I heard the Jalen Rose thing - and I kind of laughed at it.
The 'based out of new york thing' only really applies to sports writers based out of new york i would think wouldn't it? ESPN is based out of connecticut and i know one of their 'bigger' basketball wonks is based out of hawaii a lot (chad ford) and thorpe is in florida and hollinger i believe is in atlanta.
It's a global world - new york stopped being the center of the universe long ago, not that it ever was.
Let's not get it twisted here. It helps players to be in a bigger market. Let's use my Lakers and Trevor Ariza as a perfect example. The guy was an unknown in Orlando and now he makes Sports Center on a nightly basis. His stock shot up 400% by being put on the big stage in LA. His game def backs it up and it's a shame he was slept on in Florida but that is how it goes. I think for a lot of players the big stage is important for exposure. The thing is Lebron James is not just any player. Honestly I haven't seen a sports figure so universally liked since Michael Jordan.
Hopefully people start waking up to the fact that they are hyping this up for their own selfish (and lazy) reasons. Do you think Coke, McDonalds, or any other major GLOBAL sponsor is going to ignore Lebron James if he doesn't go to New York? Not a chance in hell.
I think Chris Bosh going to New York would be great for him. He has a hell of a game but doesn't get the same exposure. No one wants to watch Toronto Raptor games. He would be the type of player I was talking about above. Again, James is not that kind of player.