Carmelo, the Knicks, and the small-market conundrum...

What's up Underdogs?  Welcome back to the show.

I spent the last month in New York and the whole city is a buzz with excitement, because during that time, as you might have heard…
The Knicks got Carmelo Anthony!!!

Yes, the NBA these days seems to enjoy as much of its intrigue and attention from player movement (and speculation of said movement,) as from the actual games.  Possibly more.  Fans and Media members are extremely fascinated with players changing teams, and rightly so.  One player with specific needed strengths can make a more dramatic difference on a basketball court than any athlete can in any other American Sport.  So diehard Hoops fans just love trade speculation.  And this year, we got a ton.  (And not just talk this year but actual trades!)  It was the best trade deadline ever!

But it’s tricky business.  Because the league’s unique salary cap is dictated by maximum contracts, NBA teams' General Managers have to be creative and above-all intelligent, in the way they construct their teams.  The consequence of multiple missteps in their team-building strategy could be years upon years of bad basketball.  (Just ask the Knicks and the ever-delusional Isiah Thomas.) But if you make smart moves and plan well within a solid system, as a GM, you can prove invaluable to your franchise, your city, and your business partners.    

Will promising young Clipper, Blake Griffin, skip town
in five years?

The natural bi-product of this system is that at some point you, as a GM, have no control over what will happen.  For instance, let’s say you are a GM.  What happens if A) Your best player’s current Maximum contract is going to run out at the end of the season, and B) You offered him a Maximum extention on that contract on the first day you were allowed to, but C) He has refused to sign it?

Why?  Because he wants to play for the Knicks.   

This is what you would have had to deal with this year if you were the GM of the Denver Nuggets.  It is an element of a mostly-effective system that has really reared its ugly head this season.  And for the always image conscious NBA, this has become a bit of a problem.  Or has it?  You know what they say about publicity.  Even if this seems like a negative aspect of the NBA's inner workings, the media loves it.  They write articles about it every day, and NBA fans gobble it up!  Somehow I don't think that David Stern is losing any sleep.

Anyway, back to the point.  Since the beginning of the season, the Nuggets and Carmelo pretty much knew this was their last year together, but what to do?  No team was going to trade for Anthony (or give up anything of value) unless he signed an extension, so they wouldn’t be simply “renting” him for the last months of the season, and Carmelo repeatedly said he would only sign the extension with the Knicks.  But the Knicks didn’t have anything that Denver wanted!  It was a circular-logic problem and there appeared to be no answer.  Or, as Ned Flanders would say, this was a “Dilly of a Pickle!”        

So what happened?  Well eventually, after scratching their heads for two-thirds of the season, Denver finally decided that they didn’t want to be like Cleveland or Toronto this past summer (when those teams lost LeBron and Chris Bosh respectively… for nothing,) so they traded Melo to the Knicks.  Proving that if you’re good enough, you can get what you want.  It’s the way of the world right?  The Knicks get the guy they want under contract for the next 4 years and for the first time in ages, the future in New York actually looks bright.

The Mavericks have continued to contend with
solid personnel moves.  

Now naturally, this situation has many people up in arms about the future of a league where players seem to have an inordinate amount of power, sort of like the tail wagging the dog.  The Denver Nuggets played the role of victim masterfully in this case, and all other small-market teams located in “less desirable” cities are freaking out as a result.  They are terrified that they will lose their ability to compete with the larger markets, something along the lines of what we have seen happen in baseball.  But the key difference, is that the NBA has a salary cap.  So technically, the footing is far more even.  Two of the three best teams of the past decade in the NBA have been from San Antonio and Detroit.  And during that span teams from Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, Sacramento, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Oakland, Portland, New Orleans, and Oklahoma City have ventured deep into the playoffs.  Would that happen in baseball?  Never. 

The Clippers finally unloaded Baron Davis' ridiculous contract
at the deadline.  Is their historically inept leadership turning around?

So conspiracy theorists are really reaching when they accuse the NBA of having a large-market bias.  From a business stand-point the league is almost certainly at its healthiest when the dominant teams are in Los Angeles and Boston, and then maybe throw in Chicago and New York, if possible.  And yes, that happens to be where we are today, (and if I was a conspiracy theorist, the Pau Gasol and Kevin Garnett trades would be exhibits A and B respectively.)  BUT, the Celtics were bad for seventeen years!  San Antonio and Detroit won five championships in eight years!  And the New York Knicks have been the laughingstock of the league for ten years!  (Not to mention the LA Clippers thirty years of futility.)  It seems like none of these things would have happened if David Stern was really pulling the strings like Stromboli.         

Can D'Antoni lead Amar'e and Melo to a Championship in NY?

So, is the league “happier” when large-market dollars are dominating the attention of the league.  Probably.  Just ask any economist.  But I definitely believe that the league has created a system where small-market teams can compete, AND be fiscally responsible.  You have to be very smart and a little bit lucky (San Antonio and Oklahoma City.)  And yes, you may eventually lose your “star” player, but Denver and Cleveland had Melo and LeBron for seven years respectively.  Phoenix had Amar’e for eight years.  It’s not like they came to town, didn’t like it, and bolted.  Build a winner around them and they will stay.  Period.  Make questionable moves, never define an effective system, create an aura of instability… and they will leave.  It’s the way of the world.  Why should basketball be any different? 

So here’s to the NBA and what will certainly be the best playoffs in many years.  The basketball this year has been amazing!  And don’t worry too much, about the future, small-market owners and fans.  Don't cry foul, the roof's not caving in.  If you build it… they will come.

Thanks for reading as always,

UnderDogs OUT!