Posted on 02/22/2011 8:21:21 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Like it or not, there's one thing all Knicks fans agree on: Their team just overpaid for Carmelo Anthony.
Some think it was still worth it, others think it wasn't. Most agree that GM Donnie Walsh was embarrassed by his own owner, and that Isiah Thomas (the worst GM in the team's history) is the one who made the deal what it was. The Knicks are both relevant and in total chaos at the same time.
That leaves them right where Mikhail Prokhorov wants them.
Both New York tabloids agree that the New Jersey Nets blew it by not landing Anthony. But that assumes the Nets actually wanted the deal to go through. Sure, they would have taken Anthony, but they weren't going to unload all their assets (and break the bank on a new contract) to get him.
Landing Anthony was a long shot from the beginning, but Prokhorov's stated goal was to force the Knicks to pay as much as possible. Mission accomplished.
With or without Anthony, the Nets are a minimum of two years from being relevant again. Their new arena doesn't open in Brooklyn in 2012. A lockout is coming that will almost certainly reshape the economic landscape of the NBA.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
RE: Yeah, just like the Cleveland Cavs really won by not signing “King” James.
This article is looking at next season and the long term. The Nets are all but out of the playoffs for this season. So are the Cavs. That does not mean the team won’t be competitive again.
I remember what happened to the San Antonio Spurs in the mid 1990’s when David Robinson and Sean Elliott were both hurt and they had no alternative. They were bottom dwellers in their division and their coach (Bob Hill) was unceremoniosuly dismissed, to be replaced by Greg Popovitch.
Well, guess what? Their being bottom dwellers gave them the first pick of the next season and they took TIM DUNCAN, who with David Robinson, led them to 2 NBA titles ( Duncan went on to win 2 more titles with Manu Ginobilli and Tony Parker after Robinson retired ). That’s a total of 4 titles !!
And today, the Spurs still have the best win-loss record in the NBA.
Just saying... one season does not define a long term thinking businessman.
Nets? Screwed.
Knicks? Screwed.
That’s a Win-Win in my book!
but the big loser is Denver, as they will have to spend a fortune repainting the buildings and taking down the billboards bearing ‘Melo’s likeness.
I don't blame the Spurs for tanking it that year. That is the way the league is set up now and the Cavs have figured that out. Every team in the league who is considered to be out of the playoffs should be losing every game they can. It ain't right, but that is just the way the league is set up. ESPECIALLY the Nets and the Knicks.
One important point not mentioned; this trade enhances the possibility that the Knicks could pick up a third star player in 2012 - Chris Paul. That would give the Knicks a pretty formidable threesome to rival the Heat and Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
Carmelo is now on the glidepath to being nothing more than mediocre and injured for the next several years.
That is exactly what will happen, too.
Seen it too many times — with overpaid players AND coaches.
RE: Recall that Robinson, his teammates and the OPPOSING team colluded to let Robinson score 70 points in the final game of the year so he could win the scoring title over Shaq
Holy cow, I remember quite well, David Robinson scoring 71 points against the L.A. Clippers. If that collusion you’re mentioning is true, why was there no investigation and the miscreants punished ?
If Robinson was part of this sleazy game fixing scandal, then the NBA is a dirty league which rewards dirty players with MVP’s ( Robinson won it ), Trophies ( Robinson won it twice ) and 50 greatest players of all time (Robinson is on the list ).
Where are you getting this information from ?
Anthony will join Ewing as NEVER getting a RING..The Knocks will never win as long a Jimmie Dolan owns, and runs, the team..
The reality is, the NBA was loathe to question anything the golden-boy Robinson did. And for the record, that BS that went down in Miami last year should have been investigated also.
Otis Smith of the Orlando Magic should already be warning the GMs of the Lakers, the Bulls, the KnOcks and anyone else that so much as a “hello” to Dwight Howard will result in a humongous lawsuit.
But the league looks the other way when guys like Jerry West pull their shenanigans so the Lakers/Heat/Celtics can land Kobe, Shaq, Lebron and get them into a big market. It is EXACTLY what the want to happen, small market teams be damned.
Personally, I'm looking forward to the lockout next year.
Rant over...
RE: One important point not mentioned; this trade enhances the possibility that the Knicks could pick up a third star player in 2012 - Chris Paul. That would give the Knicks a pretty formidable threesome to rival the Heat and Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
Chris Paul is worth close to $14M a year. Don’t know how this will play out in the salary cap negotiations.
With this trade, the Kicks get the ageing but somewhat still effective guard, Chauncey Billups, so yes, they have to actively look for a younger star point guard.
The guard they trade away, Ray Felton has been doing a very good job quickly passing the ball to Amare who’s one of very few big men who moves well without the ball (and who need a good point guard like Steve Nash to quickly find them when they cut and become open).
Billups unlike Felton or Nash is not known for timely feeding the open teammate, he’s a control freak kind of point guard who thinks he has a choice as to whether to pass the ball or not to an open teammate.
When Billups played with Detroit, teammate Rip Hamilton was one of the best “moving without the ball” player in the NBA (others being Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, Larry Bird, and for big men Amare and David Robinson, and lately even this Gortat who’s now benefitting from Steve Nash’s timely passes) and yet a lot of times Rip Hamilton run and run to get himself open but Billups never made the pass.
So unless Billups changed his ways, Amare will now score less although nobody in NY would care as Carmelo will now make up the difference in points. And yes, now New York will become a preferred destination that good players would want to go to.
Amare is not a create his own shot type of guy, he does not need to dribble with the ball and create his own shot, instead he moves quickly without the ball to get open and be fed with a timely pass. But now with Carmelo needing ball plus a more ball hogging Billups, Amare likely will not be getting as many touches and easy scoring opportunities.
Unlike the Nyets, the Spurs did not have a participant in the “atricious GM summit” (Billy King)as their GM.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060224
So far, all the Moscow Nets have done is tie up cap space by overpaying below average role players like Outlaw and Farmar, and make delusional attempts to sign stars like James and Anthony, who had no interest in playing for the Moscow/Newark Nets.
The latest rumors are that there is a “100% chance” that they are going to dump one of their few assets, Devin Harris, by tomorrow, and they will likely get next to nothing in return.
Michail Prokhorov has been determined to overtake the Knicks, and he has in one respect. The Nets have stolen the Knicks crown as the worst run franchise in the NBA (though Donnie Walsh actually abdicated it, with his shrewd, patient management).
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