The time the Knicks made a desperate play for LeBron James

Sports

By Gavin Newsham

April 1, 2023 | 8:57am

The New York Knicks were throwing everything — and everyone — they could at landing LeBron James.

As his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers came to an end in 2010 and he became a free agent, the 25-year-old NBA superstar now had his pick of teams — and the Knicks were desperate to seal the deal.

Central to their sales pitch was a promotional video, directed by the documentary maker and lifelong Knicks fan, Jonathan Hock, in which they summoned the great and the good of sports and showbusiness — and Donald Trump.

There was actor Alec Baldwin and comedian Chris Rock, New York Rangers star Mark Messier and Knicks legend Walt Frazier. 

“Sopranos” stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco reunited as Tony and Carmela for a sketch, and even Robert De Niro made a cameo appearance alongside Harvey Weinstein at Miramax’s Tribeca offices.

Then there was Trump.

But as author Jeff Benedict describes in “LeBron” (Avid Reader Press), Trump wanted to be the star of the show.

“Trump’s staff had sent special instructions on how to light him for the interview,” he writes. “The orange gel that was applied to his hair was a certain thickness to ensure that the color accentuated his hair in the proper manner. 

“Otherwise, you’d see through his hair to his head.”

In just seven years as a pro, LeBron James had already rewritten basketball’s record books. But while nobody doubted his individual ability, he had yet to win an NBA title in his time with the Cavaliers.

And that irked him.

“Ohio was his home. He’d never lived elsewhere. His family was settled there. His inner circle was there,” writes Benedict.

“Yet LeBron desperately wanted to win championships, and he’d concluded that he needed to go elsewhere and play with other stars for that to happen.” 

And New York seemed to be winning the race.

In September 2009, James appeared on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” where the host, another huge Knicks fan, toyed with him about joining his team, placing an “I ♥ New York” mug on the table and selling him on the delights of Shake Shack.

“Have you made up your mind yet?” Stewart asked.

“Are you gonna stay in Cleveland? Have you thought about another city to play in?” 

“Well, I’m in New York now, with you,” LeBron said. “So, I’m here now.” 

The audience loved it.

LeBron grinned. “We’ll see,” he…