The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - PTFO - We Found the Secret Tape the Knicks Made for LeBron

Episode Date: April 16, 2024

Pablo has unearthed a long-rumored, previously unpublished, for-your-eyes-only video from the summer of 2010, featuring a committee of A-list New Yorkers recruiting free agent LeBron James to the Garden. It may feature one of the biggest revelations in TV history, but let's just say — between a couple former politicians and another convicted rapist — that this tape has aged very, very poorly. Knicks superfans Jason Concepcion (@netw3rk) and Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) gaze into the ark of the covenant... and cringe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six months, 82 games, and finally the post season is here. First up, the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament. For this, the rules are simple. Win to get in. Eight teams battle to earn their playoff spot in a win or go home style tournament that is bound to be full of highlights, excitement, and drama. There's no better way to set the tone for the playoffs than this, so make sure you don't miss the action.

Watch TNT's coverage of the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament on April 16th and 19th on TNT, TruTV and Max. Greatest duo's trading cards have arrived at Tim's with two hockey icons on every card like Matthew and Brady Kachuk, rivals, teammates, family and more connected like never before. Head to Tim's and get yours today at participating restaurants in Canada. Welcome to Pablo Torre Finds Out. I am Pablo Torre and today we're going to find out what this sound is. Now we just got to find a place for your friend LeBron to live. What's he like?

He's a modern guy, but he respects tradition. Right after this ad. You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. Six months, 82 games, and finally the postseason is here. First up, the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament. For this, the rules are simple. Win to get in. Eight teams battle to earn their playoff spot in a win or go home style tournament that is bound to be full of highlights, excitement and drama. There's no better way to set the tone for the playoffs than this, so make sure you don't

miss the action. Watch TNT's coverage of the SoFi NBA play-in tournament on April 16th and 19th on TNT, TruTV and Max. So avert your eyes is what I've been yelling at you guys. I've already seen so many names. Okay, I'm ready. So Jason Concepcion, Bob Perez, thank you for being here. We're in LA. I've summoned this very specific focus group with

a degree of perverse enthusiasm that I think is truly unlike a feeling I've ever felt before as the host of anything, specifically a show, where my whole goal for people who don't know what the f*** this show is, is to like bring people things that I wanted to find out about, but also things that can feel almost like a loot box in the parlance of video games. Like some sh** is in here. We don't know what it is. But in this case, I do know specifically what it is. And I've been teasing you guys with just some very vague references to what is inside.

And so you guys are almost a proxy for not just any audience, but specifically an audience of, I would say generally unhinged, but principled Knicks fans? Sure. Is that accurate? I don't know. I don't think there is unhinged as people think, but I think that's the brand, which is good.

When I think unhinged, I think the side talk video. Right. Right. Double f***ing overtime! What the f*** baby? New York is f***ing back! Knicks are here baby! The Knicks are f***ing here baby! KD, don't you regret not coming to the Knicks?

Don't you regret not coming to the Knicks? The Knicks? The Knicks? So you guys are relative to the side talk guys, hinged. Yeah, even that is, even the unhingedness is, I think, like a rational response to circumstances. It's a joy at being alive and in the moment. It's not just chaos for chaos' sake. I think we both want what's best for the franchise?

But like the same like you guys are both giving a a co-press conference I mean Jason and I experienced the 90s. So a lot of those fans outside the garden that participated in that viral video May have been younger than us. I've seen too much, okay? So unless it's a championship, I can't get that excited for either a regular season win or a first round playoff series win. I've just been so close that game seven in Houston, 95 with the layup in Ewing.

Like it's just, there's only one way to make me happy. So as a result, you become naturally apathetic over time. There's only one way to make me happy, feels like a thing that prompts an intervention of some kind. OK, well, this might change things quickly. Okay, so today's episode is the story of a secret videotape. A long-rumored, never-before-seen time capsule of sorts. A Knicks tape, even, that I had been trying to unearth for years now, in my capacity as both investigative reporter and also, crucially, native New York elitist. Because like Jason

Concepcion and worldwide WAB Perez, two of the biggest Knicks fans in all of sports media, I grew up really caring about this team. In fact, like those maniacs on the sidewalk, I grew up wishing for a big free agent to fall in love with Madison Square Garden so that they could win the Knicks first title since 1973. And I have since stopped caring like that, mostly on account of the Knicks owner, Jim Dolan, who inherited the team from his father, making him, yes, a nepo-billionaire. But in the summer of 2010, this was the summer defined by the biggest free agent mystery in the history of sports, I cared a whole lot.

