It’s been pretty amusing the last 24 hours sifting through some of the breathless commentary pertaining to a certain #23. I don’t know why I’m at all surprised, but it’s funny how, as a culture, we manage to take reactionism to new heights. It’s pitiful that one can’t have a bad day (if even for injury) without suffering a character assault, outright questioning of their motives, and total invalidation of seven years of nearly unparalleled greatness.
Anyways, tonight’s Game 6 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics stands as the biggest game in the history of professional basketball. Well, maybe not. But by all accounts, it stands as one of the most significant, holding far-reaching implications for three franchises and the legacies for a host of characters.
But it impacts the Houston Rockets too. As we know, through the deadline day heist by Daryl Morey, the Rockets now own the New York Knicks’ draft picks the next two years, and they are both extremely lightly protected. Obviously what this means is that Knick futility is in the Houston Rockets’ best interests.
Like most everyone else, I’ve felt all along that it was highly unlikely that James leave Cleveland this summer. But also like the choir, if the Cavs fail to reach the Finals, I think Lebron is as good as gone. So naturally one can understand my state of unease as this series unfolds because if he does leave, I can’t see him going anywhere but New York.
Discussing the implications of Tuesday’s game, a friend mentioned to me, perhaps as some sort of feigned consolation, that my worries were unwarranted, as the Knicks were bound to be relevant next year regardless, as they surely would sign someone, if not Lebron, making the picks lose value.
I just don’t think that’s the case. Donnie Walsh is too smart to blow it all on the likes of Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer after what it took the Knicks to get out of the initial mess they were in. If need be, he’ll bide his time till the February deadline and wait for a deal in which he can use the room to absorb incoming salary, even if it means sacrificing the pick. He won’t relegate the team to eternal mediocrity simply for the sake of protecting the picks. (While a Knick team featuring Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer would probably make the playoffs, such signings would still be foolish and not worth the cost.)
In addition, nobody from the real Class A crop (Wade, Bosh, Stoudemire) was going to leave behind $30million to sign in New York without James. Only Boozer and Joe Johnson made sense as possibilities, because A) they might not have gotten the full max elsewhere B) their own clubs might have been reluctant to re-sign them.
Regardless, for the Knicks, I think it was Lebron or nothing, and before Tuesday’s outcome, I felt there was a pretty good chance that the latter circumstances would bear fruition. But that’s now all in jeopardy. If James leaves to the Knicks, the picks become worthless. If he convinces Bosh to join him…..well, hopefully you understand the ramifications.
In essence, go Cavs. If they fall, it doesn’t somehow mean that Lebron James is fatally flawed. But the outcome would hold huge consequences for the Houston Rockets.
