The New York courtship of LeBron James began in earnest when the scheduling gods curiously put his only appearance at Madison Square Garden on the same day as the Yankees' World Series victory parade.

If you believe in conspiracy theories, then this is right up there with the "chilled" envelope pulled by David Stern in the 1985 Draft lottery, putting Patrick Ewing in New York. You mean LeBron, a die-hard Yankees fan, gets an up-close look while the city is being painted in pinstripes? Is there a better marketing opportunity? Is this better than anything Madison Avenue could dream up?

The Knicks hope the intoxicating celebrity factor will be enough to sway LeBron next summer as a free agent, because that's all the Knicks really have in their favor. They can't offer more money. They can't offer a better collection of teammates, at least not right away. They can offer Spike Lee while Cleveland offers Drew Carey. They can (and will, you watch) get Spike and Chris Rock, among other celebrity row fixtures, to make a recruiting film in which famous people explain to LeBron why playing in New York will be far more enjoyable than playing in Cleveland.

(Sample pitch from Rock: "Hey LeBron, where you celebratin' after a tough game in Cleveland? Arby's?")

A handful of the Yankees, still smelling of champagne, will be strategically seated at courtside Friday, making LeBron the second-most loved athlete in the house ... if Derek Jeter shows up. Then there's C.C. Sabathia, big basketball fan and friend of LeBron's from when Sabathia played in Cleveland; he left for New York and scored an instant jackpot, both with money and a ring. The video screen will constantly show their faces and they'll get a standing ovation, all designed to show LeBron what it's like to be a champion in New York. And the fans, no doubt, will chime in, cheering LeBron at warmups (like, who else will they cheer this year?), gushing whenever he does something spectacular and chanting "MVP," as they did last year, when he dropped 52 on the Knicks.

All this will play to LeBron's ego and convince him that a star of his magnitude needs to be in New York. That theory, by the way, is obsolete. Maybe 20-25 years ago, a star could receive better perks in New York, as Reggie Jackson did when he left the small market A's. But with the global media and advertising of today, that's not really necessary. LeBron blew up commercially without ever leaving Cleveland, and that will continue to be the case if he stays in Cleveland.

Obviously, the big factor for LeBron is collecting championships and whether his best chance is in Cleveland with a Cavs' team that's probably third-best behind Boston and Orlando and lacks a starry supporting cast, or a Knicks team being furiously stripped and rebuilt on the fly. The Knicks hope it also comes down to the stars and whether LeBron wants to hang with his buddy Jay-Z after the game, or retire to his palatial pad in Cleveland and call it a night.

That'll be LeBron's decision to make next July. And guess what? The Yankees should be in first place then, too.

The Nets try to break into the win column Friday in Philly, and even if they succeed, it looks like a long year ahead in the Meadowlands. The team is in transition on and off the court. They got rid of all their marquee names as they begin the rebuilding process, and are waiting for the league to approve Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire, as the new owner.

The Nets will have around $20 million next summer to throw at free agents, but they'd better take care of their own first: Rod Thorn, the team's president.

Nobody in the league does more with less than Thorn. The team was in shambles when he took over, and yet the Nets reached the NBA Finals twice this decade. He traded for Jason Kidd at the right time, and dumped Kidd at the right time. Same for Vince Carter.

It's really remarkable, when you think about it. The Nets can't draw fans, don't operate with a luxury taxed-payroll and aren't considered an ideal destination for free agents. Meaning, they lack the benefits enjoyed by the Knicks. And yet they've been better run, by far, than the Knicks since Thorn took over.

Too bad for Thorn. He looked across the river, saw the Yankees win the World Series and could only drool at all the perks and advantages the Yankees exploit to stock the roster. Give Thorn a good owner who's willing to spend and there's no doubt Thorn will put a winner on the floor.

Right now, the Nets are dealing with injuries to Devin Harris and a few others in the rotation, and that's hard for a team that can't score much even when things are right.

"We did expect to be competitive this year," Thorn said. "But Carter was the last star we had. When Vince left, we definitely began a transition."

As for the status of Lawrence Frank, Thorn said he'll be judged within reason. Meaning, don't expect Thorn to do anything rash to his coach. That's not his M.O.

"These are extenuating circumstances," Thorn said. "We've been slow to (fire coaches) in these situations, where the rest of the league acts precipitously."

The Nets could have more money to spend on free agents than anyone else next summer, but will anyone take their millions? Better yet: will they save a few to keep Thorn?

First reaction to Allen Iverson going off the handle: What took him so long?

