John Schuhmann of NBA.com asks the critical question on the Carmelo Anthony trade, "Does it make the Nets a better team right now? And are they mortgaging their future by dealing (Derrick) Favors?"
Examining the pluses and minuses, Schuhmann's answer is this: "Is the deal a risk? Absolutely. But the Nets want a star, and there may be more risk in waiting for another one to come available."
What's his reasoning? It's about the future, a future in which stars like Anthony, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Chris Paul want to play with each other, find agents who can pull it together for them. And Schuhmann notes, there are plenty of models, even pre-"The Decision".
"This is the Ray Allen trade," Schuhmann writes, "the one that convinces the third star that he can get a ring if he joins the other two."
But first, Adrian Wojnarowski writes, "'Melo's advisors have to convince him that he needs to give up his dream of playing for the Knicks or Bulls...As it turns out, New Jersey could well turn out to the compromise choice", one where, thanks to Mikhail Prokhorov, "They have resources unmatched in the NBA" .