LeBron jabs at Knicks, who Dwyane Wade says were “never” prepared to sign him

King was perfect for Garden, if it weren’t for the Knicks

LeBron James was always looking for a reason to play in New York.

James Dolan never gave him one.

Given the events of the last decade or so, that would be a reasonable interpretation of James’ latest tease to Knicks fans. Although at this point it’s much more of a gut-punch.

Following his final game ever against buddy Dwyane Wade on Monday night, the two embraced on the Staples Center court and LeBron dropped the following nugget:

“It was either here or the Garden, that’s it,” he told Wade. “It’s the only place we can end it at, man.”

LeBron later clarified that he was referring to the allure of the venue, and it had nothing do with the Knicks. But guess what? The reason LeBron’s last NBA game against Wade was in L.A. was because he signed with the Lakers. Not the Knicks. Before that, he signed with the Heat and the Cavs. Not the Knicks. He has relocated thrice in the last eight years and has been an unrestricted free agent four times. But the Knicks, despite LeBron’s well-documented affinity for the Garden and New York, were under consideration only once, in 2010. They had their meetings with James and Wade. They made their pitch with Dolan in the room. And we’ll let Wade tell you why the Knicks were rejected:

“They just wasn’t prepared. They wasn’t ready to take on what we wanted to do,” Wade said on a Yahoo podcast years later. “The city? Yeah, the city was ready. The market? The market was there. It’s New York. But (from) an organization standpoint, we didn’t feel like they could handle it.”

The fact that the Knicks could never get their act together to entice LeBron is high on Dolan’s failure list. And it’s a long list because the Knicks hold two dubious distinctions since 2001: having the worst record in the NBA and paying the most luxury tax.

It’s the double whammy of mismanagement.

Imagine having a financial advantage over every competitor and performing worse than every competitor. On top of that, the Knicks can offer a physical atmosphere attractive to most NBA players, from LeBron to Enes Kanter.

“Whenever you come to the Garden playing against the Knicks – that night make sure you got your hair cut. Make sure you got new kicks. Make sure you’re looking good,” said Kanter, who played for the Thunder and Jazz before he was traded to the Knicks. “If you got any acne on your face, make sure you try to hide it. You want to look your best at the garden because it’s New York.”

Wait a minute, how does a basketball player cover up acne at a game?

“Put foundation on it,” Kanter replied. “It’s the Garden. Every team I played for, we had a group chat that included information about the haircut guy coming and it’s this much dollars if you want a haircut before the game.”

LeBron James, the best player of the Dolan era, is now getting his haircuts in L.A. while drinking wine with Jon Stewart on his new HBO show, ‘Barbershop.’ He’s under contract for at least three years with the Lakers, meaning he won’t be a free agent again until he’s 36. In other words, it’s too late.

When he signed with the Lakers in July, the Knicks didn’t even have enough cap space for a max free agent because their money was tied up in Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr.

In this era of superstar relocations in free agency, the Knicks’ best signing was probably Tyson Chandler. They were always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Maybe Kevin Durant will break the vicious cycle. Or maybe five years from now he’ll tell Steph Curry after their final game at the United Center in Chicago, “It was either here or the Garden.”