In fact, I presumed that the Knicks were not simply contenders to sign LeBron James. Like many New Yorkers, I believed that the Knicks were the obvious decision. Well, everybody is on pins and needles across the country, particularly those teams who are in the running for LeBron James. You ready to go, LeBron? Where's the powder? Left it at home. But Jim Dolan's Knicks could taste it. I think there were significant signals from LeBron and his camp that would lead one to believe that we were in it.

Last time I checked in, we dumped our entire future to acquire Tracy McGrady just so we can salary dump. We traded assets to clear the books. We did all of that. But to me, I never really believed it until the Yankees hat started coming out. Until all these other kind of signals started happening that seemed like nods to the Knicks, the fact that the LeBron decision event was being held in Connecticut. There was all these little signals, yeah.

That made it feel like, oh my God, I think it could be us. Yes, he gave an interview to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, guys vaguely remember that part, where he plays coy. LeBron is like playing coy, he's like basking in the glow, the applause of an in-person New York studio crowd. Now I gotta tell you, you're coming up on your free agency.

And I just wanna, you know, very quickly just, if I can, just... There you go. That's a really nice cup, by the way. That's a beautiful cup. Beautiful cup. I love New York. Are you familiar with our city? This is New York, right?

This is New York City. We have a team, the Knickerbockers. Right. They're a basketball team. So the initial plan was that LeBron was going to go visit all of these cities and New York was going to get to have basically these celebrities almost like college football recruiting hostesses. Right. Where it was like here are all the famous people they're going to take you around town who go to fancy events. We'll show you why New York is special in person. A big party was going to be thrown Jim Dolan and the Knicks. And then LeBron pivots suddenly

and says, actually, I want everybody to visit me in Cleveland. Power movement, I like it. Yes, everybody sent delegations. They're almost like UN style diplomatic envoys. The Knicks are gonna have to visit me and so are the Clippers and the Nets and the Bulls and the Heat.

And he's gonna do all of this at this building in downtown Cleveland, the IMG building. And it's July 1st, a Thursday, 2010, the very beginning of legal free agency. And as the Knicks are pulling in to the parking lot of the IMG building, Jay-Z is pulling out. So Jay-Z and the Nets are presented at 11 a.m., apparently,

and he has to go now jet off to his concert in Europe, according to the newspapers at the time. And the Knicks delegation pulls in, and it's four black town cars. Okay. And into the room, where LeBron James is waiting, and it's LeBron, it's his agent at the time, Leon Rose, now the president, of course, of the Knicks, of the New Look Knicks, who was his agent then at CAA. It's Maverick Carter, his right- hand man, his business partner, Randy Mims, another member of his inner circle.

And into the room walk James Dolan, Mike D'Antoni, then head coach of the Knicks, Donnie Walsh, Knicks president, infamously in a wheelchair. It was like his flu game. Yes, Donnie Walsh's flu game was walking into the pitch room alongside Glenn Grunwald, who was a senior VP and Hank Ratner, who was an MSG executive. And Alan Houston also was there because Alan Houston, of course, assistant to the president, also former Knicks great. And in lieu of

doing the thing that they wanted to do, which was like, here are all the celebrities hosting you. They had made a video. And so this video, a lot has been rumored about, argued about, mythologized about in the years since. And the thing that is consistently accurate in all of the talk about it is that no one actually has it. No one has this thing. ["Sexy R&B Music"] has it. No one has this thing. Except, of course, for me. I have it. I've been watching it over and over again. I found it at the bottom of a rabbit hole

that my investigation took me deep inside of that I never expected, frankly. But you should know that I have gazed inside the Ark of this Covenant. And what is inside, what you should know about this upfront here, is that it is not exactly what you would imagine. Unless you love imagining prestige television fan fiction. Let me just ask, like, total running time of this video? Uh, about 10 minutes. That's so crazy.

10? They made LeBron sit through a class project. For 10 minutes? 10 minutes of his time. Correct. Correct. They have one chance to convince the most high profile free agent in the history of sports to come play for a franchise that desperately desperately could use exactly that. And they walk into the room and sit down and they press play on a video and it starts like this.

