LeBron James: The New York Knicks need a Celtics sweep

If the New York Knicks are going to lure LeBron James away from the Cleveland Cavaliers, they need the Boston Celtics to dismantle the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The New York Knicks’ expected pursuit of LeBron James in free agency this summer has been no secret. The Knicks hired his buddy David Fizdale to be their new head coach and reportedly reached out to LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, before hiring Fizdale. They want the King in New York.

The Toronto Raptors’ recent firing of NBA Coach of the Year Dwane Casey proved that not having LeBron James can destroy a budding franchise. The Knicks don’t want a similar fate if they build a contender around Kristaps Porzingis down the road, therefore they are going hard after LeBron.

Unfortunately, and as expected, the Knicks won’t be the only team heavily pursuing James this summer. The Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Houston Rockets are just a few of the expected contenders for LeBron’s services. His hometown Cleveland Cavaliers will also be doing everything they can to retain the King.

The 76ers, Rockets, and Cavaliers can all pitch to LeBron that they are championship contenders, whereas the Knicks can really just play the Fizdale card and say that Porzingis is on his way to being a top-tier player and his ACL is fine. I’m not sure that matches up to playing with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid or Chris Paul and James Harden.

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What could be argued though, is that Porzingis and company are better than Kevin Love and friends in Cleveland. New York could argue that the only difference between the 2017-18 Knicks and 2017-18 Cavaliers is LeBron James. If LeBron switched jerseys, the Knicks could be playing in the Eastern Conference Finals right now. Quite honestly, LeBron can do anything on a basketball court so I wouldn’t put bringing this year’s Knicks team to the Eastern Conference Finals past him.

If Cleveland goes to the NBA Finals or even wins the whole thing, however, I’m not sure LeBron leaves. It’d be tough to argue that he could find a better team after winning a championship. If the Cavs were to lose in the Finals, it would be to the Rockets or Golden State Warriors. James wouldn’t have the Kevin Durant cop-out of joining the Warriors after being eliminated by them and the Rockets aren’t so sure they want to break up their team to fit LeBron’s salary. If the Cavs are one of the final two teams standing this season, they’d have a good chance of keeping LeBron around.

However, if the Cavs fall short of the NBA Finals, James could look to take his talents elsewhere. If the Boston Celtics were to sweep Cleveland, with the next three games resembling anything close to the 25-point dismantling they handed down in Game 1, LeBron would have to seriously question the championship caliber of the Cavs.

The chances of LeBron James choosing the New York Knicks in free agency this summer aren’t great. Hiring Fizdale certainly helps their chances but they are in no way the favorites. The Knicks need as many LeBron-hopeful teams to fall out of the race as possible. The Rockets potentially not wanting James would be a big help. The Cavaliers getting destroyed in the Eastern Conference Finals and not looking like a serious contender would also be huge for the Knicks.

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So, as unnatural as it may feel for New York Knicks fans, they should be rooting for the Celtics to not only beat the Cavs but to send them home early in convincing fashion. It could help land LeBron James in the Big Apple.

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