Chris Paul + Dwight Howard + Carmelo Anthony + Deron Williams + Lebron James = 0 titles.
I want to emphasize this point because each of these players have essentially derailed NBA franchises at one point or another over the last two seasons.
The Chris Paul saga is beyond a joke and Dwight Howard handpicking teams to negotiate a trade with is absurd.
Carmelo completely kidnapped the progress of the Nuggets last season, which was clearly deomnstrated by the team's improvement following the trade.
Deron is the least to blame out of this group, however, it's clear that any move the Nets make will be predicated on their hope of resigning him.
"The Decision" set the tone and estbalished the leverage that these players have in dictating thier preferred destination. The only redeaming quality of LBJ is that he was an unrestricted free agent in an open market.
But, it's crazy that literally a hand full of players are perceived as the be all end all for sustainable success amongst NBA franchises. I won't argue that these guys ar in their prime and will absolutely serve as successful centerpieces. But, the extent to which teams are bending over backwards to appease the interests of these stars is maddening.
This is what makes Dallas's title all the more gratifying. They won a title with a group of veterans at the back end of their careers that were pegged as a first round upset material. Aside from Dirk, their core was assembled through creative trades that were faced with early criticism (Kidd, Marion, Chandler) and they won as a cohesive unit.
To see the next generation of franchise players orchestrating these deals with so much entitlement is beyond frustrating. I truly hope that this year's NBA title is awarded to a franchise that is the product of the standard ebb and flow of the NBA transactional roller coaster and not the result of a star sitting out and pouting until he gets traded to his favorite city.
I think this is an excellent point. This generation of AAU stars have had MANY opportunities to win - LeBron and Melo have been in the league for 8 years and Howard 7 and are in the middle of their primes.
Just to put it in perspective Jordan won a championship in his 7th season. Now does this mean Lebron, Melo and Howard don't have a chance to win a championship soon? Of course, they have a chance. I would also never begrudge a player for exercising their right as a free agent. But these guys have different goals.
They want to be GLOBAL BRANDS. They need big markets to do it. They need to be in NYC, LA, Miami, or Chicago. They want endorsements, and strategic business arrangements and to go to clubs and parties with stars. The Heat celebration ceremony after signing Lebron and Bosh is a perfect example of this.
What they've done that is short-sighted is gone to teams that had to gut their rosters to accommodate their contracts. The Knicks and Heat had extremely poor supporting casts last year. Will Battier and Chandler put them over the top? We'll see. But in the meanwhile, if they aren't winning rings, they are getting their Nike, Gatorade, Coach, and Timex endorsements...and that's their primary objective.
Topic: Let's Do the Math... (Read 4211 times)