Could Prokhorov's War on the Knicks Be Misguided?

The question has been asked because he fired off another salvo.

What do you think of the NBA trading deadline?

Overall, no one expected this kind of activity, however there were two moves made by teams that were never truly rivals until one Mikhail Prokhorov showed up to Newark… err, Northern New Jersey.

See, the Gerald Wallace trade to Portland will be a huge lift for the Blazers and Kendrick Perkins was a major get by Oklahoma City. The Free Mo Williams Movement didn’t bring him back to LeBron James, but netting Blake Griffin and the Erics* (Bledsoe and at some point, Gordon) isn’t too shabby.

Yet, the move that has this Scribe a bit perplexed is how Deron Williams ended up on the Nets not to improve their playoff hopes (they’re 17-41), but to one-up the New York Knicks.

You heard that all of Prokhorov’s machinations leading to the trading deadline were to drive up the price for the Knicks’ eventual acquisition of Carmelo Anthony. Unquestionably, it worked as Knicks owner James Dolan was convinced to hover over team president Donnie Walsh to make it happen; compelling New York to give up about half of its active roster. Yet, when the Nets quietly traded Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and send some cash to the Utah Jazz for Williams, Prokhorov called a gangsta (or a G), labeled a genius and heralded as a badass.

Courtesy of NBA.com

I was amused, then annoyed and eventually disgusted by the comparisons between both trades, both teams and both players. Williams has been my favorite point guard in the Association since he arrived. While the high wattage smile and Isiah Thomas comparisons made New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul the most beloved and automatic "best PG in the league" by salivating mainstream media, Williams has been equally, if not more impressive in some respects (a better scorer at that position).

Williams has had more playoff success and while the belief persists that Paul is better because he has less to work with; something has to be said about a young PG having to lead veteran players experienced in the iron-fisted system of former coach Jerry Sloan.

Yet, because of the media-spun Melodrama - there was more talk about the opinions and opinions of the opinions than what Anthony actually said publicly, which wasn't much - it seems as if people were quick to make the statements of how Williams is a better player than Anthony despite the fact that they play two entirely different positions and games.

Never mind that people were still slighting Williams because of the comparisons to the other great floor generals in the league today; Paul, Chicago’s Derrick Rose, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Boston’s Rajon Rondo and the old guard in Steve Nash & Jason Kidd. At least for a few days, he was given respect in a backhanded manner by people who decided that all things ‘Melo deserve an extra slice of derision.

Let’s be for real here; saying Deron Williams is better than Carmelo Anthony would have been akin to saying that Gary Payton was better than Scottie Pippen, despite different circumstances and demands on their styles.

That the Nets - a lottery team because of the lack of pieces to help Williams and Brook Lopez - made off better than the Knicks right now is a major stretch. There’s no doubt that players of those skill sets; whether a big PG with lead scorer ability or a SF with an array of offensive & rebounding gifts are not easy to find. Even more difficult is to anticipate that a franchise is going to find worthwhile players in the collegiate ranks, especially with the prevailing opinion that the 2011 draft class is one of the weakest in recent memory.

In fact, these deals proved that the cultures between the Nets and Knicks couldn’t be more different. The Knicks are trying to return to glory after a decade of front office debacles and player misery. The Nets, save for four years of unexpected bliss in the Kidd era, have spent most of its existence struggling for relevance from Long Island to East Rutherford to Newark.

It appears that Prokhorov is trying to bring a Yankees/Red Sox like war to NBA ball here in this area, yet he's approaching it the wrong way. You can afford to do that in other sports where there are more players, therefore more interchangeable pieces. In basketball, moving TWO rotational players (starters or top depth players) is a complete culture shock to a team.

Yes, Prokhorov is the more media savvy of the two NBA owners in this area. Some people love the idea of him being this badass Russian out of the mold of a Guy Ritchie film (could that be more stereotypical?) and starting a war with the Knicks. There is probably an actual plan towards building something around Williams, who despite just six seasons in the league, has missed the playoffs only once (his rookie season). However, trying to one up the rival for the sake of doing it is a far more dangerous gamble for a franchise with no roots.

Say What?!?!: * For those of us who remember the great Louis Sachar book, Sideway Stories from Wayside School, that Erics reference was for you.

The Insanity of NBA Trade Talk



Credit: Eye on Basketball


A long time ago, ESPN’s Colin Cowherd said that NBA trade rumors and the offseason are more interesting than the games themselves.

And that was one of the last times I intentionally listened to nationally-syndicated sports radio.

Whether it comes from media or the creativity of our own minds, the analysis of potential moves in the NBA inspires efforts like the ESPN staple trade machine, prematurely customized jerseys and obligatory blog posts discussing our opinions on the opinions of these dreamt-up transactions. (You love this, don't you?) If there’s something in sports that truly defines ‘insanity’ – doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result – the NBA rumor mill fits the bill.

This is why on so many levels; the chatter around Carmelo Anthony is pretty amusing. It’s full of the expected irrationality that makes the rumor mill spin so wildly day after day.

