"Carmelo Anthony, meet the New York Knicks"

*This photo was released the day before the trade
by Marvel Comics and ESPN
on Sunday February 20, 2011

Most would say we knew this day was coming, and the only question was when.  Through a 3 way deal, the Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves made the New York Knicks a much better team. Sending arguably one of the best NBA players, Carmelo Anthony, to the"Land and of the Super Teams" aka the Eastern Conference.

I once blogged that the world was panicking for no reason. History has shown that a "Big 3" scenario is common among successful NBA cities over the last few years.  Ginobili, Duncan and Parker for the San Antonio Spurs and Martin, Kidd and Jefferson for the New Jersey Nets are just 2 small examples.  Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen landing in Boston seemed logical at the time, but the way Bosh and James joined Dwayne Wade in Miami was not welcomed with the same open arms.  Everyone now says it is the era of players not willing to struggle and earn success as the sole leader of any given team. With age and injuries for veterans that makes sense, but the annoyance for many is in the youth and talent of these players, who are still capable of competing as leaders, choosing to take on the "can't beat 'em join 'em" attitude. I was initially upset when thinking about the possibility of super teams and naively believed draft picks would balance everything out.  That everyone should relax and not blow it out of proportion.  I have since changed my mind.

Carmelo going to the Knicks means that the super team scenario is very real and there is very little that can stop it. That "very little" thing is the CBA, which stands for Collective Bargaining Agreement. In short, the players union negotiate with owners about pay scales and many other things, an agreement of terms is made and both sides agree to honor the terms for a period of time.  I bring this up because right now, the players union and owners are not agreeing, and as the new CBA expires this summer, if there is no agreement made, we could see a lockout or a shorter 2011-12 season.  Among topics to be brought up is the possibility of a "franchise player tag" for each team. And here is my point.

Should the franchise tag system be applied to the new CBA, only one player could be paid max money and would have to stay with his current team for a certain period of time. This could prevent bandwagon jumping and make side kicks like Bosh and James think twice about being "Robin" instead of "Batman".

With endorsement deals and millions still on the table, the loss of a few dollars in exchange for a championship ring is something most players would take.  The hope is that it will make them think twice.

So now Chris Paul to the Knicks, Dwight Howard to the Lakers and Shane Batier to the Celtics are the latest rumors. As a fans of our own teams, we will always be biased.  If Lebron James joined Chris Bosh in Toronto last summer, me along with everyone in Canada, would be happy to say the least.

Going into the "lack of competition" rant has been done to death.

But as fans of any sport, we have to remember this.
The reason we love sports is the unpredictability of balanced competition.

Sport:

• an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
• the occupation of athletes who compete for pay