Sure, 16 miles, but that's a 3 hour drive. ;) I would guess that vast majority of NY athletes live outside the city, many in NJ. Eli and a couple others live in my town of Hoboken, which is between Newark and Manhattan. It has nothing to do with where you have to live/commute, it's more about playing for a team that until now has been in competition with the Islanders for NY area popularity, and being in the middle of a huge transition that is still unsettled. Valid points. I just don't think that the relative obscurity of the Nets would outweigh the dominance of the LeBron James brand. I think LeBron is what the Nets need to be considered a NYC team. The team has an interesting history from it's days in the ABA, so it's not like it's just some crappy expansion team prodding along in obscurity. LeBron comes to the Nets, and its hip to be a Net fan, everyone is talking about them, and then before you know it, the team is in Brooklyn and they are a real NYC team. If the Angels can do it in LA, the Nets can do it in NYC. If he joins the Clippers it becomes hip to be a Clips fan too. Lebron would make any team in the NBA the instant new sweetheart ballclub.