So before going further, let this excerpt from the latest from The Perpetual Post stay with you throughout the rest of this Scribe post:

“… for at least the next few seasons, any significant NBA player who has a chance to write his own ticket now will be placed under the same microscope as (LeBron) James. It’s a shortsighted perspective because no other player took on nor was bestowed such hype around his every move as James was.”

And that’s the nature of trade talk, isn’t it? No matter what the situation is, player movement will naturally be compared to yesterday’s blockbuster.

There’s something about the NBA, rather than other sports, that allows for the trade rumors to stick around as long as they do.

What keeps the rumor mill less insane in baseball is the length of the season. It’s long enough all fans have the same sense of hope about their teams in April and May, no matter how dire reality might be. When teams fade in June, the chatter will reign because a) the higher profile teams are always looking and/or b) like the Nuggets, a mediocre-to-bad team can’t let a free agent star just walk away without trying to get something in return. In addition, there are about a gazillion players in a baseball organization with the major league club and several minor league teams, giving managers there wherewithal to essentially trade one fan base’s fervor for right here, right now with another’s deep reserves of hope and patience.

With baseball, you have a media culture that seeks out anything to be a story because they spend about as much time with the players as the coaches and managers do. Some will sound the five-alarm bell around the trading deadline, but more often than not, stories about slumps, hot streaks and tired bullpens tend to linger over the course of a season.

In football, trades are a big deal because of their relative rarity. I say relative because while moves such as Clinton Portis-for-Champ Bailey are pretty rare, moving players for draft picks happens slightly more frequently (see Moss, Randy). In the NFL, you’re moving draft picks because while a roster has 53 active players and a handful more for the practice squad will be veteran-laden, football is a sport that ravages men quickly as they age. Draft picks, more so than existing players, are vital because of the meat grinder the sport I truly is.

With the intense and short season, the media in general tends to be focused on the present. After all, a majority of the active roster hits the field during a given game, compelling reporters to seek out multiple players and coaches in order to meet their deadlines. The most far reaching it gets is the postseason thanks to the wild cards and division titles on the line. Only after the Super Bowl does it get heavy into player movement and as we evidence these days, lockout talk.

Ah, the NBA. Fifteen guys per roster. Even with the growth of the D-League, you still have less than twenty players officially affiliated with a NBA club. Maybe it’s the lack of anonymity of the players on the court. Maybe it’s the image questions that have forever swirled around the league. Maybe it the painful dearth of credible basketball reporters (some are better than others, but those with an agenda make themselves heard over the respectable ones in the field). A combination of this let rumors drench NBA coverage like Patrick Ewing’s sweat.

[It’s hard to speak on other leagues such as the NHL and international soccer brands, but they must share some traits with the three most popular American sports leagues.]

So for those who seem to be fatigued by the latest spin on Carmelo’s future, consider that we’ve been down this road far too often. Though it’s easy to believe that this is a recent phenomenon, it’s the nature of the league, dating back generations to when the NBA first began to gain a foothold in the popular sports landscape. Sadly, it’s not going to change any time soon.

Insanity. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Disappointment

We know that will be a new Super Bowl champion on the evening of February 1st.

For those in the NYC vicinity, here's a preview of the post-mortem article of the New York Giants' season that will appear in the New York Beacon tomorrow morning:

What the Giants can take from this season is they found an identity as a team without having some of the more outspoken or at least colorful personalities that they have had in years. Michael Strahan’s retirement and the trade of Jeremy Shockey prior to their Super Bowl defense may have left a void of publicly vocal players. Add the loss of Osi Umeyiora during the preseason along with the Burress saga, and the team had every reason to collapse under the weight of having to defend their crown.

However, considering that this team wasn’t expected to make the playoffs before the season began, they exhibited a tunnel vision that few Giants teams have had in recent seasons. That’s not easy in any city, but doing such here as the defending league champions is as daunting of a challenge as any in American sports. “I told the players I’m very proud of them individually and collectively,” Coughlin added. “We’ve had good solid leadership, we accomplished a lot in the regular season, but it doesn’t carry a whole lot of over into the postseason.”

While the G-men won't carry on, here are a few things that will (especially for the crowd that only watches the Super Bowl for the commercials):

• Here's the Advertising Age section solely devoted to the content around the big game. In all honesty, can someone help me understand the reinvigorated interest in 3D viewing? I'm not knocking it, but it feels a little... hokey? Desperate, maybe?
• Eli Manning is about to get PAIIIIIIIIIIIID... and New York has a conniption. Please, Giants fans, take two of these... or these.
• If you haven't caught it yet (and thanks to SPJ for forwarding this Freedom of Expression in my direction), here are the newest members of Mensa. I can understand Justin Tuck or Fred Robbins taking the loss kind of hard, but... nevermind.
• MediaPost had a few interesting sports media and business related stories yesterday that weren't posted because... well, just because. Nielsen continues to try and help clients determine the value of their sports sponsorships, the Nets (who will have another writer chasing them down starting next week) like burritos and the idea of not dying broke, Audi and NFL Films want it Fast and Furious and Honda tells the people that it's okay to fail.
• Finally, returning to the NFL... well, you decide if this was cool or not.

