Here we are. A day before the NBA draft, the league is faced with a situation in which the players ultimately are picking and choosing the teams for which they will play. The league is in a peculiar spot of players positioning and team machinations to the point that stars are aligning themselves.
There’s a list of folks lined up to woo Carmelo Anthony, who opted out of his contract with the Knicks on Monday.
There would be a longer list of folks lined up to woo LeBron James, who opted out of his contract with the Heat on Tuesday. (And just for good measure, Mrs. LeBron created a social media sandstorm this week by posting a photo of the map of Ohio with the caption “Home sweet home!! The countdown is real! #330” in reference to James’ family growing up in Akron. Of course, Cleveland would love to have a round two with LeBron, so the rumors grew like wildfire. The James family said the message was in reference to the family’s summer vacation plans.)
Where were we? Oh, yes, the reversal of the determination of fortunes.
When did this happen? When did individual stars controlling the future of the league become the accepted brand of franchise construction?