Choosing Players II: Keeping Franchise Players Happy

Thunder Superstar, Kevin Durant

For the first article of this series, click HERE

In the NBA, every elite team seems to have at least one "superstar" that serves as the face of the franchise.  Names such as Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks, Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks, and Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook of the Thunder are just a few that come to mind.  In fact, when looking back at the championship teams of the past few years. all seem to have one thing in common: a dominant player.  It was LeBron James for the Heat, Dirk for the Mavericks, Kobe Bryant for the Lakers, and Paul Pierce for the Celtics.  In the NBA today, perhaps the biggest discrepancy among NBA teams is the presence, or lack thereof, of these superstars.  It seems that the main decision a team must make, after weighing costs and cap space, is either compiling a "supporting cast" for one or more superstars or choosing instead to develop a well-rounded squad without a star player.
Looking at the New York Knicks: their appearances in Madison Square Garden, controversial front office decisions, and bi-polar season records could merit them as one of the most interesting teams in the league.  In 2010, the Knicks traded for Amar'e Stoudamire, looking to begin a new, and hopefully more successful, era of Knicks basketball.  In February 2011, they traded for Carmelo Anthony. After injuries to Stoudamire and Carmelo's "superstar" aura, it seemed that the Knicks could currently be considered "Carmelo's team."

Following the model of looking to build a successful team around a superstar player, it seems the Knicks began to make moves within the organization that built the team up around Anthony.  It also seems, though, that these moves favored Carmelo over others players on the team.  For example, in December 2011, the Knicks were involved in a trade that brought Tyson Chandler to New York. The Knicks saw Chandler as a defensive presence and another big man to have down low, clearly an asset to Carmelo.  But throughout the year, it does not appear that Amar'e Stoudamire has benefited much from his presence.  In fact, while Carmelo had no problem getting off around 25-30 shots a game with Chandler, Stoudamire's offense seemed to be negatively affected.  He averaged 17.5 points a game in 47 games last season, down nearly four points from his career average.

After a mediocre start to the 2011-2012 season, Knicks coach Mike D'antoni resigned midway through the season.  He and Carmelo Anthony were clashing at the time, and Carmelo was rather open in expressing his preference for Mike Woodson, the Knicks current coach.  Towards the end of that same season, Jeremy Lin and "Linsanity" rocked New York Knicks basketball.  I hope that we don't need a refresher on Linsanity, as Lin burst onto the scene helping the Knicks win several games and the whole world was made aware of the events.  Interestingly enough, the Knicks, who had initially planned to match any offer up to $1 billion for Lin in the 2012 off-season, made no move after the Rockets presented Lin with a deal.  Instead, they signed Raymond Felton, bringing him back to the Knicks after stints with Denver and Portland.  After these events transpired, talks surfaced that Carmelo did not necessarily want Lin back on the team.  Perhaps Carmelo felt threatened by Linsanity, and the Knicks front office, as in all three of the events listed above, was acting to keep their beloved superstar happy.

A team that serves as perhaps a contrast to the Knicks is the Orlando Magic.  Last season, the Magic faced some internal discord as superstar Dwight Howard expressed his displeasure with playing in Orlando.  He was definitely not a fan of head coach Stan Van Gundy, and he did not seem content with the direction of the team.  But rather than fire Van Gundy to keep Howard happy, or close out deals (such as one with Chris Paul) to make Howard more optimistic about the team and his teammates, the Magic let Howard leave.

Howard may have left Orlando regardless of what they did to try to keep him there, or perhaps they had made moves but Howard was still not interested in staying.  While the Knicks have taken many measures to seemingly keep Carmelo Anthony happy and keep the Knicks as "his team." the Magic did not do the same for Dwight Howard.  Unlike the Knicks, who seemed to make moves to keep Carmelo Anthony happy, the Magic traded Howard away to the Los Angeles Lakers. It appears the Magic are either waiting for another superstar to bring to the team, or are in fact content with a team composed of role players like Glen Davis, JJ Redick, and Aron Afflalo.

Teams with superstars on their rosters undoubtedly reap the benefits of these players' performance on the court and image off the court. Superstars consistently put up big numbers in games, and advertisements and promotions featuring these players can help the financial well-being of their respective teams.  However, as a superstar serves as one of the focal points of an organization, it seems that they can often sway some front office decisions.  It is ultimately up to the organization to decide just how far, if at all, they are willing to allow this influence to go.