Tony, I'm so glad we moved to New York. Life is so much better now. Yeah. Life's good here, Colm. Even if we are in the witness protection program. Now, we just got to find a place for your friend LeBron to live. What's he like? He's a modern guy, but he respects tradition. He's something classy on the East Side. Is he big enough?

He's going to be entertaining a lot of people in New York. It's very expensive. Oh, that's not gonna be a problem. You gotta find something magnificent. Something that's nothing in the world like it, one of a kind, like he is. Well, here's a place. It says it gets really loud there. Take a look.

Oh yeah. Yeah, that that's it that's gonna be perfect for allow me to reintroduce myself my name is can I lead us off please what did you just see there okay so the final few seconds is a Jay-Z song yeah The man just walked out of the room. Second of all. It's a good point to point out that they did play the song of the guy who just left as they were entering. They didn't think about that.

They knew he was gonna pitch him at some point too, yet that's the song they go out with. Number two, this feels like the scene after they go to black in the diner. They go back to some Chelsea apartment where they're in hiding with a window air unit conditioner. I felt a little nostalgia right there. So that was actually kind of cool, but that's ruined by the orange paint that they showed the Knicks court with the orange paint, which is cursed. That orange paint never brought

in amongst Knicks fans. That's like the worst thing ever. So there was orange paint on the court that they went full screen with. So first three things that popped out to me. I, first of all, I want to say Rob, incredible to glean like, and the outlines of, like, a plot and the way this dovetails with the season finale, the series finale of The Speranos. None of that is, I didn't pick up any of that. What I got was, like, a King of Queens kind of feel, and this is the only like set that they could get. There's an air conditioner prominently behind Mr. Gandolfini. Mr. Gandolfini was hosting the crew in his apartment.

That is James Gandolfini. That was James Gandolfini's apartment in Manhattan. What? Yes, which is a shocking thing when you see actually what it looks like to your point. And so this was about almost three years after The Sopranos ended and the fade to black famous scene. And apparently Gandolfini, by the way, was super into this. So Edie Falco, Carmella, the word out of this taping was that the whole premise of like,

hey, we're in the witness protection program. And we're in this weird apartment and we're trying to help our friend LeBron. That was James Gandolfini's idea. Jim Gandolfini would rarely do these kinds of things. And if he did, he would do them very begrudgingly. Like we would sort of look at each other across the room. Like, when the hell am I out of here? You know, Jim was into this.

He was really into it. There he was dressed as Tony. And he was like, well, what if I came over this way and did that? I was like, are you kidding me? Really? This is, you know, I, so I mean, I guess he must've been a bigger basketball fan than I realized, but yeah. And then he had some idea for the way it ended or something. And I remember thinking, geez Louise, whoever would've thought he'd be like all in for this little, you know, weird thing that we're doing that no one's ever going to see.

But now we finally can over on YouTube and the DraftKings network. And what you can clearly see is the strongest possible argument that after the final scene of The Sopranos, which aired in 2007, one of the most debated deaths in TV history, history. Tony is actually alive. You're now basically creating an ending in which Tony goes states witness and is able he goes rat and is able to enter witness protection. I mean that's a pretty valuable piece of NBA. It's one of the last things that this man, one of the great actors of our time,

like really f**king true. Yes. That's what I was about to get to. It's like, that feels like an artifact in Hollywood. So that is the beginning of the video. And then it goes to this procession. What I would say is like a recruiting committee now. So now we're getting into the recruiting committee phase

of like James Dolan's favorite people. And so it comes out of The Sopranos and it goes to this. Oh my god. The real winners of the world want to be here. They come here. They want to come to New York whether it's Wall Street or whether it's fashion or no matter what it is this is the place the real winners want to be so that aged I think Not great. I thought that was gonna be a lot worse. I thought it was gonna be a worse as well That's one of the more hinged. I think yes 2010 Trump from the Donald's. Yep. This is the place where real winners want to be absolutely In fairness, this is like years before of course

Like LeBron would boycott the Trump Soho, Trump's hotel when they were visiting to play the Knicks. Like that was a thing that got and then the you bum thing, obviously in 2017. Is there any regret that you got into a name calling situation with the president? No, a name called him. What'd I say? name-calling what I say call me or you say it call him a bum it's not a name call as I you bum me my friends call each other that all the time I'm not his friend though don't ever don't I don't want to see that on the note he's not my friend but it's still like around the same year that I think Michael Cohen had just started like leaking to the National Enquirer like birtherism conspiracies. So this is that phase of Trump.