Nomadic

Last night at another New Jersey Devils game, I came to the conclusion that I've been spending more time in the wonderful (no sarcasm) State of New Jersey than the wonderful (some sarcasm) City of New York in the past month.

Sunday, obviously, keeps the trend going.

With that said, between the IZOD Center and the Prudential Center videos, you have an idea of why the New Jersey Nets want to move. However, hopefully, you have an idea of why the Nets should treat their Barclays Center plans like a juvenile record; seal them, file them and (hopefully) never revisit them.

There will always be a city/town and a team willing to play footsies with each other in order to attract not only major league audiences, but indirectly attract major league employers for spuring economic development. At least that's the idea.

There is always talk of teams that are not performing well financially relocating to seemingly fertile lands. There are rather public discourses about attracting any pro team to Kansas City's Sprint Center, the uncertainty of several NHL teams in the South (east and west) and bringing NFL team back to Los Angeles (because Al Davis is still trying to move the Raiders back to LA and rumors about the Jaguars are still in the air)

However, the resistance coming from some government officials, civic-oriented organizations, small business owners and others will keep the fight going until either the team's ownership gives up or the players start looking around town for real estate.

So from just a curiosity standpoint (leaving politics and community matters out of the equation for now), I pose this to you: if you had full autonomy and authority while not having to worry about financing a stadium/arena:

• Which teams would you move?
• Where?
• Why?
• Finally, would you build a new stadium/arena or renovate exisiting grounds?

Say What?!?!: This post was inspired by what you can find about yourself via Google. Many thanks to No Land Grab.

I-what?

In the first post of the New Year, here’s something not so new.

A while back, you got a glimpse of the Prudential Center, the sparkling arena in downtown Newark that is home to the New Jersey Devils, Seton Hall Pirates men’s basketball team and the New Jersey Ironmen (Major League Indoor Lacrosse). At the start of the video, I mentioned that the New Jersey Nets – former roommates with the Devils at what is now the Izod Center – should scuttle their plans to move to Brooklyn and shack up with the Devils instead.

There are a handful of NBA-affiliated arenas older than the Izod Center – formerly known as the Brendan Byrne Arena and Continental Airlines Arena – yet, this building has routinely been known as the worst facility in the league. See for yourselves.

Yes, I know... Izod? The clothing people? Yes.



If team owner Bruce Ratner sells the team, as it has been rumored, then the new owners might as well save the headache of trying to build the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. When the City of New York and New York State was basically throwing money towards the Yankees and Mets for their facilities while pondering the West Side Stadium for the Jets, it was not a stretch to believe that the Nets would move across the Hudson River before the end of the decade.

Yet, Ratner was dealing with the quagmire that Walter O’Malley dealt with a half-century earlier for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Whether the lack of movement has been public opposition, government reluctance or both, this area has never been developed in the manner than some have envisioned. Add the fact that Ratner made his money from real estate and you have a derailed train with broken tracks to its side.

New Jersey, contrary to popular opinion, is a strong market for professional sports. It sits between NYC and Philadelphia, but there is a strong economy within. As the transportation infrastructure of the State improves, getting to central cities such as Newark and Trenton will give New Jerseyites more options to travel besides driving.

The truth behind the so-called weak market for the Nets in the Garden State has less to do with travel and access and more to do with winning. Outside of the 4-5 year run earlier in the 2000s, the Nets have been quintessential losers in the NBA. Recent American sports history is littered with stories of teams finally turning the corner and enjoying the labors of success through new facilities (ex: San Diego Padres, Miami Heat and Atlanta Braves). It can still work in New Jersey, but it seems only if Ratner sells the Nets to someone who is willing to make the commitment.

Say What?!?!: Question about the NFL: As bad as the Detroit Lions looked, in all honestly, would it be crazy to think that the Kansas City Chiefs were the worst team in the league this season?

Dimes

Honestly, the return of the NBA has taken over the mind, body and soul... along with complete exhaustion.

In lieu of a preview or an elaborate post this evening, here are a few quick passes until a heavy day on Scribe tomorrow:

• From New York Magazine, Chris Smith delves into how Bronx native, Donnie Walsh, is hoping to resurrect his hometown franchise. This shall be interesting considering a) that this magazine rarely ventures into sports unless there's something 'sexy' and b) no one really knows where this path will lead, no matter how well Walsh is regarded.
  
  
• Sticking with the Five Boroughs somewhat is an article from this weekend's New York Times Magazine. Bruce Schoenfeld chronicles the long and bizarre (mostly bizarre) road to have professional basketball... in Oklahoma City.
  
  
• From Advertising Age, Rich Thomaselli adds another comparison of one number 23 to another; this time, in relation to Madison Avenue. Hey, it's the fulltime job talking over here.
  
  
• From The Biz of Basketball, Maury Brown highlights the special shoe that Kevin Garnett took to the floor during tonight's opener. You should now want your face to adorn a shoe.
  
  
• Finally, this breaks from Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo! Sports. Anyone who has mentioned the New Jersey Nets in person to me has heard me rant somewhat about their tenable situation in trying to move to Brooklyn. This may further prove the point that I've been making... no one's coming to Brooklyn. More on this later.