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As the 4th of July comes to a close, Donnie Walsh and the New York Knicks hope to keep the fireworks going as day 5 of free agency begins. Let’s start with the King.

LeBron James:

Donnie Walsh and the rest of the Knicks brass met with LeBron James just outside Akron, Ohio to give him their best pitch. The pitch included everything from offering LeBron his pick of teammates, to an edited video of the city featuring many homegrown celebrities along with a vision of how LeBron can become a two billion dollar athlete if he comes to the big apple.

According to ‘The Daily News’, the Knicks VP of Basketball Operations, Glen Grunwald, went back to Cleveland over the weekend for an additional meeting with LeBron’s agent, Leon Rose. Both LeBron and Donnie Walsh were not present for this second meeting. The good news for the Knicks is that LeBron’s camp is still listening to all options and the Knicks feel confident about their chances. Out of all the free agent rumors and chatter over the weekend, LeBronJames has been the hardest to detect. ESPN reports that LeBron could have an answer by Wednesday, so stay tuned.

Dwayne Wade:

After Wade made it well known that he wanted a big name free agent to join him in Miami, the Knicks secured a meeting with Wade that took place on Friday, July 1st. Wade, who unlike James, has been very vocal of his opinions and was quoted as being “Very Intrigued” by the Knicks pitch, and also walked away from the meeting in “A New York State of Mind” (The Daily News). With all that said, the Dwayne Wade situation is still up in the air. Latest reports regarding Wade’s decision is that he will make his choice on what’s best for his family. With his divorce pending, and his two children living in Chicago, will that give the Bulls the edge?

After those two megastars, the rest of the ‘Tier A’  free agents include Joe Johnson, Chris Bosh and Amar’e Stoudemire.

 Joe Johnson:

Joe Johnson was the first free agent the New York Knicks met with, but according to “Yahoo Sports“, Joe Johnson has agreed to a six-year, $119 million dollar deal with the Atlanta Hawks. New York Knicks Fans everywhere can let out a huge sigh of relief. To pay a player who averaged 12.8 points in the second round of the playoffs this year,the price tag for Joe Johnson seemed a little too inflated for his skill-set.

Chris Bosh:

Unless LeBron James wants Chris Bosh to join him in New York, Bosh seems to be the least interested in joining the Knicks. Bosh has met with the usual suspects of Miami, NY, Chicago, N.J, and L.A and now his hometown of Dallas. The best case scenario for the Toronto Raptors is to execute a sign and trade of Chris Bosh so they can get back some talent in exchange for losing their franchise player. The leading trade partner for Chris Bosh seems to be the Houston Rockets,who Bosh seems to be interested in.

Amar’e Stoudemire:

Just when it looked like the Knicks might get shut out of signing any All Star free agent, all signs now point to Amar’e Stoudemire signing a 5-year, $100 Million Dollar deal with the team. Amar’e was spotted in New York over the weekend seeing all what the city has to offer, from catching the Broadway musical, ‘Rock of Ages’ to sporting a Yankee Cap at yesterday’s Yankees Vs. Blue Jays game. It was after the musical that ‘The Daily News’ reported Amar’e as saying, “I’ve talked to Carmelo Anthony that he needs to come out here. I’ve talked to Tony Parker. Both guys are ready to join me if I decide to come here.”

If this is true, Donnie Walsh better be on the phone with the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets to see if he is able to work ou ta trade with both teams. Without a first round draft pick for years to come, and no real trading chips (besides Eddy Curry’s expiring contract), I can’t see a trade taking place this year for Parker or Anthony, but Knick fans have waited this long for a winning team, so what’s waiting one more year when the two players mentioned above will become free agents in the summer of 2011.

In the end, every New Yorker would love to see LeBron James in an orange and blue uniform next season. And while most of the media will blame Donnie Walsh for not doing enough if LeBron doesn’t join the team, I for one have gained a whole new level of respect for Donnie Walsh. Name me one other 69-year-old GM who flew cross country while in a wheelchair after having bone spurs removed from his neck,only to make sure he was there in person to show each free agency how much love (and money) New York has to offer.

My best suggestion to you is to wait and see if Amar’e does indeed sign with the Knicks, which hopefully leads to a domino effect of other big name and small name (Mike Miller, Raymond Felton) free agents signing with the team soon after. If the old quote “If you build it, he will come” (Fields Of Dreams) holds true, then inking Amar’e to a 5-year deal will be the first brick in hopefully the creation of a truly competitive Knicks team to come.