Yeah I mean as a life you know as born and raised in and around New York, Queens and Long Island and I'll just say that it was not it was never really a mystery that he was a bad guy. Like for those in the know like it was so yeah a curious I think a curious Curious person to have on the video, but I get it. He's in he was in the Rolodex, right? I mean the question was like okay We got to get everybody the Avengers of New York City to pitch correct the pitch LeBron James and Dolan's infinity stones are a little different than some other New Yorkers, but so far it's two that I would have predicted for James Dolan would have been probably those two.

Yeah. Power stone. Which stone is Trump? Oh. Which of the stones? The tax evasion stone? Probably, yeah, the high crimes and misdemeanors stone. The fish fillet stone.

So it goes from Donald Trump and it proceeds from there. Well, Donald, if you come to New York, not only we have the best fans, the best media, the best coverage, but you're going to have the best city, this city, standing behind you, prepared not only to support your game, but to support your play outside the game. It was kind of funny. I said, if I go to New York, they'll name a candy bar after me. Lo and behold, they did. That was Richard Parsons, the chairman of City Group, followed by of course Mr. October, Reggie Jackson. It doesn't feel very personalized. It's as if I was just being pitched

to move to New York City and like here's why. Or there's a VP job open and I'm getting recruited by a firm. Right. It is striking that outside of Mr. Gandolfini and Ms. Falco, no one has said LeBron's name in their little summit. That's my point. So that's interesting. All we're missing is Michael Scott introducing Sabaro at this point. Right. So we don't have Michael Scott, but we do have this guy.

You win in New York. First of all, you get a parade unlike any parade anywhere. Ask Derek Jeter, ask C.C. Sebastian. Well, I don't think any singer in the world responds with more enthusiasm, more love, more power than New York City to great effort, to great achievement. They really love you forever.

I mean, greatest baseball player of all time, Babe Ruth. I'm not sure he would have been if he stayed in Boston. His brain seems intact, has not yet been eaten by the internet. There's no unknown dark liquid dripping down his head. The president's attorney Rudy Giuliani held a press conference today continuing to stick to his unfounded claims that there was massive voter fraud in the election. But there's a good chance people had trouble focusing on what he was saying, thanks to something black dripping down both sides of his face.

In my estimation, not a great mayor. No, don't look too closely at how he was policing the city. Don't, yes, don't look at all about how he did that. Famous black athlete, don't click the footnotes on the Wikipedia page. You only get one chance to make a first impression. We are now 60 seconds into this video. So our focus group, we could sit here

and dissect it from our POV, but I'm thinking, what is LeBron? He's now seen 60 seconds of it. And it's at the point that he's already forming opinions based on this video and the people that created it for him. And have we seen anything other than, I'm starting to appreciate the Gandolfini. Oh, yeah. I'm going to skip a lot more.

I like that. It's definitely the high point. And it feels like, you know, we're now kind of just sledding at various speeds downhill, because again, you know, Rudy, not looking at the camera and never says, hey LeBron, here's what's great about New York. He's just talking to whoever. We've just been hit with three straight videos

that you see when you sit on a Big Apple tour bus and that pop up on the screen as you're going around the city or the Circle Line. And here's our introductory video. And that's what I feel like we just watched. So if that's the goal, they're nailing it so far then And you know what else we got LeBron? We got other famous people. So maybe you won't feel like such a freak where you live right now. That's right.

That's right. There's other superheroes roaming the streets that you can talk to. Do you understand playing the garden? The same room that Prince played, that Run-DMC plays, that Jay-Z plays? Do you understand playing in the greatest arena in the world? Okay. I like that one. If it's just Gandolfini and Chris Rock and they stopped the video I'm convinced LeBron would have probably been a New Yorker That's a lot better that's personalized what we were just talking about. Yep authentic fish sandwiches are in fact available at all hours of the day Yeah, what's next?

