new york city Archive

Mike Lupica gets paid to write, but that doesn’t mean he gets paid to make sense. The senior sportswriter recently made a case for LeBron coming to New York in his Daily News column. Re-hashing nothing new, Lupica states that marketing dollars and “the chance to win it all” will deliver LBJ to New York.

Considering we’ve known about LeBron’s impending agency for years, there has been very little verified information to come out of the James Camp. So how does Lupica anchor his “new” argument? Using Tiger Woods, of course! Yes, seriously.  Lupica seems to think that LBJ will land in New York to soften the blow to Nike’s marketing cachet according to one of his mogul-type friends. Huh? Even if that did make sense, casual observers have always been aware of Nike’s desire for LeBron to play in New York — Tiger Woods scandal or not.

A guy I know from sports, a mogul-type, one who knows the NBA and knows the business side of sports even better, was talking the other day about the possibility of LeBron coming to the Knicks. He is not a New Yorker, by the way, and is not a Knicks fan. He just thinks the whole thing makes sense, and not just for the Knicks and for the league.

“I am hearing,” the guy said, “that Nike wants LeBron in New York even more than ever, because of Tiger.”

He was referring to Tiger Woods. Maybe you’ve heard about him.

So Nike wants to pass Tiger’s torch to LeBron but needs him in New York to do so? Whatever you say, Anonymous Sports Business Mogul Associated With Mike Lupica. Tiger was (is?) clearly one of sports’ biggest stars. However, it doesn’t make sense to lump LeBron and Tiger into the same category simply because they’re Nike frontmen. Sure, they both have international fame and are top individuals in their sports. But there’s a reason why LeBron endorses Sprite and Bubblicious while Tiger promoted Accenture and Tag Heuer. The potential to net over a billion dollars in their careers doesn’t make them the same guy.

This is not a case of black and white even though Lupica would like to frame it as such.  Unfortunately for him, the reasons AGAINST LeBron returning to Cleveland are not necessarily reasons TO sign with the Knicks (see the LeBron to the Bulls and LeBron to the Lakers theories).  LBJ may have a shot at more endorsement dollars in New York, but the same is true about a number of different markets.  That being said, the other half of Lupica’s argument about winning is laughable.  Does he really have a better shot to win with the scraps currently inhabiting the Knicks’ roster than with Cleveland?

A month ago, I thought Donnie Walsh had no shot at LeBron, none, forget about it. But lately the Knicks have become a team their best and most diehard fans want to watch. In the short run, as you try to imagine LeBron in New York, you can see him actually wanting to be able to kick the ball out to the Italian kid, Danilo Gallinari, because you can see how the Italian kid might end up being the best shooter in the gym one of these days.

Or there is David Lee, who plays like a champion every night, no matter what the score. If there is a way to keep Lee. There is Wilson Chandler. In November there seemed to be no hope for this season. The year ends differently.

Michael Jordan had Chicago, Kobe has L.A., why not New York for LeBron? He clearly does have a fascination with the big bad city, and with the Yankees. Maybe that “27″ on the sneakers after the Yankees won the Series really was more than an instant message.

LeBron is smart, which means he understands that as big as he has gotten, and as fast as he has gotten there, the only way he becomes as big as he wants to be is by winning it all. And maybe coming here and having at least one big player come with him is the best way.

To say that LeBron James might stake his future on Danilo Gallinari and David Lee is absurd hyperbole. While we’re fans of both players, they’re only marginally better than teammates LeBron has had in Cleveland. Unless James knows a way to wipe Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries’ contracts from the books, Lupica’s point about winning with the Knicks is shaky at best.  Even LeBron will need more than a couple of decent supporting players to win a championship — this isn’t NBA Jam.

It’s also outlandish that Lupica claims to think that LeBron would take a pay cut so the Knicks can sign another talent. If James is going to (literally) bet the house on a team, it’s hard to believe that LeBron will choose the Knicks.  The team has only finished above .500 once in the past decade.  LeBron’s only experience with a losing season was his rookie year and his major wager could end with a similar result.

But let’s be serious. Is it even possible for LeBron James to become a BIGGER star? The answer is yes and no. First, it’s doubtful there are that many people planning on jumping ship to become LeBron fans simply because he wears blue and orange.  Second, LeBron Fatigue is already developing across the nation. The guy said he wanted to be a billion dollar athlete. He’s exhibited poor sportsmanship. He had a video of him getting dunked on confiscated. He’s also featured in the now-annoying Nike puppet commercials. James is a hair away from being considered pompous and over-exposed. Expecting to arrive in New York for His coronation might be the last straw for a lot of non-Knicks fans.

Yes, LeBron can still be the King of New York. Though that wouldn’t really elevate his stature much. As previously mentioned, he already has international appeal and maybe Lupica forgot that people love to hate it when New York wins. Coming to New York City might just make LeBron “East Coast Kobe” rather than the innocuous Midwest wunderkind he is now. At the same time, it could make it look like King James thinks he’s bigger than the game.  And that’s almost certainly the case if LeBron is willing to risk colossal failure for an incremental increase in his “legend” and bottom line.

Mike Lupica could be right and LeBron may end up in the Big Apple. However, he also parallels LeBron’s budding career with those of Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. And when did those guys ever play in New York or take a pay cut to win?  Let’s hope this is the last time that Lupica regurgitates the logic of his anonymous mogul buddies.