Walt Frazier has a message for LeBron James:
If you sign with the Knicks in July, you can put yourself on the same level as Kobe Bryant.
"I think LeBron would gain in stature by coming to the Knicks," Frazier said. "I think if he signed with the Knicks, he'd be right up there with Kobe. By being in L.A. and playing for the Lakers and winning four titles already, I think Kobe is above LeBron. I think playing in L.A., in that market, does that for him. But I think coming to New York would help LeBron get to be on Kobe's level."
LeBron already thinks he's there, but perhaps the Knicks should allow Frazier to be part of their recruiting team when July 1 rolls around.
Frazier would also tell James that as great as he and Willis Reed were when the Knicks won their only two titles, in 1970 and 1973, LeBron would give New York one of the game's top two players for the first time.
As hard as it is to believe, given Reed and Frazier's iconic status, New York has never been home to the NBA's No. 1 player, except, Frazier argues, for 1970, the year that Reed was named MVP of the regular season and Finals.
"That year, Willis was the best player in the league, and he has the awards to show it," Frazier said. "As great as he was offensively for us, he was a terror on defense. I was allowed to wreak havoc because I knew I had him back there to block shots and be our last line of defense.
"But I never felt I was the best player in the game when I played; I always felt like I was among the best players at my position," said Frazier, a Hall of Famer and one of the NBA's Top 50 All-Time Greatest Players. "And when Willis and I were playing, you had Wilt (Chamberlain) and Bill Russell.
"I looked at them as the best players; those guys were invincible," Frazier said. "The year Wilt had in my rookie season, when he was still with Philly, was the best year I ever saw a player have. He proved to people he was more than just a scorer. And Russell was winning all of those titles with the Celtics. They were the best players. And then later, there was Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar), with his skyhook."
Abdul-Jabbar won five MVP awards in a seven-year span (1971-77), with his final two coming after he was traded to the Lakers.
"He took over for Wilt and Russell as the league's best player," Frazier said.
The only other Knick who approaches Reed or Frazier in greatness was Patrick Ewing, another Hall of Famer and Top 50 selection.
But Ewing had the misfortune of playing in an era against three all-time icons, with Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan collecting nine straight MVP awards, from 1984-92; and winning 14 of 19 NBA titles, from 1980-98.
As it is now, there are some nights when James is better than Bryant, something Frazier does not dispute.
"But if he were to play in New York, he'd be even bigger than he is now," Frazier said. "He'd enhance his position."
Frazier has been around throughout all these lean years, providing his entertaining analysis on Knicks telecasts. Now that the Knicks have the cap space to finally get a player of James' stature, he sees it as the best chance they'll ever have of importing one of the game's greats.
"You can't get that kind of player in a trade," Frazier noted. "Red Auerbach isn't around anymore. So there's no more stealin.' No more dupin.'"
Fine mess
The NBA came off looking small and petty by fining the Knicks' Nate Robinson $25,000 for comments his agent made. Officially, the trade demand by Aaron Goodwin was categorized as "public statements detrimental to the NBA."
When a player asks to be traded or has his agent do it, that's not a detriment to the NBA.
Since it's not covered by the collective bargaining agreement, we can see Robinson winning his appeal to have the fine rescinded. Not surprisingly, the fine caused a buzz with his peers.
"Nate said he didn't have anything to do with what was being said by his agent, and now he gets fined? Now I've seen it all," said the Nets' Rafer Alston. "You really can't control what the next person is going to say about your situation. That's where I support him, because he said he didn't have anything to do with what his agent said."
Even if Robinson did, since when is asking for a trade so heinous a crime that it merits a fine?
Lawrence's best and worst trades of the decade
Best
The Lakers steal Pau Gasol: They've already won one title, been to two Finals and can plan a few more championship celebrations with Gasol, acquired in 2008. The best part of the deal, other than giving up no one of consequence (Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie): It made Kobe Bryant happy and he's guaranteed to sign another long-term deal with L.A.
Another Celtics Heist: Boston should have retired Kevin McHale's number again after he sent Kevin Garnett to his old Celtic teammate, Danny Ainge, in 2007. The Celtics gave up a lot of "assets" - five players and two future No. 1 picks - but it didn't come close to adding up to what the Celtics got in return. After a 22-year drought, the storied franchise got to raise banner No. 17.
The Nets land Jason Kidd: Can one player change an entire team's losing culture? That's what Kidd managed to do once he came to the Nets in 2001 for Stephon Marbury. For the first time in their history, they went to two NBA Finals, in 2002 and 2003.
The Heat's Big Play: With Shaquille O'Neal on the block for the first time in his career, Pat Riley couldn't resist parting with Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant (and a No. 1 pick and second-rounder) to get Shaq in 2004. In his second season in Miami, Shaq made good on his guarantee that the Heat, which had never been as far as the Finals, would win the title.
The Pistons Get Big Ben: It looked bleak for Detroit when Grant Hill opted to do a sign-and-trade with the Magic in 2000. But given the chance to take Ben Wallace or John Amaechi, along with Chucky Atkins, the Pistons took Wallace. While Hill's career in Orlando was marred by serious ankle injuries, Wallace blossomed into a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, with the Pistons winning it all in 2004 and playing in seven straight Eastern Conference finals.
Worst
Marbury Comes Home: Isiah Thomas wanted to make a big splash, but his signature move for Stephon Marbury (below) a month into his tenure as Knicks president turned out to be a disaster. Handing the hometown product the keys to the franchise in 2004 spelled nothing but losing and trouble as the Knicks became the laughingstock of the NBA. What made it worse was that Thomas' move allowed Phoenix to clear cap space and land Steve Nash, who went on to win back-to-back MVPs in '05 and '06.
The Sonics Go Bust: After spending four decades in Seattle, the Sonics traded Seattle for Oklahoma City after the 2008 season. Despite being a huge part of the Seattle pro landscape, the Sonics could never get the new arena they desperately needed, and were moved by new owner Clay Bennett, an Oklahoma City-based businessman.
The T-Wolves' Folly: All because he did not want to help the Lakers, his one-time arch-rivals when he played in Boston, Minnesota GM Kevin McHale turned down a deal with L.A. that would have given him Lamar Odom and young center Andrew Bynum for Garnett.
The Knicks deal Ewing: By trading off one of their all-time greats for Glen Rice and four other players, and not merely letting him walk - to reduce their salary cap to help in rebuilding - the Knicks in 2000 set the tone for a decade of poor financial decisions.
No Answer in Detroit: Trying to continue their decade-long run as an East power, the Pistons made a major goof by trading Chauncey Billups in 2008 for Allen Iverson. In his first season in Denver, Billups led the Nuggets to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1985. Meanwhile, Iverson was nothing but trouble for doomed, first-time head coach Michael Curry and was finally sent home by the Pistons before the season even ended.
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