Madison Square Garden is first time as a New York Knick. You know, I have been here many times as a Baltimore Bullets playing against the Knicks and the crowd was good to me, they cheered for me and whatnot. But once they saw me as a New York Knick wearing that number 15 for the first time, it was nothing like it. I think what makes New York so special are the people. The relationships that I've forged over the years have just cemented my love of the city. So we have Earl the Pearl Monroe, Marc Messier talking about winning titles in New York City with the Rangers in the Knicks, obviously.

At this point in the video, LeBron has now looked at his flip phone, because it's 2010, right? And he's just gotten a text from Jay-Z that says, thanks again, see you soon. And he's probably responding at this point in the video because it was just very non-engaging. He lost the Chris Rock momentum. It is a good reminder that LeBron when he's watching this had not won a title yet. Like this is part of his whole thing.

Where can he do this best? And the Knicks are like, let me introduce you to Marc Messier. He seems like a great guy. Yeah. Just not for this video. He would even sit here and be like, why am I in here? Probably.

It proceeds. New York is a society not built around who your parents were. And it's not built around how much money you have it is a society built around philanthropy and what you do if there are other things that you want to be doing like with charities and stuff like that there's no better place than New York and better people to support that than New York yep okay again really weird to have the first billionaire mayor of of New York City say, hey,

it's not about the money. Money doesn't matter in New York, Jason. Famously, New York does not care about money. Okay. Those were fine, I guess. I appreciate Mr. De Niro looking at the camera and appearing that he was discussing, appearing to discuss Lebron James Yeah, I've seen De Niro at more Laker games and I have next games though

Like I don't associate him with with like one of those Nick stronghold a Lister is at all spike Chris Everyone that you've seen thus far that you see at current next games today Red flag that spikes not in it yet today. Red flag that spikes not in it yet. Like when you have spike lead off the batting order, wouldn't he be more present? That's interesting to me that you would not have a spike further up in this. Well, you have to make room for some important people.

Let's see. Such a universal city. And I know LeBron, I read his book, and I know that he's tight with his buddies. The idea of those friends coming to New York City, those guys sound amazing, loyal, smart, bright. They can have such an impact on the business sector for LeBron James and also for the charitable sector. And in New York City City the opportunities to meet the

guys who run the multi-billion dollar companies and to get these companies behind the LeBron James you know school hospital you mean educational center you mean what an impact and those friends of his could be the ambassadors I mean it to that world. So Harvey Weinstein. Right, currently incarcerated. Currently incarcerated after dozens of women have been accused of rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse over a period of 30 years. That Harvey Weinstein, LeBron, I've heard you have friends. What if I told you that New York is a place where your friends can meet lots of famous

rich people? I'm Harvey Weinstein. In no way will this message age poorly. So this was taped by the way that was taped at the Miramax Tribeca headquarters apparently. It was De Niro and Harvey back to back. He did say buddies. I thought he was gonna go with posse. Just the way that things played out with the Knicks. Like you and your posse you look like you're having a great time together.

Knowing what was coming with Phil. Well that was Phil. To be fair, that was Phil. I know, but that's fair. Harvey Weiss was on the right side of history on this one. That he somehow was on the right side of calling LeBron's friends a proper name. That didn't offend him like Phil's did. Wait, Rob, have you heard the song? Have you heard the Dolan song?

When he plays the kazoo? No, no, no you heard the song? Have you heard the Dolan song? When he plays the kazoo? No, no, no, JD and the Straight Shot. They do. He wrote a song and performed a song that is called, in fact, I should have known about his deep, long time friendship with Harvey Weinstein. You think his lawyer was like, uh, can we call it something else?

Can we not make the OJJ. Simpson, If I Did It, of songs? We were friends, we were friends, talked for hours without a... Harvey Weinstein. ...about his latest story, how to deal with fame and glory. All the girls who adored him, catered to his every whim. Nothing he could lose, all he need to do was choose. I should have known, I should have known,

I should have thrown myself across his tracks, stopped him from these violent attacks. I should have known, we've been... Is this how billionaires do J. Cole versus Kendrick Lamar? Yes, exactly right. Okay. Yeah. Let him to his end, his fall.

