Lebron adds fuel to NY/NJ Fire

by Tommy Dee on June 30th, 2008 at 6:59 pm

Chris Sheridan writes that the King (sorry Henrik) has talked about the possibilities when he enters free agency, and mentions among other things, Brooklyn is his favorite borough.

“They have a right to dream about it, and I can’t take that away from them. My friendship was way before Jay was part-owner of the Nets, and I loved the Garden way before I got to the NBA,” James said. “For some reason when I get to the Garden I always play well, so they want me to do it 41 games instead of just two nights a year.”

Knicks fans were in abundant supply at midday Monday as James and the rest of Team USA were introduced at a Nike press conference at Rockefeller Center, and James played to the crowd like a true showman — sprinting with a wide smile and open arms into bleacher seats erected at both ends of a temporary court, embracing dozens of youngsters clad in blue “United We Rise” T-shirts.

Earlier, James waved demonstrably at a boatful of tourists from the deck of a ship the team chartered for a photo shoot in New York Harbor with the Statue of Liberty as the backdrop.

“I never thought about doing it, but once you get out there & I’m a big kid personally, I got two young sons at home and I know what they like, so anytime I get around a group of kids it’s like a kid in the candy store for me. So, I’m happy I was able to put smiles on those kids faces,” James said. “It made my day, totally.”

The crowd ate up his act, as did his teammates.

“Was that New York-driven? No, I think it was James-driven. That’s who he is,” Kidd said. “He’s a kid, he’s full of energy, he has a lot of personality … LeBron just has a lot of personality — you see it in the commercials — and that’s him, and for him to interact with the kids, it might put a little stress on security, but for the kids to be able to touch him and see him in that light, you can’t ask anything more than that.”

Again, we’re hearing the Nets move to Brooklyn is in serious doubt in 2010-11, meaning the team would have to play in Newark until the politics are sorted out. We know about his friendship with Jigga-man, but, honestly, passing up on the opportunity to play at the Garden for 2-3 years in Newark?

This will get really interesting.

See the photo. We can dream a little.
  • vino

    Wow. That is absolutely amazing. I want him even more now after seeing what he would look like in a Knicks uniform.

  • daspot

    matt cerrone had johan santana on a baseball card with the mets uniform on before he joined…lets see if having lebron in a knick uniform will help

  • vino

    Baron Davis and Brand opted out. My prediction has both of them going to the Clippers. In that case, Corey Maggette will walk away. That would be a nice splash for the Clippers to get back on the radar.

  • reddog2669

    Alright, I might be nuts and wil probably risk a lifetime ban from this site but here we go… am I the only one who wants to see the Knicks build a good team without the easy “Let’s blow it up, sign LeBron, win it all” fix? Sure, the Knicks sign LeBron and I’ll show up in my jersey going nuts laughing this idea off. However, a part of me wants to just build a good team, see LeBron go to Brooklyn and start a reverse NY rivalry (the blue collar Manhattan team vs. flashy Brooklyn). Plus this would drve every front-runner away from the Knicks. Oh well, I can dream. Please don’t ban me…

  • vino

    I have hinted at that before too actually. If we can sign LeBron, it is a no brainer. But to tank two seasons to do so? I like the idea of getting young players with something to prove. Mold a team without a superstar, and hope that one can develop into one, as opposed to buying one. But if we can get LeBron, you have to do that.

  • Deadpanwalking

    Yeah, if we could do anything even vaguely similar to what Portland is doing and how they handled last year without Oden, then adding James would be the icing on the cake.