Column: NBA at the break

The NBA Playoffs are just two months away, but the All-Star Game is set for this weekend in Los Angeles.

At this point in the season, some key issues keep popping up in the national media.

1. The Melo Negotiation (Part II to The Decision):
This past July, fans had to deal with The Decision from LeBron James, who “took his talents” to a place with better players like Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. This season, Carmelo Anthony is taking fans on a roller coaster. First, there was the incline of the two main contenders (New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets), followed by the drop when the Nets decided to get out of the running. Then there was the crazy loop with the Los Angeles Lakers rumor that turned out to be nothing.  

“Carmelo is in control of this deal, and he wants to go to the Knicks,” Dave Krieger of the Denver Post said.

The main contenders are the New York Knicks, and they want to get a deal done before the trade deadline Feb. 24. But the Denver Nuggets want to try to keep Anthony even though he wants to go to New York.

“The deal will get done before the deadline,” said Alan Hahn, the Knicks’ beat writer for Newsday.

The star athletes always have it in their mind that they want to go to the cities with the major markets. That’s why I see Anthony going to the Knicks before the deadline and getting a three-year extension. But if he doesn’t, this could turn into “The Decision 2011.”

2. Young rising talent
A few young stars are starting to show their true colors. Blake Griffin, aka “The Poster Child” of the Los Angeles Clippers, combines size and quickness unlike anybody in the league. Griffin is turning out to be what the Clippers wanted in a No. 1 selection, averaging 22.7 PPG and 12.7 RPG. Another rising star showing his potential is Minnesota’s Kevin Love. With similar numbers to Griffin, he is averaging 21.1 PPG and 15.4 RPG.

3. The best vs. the worst
The San Antonio Spurs are having a great year thanks to five players averaging double-digit points. The supporting cast of George Hill and Richard Jefferson is the main difference this year. The Spurs did a good job of picking up Hill from IU-Purdue University Indianapolis in the 2008 NBA Draft. In 2009, Jefferson was traded to the Spurs for his scoring ability and experience in the playoffs.

Then there’s the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the opposite record of the Spurs at 9-46 (the Spurs are 46-9). I don’t know what’s more of a joke: Dan Gilbert’s letter ripping James or the Cavs right now. Gilbert’s feeling the karma as he said the Cavs would win a championship before the Heat would. The odds are definitely against them, but injuries to Anderson Varejao and Daniel Gibson don’t help the cause either. The Cavs are looking like one of the worst sports teams ever, and it doesn’t seem like that’s changing any time soon.  

4. The collective bargaining dis-agreement
The issue that might affect the Anthony deal and other trades will be the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which ends June 30. The NBA owners want a third ($750-$800 million) annual drop in player salary costs. Although the players’ union likes the agreement in place, the owners are making a major drop in salary costs, which won’t agree with the players.

This is similar to the NHL’s lockout in 2004. The NHL had a full season lockout due to the issues between players and owners.

“If they don’t reach an agreement, I don’t think it’s going to continue a full season like the NHL, but maybe until the winter,” Hahn said.  

The NBA is in a different situation than the NHL because of the drastic decrease in salary the owners want. I see this being a continuing problem through the off-season, but I think it will be fixed by November of this year.


E-mail: amsiegal@indiana.edu