Magic Johnson said he believes LeBron James will decide to leave Cleveland to play for the Knicks — but urges Knicks team president Donnie Walsh to lure “The King” by first signing a marquee free agent such as Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire.
The Hall of Fame point guard/businessman, asked by The Post for his gut feeling on LeBron in 2010, said: “I think he’s going to go to New York.
“They’re in the lead, they just have to make it [attractive] for him. LeBron will come to New York if he knows they’re gonna win. . . . So, if they sign a free agent first, that would probably seal the deal, I believe. They should have somebody else on their radar to make him want to come.”
Someone not named Dwyane Wade.
“Him and Wade can’t play together, I don’t care what they say, because they both dominate that ball,” Magic said. “You want somebody like a Chris Bosh. . . . You want somebody like Stoudemire to go along with LeBron. You got Yao Ming, if he’s healthy, I’d take a look at him as well.”
Knicks fans should hope LeBron seeks out Magic’s opinion — just as Alex Rodriguez did when he was contemplating signing with the Yankees, and re-signing with them as well.
“I wouldn’t say, ‘Go to one place or another,’ ” Magic said.
But one place is the one and only place.
“He could really be a ‘King’ if he could revitalize the Knicks,” Johnson said. “You got some of the best basketball fans in the world, and now you could be responsible for bringing a championship back to New York. Now, it’s gonna take a few years, because you still gotta add more pieces. He’s got more talent in Cleveland, but he can do more incredible things in New York.
“When Alex Rodriguez called me to meet with me, he flew out to Los Angeles, the first time making a decision between Boston and New York. I told him, ‘This is a no-brainer, you gotta go to the Yankees. Just imagine if you win as a Yankee.’ ”
Then A-Rod opted out. But he quickly opted back in after another West Coast sitdown with Magic.
“I told him again, ‘Can you imagine when you break the home run record as a Yankee?’ ” Johnson said. ” ‘When you’re 80, people will know you as a Yankee.’ ”
Stoudemire would welcome a reunion with Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni, his former coach in Phoenix.
“I would say for [LeBron], and knowing what he wants to accomplish, if he said he wants to be a billionaire, or close to it, you gotta go to New York,” Magic said. “And I would tell him this: ‘Wherever you go, sign for three or four years, and then look at the situation.’
“If you don’t like it, you could go somewhere else. I think he’s looking at the Knicks very, very hard. He really probably wants to go to New York, but I think he’s gonna see what both teams end up doing, who has the most talent.”
A little magic from Walsh, please.