided he’d rather form a different trio of stars and take his game to Houston to team up with Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon. After Barkley went to Houston, Miller decided to remain loyal and try to capture a title in Indiana. With Centers O’Neal and Mourning practically off-limits because of Patrick Ewing, the Knicks finally settled on the one player who wanted to come to New York, Allan Houston. Houston would enjoy a successful career in New York but only took the franchise to the Finals one time. The team’s Finals appearance came in a lockout shortened 1999 season in which the eight seeded Knicks were swept by David Robinson, Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals.

Fourteen years later and the Knicks are back in position to sign big names and become relevant again. Only this time, the big names want to play in the big city and the Knicks are almost assured of landing two of these stars. Today’s stars are dying to be noticed and want to be on a stage. What bigger stage is there than Madison Square Garden and New York City?

Jordan turned New York down but I don’t see LeBron doing the same. With Kobe Bryant currently fighting for his fifth ring and taking back the “best player in the world” label LeBron stole for about four months or so, King James needs the type of attention that six weeks of intense NBA front office recruitment can’t even offer. James needs the attention that only a title or the Big Apple can bring.

New York City offers a spotlight to James and other free agents that other cities can’t. LeBron wants to build a legacy similar to that of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan and has a lot of trophies to win to do it. James knows that if he stays in Cleveland or goes to Chicago he will have to accumulate enough rings to fill up an entire hand if he wants to be mentioned with the Michaels, Magics, and Kobe’s of the world. If he goes to the Knicks and wins them their first championship in almost forty years, he will be on top of the world and be secured in history. Former Yankee slugger Reggie Jackson talked about New York and the benefits of winning in the city saying “If Jordan won four in New York rather than six in Chicago, he’d be even bigger than he is now”. LeBron’s still looking for number one and he knows one title in New York is as big or bigger than multiple titles elsewhere.

-scf