The Knicks are days away from either the biggest basketball celebration the franchise has experienced since 1973 or one of the biggest downers ever to strike a New York sports team.
As The Post’s Fred Kerber reported Friday, the Nets get first crack at James on Thursday in Akron, while Knicks officials expect to meet with him next, according to sources. James also has invited the Bulls, Heat and Clippers to meet with him either Thursday or Friday.
Get your Akron on!
The Nets go first, presumably out of respect to James’ close buddy, Jay-Z, a minority Nets owner.
“I’m going to make an assumption that nobody’s playing around out there,” Knicks team president Donnie Walsh said. “If they’re going to meet with you, and you’re going to meet with them, they’re serious.”
Coach Mike D’Antoni, blunt as ever, didn’t minimize what Thursday’s preliminary meeting means to the Knicks.
“This sets the course of the franchise for the next 10 years,” D’Antoni said.
Walsh, D’Antoni and a key recruiter, Walsh assistant Allan Houston, will be in northeast Ohio. It is unclear if owner James Dolan will attend the initial presentation or if the Knicks will bring any of their bank of celebrities.
Houston is considered a key figure because of his connection with the Knicks and ability to speak on the team’s glorious past, according to a source.
D’Antoni had a good feeling about James’ intentions when he spent a lot of time with him during the Summer Olympics two years ago. But a lot has happened since, and the Knicks are consensus underdogs to land James, with the Bulls, because of their $31 million of cap space and deeper corps, emerging as favorites if he leaves Cleveland.
On Thursday night, James strolled into the hip Chelsea club, Avenue, to party at a Mary J. Blige concert. James does not need the Knicks’ on-hold extravagant recruiting tour to know what Manhattan is all about. James’ manager, Maverick Carter, said Friday James won’t make any visits, though the Knicks realize that could change, pending on how the first meeting goes.
If there is going to be a “Six in the City” (James’ jersey number next season), it’s going to take a lot more than star actors and celebrity-chef-prepared dinner parties.
Though D’Antoni has talked about selling New York, Thursday he will have to sell the roster, his offensive philosophy and future vision of a club that has posted nine straight losing seasons. D’Antoni’s high-tempo attack is something James raved about at the Olympics.
“We have to win and convince guys coming here they can win because New York is a place they need to win,” D’Antoni said. “I think we can do that. Whether they like the style or not is individual.”
D’Antoni said he sees Danilo Gallinari as the perfect outside shooting complement to James and Wilson Chandler as a terrific fourth-quarter aide who can create his own shot and give James relief.
D’Antoni said he does not believe a lack of an established point guard hurts them because James dominates the ball. They will tell James that young point guard Toney Douglas is vastly progressing, because he can play off the ball and has a decent jumper.
The Knicks also will boast about the recent weight loss of athletic wingman Bill Walker and the 3-point shooting potential of rookie Andy Rautins. Of course, it means nothing if James does not sign on with Chris Bosh, who is expected to visit the Big Apple.
D’Antoni said the Knicks’ roster stacks up with other clubs.
“Almost all the teams have cleared everyone out,” he said. “We’re all the same.”
But as D’Antoni told The Post this week, “Maybe we would’ve made the playoffs, but then we would’ve been stuck. I wouldn’t have come here if the plan wasn’t to clear the cap and go after it. That’s why I came.”
If the Knicks don’t land their dream scenario of James and Bosh, they still have hopes of doing damage. They would feel very comfortable pairing ex-Suns Amar’e Stoudemire and Joe Johnson with their $34 million cap space. They also can sign Johnson, re-sign David Lee and add another mid-range free agent.