We treat pro athletes, and their desires, like George Bailey treats his family in this scene (start at :50, and watch til 8:25 if you are ambitious. Just do it, it's tremendous movie-making). Watch this scene as if we all George Bailey and we're fans of the NBA, and his children are the players who make up our team, year in and year out.
We are a chaotic fanbase - we are fickle group of maniacs who cannot decide what we want, except we all know we don't like it when people are rich. The only thing we like less than these guys being rich, is them being rich & happy - oh nothing is worse.
Maybe I'm misreading things, but no question the overall media, even the NY media, seems to be frustrated with this deal. Dick Vitale had the nerve this morning on Mike & Mike radio show to say that the quality of the NBA product will be bad, b/c there are 8-10 teams that are good, and the rest will stink.
This is coming from a guy that champions NCAA basketball - has he ever seen the 20 worst teams in the tournament before? Out of the hundreds of teams in the NCAA tourney, there are 7 or 8 every year that actually have a chance to win, the rest are a collection of crazies who are good enough to play D1, not good enough for the pros, and definitely not talented enough mentally to will a team to greatness.
But this isn't college, it's about the NBA, it's about Jon Barry and everyone else who is really mad at Carmelo for wanting to play with Amare, and possibly one of the three best point guards in the league, next year when Paul or D. Williams joins them both in New York.
We get mad at the players for wanting to play for a team purely for money (Joe Johnson in Atlanta), and we get mad at players when they join up with other superstars in an attempt to win it all (Lebron, Bosh & D.Wade). We're just upset about it all.
We are George Bailey when it comes to being possessive about our superstars..."what's wrong with our car!" we lament, and we scream at our players for leaving for money, and scream at them for leaving for rings.
Now, I am of the opinion that Carmelo + CP3 + Amare may not be enough to win it all, but I know they have a shot. I don't buy this, "too many superstars on one team are bad" theory, but you can't argue with the fact that Carmelo, in his own brain, thinks a championship is more likely.
Guys like Jon Barry & Dick Vitale spending their time living in Pottersville, thinking that the only way to earn your success is to do so on your own, miserably, without a friend in the world...they resent the guys who want to be with friends, play where there is fame, and make the money they have earned.
As far as the money goes, I don't know what to tell you, people, you are in control of all this. We are in control of all of it. I live my life understanding that fact, and understanding that as long as I dish out $80/seat 10-15 times a year, I am allowing Kevin Garnett to be paid an insane sum that makes no real sense. I contribute, so I don't complain.
Every time you watch a game on TV, buy a shirt, or buy products that are advertised on the TNT broadcasts, you are contributing to it all. Every time you go to a bar airing the game, or take part in a fan poll on NBA.com, you're contributing. That's just the way it is. I don't know if that's the real crux of the issue with this trade, but I know it's part of it all.
4 comments:
I think the trade was a pretty good trade for the Knicks. They're much better and more relevant than they were before the trade and leagues ahead of where they were last year. Add in a great PG, and they will be a force. With the age of the C's and Lakers and the smoke and mirrors that are the Magic, they have a shot to compete with the Bulls, Heat, Thunder and anyone else who pops up in the future. They're an exciting team with Amare, a handful to handle with Carmelo and a real contender with one more star. I don't like seeing the Knicks getting better just because I'm a C's fan, but I respect the way they've turned things around in New York.
What I don't like is players saying anything other than "I play for this team right now and that's all I'm going to say" when they're under contract. Melo handled this whole thing poorly, although, I guess he got what he wanted, so it will become a model for other players to follow.
The whole LeBron thing was a different issue for me. I felt like he shortchanged himself and his legacy by leaving Cleveland.
I guess I hold different players to different standards. I wouldn't have gotten mad if Melo had just left Denver at the end of the season without all this hullaballoo, but maybe that's because I never considered him a real franchise player.
What I should say is I was more upset before the trade was made. Now that it's done, I'm happy we can move on...to the Chris Paul saga.
we are in total agreement on carmelo not being a franchise player
And that the Magic are a joke of a contender?
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