Report: Knicks Were LeBron James’ 1st Choice in 2010, Meeting Was ‘A Disaster’

The New York Knicks had a chance to get LeBron James in 2010. Well, it didn’t work well for them.

In 2010, the Knicks were on LeBron’s list. The franchise had enough cap space after tanking in order to get LeBron and other superstars that summer. That summer was the most disappointing part in the team’s history. The meeting was awful despite the fact they were favorites to snatch LeBron.

“From everyone I’ve talked to in the know since then, it’s clear that the Knicks were the first choice,” The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said on his podcast. “It was basically the Knicks’ to lose, and they just couldn’t stay out of their own way. The stories are legendary.”

The Knicks management made a mistake about LeBron

According to Simmons, the meeting was a disaster. It was so bad that LeBron didn’t grant the franchise a second chance to sit down before inking his great deal with the Miami Heat. The Knicks did their best to attract LeBron’s attention. They got James Gandolfini and Edie Falco to “reprise their roles as Tony and Carmela Soprano.” But, the problem was a lot bigger.

“Dolan was Dolan. they didn’t have anything prepared,” Simons added. “It just couldn’t have gone worse by all accounts. It was a disaster. I think at that point, combined with the decade the Knicks just had, I think those guys were just like “**** it.”

New York had about $34 million in cap space heading into free agency that summer. That would have been enough to sign two big fish. Adding a third player to the Big Three would result in a sign-and-trade deal. However, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Timofey Mozgov were a nice fit for Toronto and Cleveland.

The Knicks management made a mistake. It’s one of the worst mistake a management has ever done in the league history. The team overpaid Amar’e Stoudemire despite his knees not being put under insurance. The next big mistake included Carmelo Anthony in 2011.

Seeing LeBron sign with the team was only possible in NBA 2K14. Some dreams never come true.