Knicks News and Rumors: Will LeBron James Consider Moving to New York in 2015?
LeBron James and the Miami Heat are in a good position to win their third-straight title this season, but most analysts believe that the current group might be playing in their final year together.
Previous reports indicated that James along with superstar teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh could opt out of their respective deals and become free agents this summer.
While several teams are hoping that James will decide to test free agency this summer, the New York Knicks, who are also interested in the four-time Most Valuable Player, hope that he will play out the final year of his deal with the Heat.
The Knicks are planning to make a strong push to acquire James, but it is unlikely to happen this summer because they will not have enough cap space to offer an attractive deal, which is the reason why they are hoping that James will decide to become free agent in 2015 and not this year.
ESPN New York's Ian Begley reported that the Knicks believe that they can lure James in the summer of 2015 because they will be way under the cap at that point.
However, ESPN's Brian Windhorst also noted that money alone will not be enough to attract James, saying that the Heat superstar will look to sign with a team wherein he can contend for another title immediately.
"If he were to make a dramatic jump again at this point in his career, it would almost certainly take a situation like he chose in 2010, when the Heat offered an incomparable package of star power and title readiness," Windhorst said. "It likely would take some sort of dream scenario again to get James to even think about moving on."
The Knicks are not expected to become a title contender next season, but they could be an attractive landing spot for James in 2015 if they can keep Carmelo Anthony this summer along with their promising prospects Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr.
"If they re-sign Carmelo Anthony, maybe they can sell James on a tandem of he and Anthony (and a first-round pick, J.R. Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr., Iman Shumpert) being surrounded by accomplished veterans willing to accept veteran's minimum contracts," Begley wrote.
Do you think Anthony's presence along with Phil Jackson running the team be enough to convince James to make a move to New York in the summer of 2015?