The absence of winning
Realistically though, what else could the Knicks have used in trying to convince James to swoop in and save them other than money? By the time of their meeting, the Knicks had missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons and recorded their ninth consecutive season record below .500.
But this reality should have informed the overly hopeful Knicks’ fanbase that James would not be taking the floor as part of the Garden’s home team. When Larry King asked about his upcoming commitment James said:
"Well, I mean, to me, I think my ultimate goal is winning championships and I understand that me going down as one of the greats will not happen until I, you know, win a championship."
I’m sure we can all agree that the possibility of winning an NBA Championship is more than a little hampered by an inability to make it to the playoffs. Mark Hale of the New York Post addressed the obvious argument that the Knicks simply weren’t good enough to have a realistic chance of landing James writing:
"Look around the league – the best players make their teams great. LeBron, Kobe, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, etc. Every single one of those stars is on a team that ranges from very good to great."
You’re right, Mark Hale but that argument leaves out a very important part of the picture. What combination of things did the New York Knicks have that none of those other teams did? James Dolan. Hostile media policies. Lost sexual harassment lawsuits. Multiple instances over several years of public feuds within the organization. Near constant turnover in key head office and coaching positions.
Any one, two, or three of those things would be enough to put a team below a good rating. The Knicks had all of them.
Which brings me to the third reason it is obvious to me that James would never play in New York.
A toxic organizational culture
The Knicks under Dolan have been unfailingly oblivious to their status as an NBA team and completely deaf to how all of the losing, drama, and dysfunction has affected their reputation. Because of this even if all the losses weren’t a deterrent and if the Knicks had offered James a max contract, I would have bet that James signing in New York was not a possibility even in the most alternate of universes.
However, let’s say James did decide to sign in New York after all. I don’t believe for a second that Dolan would have been able to avoid aggravating, annoying, angering or offending the notoriously socially conscious basketball star.