You can find this on the desks of most New York sports writers
Through all the “Knicks Must Get Carmelo Anthony NOW NOW NOW” nonsense that has been steadily building to a crescendo over the past week, it seems that no one has addressed the one main issue that would have everyone take a breath, think this thing through and then just chill out:
Just where the hell else is Melo going to go??
And I don’t mean for the next three months, I mean for the next three seasons if not more. There’s no massive bidding war from a bunch of teams that Anthony would gladly play for. There are only two (count ‘em TWO) teams that Melo has said he would sign long-term with, the Knicks and Chicago. And the Bulls, the only other credible threat to getting him long term, are humming along quite nicely right now and barely seem to be interested. That might change as we reach the deadline but they’re not even in the mix right now. So, that leaves the Knicks and….the Knicks.
The Bulls aren’t interested. The Nets have the best offer but were shot down by Melo. Houston and Dallas have sniffed around but nothing close to concrete has come from it. Anything else is just a plant from Denver or Melo’s agents trying to goose the market (cough Lakers trade cough). There’s nothing else out there. Denver has to get SOMETHING for Melo before he leaves and honestly, unless he agrees to be sent somewhere as a rental, the Knicks are their only shot. By the time February 24th rolls around, Denver might be ready to trade Melo for a Shake Shack burger. And if they don’t and decide to keep him? Fine, the Knicks will have the pen and paper ready for Anthony this summer. Where the hell else is Melo going to go? This is a great position for the Knicks to be in.
You’d never know it though. From the idiotic “We Want Melo” chants (really?? Me too!)) to the panic button pushing New York media to our moron owner sticking his dick in the mashed potatoes, the amount of self-created pressure that has come from everywhere to conspire to kill the Knicks rebuilding plan just as it gains momentum is jaw-dropping. Remember, this is the franchise that shrewdly outbid itself for Allan Houston by over $30 million a little more than a decade ago and a similar type of stupidity is poisoning the air. The Knicks have the leverage in this situation. Why is everyone hitting the panic button and looking to undermine it??
Why are Knick fans chanting for Melo at games? If you’re frustrated at the team’s performance that night, take it out on the coach. God knows, D’Antoni has deserved it lately. Chanting for Melo and creating fire where there’s no smoke is not helping. At the beginning of the season we had a slightly better than .500 team looking at a low playoff seed. Approaching the All-Star break we have…a slightly better than .500 team looking at a low playoff seed. We are right on schedule and where we’re supposed to be! Yet 50 games into the season and we’re throwing tantrums at home games because the Knicks aren’t beating clearly superior teams?!? What is going on?
When Donnie Walsh took over the NBA equivalent of a Superfund site, there was this sense that enough was enough for Knick fans and that we would sit tight until the necessary pieces were progressively and thoughtfully put together. Walsh would be given time to do this right because like the old advertising slogan went, Knick Fans Know. I always had faith in the knowledge and savvy of the New York sports fan to endure a rebuilding plan. I take it back.
And then there’s the media. Just google Knicks and Carmelo Anthony and you’ll get everyone from far and wide saying the Knicks have to get Anthony NOW, no matter the price. Stephen A. Smith, Chris Sheridan, Ian O’Connor, Marc Berman, Mike Lupica, etc. All mashing the panic button as if their lives depended on it. Even levelheaded writers, like Frank Isola, have caved and drank the Kool-Aid. Read the articles and you tell me any concrete threat to the Knicks eventually getting Melo that is pointed out in any of them. The best you’ll get is some phantom team might swoop in or the Nets might get back in it or Melo could decide to sign with some other team in the off-season. It’s all hypothetical worse case scenarios that really aren’t there, like the Muslim Brotherhood turning Egypt into Iran.
Honestly though, I’m sure Mr. Walsh can handle the hue and cry from the fans and media. That’s just part of the territory. The big concern is the idiot who runs the team, the one person who can actually screw this up. I can imagine James Dolan stomping around his office like a spoiled kid on Christmas Eve demanding that he get to open his Christmas gift now. I have no idea what Dolan Jr. is doing behind the scenes but it’s not good. It’s horrifying enough to learn that Dolan went over the head of Walsh to speak directly to Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke about Melo. Mr. Kroenke probably hung up the phone after speaking with Dolan, turned to his aides and said” Well, at least there’s something working in our favor”.
That crazy offer Denver made which would have left the Knicks with Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudamire and a bunch of D-leaguers and ball boys? Dolan would’ve signed it in a heartbeat, taken all the credit along with Isiah Thomas and set everything Walsh was able to accomplish back a year, at least. And if Melo isn’t a Knick by the trade deadline (again no big deal if he’s still a free agent by season’s end), you can see Dolan jettisoning Walsh completely ignorant of the fact that Knicks wouldn’t even be near this position without the work that his GM did. All this manufactured nonsense from people who should know better is providing the impetus for unwanted intervention from the one person who definitely does not know better.
