Knicks Don't Need to Fall into LeBron James Temptation

LeBron James is still a free agent and the New York Knicks need to think twice about it.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) against the New York Knicks during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There's a world where the New York Knicks fall short again, and everybody is looking at this roster differently. All of a sudden, they may start pointing fingers at what went wrong, and external forces may be pressuring them to add stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James.

Winning changes everything, though, and in an era of greater parity than ever in the league, keeping a championship core together and the good vibes that come with it is paramount. This is why, when it comes to adding James, the 42-year-old superstar who would certainly bring another layer of intrigue and excitement to the Knicks, they should stay away.

It's not to say that James couldn't be successful in New York. Of course, he can. He has delivered a championship to every team he has played for. With James, it's more about the noise around him than the numbers themselves.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If James' line is the same as it was last year, there's certainly value in a player making the veteran minimum who can shoot 51.5% from the field, was 31.7% from three, and averaged 20.9 points in 33.2 minutes per game. Every contender could use that.

The LeBron James effect

Every time James breathes, though, Stephen A. Smith has something to say, and every misstep becomes a 35-minute segment on First Take. For a team that just got the championship monkey off their back, that seems like a lot of unnecessary pressure.

Television personality Stephen A. Smith (left) greets actor and director Spike Lee before the start of game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs between the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Knicks went through a 2-9 stretch last season and lived to tell about it. Things were already tense when it happened, and there was a ton of chatter out there that head coach Mike Brown was the wrong choice. What does that look like with James in the fold? A local story all of a sudden becomes a national one, and every inch of a rough stretch is dissected to the umpteenth degree.

Also, another thing to consider is what happens if James struggles. Father Time comes for everybody, and even Tom Brady slowed down a bit during his final year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Thinking back to when the Giants benched Eli Manning for five minutes, that was the focal point for every host and columnist, and the circus around James potentially losing his job would be twice the scrutiny that the Giants faced.

All of a sudden, the Knicks would be dealing with an all-time great at the end of the line, and the discussion then shifts to whether it's Josh Hart who should be starting over him. From there, every Hart misstep that you can kind of gloss over normally has him under the crossfire of non-Knicks fans who are now casually watching because of James. Playing in New York is hard enough as it is.

James to the Knicks doesn't seem like it's happening anyway

Leon Rose and company probably understand all of these things as well, and a report by SNY's Ian Begley certainly supports that notion. According to Begley, neither James nor the Knicks is actually looking for a marriage.

The Knicks are very happy with the core of their roster coming off the 2026 NBA title, Begley writes. The Warriors, Heat, Cavaliers, and Sixers are reportedly among the teams with serious interest in James. What about the Knicks? Even if they had strong interest in James, wouldn’t it be a bit strange if LeBron chose to sign with a team that just won the NBA title? The narrative of winning again in Cleveland/Miami or playing with Steph Curry is much more appealing than playing in New York.

As things stand now, the Knicks' roster is rounding into shape. The signing of Andre Drummond is more of a necessity after the loss of Mitchell Robinson than James is anyway.

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) controls the ball against Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond (1) during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Drummond isn't the closer that Robinson is, but he still brings a ton of value to this Knicks roster. Last season, Drummond averaged 4.5 offensive rebounds a game, 8.1 defensive rebounds, and 12.7 total rebounds in general. Plus, he averaged 1.3 steals a game and 1.4 blocks.

Given how free agency has gone in the NBA and with the loss of Robinson to the Celtics, a more conservative approach is the way to go this off-season. Adding James would be a splash, and they would certainly own the back pages during a time when baseball is king, but there is just so much that can go wrong if they do it.

Madison Square Garden already has enough eyes on it. It's a level of awareness across the league that doesn't justify the production James can bring on the court. Adding James will turn them from that scrappy team that keeps fighting back into a bourgeois sideshow. The team would witness a level of Knicks-for-clicks we haven't seen before.