NY fans need the hot item to be a competitive product fighting for a large, but not infinite entertainment dollars. A big market had to have its "stars" to market.
From a pure entertainment standpoint watching stars is fun. I used to go to Bobcat games and the stars sold tickets. No one in charlotte was a Cavs fan but about 5 years ago when Lebron really became a huge draw they would sell out and Cavs jersey's were everywhere. Business wise I get it.
Im not afraid of the future and a team rebuilding with youth takes time. What I found very enjoyable the 1st 50 games with the yoots was the team was in the game most nites, won more than they lost and were just plain fun to watch! I can't say they there championship quality or ever would be. Future trades, draft picks, asset piling, etc etc could have happened and who knows how we draft, or can trade up to get a certain player.
Drafts have no guarantees but you sure as hell pay big for established ones.
There is nothing better than growing your own players. Ewing was loved in NY. Management feared his departure and he used that leverage to his advantage. NY management runs on fear.
There is a time to rebuild and a time to succeed. Spurs, Bulls, Lakers and Celtics in the last 30 years have endured rebuilding and had great success. We have endured failure and instead of cashing in with high picks and salary cap we compromise.
Melo and Amare will keep us relevant which satisfies the hardcore fan and it satisfies revenue expectations.
What I fear is it won't satisfy the requirements to build a true champion.
Boston's "Big" three had a youthier deep bench the year they won it. Miami will need that to win.
Celtics got a championship, but if its the only one has it failed in the longer run? Was it a great season or was it a great team?
Can a fan truely love Pierce? The difficult personality of KG? Or do they love them because they wear the green jersey?
I guess the hero's welcome that the Toxic Marbury received is evident of either our lust for stars or how desperate we are to win. He was a vile egocentric personality before he got here and even some still had sympathy toward him when MDA put him in the doghouse.
If winning is the only thing Im afraid we miss the best part which is the "Journey".
I am reminded by the Islanders in the 1970's whom won 4 straight stanley cups. At the time they also broke the record for winning the most straight playoff series. In their fifth attempt to win they went to the finals before losing a very tough hard fought long series against Gretky's Oilers. The previous champion Canadians had won 5 straight cups. That team was constructed by them trading aging established players to new expansion franchises who needed to make a big impact to recoup the investment. The St. Louis Blues went to the finals their first year in existance. Remember this is before free agency!
The Islanders instead kept all the their picks, grew a solid nucleus and became the first franchise to win a major championship in the shortest time period. I think it was 5 years. After three years them had made the playoffs and got better each year.
Sometimes the journey is more fun than the destination.
The Islanders had a 6 year run. The year before they won their first they made some incredible series and became the first team to come back from a 3-1 series. The next 4 seasons were amazing with the same group. the last year of the run they took it to the limit in the final series and lost, but lost like true warriors on the ice.
Bringing in free agent stars denies that bond. It denies a culture of winning. The Spurs have, the Lakers have it, and maybe the celtics borrowed it from their storied history and superimposed it on their recent core. I don't think this is a "great celtic tradition" type team. But it beats the crap we got going on here.
5/19/2011 9:59 AM