Donnie Walsh knows better. He knows he has the leverage in this situation and he’s playing it perfectly. He is showing patience and he will eventually get a willing Carmelo Anthony, either next week or in June. Everyone just needs to chill out and let the man do his thing. Please. Unless you want Dolan and Isiah flying to Denver to speak with the Nuggets and Melo’s agents………didn’t think so.
Interesting thoughts man, I’ve sorta tuned out of this whole Melo thing since the NJ talks were cut off. I read Zach Lowe’s piece on SI today and he just had some interesting tidbits about what’s going on. I just don’t think the Knicks can go anywhere with their team now, but they can’t sell the farm to get Melo. You’re right, they have all the power in this one cuz Denver wants to get rid of him so I guess we’ll just wait and see what happens.
My only concern would be if Denver does not trade him and he is forced to re-sign with Denver over money. The extension offer is for 3 years $65M. I read soemwhere that under a new CBA, I think the most he could be offered by a new team is $45M over 3 years. Not sure how accurate that is. We know he wants to only play for the Knicks, but $20M is $20M.
That said, Denver has no shot at a title this year, so keeping him makes no sense if it’s not a sure thing he’ll re-sign.
Considering there is talk of a hard cap in a new CBA, the Knicks should not balk at trading some starters…guys like Felton and Chandler won’t be here in 2 years anyway. Plus, why not start clearing cap room now for a run at Chris Paul in 2012?
People are still watching the Knicks? That’s fascinating.
I agree 100% with everything you said. People need to just back off and let donnie do his thing. Walsh is without a doubt the best thing that has happened to the knicks since we went to the finals as an 8th seed. I trust Donnie not to be pushed by the fans or the media, but I am afraid of Dolan.
You say the fans should be aiming their boos and frustrations on D’Antoni. Why? Is the team underachieving? Should they be 10 games over .500 right now? Should they be EXPECTED to beat the top level teams in this league? You just said they are right where you expect them to be (roughly .500+ in the lower half of the playoff picture). People just hate D’Antoni’s style and then unjustifiably feel the need to blame him for EVERY thing that doesn’t go the Knicks way during games.
The man has done a very good job with this team this year and had them overachieving for MOST of the 1st half of the season. They’ve recently come back down to earth (where they belong as currently constructed), yet let’s all just throw irrational hate at the guy just because we aren’t in bed with his system? Lame.
Excellent article, and not only because I agree with you. I hate how writers keep propagating this fear, without any reason or facts behind it. I don’t think that there is even agreement around whether Melo is our best option. I would love to have him, but you have to be smart about it. Donnie has shown himself to be the smartest man in the room. Let him do his job. He will get it right 9 out of 10 times even if the solution is not sexy. He probably has calls out to every connection hes formed over his 250 years in the league on every team and knows what the threats are and he knows that he can pull the trigger right now if he feels like it. Your Allan Houston example is spot on. Let someone else who is in the game call you before you raise. The only thing I don’t agree with you on is Isola being a reliable writer, but to each his own.
I agree with everything you have written. As a long time Knicks fan/sufferer I have been through all the drama – ups and downs. To see the media frenzy just goes to show that they no one really understands business…except the business of selling newspapers. What else is there to talk/write about? CC transfering 25 lbs to Joba’s gut? Anyone who understands business knows its all about leverage. As you mentioned, there is NO ONE ELSE out there. The whole league knows ‘Melo will sign only w/us. Since Dolan Jr has probably NEVER had to negotiate an important deal on his own (thanks to big daddy Dolan) he can only screw up matters. Isnt this the same guy who went into the Lebron meetings with index cards??? Not exactly Al Pacino in Glengary Glenross. ABC Jimmy, Always Be Closing..in this case please let the Mariano of the situation, Donnie Walsh, close it and we will all be happy with the results.
Yeah, Brian. Looks like you’re reading some lengthy articles on them as well. . .
Great article. Gotta love common sense.
I totally agree with this article, everyone is hitting the panic button for us to get Carmelo, but he dosent want to go anywhere else. We have the most leverage, and if for some reason he goes somewhere else, we will still have the option of getting O.J. Mayo (Who is cheaper, and younger) and then stocking up on needed pieces during the off season. If we pull the trigger on the trade proposal that sends three starters, Eddy Curry, and draft picks to the Nuggets we are stupid. That is all
Thank you!! Finally some sanity!
The Nets have agreed to a blockbuster trade with the Denver Nuggets for superstar Carmelo Anthony and are waiting for Anthony to sign off on the deal that would make him the team’s franchise player.
According to sources, the two sides reached an agreement late Thursday, just hours before Nets’ owner Mikkail Prokhorov was expected to meet with the Nuggets’ All-Star forward.
The meeting, which Anthony said Friday afternoon was not scheduled, would have been crutial because the Nets, who are moving to Brooklyn in two years, must convince Anthony to sign a three-year, $65 million extension to complete the deal.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/2011/02/18/2011-02-18_carmelo_anthony_nets_and_nuggets_reach_tentative_agreement_on_a_blockbuster_nine.html#ixzz1ELGoUglQ