The Knicks had a chance to sign LeBron James this summer. They passed.
According to reports out of New York, Rich Paul opened the door on a conversation about LeBron finishing his career at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks front office listened, looked at their roster, and told him no thanks. LeBron ended up in Philadelphia.
This is either the smartest move Leon Rose has ever made or the biggest mistake of the last decade. There is no in between.
The Case For Passing
The Knicks are set up. Jalen Brunson is a top-15 player in the league. OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges are locked in on long money. Josh Hart is the emotional heartbeat.
Adding LeBron means shuffling minutes, chemistry and shot distribution for a 41-year-old who is going to demand touches. The Knicks won 57 games last season and finished as the No. 2 seed in the East. They did not need a Hall of Famer to walk into their locker room and reshape everything.
There is also the money. To fit LeBron under the second apron, the Knicks would have had to move at least two rotation players and probably a first-round pick. That is a lot to give up for a one-year rental.
The Case Against Passing
It is LeBron James. He is a first-ballot Hall of Famer who still averaged 24 points and eight assists last year on above-average efficiency. Adding him gives you the ceiling to actually beat Boston or Philadelphia in a seven-game series.
The Knicks have not won a title since 1973. When a top-five all-time player calls and asks to play at MSG, you find a way to make it work.
Especially when the alternative is watching him win a ring with the Sixers.
What This Says About the Front Office
Leon Rose has always been a chess player. He builds through trades, hoards picks, and refuses to overreact. Passing on LeBron fits that profile.
But it is also a gamble. If Brunson does not take another leap or if Towns cannot stay healthy, the Knicks are going to look back on this summer and wonder what could have been.
Charles Barkley already fired the first shot, saying the Sixers are the new team stackers of the East. If Philadelphia wins a title in year one with LeBron, the criticism of the Knicks is going to be relentless.
The Bigger Picture
New York is a market that lives and dies on stars. Passing on the biggest star of the last 20 years, one who wanted to come, is going to sting if the Knicks lose in the second round again.
Rose is banking on the fact that continuity beats star power in the modern NBA. Denver did it. Boston did it. Milwaukee did it once.
Now it is on the Knicks to prove they made the right call. If they win 60 games and reach the Finals, this looks brilliant. If they get bounced in five by LeBron and the Sixers, it looks like the worst front-office decision in franchise history.
The whole season just got a lot more interesting for Knicks fans, whether they wanted it to or not.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