I should have known, I should have known. So, you know, there's that. There is that. If you were wondering how close are these guys? I'll say this about that tune and I think it's actually, you know, the musicianship is quite good. The people that James has playing with him, supporting him in the JD Project are very

solid professional musicians. Yep, the straight shot is no issues with the straight shot. And I'll just say like James clearly is the muse of music lives inside of him and I think in the years that he has really been pursuing that muse through different projects like the sphere in Las Vegas, which brings him closer to live events and ever before in the most immersive way. I see what you're doing now. Yet seen on earth. made him so happy to be doing that and I think you've also seen a period of Nick's success as he's rededicated himself to the passion of music and so I would say hearing that song if you'd like to address Mr. Dolan yes.

Miracle content maybe not for me but keep going. Expressing my anguish through the magic song going keep going keep playing music keep bringing that to the world Because that sounded really good And then I think we needed a palate cleanser, or at least I think the Knicks then needed a palate cleanser of sorts. Because then... New York is and has always been the center of the global black world. Whether you're in Kingston, Lagos, Johannesburg, South Central, Detroit, Miami, Atlanta. This New York is where the black world has its heart.

When you play for the Knicks, you don't have a contract with a team. You have a contract with a city. You know, I've, it's, um, I don't know how LeR this video, but I you know, it kind of feels a little patronizing to have a little the Knicks You know led by a group in which Alan Houston's the only black guy in the room Telling him about black history in America Right, so they brought in Thelma Golden, who apparently is director of the Studio Museum of Harlem, followed by other noted, you know, just,

I would say racial visionary Alec Baldwin. Who, this is a 30 rock era. Yes. Alec Baldwin. This is in real life, Alec Baldwin apparently choppering from the Hamptons. Nice. Into MSG to do this interview specifically for this.

Yeah, in this pre-cameo, pre-selfie video age, Alec Baldwin. Appreciate it. Long Island legend, Alec Baldwin. That's right. Every time I want to give the video a chance, it, like Alec Baldwin appears on my screen. It's one step forward, two steps back, and now it's turning into an SNL sketch of itself. So if I'm sitting there with LeBron, like like is this meant to be a comedy or is this serious? I still we're a couple minutes in I still can't figure it out. It's just like I don't know what Alec Baldwin accomplishes in this. Right the question I suppose is like how can you make LeBron James again 2010 LeBron James who is

f**king famous. Yeah. Like how do you feel how do you get him to feel starstruck? How do you get him to feel like the Knicks have something unique that he cannot access elsewhere? And this is the Knicks. This is Jim Dolan's attempt to cater specifically to that person. We should add the legend about how Pat Riley eventually won LeBron James, even though I think that if you read the whole timeline of the thing from the Olympics on through the decision, I think it's pretty clear that he knew what he was gonna do. But yeah, the legend of what Pat Riley did was just throw the bag of championship rings on the table.

That's what he wanted to hear at this period. How do I win? The sound of jewelry clattering on a table. Counterpoint, what if I brought you the guy from Glen Gary Glen Ross nice Decision have you made your decision for Christ? This is a team that put out a commercial 15 second spot all they said was the word Jerome James For 15 seconds Jerome James that was right after we signed him remember Jerome James look it up It's on that's a real commercial Jerome James

Jerome James Jerome James. Jerome James. Jerome James. J Squared. Jerome. Jerome. Jerome. James. James. James. Down in Soho going, Jerome. I like those commercials. I thought they were good. The only problem was Jerome James was not good.

That's my boy. Like, this is who we're putting on a pedestal. This is not the city of champions. This franchise needs help. New York may have won championships in the past, but the Knicks are a complete outlier from the rest of the teams there that have had success. So speaking of all of that, speaking of the glory of the garden, the video then gets to some sports.

Oh, basketball is a part of New York City. It's the DNA of New York City. I've been a New York Knickerbockers fan all my life, and I miss hearing the Garden Rock the way I used to. Sparks! Yes! One of my most memorable recollections was Game 7, May 8, 1970. Willis hurt his leg in game five. The question was whether I was going to play in game seven or not going to play in game seven. We've left the locker room. We don't know if Willis is going to be there or not. And suddenly there's this roar.

Here comes Willis. And the crowd is going wild. And then the crowd never shut up. They just got louder and louder and louder and gave us the confidence that we needed to pull that off. Okay, this is now gone from this is kind of funny to now I'm starting to get a little pissed off. Because we're- Wait, you just got Willis Reed.

