Did you hear?
Carmelo Anthony is a Knick!
Okay, unless you haven’t watched one sports segment over the last four months, you are aware of the Carmelo Anthony saga about where he would end up by the trade deadline. From the Knicks and Nets – to even the Lakers – whether Anthony would be traded, and to which team, was the hottest NBA topic all season.
I couldn’t be happier that all the trade talk, especially the Anthony rumors, are finally put to rest. I understand the excitement trade talks bring to fans, but the months of drama leading up to it don’t excite me one bit. Not only was Anthony’s future talked about all season, but Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic was also involved in some speculation.
It was clear in Commissioner Stern’s comments at the All-Star Game that the Howard/Anthony saga was becoming too much.
“In fact, it’s now gone to the next level,” Stern told reporters. “Poor Dwight Howard, he’s out there playing his head off and the media is, ‘Oh, where’s he going next?’ What is that all about? It’s ridiculous.”
Commissioner Stern singling out the media for trade speculation is an example of the media taking away from on-court accomplishments by constantly speculating about a player’s future.
NEWS FLASH: That is the media’s job! What media member doesn’t want to be the first to break news on the hottest topic all season?
As a striving future member of the media, I will agree that media do take just about every topic too far, but once again, that is their job. It is their duty to constantly report popular news, weather we want to hear it or not.
My solution? The drama and publicity is good for the league, yes, but they both affect the player being speculated on all the way up till the deadline. It seems extremely annoying to play a game almost every night, and hear the same question, “where are you going to be traded?”
But if you move the deadline up to December, you avoid two extra months of unnecessary trade speculation. David Stern and the NBA should seriously consider stepping back and evaluating the trade deadline process for both players and fans.
