(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

John Leguizamo
“LeBron, come to New York! Have you ever been to Scores, LeBron? There’s no strip club like New York strip clubs. You can have whatever dancer you want. And endorsements up the ass! You’re a Yankees fan. You can hang out with the Yankees. We’ve got all the rappers—Jay-Z, A Tribe Called Quest. Al Pacino, De Niro, you can hang out with them on the weekends. You want to be on the cover of Vogue again, LeBron? It’s in New York! What do you got in Cleveland? A struggling economy? Fifteen percent unemployment? Is that where you want to be?”

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Jean-Georges Vongerichten
“Free dinners as long as he wants. I’ll feed him whatever he likes—double chickens.”

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Mark Sanchez
“Great food, great fans, the best place to play. Madison Square Garden has so much tradition, and he can only add to it. I heard he just changed his number to 6, same as mine. I mean, everybody has a hero, but he doesn’t have to do everything I do.”

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Drew Nieporent
“Shall I show you my picture of LeBron? I was just courtside at the Cavaliers-Celtics game in Boston. It’s a great shot. [Paging through photos on his BlackBerry.] That’s the World Series. Let me get to view pictures. There it is. No, that’s Dr. Dre. He and LeBron were together later at the game. [Paging through.] I can show you the Who at Royal Albert Hall. [Paging through.] If I erased this picture, I’m going to shoot myself. There it is. [James has his hands in front of his face.] He was upset that I was taking his photograph. He thought I was a Celtics fan. Why would I tell him to come here? If you really want to be the best at what you do, you have to perform in New York.”

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Tommy Hilfiger
“I’d give him free clothes.”

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Ray Kelly
“We should use bribery or whatever we can to get him. He’s phenomenal.”

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Spike Lee
“I got my own plan. I’m working on it.”

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Martha Stewart
“Should LeBron James come to New York? Oh, definitely! Incentive? Money.”

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Ice-T
“Start the LeBron James Fund, and get everybody in New York to pitch in a dollar.”

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Well, not everybody...

Denzel Washington
“LeBron is a grown man and he is going to make his own decisions. I have nothing to say about that.”

Related:

• Archive: “Cover Story”
• Articles by Will Leitch | Ira Boudway
• Table of Contents: May 17, 2010 issue of New York | Subscribe!