The current trend of NBA teams is to try and build “super teams,” or teams full of stars, through trades or free agency. Instead of largely building through the draft, like the Oklahoma City Thunder or reigning champion San Antonio Spurs, teams focus on established stars and convince these stars to team up.
But for every success story like the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat, there’s also a team like the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. The Knicks shipped a load of young players and draft picks to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Carmelo Anthony. Despite being pairing Anthony with former All Star forward Amar’e Stoudemire and Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler, the Knicks didn’t make the playoffs this past year and only won one playoff series since acquiring Anthony. Now with Anthony testing free agency and the team having little money to spend, it’s clear this attempt at a super team was a failure.
The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a similar fate. The team engineered blockbuster trades to acquire possibly the best center in the game in Dwight Howard and a former MVP in point guard Steve Nash. Many labeled them as title favorites, but after a rash of injuries and chemistry problems the team finished with their worst record since 2007. Dwight Howard left in free agency the following offseason, and the next season the Lakers finished outside of the playoffs for the first time since 2005. The Lakers gave up a slew of draft picks in both of the aforementioned trades, and two years later have nothing to show for it. Much of the Lakers recent struggles can be contributed to Kobe Bryant’s injury struggles, but they still gave up multiple draft picks for an unsuccessful year with Howard and a point guard who has also struggled with injuries and seems to be a shell of his former self in Steve Nash.
So as teams prepare to find ways to land stars such as Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony, they need to really ponder whether or not the contributions of these players would outweigh those of the assets they give up to obtain them.
For a team like the Chicago Bulls, making a run at Carmelo Anthony makes perfect sense. With a roster full of strong defensive players but void of strong offensive threats besides the recovering Derrick Rose, Anthony would fill the team’s biggest need and balance the roster. Plus, the Bulls can create the cap space needed to sign Anthony without sacrificing vital pieces of their roster and still maintaining depth. But a team such as the Houston Rockets, who are also rumored to be heavily pursuing Anthony, would be a terrible fit for him.
The Rockets finished last ranked second in points scored per game in the NBA last season, but also ranked the 23rd in points allowed per game. While the team’s offense didn’t have much trouble scoring, neither did the other team’s offense. If the Rockets were to add Anthony, they would gain a scorer they didn’t really need as well as fail at addressing the team’s defensive problems, as Anthony is not lauded as a quality defender. In addition to this, this signing would also mean that the team would not re-sign small forward Chandler Parsons, who scored 16 points a game last year as well as pulling down five rebound and getting four assists. They would also have to trade their sixth man and headline grabber Jeremy Lin. So the Rockets would lose key contributors to add an ill-fitting player in Anthony, when the team’s money would actually be better spent adding depth in the post and a defensive presence on the wing.
The Golden State Warriors are another team that’s rumored to be in the market for a star. According to ESPN, the Timberwolves were prepared to deal Kevin Love and Kevin Martin for David Lee, Klay Thompson and a future first round pick, but the Warriors were not sure if they wanted to give away shooting guard Klay Thompson in the deal. Holding off on this trade could end up being immensely helpful for the Warriors, as they didn’t stand to gain much from it. Power forwards Kevin Love and David Lee are similar players. They are both great scorers and rebounders, but struggle on defense. Love is a superior player, but not enough to warrant the loss of Thompson with Lee. Thompson is an elite marksman at the shooting guard position, and in addition to his offensive game he has also proved to be a strong defender. His overall game has improved each year and he was a large part of the team’s success last season. The addition of Love is simply not enough to offset the losses of both Lee and Thompson, and in addition to this, the Warriors would also have to take back the unfavorable contract of Kevin Martin. But the biggest reason this trade wouldn’t help the Warriors is that they are already title contenders. They have one of the best starting-fives in the NBA, and could potentially win the championship next year even without the addition of Love.
In conclusion, adding a star to a NBA team can vault a team into contention, but can also cripple the team’s future, and teams don’t need to overvalue a player and give up too much for him just because he is a star.
