Only Carmelo Anthony knows what Carmelo Anthony is thinking — OK, maybe wife La La Anthony knows, too — when it comes to trades from the Knicks. Whether he would trigger his no-trade clause before Thursday’s deadline could be moot as appeal seems waning on all sides.
New York always has been viewed as an ideal fit for star players, players like Anthony, who have a hefty portfolio of business dealings. While time may heal all wounds, except certain knee injuries, it also has changed the approach to business.
Anthony has a slew of New York-based deals, but there was an overwhelming consensus among a group of sports marketing experts on the impact a move from the Knicks would have on Anthony’s brand: none.
“I don’t think it would have the same level of impact it would have had even five years ago,” Russell Scibetti, founder of TheBusinessOfSports.com, said.
Michael Rowe, president of Positive Impact Management and a former president of the Nets, added: “I don’t see him as a marketing superstar in New York, and I’m not talking about his playing ability or his personality. … He doesn’t saturate commercial locations I look to [for] consumer decisions.”
Joe Favorito, professor of sports management at Columbia University, sports/entertainment marketing consultant and former Knicks vice president of public relations said: “The days of having to be just in New York don’t exist anymore.”
And so on.
Being in New York helps, but in an age of social media and transportation immediacy, almost any NBA city easily can substitute. Anthony has appeal and awareness and will continue to have it, regardless of location.
Henry Schafer, executive vice president of The Q Scores Company, which measures national consumer appeal, among other elements, of celebrities and sports figures, addressed where Anthony has the best and worst followings. Schafer said Anthony is undergoing a “rebound” year in public awareness.
“He’s known by about 40 percent of the general population, which is way above average,” Schafer said. “The average sports personality has an awareness of 27 percent nationwide. He’s at 40 percent, which is pretty good.”
But not LeBron James good. James has a public awareness of 70 percent.
While Anthony’s appeal is average, it is up over a few years ago. Credit kids and teens. Anthony’s deals with Nickelodeon, including children’s books and clothes, helped there.
“Adults are staying steady at below-average levels with him, but his strength is with kids and teens,” Schafer said. “His negativity skews to older adults 50 and older.”
Why? Well, the Knicks have not overwhelmed. According to Forbes, Anthony ranked eighth among NBA stars for total earnings, on and off the court, for 2016-17.
“I would say a move would not hurt him,” Michael Ritz, principal of BucStar Consulting, said. “I’ll answer in two sets of shoes, first as a sports marketer. I don’t think he’s done anything frankly to enhance his brand in his experience as a New York Knick. Perhaps if he were traded to a team where he could be part of a turnaround or success, it would enhance his brand. I think he has been an utter failure in that regard coming to the Knicks, where he was considered to be the savior who would turn around a moribund franchise. He hasn’t.”
Ritz’s second “set of shoes” are as a fan.
“As a longtime Knicks fan, he has been an utter disappointment and color me among the growing group of people that are so fed up with that team that I refuse to spend a nickel in that building as long as a certain owner is sitting courtside throwing out Knick legends,” Ritz said.
The marketers and consultants universally agree success elsewhere would have a huge impact for Anthony, who has done well even without a title. But so has Kevin Durant, No. 2 in overall earnings behind James. Anthony, though, has been a savvy investor, particularly in tech start-ups through Melo 7 Tech Partners.
“He’s a pretty forward thinker from everything I’ve seen and read in terms of being around smart people, thinking about his brand, thinking about the ways he can grow a business around himself that will extend beyond his playing days,” Scibetti said. “With [what he] has done, whether in technology or e-investments, I don’t think [a trade is] going to take any opportunities off the table for him or his brand.”
Especially if Anthony finds the team success that has eluded him in New York.
“If he goes to a city and wins a world championship? That raises his brand even further than if he were in New York,” Favorito said. “Fashion Week in New York, and there are guys from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Eagles who are a part of it … you don’t have to be here 24-7.”
Anthony also stepped up on social issues, speaking out on social media and organizing a town-hall meeting in Los Angeles to help calm community unrest.
“The more proactive approach he has taken to social issues has become a little more of his brand recently than even a couple years ago,” Scibetti said.
Anthony controls where he could go through his no-trade clause. The Cavaliers, Clippers and Celtics are the teams most frequently mentioned. Other teams can make bids, attractive or not, and Anthony doesn’t have to worry. But if he waives the clause, the experts said he would not take a significant hit.
“If Carmelo would go to Miami, he probably would have a significant presence that might rival his work in New York,” Rowe said. “But I do not see him on a lot of antiperspirant and hair-care products in New York. I don’t see him in a lot of automotive commercials or real estate commercials.”
While not the face of a fast-food chain, Anthony has thrived despite the lack of Knicks success — and the overwhelming volume of New York pro sports franchises.
“I believe he has a very good marketing arm behind him but I don’t believe he’s captured the commercial marketplace of New York,” Rowe said. “He probably could do as well in another market [where he wouldn’t] compete with the Eli Mannings and Derek Jeters of the world. I do believe Carmelo Anthony’s personality and being a 20-and-10 basketball player on many nights is a brand that could appeal to another market, but I don’t believe his brand appeal is New York-centric.”