You just got Clyde Fraze and you got Spike Lee. This is insulting because we're talking about a man in Lebron James that has a photographic memory with everything regarding the game of basketball. He has played a minimum of 15 games at the Garden to this point, twice per year with Cleveland I assume plus preseason games whatever. Why are we pitching as if you're about to walk into Madison Square Garden for the first time? This is what you're going to experience.

He has seen Spike Lee for years, courtside, and had more authentic conversations than that for years. And now it's in the pitch video as if, oh, like you're going to get to meet Spike. He's seen him for a decade. That's insulting. You know, I love seeing Starks. He was my hero when I was a child. Right.

They showed the dunk. Yeah. This is the dunk over Pippin child. Right, they showed the dunk. Yeah, the dunk over Pippen and Jordan or they were in the area, however you wanted to find it. But I think therein lies to me, in Starks, kind of the issue. Like Starks, famously, was bagging groceries. He was the only other player who could approach averaging 20 points a game for that entire Ewing run, almost that entire Ewing run until the late 90s.

And that was the issue. How can we avoid that with LeBron James? That should be the pitch. Here's what we've learned from that. And so the question of like, how are the Knicks going to get people beyond LeBron? Is the subplot, the subtext of this entire video, right? Like that's actually the brass tacks story of this. It's, we can give you a million celebrities, but like who else are you bringing along to actually do this?

I must have missed that part because I'm sitting here watching the video that a substitute teacher puts in when there's no agenda left over from the real teacher that's sick. I mean, what are we doing? And now it's... There's the worst that this video could be is boring because at least with Trump and Baldwin, I can have like a laugh at regardless of whatever his political opinions are. It's something that's engaging. And so we've reached the final stretch of this video.

And I think you'll be impressed with the next technological capacities okay Wow that's a big deal we got LeBron it would be more dynamic than anything that has happened to the Knicks even the two championships This entire city. Hold on. Look at the Photoshop! Oh my God! Can we re-wrack the Photoshop?

Whoever made Clyde say that, I'm so mad at you. You did not just say that that would be better than the Knicks only two championships get it. Signing a free agent, I know it's LeBron. Signing a free agent would be better than the two titles that the Knicks have won. The only two. Right. Thanks to horse tranquilizers into Willis Reeves leg. Stop that. I gotta see the Photoshop. Come on.

This is good. Yeah, we had the banner unfurled already from the Photoshop. Come on! Alright, here we go. This is good. We had the banner unfurled already from the top. Yay! Rotoscopes, LeBron. That's from the Mom Made Pizza Rolls. Mean world. I think you're the type of brother that wants to have that burden, have that shoulder.

I think you want to be the one to go bring a championship to New York City. This city was built by winners for winners. It was built for you. What are your fix on the way of traffic? Alright, that's good man. Oh god.

And so the lights come back on and here we are back in the room and the bronze names at the table and looking eagerly is Jim Dolan at his prize. They used WordArt. Remember WordArt from the Microsoft Word days and Windows 98? They dropped WordArt on the screen and said, come to the mix. You know, the technology was different than that might've been state of the art for the period. Yeah, the Jersey rotoscoping was like, hey, think back in 2010, right?

That's, you know, come on, that was like a pre-Avatar. What was going on with Spike? He wouldn't even look into the camera. LeBron, we need you. He's like looking down at the sidewalk. I mean, is he being forced to do this this or his season tickets at stake or something? but there was zero enthusiasm you catch that it was not I mean he there was a an incredibly

Pregnant eight-month pregnant pause before he said when he goes I think you're the type of brother who'd want to bring a Championship and he said it so And he goes, I think you're the type of brother who'd want to bring... A championship. And he said it so sadly. Right. So it's around 3.30 p.m. on July 1st, 2010, this Thursday. And I just want to read you the quote from Alan Houston afterwards, which is this about LeBron's reaction, quote, He didn't give us much feedback.

End quote. Because he was trying to be polite. So the Heat and the Clippers make their pitch to LeBron on Friday. That's the day after this. Pat Riley does a thing where a pillowcase of rings, right? Just clattering. Yep. Yep. Actual, actual stones.

He's bringing that to the table. The Bulls and Cavs pitch on Saturday. And then the Knicks fly to Chicago. The Knicks go to meet Dwayne Wade, they meet Chris Bosh. They, I believe four days later, sign Amare, of course, Amare Stoudemire. The Knicks are back. The Knicks are back.

