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LeBron's in a long-term New York state of mind

Ken Berger

July 1, 2008

First and foremost on LeBron James' mind is bringing a gold medal home from Beijing this summer. "Redeem Team," he said of the nickname assigned to this year's version of the don't call it a Dream Team. "I like it."

The fun LeBron plans to have avenging the 2004 Athens debacle was never more apparent than when USA Basketball turned him loose yesterday at Rockefeller Plaza. During a promotional event with Team USA, James made himself a permanent fixture on dozens of youngsters' MySpace pages when he waded into a crowd of kids, high-fiving and dancing as if he were one of them.

"I'm a big kid, personally," said James, 23. "I'm happy that I was able to put smiles on those kids' faces."

LeBron may be a kid at heart, but he isn't naive. He knows he could produce a whole lot more smiles in this geographic area when he decides where to continue his NBA career two years from now.

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James had little interest in directly addressing his free-agent options in 2010, but he didn't blink when asked about it in a different way.

"LeBron, what are your favorite cities?"

"My favorite cities are New York; Washington, D.C.; Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles, Calif., and Akron, Ohio," he said.

"What's your favorite borough?"

"My favorite borough?" James said. "Brooklyn."

It's a good thing Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, a Team USA assistant, wasn't in the room at the Plaza Hotel. He would've spit up his Saratoga sparkling water.

"Brooklyn is a great place here in New York City," James said. "Some of my best friends are from Brooklyn, so I definitely stick up for them."

The friends, of course, include hip-hop artist Jay-Z, whose music has been on LeBron's iPod for years.

"My friendship was way before Jay was a part-owner of the Nets, and I loved the Garden way before I got in the NBA," James said. "For some odd reason, whenever I get to the Garden, I always play well. So they want me to do it for 41 games instead of two games a year ... They have a right to dream."

So does D'Antoni, who will have plenty of time to cozy up to James this summer when Team USA reconvenes in Las Vegas for training camp in late July before leaving for the Olympics.

"I respect coach D'Antoni for what he does," James said. "He's an unbelievable coach, and what he's going to do for this city is going to be great."

Dwyane Wade, another potential 2010 free agent, said D'Antoni hasn't brought it up but admitted: "Maybe he has an unfair advantage. I accept all bribes ... You can see he loves offense. I love offense, and I know LeBron loves offense. So like I said, Coach, I accept all bribes if you want to bribe me. But that's a ways away."

Last summer's Olympic qualifying tournament in Vegas, won in dominant fashion by the Americans, was a showcase for Kobe Bryant at a time when he was desperately trying to force the Lakers to trade him. Free agency still is too far away for LeBron and Wade for the topic to overshadow the task at hand.

Managing director Jerry Colangelo said he's confident his goal of populating the roster with team-oriented players willing to make long-term sacrifices has been achieved. The three-year commitment Colangelo demanded from players has given Team USA the continuity it so obviously lacked with the embarrassing bronze-medal performance in Athens.

"We want redemption," said Carlos Boozer, who joins James, Wade and Carmelo Anthony as the only returning members from the Athens team.

For now, James said winning a gold medal is more important than winning an NBA title. But in a couple of months, after he's had the gold draped around his neck, those priorities will flip.

"I want to win," he said, and that's not all he wants: "The commitment from myself and the commitment from the organization to get better every year."

Cavs general manager Danny Ferry should read that quote carefully. If LeBron doesn't get the commitment he seeks, the talk invariably will turn to which city might suit him better. And which borough might suit him best.