Normally I try to keep this blog about music and movies and the like, but after reading the new Bill Simmons column I felt like something needed to be said about an article that seriously diminishes my view of one of my favorite sports writers.
Simmons in his new article writes about the ongoing saga of where Carmelo Anthony should go. First, he starts off by listing how much money Carmelo has made per year. This is supposed to prove a point, but no point ever comes of it. His first four years Carmelo made the money appropriate to his position in the 2003 draft. The NBA is not the NFL where rookie negotiations are incredibly complicated, instead there is a pay scale that is accepted by both players and owners. After playing out the deal and becoming one of the top players in the league, Carmelo signs an extension that is set to expire this year. Simmons points out that in his eight years in the league, Carmelo made a lot of money, and because of that he should not make his decision based on money. However, Simmons fails to acknowledge that Denver offered him the most money and he does not want to play here anymore.
Instead, he thinks that if Carmelo were to just make his decision based on money then he would just accept an extension and move on to New Jersey. Completely downplaying the fact that likely within two years the Nets will have moved to Brooklyn. He says "how could Anthony possibly settle for a 10-28 team in Jersey? Because it's near New York? Because it's almost like playing for the Knicks? Because they're moving to Brooklyn in two years? Because Jay-Z owns 1 percent more of the Nets than my dog does? Excuse me, but he's saying that the largest market in the United States is not capable of supporting two teams better than most cities can support one. Remember Team A in the area, the Knicks, have long estranged their fans with terrible signings throughout the Isiah Thomas period. Simmons largely ignores the significance of a team in Brooklyn that will still have the fans in New Jersey plus all the new ones they can pick up by moving to an international city.
Obviously the Knicks are the bigger draw, though the Nets are clearly on their way up with their ownership base of Mikhail Prokhorov-the Russian Billionare, and Jay-Z. This base will supply the financial assets needed to build a winning team. Carmelo reportedly would still prefer to play for the Knicks, however as of now they don't have the assets to trade for him. Since Carmelo is not playing for the Knicks, Simmons blames Carmelo's former agent Calvin Andrews for not getting him the same fourth year player option Dwayne Wade and Lebron James got, that would have set up for Carmelo to play for the Knicks or any other team this year.
A lot of assumptions go into this claim from Simmons. First, would New York have acted the same as they did with the Lebron James sweepstakes? New York tried to shed as many of their large contracts as they could for last years free agent class, moving prized forward David Lee to Golden State. But, Lebron spurned them to go play for Miami, and instead they signed A'mare Stoudemire. So, if Carmelo was a free agent last year, Simmons assumes it would've been a given that he go to the Knicks, despite their salary cap troubles and already having promising small forward Danilo Gallinari. Considering, the system Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni runs, Gallinari may even be a better option at the position. Still, Simmons obtusely refers to Carmelo as greedy if he does not get to go to the Knicks.
Assuredly the Knicks would be much better if they got Carmelo while not giving up any players, a thought that is not a "pipe dream" if Carmelo waits till this summer. A completely unreasonable demand considering the ensuing lockout that is bound to happen this summer. As terms of the new labor agreement have not been agreed upon, it has been assumed that star contracts will begin to be limited in size as the ballooning of salaries has caused teams to lose money overall. For example under the current bargaining agreement, DeSagana Diop was able to get a contract of four years, $26.8 million, all for producing 3.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg,and 0.8 bpg. The 3 year/ $65 million deal Carmelo has on the table would be by far the best deal he can get going into the off-season. After that it becomes a very large financial gamble for one of the games biggest superstars.
Simmons, being the NBA guru he claims to be, offers a solution. Move Carmelo to the Clippers, where he can sign his extension, play in a large city, and have the opportunity to share the court with Blake Griffin. Although, Simmons refutes his attack on the Nets by praising the Clippers, who are the second team in Los Angeles by a wide margin. At this point, Simmons begins to day dream about Blake Griffin and bring in anecdotes from people who like seeing people dunk. Eventually he gets back on track, and talks about what the Clippers can offer Denver. A package of lottery pick Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman, expiring contracts and the rights to Minnesota's unprotected 2012 pick.
This sounds like a completely reasonable offer on paper, until you begin to examine each individual piece. Al-Farouq Aminu averages 7 points and 3 rebounds on a lottery bound team. Chris Kaman, an oft-injured aging big man who is averaging 10 points and 7 rebounds this year all while making over $11 million. The expiring contracts on the Clippers amounts to three players: Deandre Jordan, Ike Diogu, and Jarron Collins. Though Simmons later in the article talks about keeping Jordan on the team. The other two expiring contracts free up a whole one million dollars. This leaves the most promising aspect of the trade: the Minnesota Timberwolves' 2012 #1 pick. The pick sounds enticing except for the fact that in two years Minnesota can actually be good. Their team is stocked full of lottery picks, all of whom are beginning to pan out or in the case of Kevin Love already have. Add Ricky Rubio in 2012 and this could be a legit playoff team. This offer leaves the Nuggets with an aging big man who plays the same position as Nene and Chris "Birdman" Andersen, and not much else.
While I may normally enjoy Simmons' work, this article sounded like an unabashed fan boy discussing what-ifs on a Clippers forum. Seeing that Carmelo has clamored to be on a Northeastern team for a while and takes his wifes wishes into account, the destination for Carmelo is clearly not the Clippers. While going to New Jersey may not be the dream scenario, it is the only destination right now that makes sense both fiscally and logistically.