And you might wonder, how did they pitch Dwayne Wade? And something that I want to make clear to you guys is that the New York Knicks of course did something very special and unique for Dwayne Wade. Because you might remember how the video with James Gandolfini and Edie Falco started. If you can replay that just to remind. Yeah, I'll take you down. Tony, I'm so glad we moved to New York. Life is so much better now. mind. but he respects tradition. And so this is how they pitched Dwayne Wade. Now we just need to find a place

for your friend Dwayne to live. What's he like? What is a modern guy, but he respects tradition. And you might be wondering, how did they pitch Chris Bosh? I'm dying to know. No way.

Well, now we just need to find a place for your friend Chris to live. What's he like? What is a modern guy, but he respects tradition. Not even a Christopher? Dink. Christopher Dink. The big f***ing picture, huh?

That's a missed opportunity. Oh, come on. Not even a Christopher? You could have brought Adriana through that door and Christopher! And then he fade to black. That might have gotten him. But then you might wonder,

what did a free agent who's not named LeBron Chris or Dwayne? Experience and they got this now. We just need to find a place for that basketball player to live Modern guy no way, but he respects tradition That for Ray Felton What? Oh god. Who was that for? Ray Felton. They sent it again back. They sent it back to Jerome James. So you have this.

Oh god. So the customization of all of this. It's a part of the production. The backstage production is what makes me so happy to have like gotten to the bottom of this thing Because there are a couple of key differences when you examine how they decided to pitch The members of what would be the Miami heats championship big three because um, there was another thing they changed You know when I think of the road not taken Uh robert frost great poem about a man who makes the decision the road that will travel down

And I think that jwane w Wade wouldn't come to New York City. I mean, you know, I love Miami, but Miami's a suburb of New York. Dwayne Wade comes to New York City, he immediately takes his place among the greats. I think of that Robert Frost poem, The Road Not Taken, about someone who doesn't take the big road. And I just wonder if Chris Bosh sitting there

and going, wow, I could have gone to New York. I could have played on the world stage, and I didn't do that. I didn't throw my hat into the greatness ring. You know, I can see him being a 70-year-old guy and going, wow, I should have done that, shouldn't I? Well, you know what? Don't be the 70-year-old guy. Just do it.

That's right. Harvey Weinstein, master of knowing what you won't regret. Oh my god. Did they not think that these players talk? Like, I got what they were going to say. They showed me a Harvey Weinstein video, too, with my name on it. You got one, too?

You got, wait, did you get Robert Frost? Did he talk about Robert Frost? You talking about the road not traveled by? How does that not come up in casual conversation? Oh, it's incredible. I love to imagine them comparing notes like on the phone in a group chat and being like hey, did you get the Weinstein thing? Yeah.

Well, what about the Chris Rock thing? And then they might realize that they got this. When you play for the mix, D-Wade, you don't have a contract with the team. You have a contract with a city Wait, wait, come on What you gonna do man?

Leave You did it all there now. It's time to come to New York Chris Bosh did not get custom Chris Rock and Alec Baldwin shoutouts. I mean, oh boy just just one of the indignities That Chris Bosh one of the most underrated champions of all time I think, has had to suffer despite the incredible success of those years. Yes. He did though. Disrespect of not getting the Chris Rock or Alec Baldwin video though.

It's gonna hurt him if he finds out. What he got instead was like the other two, special Photoshop Nix jerseys. Yeah. That looks good. I do at the end, I wanna be, I wanna give the Nix the grace of, this was 14 years ago,

and who could know the way that so many of the people in this video would be just like brains eaten by the internet and or in jail. And yet the idea that LeBron James was like, all right, New York City, what you got, and he saw that is one of the just like most heartbreakingly perversely funny things that I've ever reported. I'm not going to lie.

After you showed me Weinstein, I thought we were getting Epstein. That's what my fear was because you kept looking at me like something's coming. LeBron, I know about winning on an island. Oh my God. Oh, good. So I guess it could have been worse. Can we Photoshop that over the final screen? It could have been worse.

It could have been worse. It could have been worse. City of Champions font. In the blue and orange word art. Could have been a lot worse. Could have been worse.