Knicks: Why LeBron James was never coming to the Knicks in 2010

A review of the real reasons LeBron James chose Miami instead of New York in 2010.

Boston super-fan and famed journalist Bill Simmons is at it again. He is using his platform to push his agenda. Don’t get me wrong, I am not hating on him. I actually like the fact that he is transparent about his loyalties to the Celtics. I also respect his success and the opportunities he has afforded young writers. I’ve listen to his podcast and like it very much. However, I have to call B.S. (pun intended) on his recent revelation about 2010 free agency.

Simmons claims the New York Knicks were the favorite to sign LeBron James in the summer of 2010. However, he says, they couldn’t close the deal because they messed up their presentation to LeBron and his representatives. This revelation 10 years after the fact was courtesy of unnamed creditable sources. That alone sounds contradictory.

While it’s true the Knicks missed the mark on their presentation to LeBron by focusing on the appeal of the New York market instead of their vision for building a championship team, there is more to the story.

As Dwyane Wade explained on an ESPN podcast in 2017, the Knicks “weren’t prepared for what [LeBron, Bosh, and Wade] were trying to do.”

The Knicks didn’t have much to sell because they got into the LeBron game too late. They were hoping he would bet on himself and try to convince other players to follow him to New York, and that is why they pushed the market angle so hard.

In reality, they overlooked the grand plan that LeBron had been seemingly planning for several years, which required the organization to be in a position to turn him into a champion immediately.

It required planning and execution long before the Knicks presented to LeBron in July of 2010. Let’s review what happened.