Nothing like a great trade rumor to end the post-Super Bowl doldrums. And the talk of Carmelo Anthony-to-the-Lakers has provided exactly that. Here are 10 thoughts on why it makes perfect sense, and why it doesn't.
1) More so than Denver and Los Angeles, this is about NY and LA. If the Lakers swoop in and grab Carmelo it's as big a failure for the Knicks as the Isiah Thomas era. The Knicks will have lost out on the additional superstar they need to compete, all because they sat back thinking the home-town kid would fall into their laps when Anthony became a free agent. Trying to get something for nothing is seldom a successful business strategy.
2) The Lakers' best trade bait appears to be Andrew Bynum, an emerging big man whose upside is heavily offset by him missing about 40% of LA's regular-season games the last four seasons. Does Denver really want a guy who might be the next Yao Ming? And when Anthony leaves, won't the Nuggets be hurting for a shooter far more than a body in the paint?
3) Is Carmelo really willing to play the Scottie Pippen role while Kobe Bryant continues to star as Michael Jordan? Carmelo has never been the second option, and if he gets a championship ring in LA it will be engraved with, "Brought to you by Kobe."
4) If Carmelo's geographical interests have shifted, and he wants to go West instead of East, might he be wiser to encourage a deal with the other LA team? Uniting with Blake Griffin and a Clippers team that's on the rise might be better for his future, and he'd also get a bigger share of he spotlight than he'd ever have with the Lakers.
5) Sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone. So let's not forget that it was Ron Artest who won Game 7 for the Lakers in last season's NBA Finals. Remember, too, that it was Artest's defense that infused some hard-nosed attitude into a team that had become a little too Showtime. If Carmelo is on the court and Artest is on the bench the Lakers' defense will suffer.
6) Getting rid of Bynum would mean more time in the post for Pau Gasol. And more chances for Gasol to be exposed as the soft player his critics keep contending he is.
7) Carmelo has made it past the first round of the playoffs only one time. Is he really the guy?
8) Phil Jackson has made it clear he's gone after this season, and I just don't see the Zen Master pulling a Brett Favre. Will the next Lakers coach be as good a fit for Anthony as Mike D'Antoni's run-and-gun style in New York?
9)For any Western Conference team, the road to this season's NBA Finals leads through San Antonio. Tim Duncan will be his traditional self in the postseason, when there are bigger rest periods between games, and the halfcourt game becomes vital. Who gives LA a better shot at beating San Antonio and Duncan, 'Melo or Bynum?
10 ) And are we hearing so much about this deal because the Nuggets want us to? Is this just Denver's way of inviting all comers to the swap shop, and intensifying the offers between now and the Feb. 24 trading deadline?
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