Friends in High Places

When Knicks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh freed up close to $46 million in cap space for 2010, he did more than just make the Knicks the prohibitive favorite to sign LeBron James when he opts out of his contract. He may have also put the Yankees in a better position to land their biggest free agent target this winter: C.C. Sabathia. 

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the idea of LeBron James suiting up for the Knicks in two years could very well convince his good buddy to put on the pinstripes this spring.  

Sabathia developed a friendship, through his years in Cleveland, with LeBron James, as the two became the biggest stars in a small town. They have bopped around New York together in the past, and on Friday, the Knicks made trades that are being viewed as precursors to their pursuit, in another 20 months, of James.
Presumably, at some point, Sabathia and James have shared a conversation about living and playing in New York at the same time -- Sabathia for the Yankees, James for the Knicks. James, as the world famously learned in the playoffs of 2007, is a Yankees fan.

Olney cautions, however, that Sabathia isn't even close to coming to a decision about his future, and he is still weighing a number of factors, like staying in the National League or pitching in his home state of California, that could very well determine where he ends up playing next season. 

Still, the Yankees' reported offer of $140 million over six years, coupled with the King's possible arrival in the Big Apple, could likely tilt the balance in the Bombers' favor.