LeBron James nearly signed with the New York Knicks before signing with the Miami Heat in 2010.
It’s been 14 years since the New York Knicks struck out on the LeBron James sweepstakes as he took his talents to South Beach to join the Miami Heat.
Bleacher Report looked into 30 what-if scenarios that have affected NBA Finals history and dove into the hypthetical that saw LeBron land with the Knicks.
“Had New York been able to convince LeBron to come to the Big Apple, he and Amar’e Stoudemire could’ve been one of the most dangerous pick-and-roll duos we’ve ever seen (the Knicks had enough cap space to sign two max free agents that summer),” Bleacher Report writes. “Due to Stoudemire’s health, the runway probably wouldn’t have been any longer than the four years LeBron played in Miami, but LeBron’s dominance of the East would’ve happened in New York, too.”
The Knicks came away from the historic 2010 free agency class with Amar’e Stoudemire, who spent 4.5 seasons with New York, making the playoffs three times. The Knicks never made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, but if LeBron was there, things may have been different.
Assuming LeBron joins the Knicks instead of the Heat, things would be very different in New York. The Knicks likely don’t make a trade for Carmelo Anthony, who likely looks elsewhere for a deal to get away from the Denver Nuggets. Ironically enough, the Heat would be a prime destination for Anthony, where he would have teamed up with 2003 draft classmate Dwyane Wade.
LeBron made the Finals in each of his four seasons with the Heat, and there’s a chance that he and Stoudemire would have found that success together with the Knicks. Miami won two titles in 2012 and 2013, and it’s possible that those banners would be hanging inside Madison Square Garden if the Knicks were able to land LeBron.
However, the Heat would have been an interesting opponent for the Knicks, especially if they signed Chris Bosh and traded for Anthony to team up with Wade. Their “Big 3” that simply replaces LeBron with Melo would have been a contender in the East, but it’s clear that one star emerges from the rest of the pack.
If LeBron joined the Knicks, New York would have been the center of the basketball world and given that he’s still playing, it may have remained that way until present day.
