Shifting NBA Landscape

Due to Commissioner Stern and the NBA's excellent yearly scheduling of All Star weekend typically concurrent with or around Valentines Day, most of All Star weekend is sitting on my DVR. Therefore, this will not be a recap of this weekend's events. However, I will give one thought... Javale McGee was Andre Iguodalaed. Griffin's hype won the dunk contest just as Nate Robinson did when he stole the dunk crown from Iguodala. No way were Griffin's dunks, even the car dunk, better than McGee’s. Even my ten year old daughter was able to notice that McGee’s two basket dunk and three basketball dunk was the best thing about the dunk contest.

What this will cover is the Carmelo Anthony trade and it's affect on the rest of the NBA.

You guys are still mad?

When I heard the news on Melo trade, the first thing that popped into my head was, "people are still mad about The Decision?" Lets breakdown Lebron's Decision vs. Melo's hostage crisis. We'll work backwards. Lebron turned the biggest free agent decision into a TV special in which proceeds went to Boys and Girls clubs. Carmelo turned the first half of the year in Denver into the Iranian hostage situation. Sure Lebron didn't notify the Cavs of his decision until The Decision. However, Anthony did his best Die Hard villain impersonation demanding to be traded to his destination of choice. If I was Denver, I would have went all FBI on him and refused to negotiate with terrorists because that is essentially what Carmelo had become. Maybe Lebron left the Cavs and they didn’t get anything in return. Anthony not only forced his way out of Denver, but vetoed the trade that would land them the better assets. New Jersey had the more lucrative offer, yet Melo had his heart set on New York. Lebron carried teams with supporting casts that included guys named Boobie and guys who slept with his mom deep into the playoffs year in and year out. He left because he wanted to win and Cleveland wasn’t putting him in that position. Denver consistently surrounded Carmelo with much more talent. They made the move for Iverson. When that didn’t work, they turned him into Chauncey Billups. When Ben Wallace didn’t work, the Cavs turned him into an overweight, old Shaq. Melo consistently had a great coach to guide him, despite their constant contrast. Lebron had Mike Brown (not even going to throw a jab at Brown, his body of work is joke enough). Simply put, if Lebron had the talent around him that Melo did, he wouldn’t have left Cleveland. However, Anthony was almost ready to run to New Jersey to get out of Denver. Why? Overall, it comes down to Lebron doing what the rules allowed him to do, play out his contract and sign as a free agent with a better team. Carmelo didn’t like his team and forced his way to another team.

How is Lebron villainized for his for his free agent decision but Melo is virtually an afterthought in the way he forced his trade? Lebron was man enough to play his decision close to the vest and reveal his thoughts on his own. Carmelo has sat behind the scenes and played the strings of the Nuggets front office and his agent like a puppet master; never giving an honest comment to the media on his situation as to not upset the players on the team. The only thing that Carmelo handled better than Lebron was the PR side of the situation. Carmelo’s mutiny on the Denver organization is far more demoralizing to a fan base. Lebron’s decision to leave said, “The organization hasn’t put any help around me. I tried my best guys, but I can’t win here.” Melo’s forced trade says, “Screw you guys, I can’t stand being here anymore. I can’t play out the rest of my contract; get me out of this horrible place, now!”

Will Amar'e be happy to see his new teammates?

Carmelo’s trade not only affects the Nuggets and Knicks (and apparently the Timberwolves. I guess they were involved somehow as well.), it shifts the entire NBA landscape. The Eastern Conferences is certainly no longer the little brother of the league as it has been in years past. This year’s playoffs in the East will see seeds 1-5 as potential title contenders. This will be great for TV. In the first round you are guaranteed a great matchup between the four and five seed. This could be Bulls/Knicks, Bulls/Magic or Magic/Knicks. That is going to be a first round series! The second round will be equally exciting. You’ll get some combination of Miami, Boston, Orlando, Chicago and New York. Miami and Boston will be locks to get to the second round, while one of either Orlando, Chicago or New York will be knocked out be one another. This year’s Eastern Conference finals will certainly be a classic. The best part about all of these potential series; we might see some old school heated rivalry action. Amar’e is an aggressive, intense player who can have a short fuse at times. He’ll be teamed with Carmelo who has shown he isn’t afraid to throw punches in Madison Square Garden (well, kind of not afraid). The Bulls have Noah who is intense, can get under anyone’s skin and isn’t particularly fond of Lebron or the Celtics in general. The Celtics are well… the Celtics. They don’t respect anyone and they let you know about it. Even Orlando has Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard? Yes, Dwight Howard. Hiding behind that 100 watt smile is one of the dirtiest players in the league. It’s subtle but his elbows often fly with vicious intentions. The sixth, seventh and eighth seeds won’t do much, but they will definitely be young teams that could cause problems for top seeds looking ahead. This year’s Eastern Conference playoffs will be great.

Kobe has to be excited to see
one less team in the West

What does this mean for the West? Not much to anyone other than the Lakers and Spurs. Not that the Nuggets with Carmelo were going to pose a threat to either team, but this all but eliminates a team from the Western Conference playoffs. The West will essentially be the Lakers, Spurs and six other teams. While the Eastern Conference is beating up on each other; outside of the 1/8, 2/7 and 3/6 first round series, every series will go seven games, guaranteed. The Lakers and Spurs will both cruise through the playoffs until they face each other in the conference finals. This is a huge plus for both of these aging teams. While they have had their struggles of recent (losing to the Cavs? Ouch), the Lakers still have to be the favorites to make it out of the West. With the tough path that any Eastern Conference team now has to make it to the finals, the Lakers have to feel pretty good about their chances to three-peat. Any team they face in the finals, despite the fact that they will be significantly younger (unless it is the Celtics), will be considerably depleted. Miami and New York aren’t deep at all, so if either makes it, their respective big three will be fatigued. Orlando relies heavily on three point shooting and their legs will be all but gone come finals time. The Celtics age will certainly become a factor if they make the finals. Chicago is the lone dark horse in the Eastern Conference. They are young and should have the stamina to make it through the Eastern Conference. If they make the finals, Rose might be enough for them to push the Lakers. No one on the Lakers current team will be able to check him. None of their point guards, not Ron Artest and putting Kobe on him will drain Kobe too much, leaving little energy for the offensive end. Rose would pose a serious problem for the Lakers if they met in the finals.

Get used to this face in
the finals in the future

The Melo trade on paper, first initial impression, looks like it could be one of the biggest trades ever. It turns a Knicks team that has struggled for the last decade into a team that can potentially contend for the next decade. How things shake out will be interesting to see. Amar’e left Phoenix to have a team of his own, will he be accepting of Carmelo’s arrival? Undoubtedly, Chris Paul will be New York bound when his contract is up, further depleting an aging Western Conference. The Melo trade certainly shifts the NBA power to the East. In a few years when the Duncans, Nashs, Dirks and Kobes retire, the finals will consistently be a power team from the East vs. Kevin Durant. Pencil the Thunder in for at least four Finals appearances in the next ten years. This trade has certainly had a huge impact on the entire NBA and was forced by one man. Yet, we still hate the guy who took less money to try to win titles; the very concept that we wish superstars in every sport would embrace.