Chris Paul was never going to join Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks. Never, ever. Now that Doc Rivers has joined the Los Angeles Clippers, we can finally accept that.
The Boston Celtics agreed to part ways with their long-time head coach in exchange for an unprotected first-round draft pick from the Clippers in 2015.
Clippers will send 2015 unprotected pick to Celtics for Doc Rivers.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) June 23, 2013
In doing so, the Donald Sterling-owned Clippers all but ensured Paul would re-sign with them for five years come July 1, essentially eliminating any possibility he still had of joining the Knicks.
Not that Paul’s arrival in New York was a possibility anyway. That dream has been dead for a long time. A long, long time.
One infamous wedding toast was enough to carry the vision this far. That ‘Melo inevitably joined Amar’e Stoudemire in the Big Apple helped a great deal as well. But now it’s dead. Deader than dead.
Through last summer, innate speculation wouldn’t let us forget that toast.
Lot of NBA execs believe Chris Paul is still hoping to find a way to get to the Knicks…won't happen this summer. Maybe next July
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) July 1, 2012
Never mind that Anthony forced the Knicks to mortgage the farm when he arrived in New York. Forget that the Tyson Chandler trade used up roughly $13 million worth of the annual salary the Knicks were supposed to offer Paul. Pay no attention to the fact that the Knicks put themselves in dire financial straights by inking Raymond Felton, Steve Novak and Marcus Camby last offseason. And completely ignore that the Clippers would now have to accept what would border on one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history to get this done. It was still possible. It had to be.
Because of the toast, that was supposed to be more than a toast. It was a forecast, a premonition that was bound to come true. Common sense was useless. Numbers didn’t tell the right story. If Paul wanted to be in New York, he would get there eventually. No matter what.
Chris Paul coming to the #Knicks in free-agency was always highly unlikely. With Doc Rivers reportedly going to LA, it is now all but dead.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 23, 2013
Deep down, all New Yorkers knew it wasn’t possible. A mindful few always held out hope to get them through the postseason exits, but never did they rest their entire faith in it happening. Others weren’t so savvy.
Which brings us to Rivers. And the trade to the Clippers. The one that dashed any remaining connection the Knicks had to Paul.
Spurning Los Angeles now would be beyond unforeseen. Sterling isn’t paying Rivers more than he cares to pay most players ($21 million over three years) on the off chance that Paul may hopefully, quite possibly re-sign. He’s going to re-sign. It’s no longer an assumption. To which I say, good riddance.
Clippers will take over Rivers' contract he had left with Boston that was 3 years, $7 million per year, total of $21 million, sources
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) June 23, 2013
I love Paul. And hell yeah I wanted to see him in orange and blue—like two-plus years ago. Well, I’d still like to see him sport those colors now, but I’ve known better for the past two years.
Once ‘Melo arrived, that dream was on life support. Chandler’s acquisition subsequently killed it. Every dollar spent thereafter was simply beating an already dead horse.
What I’ve really wanted is to move on, from all the Paul-related BS. All of it. Every last bit. The Knicks have lived in the shadow of other team’s players for far too long, lusting after targets they had no realistic chance of landing. And when they have had a chance, they’ve shot themselves in the foot (see STAT’s contract and the ‘Melo trade).
This isn’t to say those acquisitions were busts; they weren’t. Hate on Stoudemire all you want, but he’s the reason ‘Melo is here. He helped make the Knicks relevant again. Not even LeBron James wanted to do that. In truth, he was too smart to do that, but that’s besides the point.
‘Melo has worked out just fine as well. He’s coming off a career year that saw him play defense more than half the time. If he can somehow become more of a playmaker and exude consistent two-way diligence, he has the potential to be a top-five star.
New York needs to build off that. Not Paul or Stoudemire. Anthony. I doubt it will bring them any titles in the next two years, but it’s what they have to work with now. And they need to start working with it. Maybe in two years when they have more cap space and ‘Melo is far past the wrong side of 30 they can land another superstar or two in their prime. Until then, these are the cornerstones they have.
For the first time in probably over decade, the Knicks are going to dance at the prom with who they came with. They can move on by staying the same. No matter what happens from hereon out, I for one am relieved that what has always been an unrealistic vision can be squashed.
Finally.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
