Empire State of Mind

"Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can’t do, now you're in New York!"
James Dolan, the owner of the NewYork Knicks, has been waiting for this very moment over the past 3 years. He fired Isiah Thomas, he refused to play Stephon Marbury, he hired Donnie Walsh and brought in Mike D'Antoni as well, he even traded for Tracy McGrady. For what? For LeBron James to suit up in a New York Knicks jersey and call Madison Square Garden his home. This investment, in what seems like an extremely high risk move, will make or break his legacy as an NBA owner. He didn't completely reshape this franchise to only falter and settle for the likes of Amare Stoudemire or Rudy Gay. Landing Dwyane Wade only would be considered a failure. But the inquiry of it all is not will LeBron sign to become a Knick, it's actually why should he?
Nobody exactly understood the drama behind Isiah Thomas and Stephon Marbury's beef a few years back, but it did raise a lot of questions behind the dignity of the franchise and exactly how far the owner will go to hide his dirty laundry. When the off-court tension reached it's highest peak, Dolan quickly "took charge" and hired Donnie Walsh to take over. The exits of Isiah and Marbury were handled very poorly by the personnel. For those of you who don't remember, D'Antoni refused to give Marbury any sort of playing time as some sort of punishment for the large expiring contract that the front office blessed him with, showing their gratitude for his popularity. Soon after when Walsh began clearing house with all sorts of trades, the veterans on the team felt more like expiring pawns rather than valuable pieces to the future of the team. Which in result, led to the team's unsuccessful run over the last two seasons.
This "LeBron Watch" frenzy started because of Dolan, who looks like he will go to all types of measures to lure LeBron to the city of Gotham and play the role of Batman. However, every Batman had his Robin(and his Alfred and his Inspector Gordon for that matter but I don't really feel like going through the analogies of all the characters but the creativity of it all makes it that much more appallingly interesting.) The point is the Knicks are in the best position to give him the media-crazed/highlighting high-life legacy he needs to be potentially be the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball.
Exhibit A: Oscar Robertson is without question one of the top 5 greatest player ever, nevertheless because of the lack of a big marketing city to play for like Chicago or Los Angeles, he will likely remain the most underrated player ever. LeBron would most likely remain a megastar if he chose to stay in Cleveland, but his remembrance in the game could be a toss up. It all depends on if LeBron wants to be compared to Jordan and Magic or Dr. J and Dominique Wilkins when his career is all said and done.
New York could offer the celebrities. Growing up in small town such as Akron, Ohio you dream of a lifestyle where grade A celebrities greet you and cheer you on, repeatedly chanting "MVP" as you shot mere shots from the charity stripe. New York could offer the respectable front office. Donnie Walsh is respected by most in the league, ke knows how to get the job done and he proved that when he took Mike D'Antoni from a playoff team like Phoenix to a lottery team like New York. LeBron never really had either a legit front office nor a respectable head coach, which no other team with significant salary cap space can offer LeBron. New York could offer the partner in crime(s). There have been rumors circulating around the league that Nike could possibly hand out bonuses to Joe Johnson, Chris Bosh and LeBron James if they each take pay cuts and sign to play for their biggest marketing city, New York. However, several sources have declined this scenario stating no such bonuses exist. But imagine a world where those three players take a reasonable paycut to potentially make much more in millions than they can possibly dream of.
The cast behind James, if he chooses to sign, is unknown as of now. But come July 1st things should get very interesting.
So next time you listen to these lyrics, keep free agency in mind. Empire State of Mind. The "LeBron to NY" campaign anthem.