If the Knicks are smart, they’ll sneak LeBron James out of his hotel room today and make sure he has a front-row seat for all the pinstriped festivities along the Canyon of Heroes.
James is a Yankees fan, so it shouldn’t take much arm-twisting to get him there, even if he did say last night he’s not planning to attend. The Knicks should make it happen, somehow, some way, so that King James can see how New York honors its kings.
Call it good timing; call it a coincidence; call it a marketing opportunity. On the same day the Yankees will be celebrated for their 27th World Series championship, LeBron is in town as the Cavs play the Knicks tonight in his only Garden visit of the season.
No doubt the Garden will be on its best behavior if not falling all over itself hoping James will feel the love and decide to sign with the Knicks when he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2010.
He got a sense of that last year when he dropped 52 points as the Cavs beat the Knicks, 107-102, last February amid chants of “MVP … MVP.”
Long before Knicks fans begin to beg and plead, James needs to see not thousands, but millions of people celebrating as the Yankees ride up Broadway amid a continuous flood of confetti and endless adoration. No one does a championship parade like New York. LeBron needs to see that.
If he does, it would the best marketing tool the Knicks can offer, the best incentive they can put in front of James, who seems open to having options. Get him to the parade today and he’ll develop a permanent mental snapshot of how it might feel riding on one of those floats.
If James watches the Yankees today, maybe he’ll day dream of what it could be like for him if he led the Knicks to a championship. What a parade that would be — the Knicks’ first title since 1973. The Knicks need to get James to imagine that.
The money he’ll be offered is all relative. Even though the Knicks will have plenty of cap space available, the Cavaliers can offer him more to stay in Cleveland, and the notion he’ll have more endorsement opportunities playing in New York is a non-factor considering he’s already doing more commercials than Derek Jeter.
The Knicks had hoped to show this season that they’re back to being a competitive team, but judging from their 1-4 start, that isn’t a given. That’s why James needs to see the other side of New York sports.
If James sees the Yankees’ parade today, the Knicks might have a chance to get him to sign here. A championship parade in New York is not the same as having a parade in Cleveland or Dallas or even Los Angeles. It’s called the Canyon of Heroes for a reason.
Maybe LeBron will get caught up in the fantasy of trying to be on one of those floats someday. If he shows up on Broadway or Chambers Street or City Hall Plaza, he can see how Jeter, Mariano, Pettitte, Posada and Hideki Matsui will own the greatest city in the world for rest of their lives. The football Giants know the feeling; so do the ’86 Mets. There is nothing like winning a championship in New York.
LeBron James needs to get a glimpse of that.