If I were David Stern, I immediately would declare Every Day to be Trade Deadline Day.
It’s fascinating that a league whose irregular season is chock full of apathy, abysmal play and plea bargains, attracts so many sightseers as the move-the-merchandise hour draws closer.
Who’s expendable? Who’s untouchable? Which team booked some of its deadwood in the same row with the guy with the exploding underwear? Whose new nickname is Half Retired, Half Deceased?
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Look no further than the Knicks for that answer. Tracy McGrady joined the 19-34 misfits in hopes of exhuming his career, if not their sorry season. Losers in eight of their last nine, they have fallen so far from the stream of consciousness Bernie Kerik will not even vouch for them.
Yet on Trade Deadline Day they were the rage, the tropical topic, the talk of this town and throughout the NBA, a pulsating buzz that will not go away until sometime in early July. And that has zero to do with McGrady or anyone else’s exile to the Garden of Evil — though the addition of Brian Cardinal did trigger some playoff fever (blisters).
No, yesterday’s deals by Knicks president Donnie Walsh, per routine since arriving on the scene almost two years ago, were not about acquiring assets. His singular focus was to create sufficient cap room to conscript two marvelous mercenaries. So, congratulations are in order. Walsh completed part one of his plan by dumping next season’s combined contracts ($9.552 million) of Jared Jeffries and Jordan Hill; $854,000 of that total was lost by taking on Bill Walker’s guarantee.
On the dark side, if cooking the books to such a melodramatic degree — roughly $35 million below next season’s projected $52M salary cap — can’t buy enough splendor to have the team knocking on the throne-room door then, guess what, Walsh has put the Knicks’ future in ridiculous risk and corrupted his legacy.
That’s why Walsh must know something. He cannot afford to do what he’s done and not have a promise from LeBron James or Dwyane Wade.
Otherwise, how can Walsh relinquish Jordan Hill so soon after drafting him No. 8? The Brandon Jennings blunder just got worse, if that’s possible. How can the Rockets be gifted the option to swap first-rounders (protecting the mere pick of the litter) in 2011? How can the Knicks forfeit (I’m unsure if it’s protected through No. 5, as reported) the 2012 slot?
If someone in James’ inner sanctum hasn’t whispered an especially sweet something in Walsh’s ear, he might have sentenced the Knicks to an unrewarding empty seat in Secaucus for the next three lotteries and participation far beyond — long after Walsh is gone. You can’t relinquish precious resources unless you’re positive you have protected your own assets.
No doubt, it’s quite an honor to pare the payroll with such aplomb that Mayor Bloomberg asks you to work on the city’s union contracts. But what if the Antawn Jamison-enriched Cavaliers win the title? In all good conscience, how can James desert?
How many times has James identified himself as being “all about winning?” If Cleveland wins and he leaves, he’ll expose himself as being “all about LeBron.”
Year in and year out, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has done everything financially and competitively possible to strengthen his team’s title target, and thus keep a smile on LeBron’s face and the bounce in his nightly step.
Win or lose, why leave such a high-standards situation for one that has been staggering for a decade?
The answer is, the Knicks now flaunt ample space to recruit another star in James’ solar system. So, come decision-making time, he knows he can hook up with heavenly help, making it conceivable to turn things around in a hurry.
Gilbert has to be sweating sandstone by the Knicks’ turn of fortune. He’s not the only one.
“You better believe every team with an elite [rising] free agent player is nervous as hell,” a western conference general manager declared. “Everyone wants to play with LeBron. If he goes to New York, come July, they’ll be boxing out for position to join the party.”
Wade is up front about wanting to harmonize with his fast friend, but made it clear to me he prefers it happen in Miami. That was back in December when losses and personal injuries (the latest a pulled calf muscle) weren’t piled so high so he might be inclined to move if it meant playing off James.
But imagine if the Knicks can’t entice Wade as James’ partner, or by his lonesome, or can’t secure either of them? I know Chris Bosh perceives himself as a franchise player. Clearly, he’s vastly improved and is definitely the best player on the court many nights. But, with all due respect, he’s a textbook No. 2 All-Star for a championship challenger.
Same goes for Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Amar’e Stoudemire and any other free agent-to-be you want to cite not named Dirk Nowitzki (who has committed publicly to remaining a Maverick) or Yao Ming (who’s too fragile to think about investing yards of yen in him).
Once more with feeling: If the Knicks are unable to get James or Wade they might as well save the cap room for Kevin Durant in 2012 when he becomes unrestricted, because all the above false saviors aren’t remotely worth Max Factor or Maxwell Smart. It would be a reenactment of Spencer Haywood’s and Bob McAdoo’s importation.
Should Walsh’s three-year game plan ultimately prove ingenious he will be sainted, knighted and honored with a banner in the Garden’s thin air. If it bombs, he will be a carbon copy of Mike Burke and Isiah Thomas.