Messier believes LeBron should come, is ready to help

While making his first trip to The Big Apple, a small-town phenom looked wide-eyed at the skyscrapers and said, "I just want a bite."

We learned years later that Mark Messier was wired for this. What the Knicks want to find out is if the same can be said about LeBron James, another small-town phenom who shares the same affinity for New York.

A month before he can become a free agent, the case has been made that a superstar such as James should avoid New York because of the harsh media and demanding fan base. But Messier said that's exactly why James should come.

"What you're talking about is the very thing that I think you need," Messier said in a conversation with Newsday on Friday. "I think you need to harness that kind of energy and feelings and turn it into a positive.

"The way you do that is to be very honest and upfront and very consistent in your philosophy, not only from an individual standpoint for a guy like LeBron but a team standpoint, that one message that is consistent," he continued. "And when you do that, the fans will trust you, that you're there for the right reasons."

Messier, employed by the Rangers as a special assistant to president Glen Sather, said he is looking forward to talking with James about doing for the Knicks what Messier did for the Rangers almost two decades ago. James can opt out of his contract and become a free agent July 1, and the Knicks hope to convince the two-time MVP to come to New York. Messier will be one of several personalities - sports figures, celebrities and business icons - whom the Knicks will use in the recruiting process.

"I don't think anybody can tell LeBron what he should or shouldn't do," said Messier, who has never met James. "I think when it comes right down to it, he's got to listen to his heart and figure out what he really wants. He's going to be successful wherever he goes."

Messier could have said the same about himself in 1991, when a contract dispute ended his time with the dynastic Edmonton Oilers. He forced a trade to come to the Rangers, a franchise that had the tradition of being an Original Six team but also the troubling legacy of a half-century without a Stanley Cup.

"At the time," Messier said, "it was the biggest challenge in hockey."

On the surface, the situation sounds similar - the Knicks are an original NBA franchise that hasn't won a title in 37 years, hasn't made the playoffs the last six years and hasn't played .500 ball the last nine years - but there are two key differences.

One, Messier came to New York for financial gain after a contract dispute with the Oilers. James would make more money if he stayed with the Cavaliers. Two, Messier arrived already a winner, with five Stanley Cup rings with the Oilers. James still is searching for his first NBA title.

"For LeBron, he'll probably have a tough time leaving Cleveland and feeling that he didn't fulfill his own quest for a championship there with that team," Messier said. "I'm sure that's one of the things that's weighing most heavily on him."

Messier probably will want to avoid that topic in his pitch.

"What it will boil down to for him is when he asks himself the question of what does he really want?" Messier said. "Only he will be able to answer that."

The Dolan family owns controlling interests in the Knicks, Rangers, MSG and Cablevision. Cablevision owns Newsday.