When LeBron James made "The Decision" in 2010, which saw him leaving Cleveland for Miami, his original pick was not Miami. An earlier arrangement was made to meet with owners of the New York Knicks but it did not go well. As fate would have it, James instead headed to South Beach, where he picked up two NBA titles with running mates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
It could have all gone in a different direction in favor of the Knicks, whose last claim to NBA relevance dates back to Patrick Ewing's playing days. However, what James experienced when he met up with Knicks owner James Dolan and general manager Donnie Walsh spooked him enough to take the Big Apple out of the running.
According to NBC Sports, Bill Simmons of The Ringer was convinced that James' top choice in free agency was the Knicks. Unfortunately, the New York team made a dreadful presentation to the NBA superstar, and needless to say, it was a huge turn-off for James.
"They didn't have anything prepared. And it just couldn't have gone worse, by all accounts. It was a disaster," Simmons was reported as saying in describing how the Knicks lost their supposed grip on James, who has been a dominant force in the NBA for 17 seasons, winning four league MVP awards.
While Simmons' words are backed by his solid credibility, NBC said it seemed hard to believe that the Knicks were even shortlisted by James' camp. The team was far from a serious title contender at that time and it's more believable that James will go where his fortune would leap to greater heights.
If Miami was skipped during "The Decision," it made more sense for James to go for the Bulls. Or the star should have stayed with Cleveland and the chance was high his hometown team would have provided all the things he demanded and wanted.
It bears recalling too that the Cavs were tipped to win the championship the same year that James had left so it can be assumed that had he stayed, the team would have gone winning multiple titles.
Fadeaway World agreed that it seemed odd for James to pick New York over Miami. The Knicks at that time can only boast of Tracy McGrady as someone at par with James and McGrady was already starting on the last leg of his playing years.
The Knicks too was in a mess and failed big time in recruiting big names to play for the club. It came as no surprise that James for the super-team in Miami where he finally captured the NBA titles that eluded him in his stint with the Cavs.
It was clear that the Knicks had disappointed big time if indeed true that they fell short of the job to make a good case on James. And the latter was only right in choosing to win with the Heat.