Iverson said all the right things back in training camp, but nobody believed any of it. He didn't, either. I knew something wasn't right when coach Lionel Hollins told me he didn't expect Iverson "to be the player" he was 5 or 10 years ago. Iverson wasn't happy when this was relayed to him. Iverson, you see, thinks he can still score on anyone, bounce off defenders, get easy foul calls and create hell for the other team.

And he might be the only one who thinks that. Well, maybe he and Grizz owner Michael Heisley.

Anxious to add a gate attraction to a young but largely uninteresting team, Heisley took a chance on Iverson. The risk wasn't Iverson's declining skills, but Iverson's ego, which has not declined. The cost wasn't great; Iverson came cheap at $3 million and for only one season. Still, everyone but Heisley knew Iverson would grumble in a supporting role. That's why Iverson can't be blamed for complaining about coming off the bench. Iverson's just being Iverson. The Grizzlies and Heisley are getting exactly what they deserve.

What's really at stake here is Mike Conley's development. Iverson clearly thinks he's better than Conley, and he's right. He is. But the Grizzlies signed Iverson for the present and drafted Conley for the future. How much does Iverson cause Conley's confidence to crumble?

Conley seems rather fragile. He relaxed last season only after the Grizzlies traded away Kyle Lowry, who cut into Conley's minutes. Conley then finished strong. But now he can't be comfortable having Iverson around and complaining, and it shows; Conley is off to a poor start, shooting 39 percent.

Bottom line: This won't work out for anyone. But you knew that.

Chris Bosh, Raptors: 40 minutes, 10-20 field goals, 16 rebounds, 35 points vs. Dwight Howard and the Magic.

Of the Big Three free agents available in the Summer of 2010, Bosh is considered the weakest. Dwyane Wade has a championship ring and is coming off an amazing spring '09 run, while LeBron is coming off an MVP year. Bosh must play up his value if he hopes to convince a team (other than the Raptors) that he's worth a max contract. Dropping 35 and 16 on Howard is one way to build an argument.

Hasheem Thabeet, Grizzlies: 1 minute, 0-0 field goals, 0 rebounds, 0 blocks, 0 points, 1 foul vs. Kings.

Lost in the Iverson debut was the curious status of the No. 2 pick in the draft. With Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph getting major post time, Thabeet's development may take a back seat. Which means he'll be raw and awkward all over again next season.

•As long as Chris Paul puffs out his chest to players other than his teammates, everything's cool.

But neither Paul, nor Rajon Rondo, nor anyone else in the league today, would have the guts to step to Calvin Murphy, inch-for-inch the baddest player who ever lived.

•All those years spent wearing a cast in Orlando has extended Grant Hill's career. Just not in Orlando. Too bad. Never before has one franchise invested so much and got so little in return and, really, it wasn't anyone's fault. It just worked out that way. For Orlando.

And now, Phoenix.

•A settlement is not a sign of guilt. Yes, we know that and respect that and underline that. And so we must resist any urge to jump to a conclusion regarding Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his record settlement to satisfy a housing discrimination suit.

But in light of the Rush Limbaugh flap over in the NFL, I don't know, would a majority African American league like the NBA ever sell a franchise to a potential buyer who settled the way Sterling did?

•Still waiting for a comment on this from Baron Davis, Mr. Social Consciousness.

•You gotta like what you see in Utah from Wesley Matthews and Ronnie Brewer, who might turn out better than Wes Matthews and Ron Brewer.

Their dads, you know.

•Wonder what happened to all those "See T-Mac and Yao together" posters and billboards that were rampant in Houston once upon a time ago.

•Michael Finley, 14 years into the NBA, is still getting decent minutes, even ahead of Roger Mason lately. He's played in three warm-weather cities with great fan support (Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio). He has a championship ring. And he's banked well over $100 million (thanks, Mark Cuban). I'd call that a nice career.

•The Knicks hope they can finally convince everyone, and maybe even themselves, that they didn't blow it two years ago when they took Danilo Gallinari with the sixth overall pick. After sitting out most of his rookie season with a back injury, he's shown a decent outside touch and scored 30 in an overtime loss to Philly.

But imagine had the Knicks drafted Brook Lopez instead. You think having Lopez at center, with David Lee, Nate Robinson and maybe Al Harrington would be enough to lure a big-name free agent or two? How about Lopez, Lee, Robinson, LeBron and Joe Johnson as the 2010-11 starting lineup, with Harrington coming off the bench?

Or suppose the Knicks drafted Brandon Jennings last summer instead of Jordan Hill, who can't get off the bench for a bad team right now?

•Back to reality. Eddy Curry, under contract for next year, will jump center.

Shaun Powell is a veteran NBA writer and columnist. You can e-mail him here.

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